Lactation Counselor, any one?
Chiqui Brosas on Oct 31 2007 at 8:56 pm | Filed under: Breastfeeding
This year is an exciting year for my pregnant students. I have been helping expectant mothers breastfeed successfully by giving free regular breastfeeding classes monthly. It’s been ten years now. I found out that this wasn’t enough. Also, not everyone attend my breastfeeding class, even if it is for free.They end up with many breastfeeding problems and resort to calling me up. Some have not decided to breastfeed while they were still pregnant so there was no commitment and dedication to persevere or to learn how to breastfeed.
It’s funny how we humans need to be taught how to breastfeed! Come to think about it, do you know of any other animal who needs to be taught the how to’s?
Experience proved to be more effective than theory alone. These mothers still end up having problems with breastfeeding and easily give up. They need constant support and reassurance. Most concerns they have are in not having enough milk. That’s what they think. Another common problem is in sore, crack, bleeding nipples, mastitis (breast inflammation). Engorgement is a big problem too, other concerns would be on relactation, nipple confusion, weaning… to name a few.
To solve this concern, I expanded my service to these mother. After birth I hook them up to a lactation counselor and massage therapist. The consultation is free but obviously the massage is not. Boy, what a big help to these helpless, new mothers!
Zeny C. Feliciano
Spa Consultant/ Prenatal-Lactation Therapist/Breastfeeding Coach
* A Business Management graduate who worked at the Makati Medical Center as a unit secretary for 10 years and well-versed on hospital routines.
* has opened and managed 5 spas locally and abroad, including the First Preantal Spa in the Philippines. Familiar with spa standards abroad having been worked as an assistant spa manager at the First Day Spa in Macau.
* Specializes in masssage during Pregnancy and Postpartum-Lactation Management/Treatment since 2005 and has worked with hundreds of expectants couples and lactating moms.
* Conducts Free Breastfeeding Class & Infant Massage Class and Therapeutic Massage for wellness and Lactation points. (MoMiMor)
With more than 6 years’ experience in the health and spa industry, has set up and managed spas locally and abroad including the First Oxygenated Day Spa in Macau and the First Prenatal Spa in the Philippines.
My Philosophy is “True beauty comes from within”. And I focus on inspiring individuals who wants to develop or change their lifestyle.
That is why my commitment is to provide a truly revitalising and relaxing experience along with the healing treatments that puts you in touch with all your SENSES… and beyond.
When I set up the very first prenatal spa in the Philippines I got a chance to see, first hand, the difficulties, discomforts or anxieties of expectant/lactating mothers.
Simple cases include:
1. engorged breasts;
2. blocked ducts;
3. mastitis (breast infection);
4. sore nipples (from unsuccessful latching of babies);
5. re-lactation or re-establishing the milk supply after introducing their babies to formula;
6. moms who think they do not have milk after attempting to breastfeed for jus a few days;
7. moms who use a pump immediately after delivery; and
8. moms who allow their babies to be given supplements like glucose water or formula
Women who do not know any better—those who are not receiving any breastfeeding support/information—will end up giving formula or glucose water to their babies!
So, it is highly recommended that an expectant mother attend a breastfeeding class, be part of a support group or have a breastfeeding coach/lactation therapist as early as eight hours after giving birth! Those who did end up successfully breastfeeding their precious babies!
Aside from hurdling difficulties, this prenatal spa is also known for a really effective full body massage. It relaxes, enhances blood circulation and mobilization. It will surely help get mom ready for breastfeeding, whether birth was via normal or c-section.
After some struggle, some frustrations and even some pain I find it rewarding to see the mommy, baby (and even daddy) thrilled at the sight of the colostrums.
The first session of lactation management/treatment normally takes three to four hours. It includes counseling as well as an overview of expectations, difficulties, good nutrition and treatments. I find the session also often leading to a discussion of how to treat engorgement, soreness of nipples/breast. Succeeding sessions takes no more than two hours.
I’ve had many skeptical patients. I welcome them as well, because in the end I know I will become their friend. In fact, most of my present patients are referrals of previous patients. They call me breast doctor, lactation specialist or consultant!
I get a great sense of fulfillment in watching my patients experience motherhood through breastfeeding.
