By LauraAnne Hirschler, BS, OMS4 with help from Casey Rosen-Carole, MD, MPH, MSEd, FABM and Rogelio Perez-D’Gregorio, MD, MSAs an infant, I received the gift of life in the form of a liver transplant. Growing up, I remember taking a multitude of medications that just became part of my daily life. As the years went on, my immune system became stronger, the transplant check-ups became farther and farther in between. As the years went by, I found myself taking an extremely low dose of one …
The Baby Blog: breastfeeding
Empowering Education and Support for Breastfeeding Women Living in Rural Communities
For breastfeeding people living in rural areas, it is often difficult to find appropriate breastfeeding and lactation resources as they can be few and far between. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infants in rural areas are less likely to ever breastfeed than infants living in urban areas.Emma, a new mother to a baby boy, lives in a rural area where the nearest town with a healthcare facility is over an hour away. Even by phone, it was difficult to reach her …
Are you Pregnant (or Breastfeeding) and Affected by a Hurricane?
By Beth Conover, APRN, Beth Kiernan, MPH, and Al Romeo, RN, PhD - MotherToBaby Teratogen Information Specialists From images of buildings destroyed by high wind to families stranded on roof tops by flooding (and the rising death toll), to say that hurricanes can be devastating would be an understatement. At MotherToBaby, we receive questions from moms and moms-to-be in storm-affected areas regarding the potential exposures they may be experiencing as powerful forces of nature wreak havoc on …
Moldy Milk: How to Avoid Breastmilk Contamination When Pumping
We have all heard that breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby because you can bond with your child and give them the best nutrients and immunity for lifelong health. Besides that, breastfeeding helps moms stay healthy by getting you back to pre-pregnancy weight faster, preventing breast and ovarian cancer, and ensuring heart health. However, sometimes putting baby on the breast is easier said than done – not all moms can breastfeed in the traditional sense of holding your baby to the …
Marijuana, Pregnancy & Breastmilk: Getting Closer to Answers
By Sonia Alvarado, MotherToBaby California Teratogen Information Specialist I wrote a blog about marijuana and pregnancy three years ago and it’s become the most visited blog on the MotherToBaby website. No surprise, considering that marijuana is an even hotter topic today than it was previously! Three years ago, two states had laws allowing recreational use. Now, 29 states allow medicinal use, recreational use or both (with limits on amounts varying from state to state). I was recently asked …