For Bookings and Inquiries :
Please text your full name and contact number/s to the following Mobile Phones: (Smart) 0919 702 8619 (Globe) 0926 713 8377
Visit: http://zenconsulting.multiply.com
ZenConsulting Services and Treatments offered:
Home Visits:
Prenatal Massage
Postpartum-Lactation Management/Treatment
Hospital Visit:
Postpartum-Lactation Management/Treatment
Hi Sis! Please if you make an editing to simple cases include: 3. Mastitis ( Breast Inflammation ) not Breast Infection.
Thank you so much!
I will be speaking also this feb 9 SM Mkt, re Discomforts, Difficulties and Anxieties of Lactating Mothers.
Please pray for me.
God Bless!
Zen
“Who Else Would Like To Breastfeed Easily And Harmoniously, Eliminating the Pain and Confusion That So Many Women Are Experiencing These Days?”
* Are you a mother-to-be and would like to breastfeed your newborn, but are confused by the conflicting advice you constantly receive from friends and even some professionals?
* Are you a new mother struggling to breastfeed, in pain and worried because it just doesn’t feel right?
If so, I invite you to experience a New Perspective … In Wellness &
In Health through Natural Breastfeeding Secrets.
As your Breastfeedign Coach, Lactation Counselor-Therapist I will help you make your Breastfeeding a real Motherhood experience!
How Can A Lactation Conselor Help Me?
“No Pain! “No Confusion! “No Guilt! “No ‘Horror Stories’!
…Just one happy mom and a cheerful healthy little baby.
How much would you pay for such assurance and security?
How much would you pay for peace of mind and knowing you are
not ill-prepared… so that you are educated and ready to take
care of your baby?
How much would that be worth to you?
These are some of topics to be discuss in your Lactation Management / treatment session package:
Daddies and Breastfeeding
Dads can often enhance bonding
POSITIONING OF YOUR BABY AND LATCH-ON
IS MY BABY GETTING ENOUGH?
Breastfeeding and Other Foods
Should you call a lactation counselor?
* If you are experiencing pain while breastfeeding
* If your newborn nurses less than eight times in 24 hours
* If your baby under five weeks of age is not wetting at least six to eight diapers and/or has less than two bowel movements daily
* If you do not hear or see your baby swallowing once your milk has ejected
*If your baby is consistently difficult to wake for feedings
*If your baby has jaundice
*If your baby is not gaining weight well without supplementation
*If you feel your milk supply is low
*If you think you have an overabundant milk supply
*If you suspect that you have a plugged duct or a breast infection
*If you are concerned about medications and breastfeeding
*If your baby seems unhappy at your breast or refuses to nurse
*If your baby is born prematurely
*If you are weaning
*Anytime you have questions about any aspect of breastfeeding
BREASTFEEDING in Emergencies.
It’s been a week of disasters in Burma and China, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the victims of these horrific events.
But back to the disasters, and the importance of breastfeeding in emergencies. In a disaster such as the one in Burma, breastfeeding can be a life-saving act. Why? In emergencies formula is often not available. If it is available, water supplies are often compromised. Formula mixed with contaminated water can cause diarrhea and dehydration, which can quickly become life-threatening to infants. Power to sterilize and refrigerate formula is also often not available.
Still, there is a lot of confusion about the role of breastfeeding in these situations. INFACT Canada has a great write up taking on myths about breastfeeding in emergencies, which I’ve posted below:
MYTH 1: Malnourished mothers cannot breastfeed.
In virtually all cases, a sub-optimally nourished mother can breastfeed her child. The important response is to feed the mother so that she can feed her child. It is far safe and more effective to provide nutritional support for the mother than to risk her infant’s health by feeding breastmilk subsitutes. Mothers in these situations need help and support to enable them to breastfeed.
MYTH 2: Stress makes a mother’s milk dry up.
Although extreme stress or fear may temporarily reduce a mother’s milk supply, this response is often of short duration. On the other hand, breastfeeding produces hormones that have a calming effect on mother and baby and creates an inseparable bond between the mother and her child. There is virtually no abandonment of babies in emergency situations when mother and baby are breastfeeding and kept together.
MYTH 3: Babies with diarrheal disease need water or tea.
Breastmilk contains about 90% water. Exclusive breastfeeding provides all the water, nutrition and immunology a baby needs, without the risk of contamination. Feeding an infant water can introduce disease-causing bacteria and other contaminants, especially if safe water is scarce or unavailable. It is only in the case of severe diarrhea that infants may need rehydration fluids in addition to breastmilk.
MYTH 4: Mothers cannot resume lactation once breastfeeding has stopped.
Mothers and babies can restart breastfeeding even after a period of not breastfeeding. Increased skin-to-skin contact and frequent access to the breast helps to increase milk supply and enables mothers to resume full breastfeeding. This can be critical for babies during emergencies.
Sometimes, well meaning humanitarian efforts result in such an influx of formula that efforts to protect and support breastfeeding are disrupted. This is such a concern that in 1994 the World Health Organization adopted the following policy, urging member states to “exercise extreme caution when planning, implementing, or supporting emergency relief operations, by protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding for infants,” and to ensure that formula is distributed only under specific conditions.
These are some of the text messages that I received from 2007 - 2008, Testimonies / Great Things / Experiences, Success & Joys :
* I’m Still nursing directly full time. No pump at all. ( 2nd baby)
Char Carlos ( 02/01/07 )
* Hi Zeny, Cecille Ramos was very happy. This is part of her text: “Thnks for referring me to Zeny. She was a lifesaver! Her home visit really helped me a lot and she she was able to get my baby to breastfeed properly this afternoon”.
Dr. Pia ( 02/09/07 )
*Hi Zeny ! Ethan is gud, at 9lbs, startd solids 2day
m stil doing d kasubha, soup etc. Had a few 70ml xpresion days 
tks 4 helpng us! God Bless u !
Melody Na ( 02/09/07 )
* Im also fortunate to have met sm1 like u who’s so concernd n suportive in helpng moms like me. U r nt jst a counselor/therapst 2 me bt also a new found friend!
Shena Quiros ( 03/16/07 )
* I refer you coz get very good feedbacks from my pxs! Sara loves you. will refer more.
Dr. Henson ( 04/42/07 )
* Praise the Lord! Ethan Jethro now at 5.5kg, almost 3x our birth weight at 8mos
a gain of 800gms in a month! - just wantd to share d news.
Melody Na ( 05/03/07 )
*Hi Zeny! Thank u for helping ease r pains of being moms. Uve become a friend and have mothered r children in a very special way. God Bless u! U r remembered
Aizel Finch ( 05/13/ 07 )
* Hi Zeny! Uv bin an inspiration 2 me. im very thankful uv help me to takecre of my misoh! more power!
Jeng Jun ( 06/05/07 )
* Hi gud am ms zeny :-), jst wanna share d gudnews, na beat n ni cesca record nya. No formula milk kagabi
Bevs Rodil ( 06/27/07 )
* Thnx so much 2 u. Im so thankful for you, pls continue ur great work. I wish u more success!
Inna Viray-Lim ( 07/03/07 )
* Hi Zeny! U r a blessng 2 me n my patients. I thnk GOD 4 u!
Dr. Alou ( 07/22/07 )
* Hi Zeny! Maria Teresa increased only 300 gms in 3wks pediatrician suggests to integrate w/ formula. What s the best way to go? One meal a day or a little after each breast milk feeding?
Manuela Prima ( 08/21/07 )
* Hi ms zeny! Wer gud! 4mos na po c cesca
continue pa rin breastfiding 
!
Bevs Rodil ( 10/11/07 )
*Hi Zeny ! Ethan is now almost 14mos n doing well. Eating jst abt anything! Stil breastfdng
Melody Na ( 10/11/07 )
* Good you are helping these women! Breastfeeding is really important and it’s so nice to ahve support. Thanks Zeny!
Dr. Chen ( 01/10/08 )
* You’ve been very effective naman w/ my pxs, so i don’t hesitate to refer.
Dr. Henson ( 01/18/08 )
* Hi Ms. Zen! It’s Nino 1st Bday 2day! hs party will b 2moro. He can now stand on his crib n bables word, he’s a hapy baby always smiling.
Shena Quiros ( 02/01/08 )
* Thijs gained 1.1kilo from last month. he is 2mos and weighs 12.5lbs !
Thanks for your help!
Margaret Versanvoort ( 02/19/08 )
* Hi Ms. Zen! Kmusta k na? Kami ni Nino lagi lang s haus. he’s a super active boy. he likes 2 play a lot n climbs hs crib.
Shena Quiros ( 02/28/08 )
* Hi Zeny!
I was abl 2 xpress my milk yday vry carefully after hot & cold compress & massage. No mor bleeding but breasts vry tender.
Jen Verano ( 02/29/08 )
* Hi Zeny! It’s going better. After i talked to u i applied warm compress & massaged the breast while baby fed. I kept on massaging my breast all day yesterday, and feels normal na! Engrogement has also gone away in both. Right now im still using nipple shields, im too afraid for my nipples!
Monica Gonzales ( 03/01/08 )
* Hi zeny! Happy to report everything is fine. Thank you!
Haydee Go ( 03/04/08 )
* Hi Zeny! Im doing well! Off corz widout ur support, i wudnt b as patient as dis. kya super thanx tagala
God Bless!
Nina Sabalvaro ( 03/29/08 )
* Hi Zeny! this is Manuela wer back in Italy for good and Maria Teresa will be 1yr old in a few days
still breastfeeding and she is perfect and never got cold or anything in a year. Just wanted you to know we will always be grateful to you. Best regards from Italy!
Manuela Prima ( 04/21/08 )
* Hi, ahppily lyk to tel u tht wv bn nursing wel snce yest. I hv askd my husband to do d cup feedn 2x n d rest ahs bn direct brstfdn. Tnx 4 ur sgts
Marika ( 05/14/08 )
* Many many thanx 4 makin a visit. we feel a lot better now & he is latchin well!
Mio Oka ( 05/15/08 )
* Hi Zeny! just thot id upd8 u w/ my milk situation. After we spoke i took ur advise & continued warm/cold compress+massage til nawala blockage. Matt ! is back on my milk 100%
Thank u 4 encouraging me thru this!
Jen Verano ( 05/16/08 )
* Hi Ms. Zeny! My baby is now 7mos!
I hav a fren hu gave birth last May5 . I told her abt u. She will call u.
Kathy Reyes ( 05/21/08 )
* Hi Zeny! We are doing well not as successful as when we were w/ u. Will look forward to see you Saturday!
Nella ( 05/22/08 )
* Hi Zeny! Kish is just started sucking 2day. Yehey! Have stopd d supllement since ur visit. Tnx so much.
Antonette Ong ( 05/22/08 )
Causes of morning sickness revealed
Despite the misery, nausea and vomiting actually serve a useful purpose
By Charles Q. Choi
updated 10:05 a.m. PT, Mon., May. 19, 2008
As irritating as morning sickness may be for pregnant women, it may protect embryos.
Doctors have long known that morning sickness — the nausea and vomiting usually experienced in early pregnancy — is actually a good sign of a healthy pregnancy, despite the discomfort it brings.
However, scientists have debated whether morning sickness actually helps pregnancies succeed. It could just be an annoying byproduct of a healthy pregnancy, as pregnant women and their embryos carry out a tug of war over the body’s resources.
When and why
To see which explanation might be right, scientists analyzed medical research to see when morning sickness does and does not occur.
If morning sickness was just the byproduct of a healthy pregnancy, then it should accompany all healthy pregnancies. “But it doesn’t,” said researcher Samuel Flaxman, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Although two-thirds of pregnant women do experience morning sickness, the rest often carry their pregnancies to term.
Also, morning sickness does not seem to occur in other mammals, only humans, the researchers noted. If morning sickness was the byproduct of conflict between mother and embryo or fetus, one might expect other mammals to have it too.
Instead, morning sickness is usually triggered in specific circumstances — in response to:
* the sight, smell, or taste of meats and strong-tasting vegetables, which were historically likely to contain foodborne microbes or birth-defect-inducing chemicals;
* alcohol and cigarette smoke.
This all suggests morning sickness serves a useful function, evolving to protect mothers and embryos from things that may be dangerous, the researchers figure.
Did you have morning sickness? What did you do?
Also, in women who experience morning sickness, symptoms peak precisely when embryonic organ development is most susceptible to chemical disruption, between week six and week 18 of pregnancy.
The reason that humans alone have morning sickness may be due to our extraordinarily broad diet in comparison to other mammals, including other primates, the scientists conjectured. Instead of evolving a range of molecules to defend against toxins, humans just evolved a way to keep away from dangerous chemicals.
Implications for pregnancy
A better understanding of morning sickness could have important implications for how doctors handle pregnancy.
“To say that morning sickness is uncomfortable is a real understatement, and a lot of people are looking at ways to deal with it. But if nausea and vomiting truly serve a useful function, then one has to look more carefully at strategies for dealing with these symptoms,” Flaxman told LiveScience.
Despite decades of medical research and the widespread nature of morning sickness, little remains known about how it works, as it is of course unethical to experiment on pregnant women, and no other animals are known to experience it.
“We’re really interested in a more exhaustive analysis to see if morning sickness really does only occur in human beings, or whether there are other animals out there,” Flaxman said.
Flaxman and his colleague Paul Sherman at Cornell University detailed their findings in the July issue of the journal American Naturalist.
Being breast-fed may lower breast cancer risk
By Joene Hendry
Fri May 9, 12:56 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adult women who were breast-fed as infants may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who were not breast-fed, unless they were first-born, study findings suggest.
As a general group, women who reported they had been breast-fed in infancy had a 17 percent decrease in breast cancer risk,” Hazel B. Nichols, who was involved in the study, told Reuters Health.
“However, we did not observe this reduction when we looked specifically among first-born women,” said Nichols, of the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.A woman’s age at childbirth helps predict the levels of environmental contaminants in her breast milk, and studies have suggested a possible link between increased breast cancer risk and the accumulation of these contaminants, Nichols and colleagues note in the medical journal Epidemiology.
To analyze whether an adult woman’s birth order, mother’s age at the time of her birth, and whether or not she was breast-fed alters her risk for breast cancer, the investigators interviewed 2,016 women, aged 20 to 69 years, with breast cancer, and 1,960 women of similar age without breast cancer.
As noted, women breast-fed during infancy generally had reduced breast cancer risk.
However, in analyses restricted to breast-fed women, those with 3 or more older siblings had a lesser risk for breast cancer than first born women, the researchers found.
But breast-fed women showed no altered breast cancer risk according to their mothers’ age at childbirth.
Among women who were not breast-fed, reduced adult breast cancer risk was linked with their mothers’ older age at childbirth, but the investigators identified no association between breast cancer risk and birth order in this group.
While the current results hint that breast cancer risk may differ according to whether or not women were breast-fed during infancy, additional studies are needed to determine if these associations vary with duration of breast-feeding or according to measured levels of environmental contaminants present in breast milk, Nichols said.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, May 2008
Stress during pregnancy may raise baby’s risks
Asthma, allergies more common in kids of frazzled moms-to-be, study says
updated 12:33 p.m. PT, Sun., May. 18, 2008
CHICAGO - Women who are stressed about money, relationships and other problems during pregnancy may give birth to babies who are predisposed to allergies and asthma, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.
The findings, presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto, suggest a mother’s stress during pregnancy may have lasting consequences for her child.
“This research adds to a growing body of evidence that links maternal stress such as that precipitated by financial problems or relationship issues to changes in children’s developing immune systems, even during pregnancy,” Dr. Rosalind Wright of Harvard Medical School in Boston said in a statement.
Wright and colleagues found mothers who were the most distressed during pregnancy were most likely to give birth to infants with higher levels of immunoglobulin E or IgE — an immune system compound — even though their mothers had only mild exposure to allergens during pregnancy.
Studies in animals have found that a mother’s stress amplifies the effects of allergen exposure on the immune system of the developing offspring. The Harvard team set out to see if they could find the same in humans.
They measured levels of IgE from the umbilical cord blood of 387 newborns in Boston.
Babies whose mothers were the most stressed out — but who had low exposure to dust mites in the home — still had high levels of IgE in their cord blood, a finding that suggests that stress increased the immune response to dust exposure.
This was true irrespective of the mother’s race, class, education or smoking history.
Stress as ’social pollutant’
“This further supports the notion that stress can be thought of as a social pollutant that, when ‘breathed’ into the body, may influence the body’s immune response,” Wright said in a statement.
The study patterns recent findings in children who have undergone stress by Dr. Andrea Danese of the University of London. Researchers there followed 1,000 people in New Zealand from birth to the age of 32.
They found children who had undergone maltreatment — such as maternal rejection, harsh discipline and sexual abuse — had twice the levels of inflammation in their blood even 20 years later.
High levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and immune cells increase a person’s risk of heart disease and diabetes.
“Stress in childhood may modify developmental trajectories and have a long-term effect on disease risk,” said Danese, who presented his findings last week at a conference in Chicago on how early influences affect health and well-being.