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Classes

All Moms Support Group

Virtual!

August 7th – 28th, 9:00 – 10:00 AM

A community resource and support group designed as a multiple week session to create a safe space for that transitioning time after pregnancy and birth.

And NOW! We’re going to try it online.

A place you can come while your baby cries the whole time. Yes, please join us. A place you can be on screen not worrying about a shower, or we can be your excuse for a shower!

The variety of emotional ranges and physical changes after giving birth can feel isolating – especially now.

But there’s a woman out there thinking those same thoughts that you are! We want you to get a chance to meet her. Meet the moms you can create friendships with, not just because you’ve had babies, but because there’s a true spark of friendship and understanding.

Each week we will seek to address one of the topics listed below. Or just catch up.

  • Birth Processing
  • Sleep
  • PPD vs baby blues, and the range between
  • Feelings of Isolation
  • Self care
  • Self image and Body Image
  • Breast and bottle feeding, including pumping
  • Childcare Issues and Considerations
  • To Work or Not to Work? Work from home?
  • Relationship Balance, including Sex
  • Navigating Friendships – old friends, childless friends, new friends, those with different parenting philosophies
  • And any other topics that you would like to be addressed

Topics will be chosen by the class. General round table group chat, with “thought” homework to act on subjects and thoughts shared by all.

Peer support facilitated by a non-judgmental momma, who happens to be a peri-birth professional. Who has been where you are and will cry, laugh, and listen right alongside you.

This group is limited to 8 women to facilitate real relationship building. Drop-ins cannot attend as we are creating a safe space for sharing. You are certainly welcome to attend more than one series.

Welcome to a new type of community.  

Returning Members Register Here

 

Register for All Moms Support Group (New Attendee)

This group costs $55. Payment is due upon registration. You will be directed to Paypal after clicking on "Register" below

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additional info

Blog

Event: Bluegrass for Babies

Bluegrass for Babies!

Music. Food. Beer. What’s not to love??

This year the 2016 Bluegrass for Babies Benefit Concert will feature live bluegrass performances by:

  • the Hocking River String Band
  • Comet Bluegrass All-Stars
  • Plus Hickory Robot and Jennifer Ellis will provide a special kids performance!

You can grab some Dewey’s Pizza, Grateful Grahams, or streetpops, and a beverage from MadTree Brewing. Further, the community partners listed on their site will have crafts games at their booths! Keep on reading to find out what we’ll have at the Modern Breastfeeding + Education booth! 

Bluegrass for Babies

When: Saturday, September 17th, 3:00-9:00 PM (booth activities until 7:30 PM)

Where: Seasongood Pavilion, 1600 Art Museum Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Tickets: range from family admission, to VIP / community sponsor, raffle tickets, and souvenirs. Early bird rates last for only two more days!! 

Aside from having information about prenatal Childbirth Education classes, Breastfeeding Classes, Newborn Care and Pumping Classes, the Virtually Present training coming up for all small businesses, as well as Lactation Service information, we’ll be raffling off some baby carriers and a signature Modern BF+Ed self-care goodie basket with the main Bluegrass raffle prizes!

PLUS, the kid’s craft at our tent is … drumroll please!

Branch Wall Hangings / Mobiles.

Using a variety of felt, nature objects, and paper, you’ll get to go home with a chic and modern art project from the kids, that you’ll actually want to keep!

Untitled design

Here’s a few examples  of our craft!

Wall art images pinned on my Modern Kids Crafts Pinterest board

Most importantly, though, this is a fundraiser for a great cause:

The Healthy Roots Foundation, which raises funds for children’s health research and education, through a partnership with the Perinatal Institute of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

We can’t wait to see you there!

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Black Breastfeeding Week 2016, Cincinnati + Surrounding Area Events

Yesterday was the start of Black Breastfeeding Week – the last week of August, which was declared National Breastfeeding Month by the United States Breastfeeding Committee in 2011.

This distinction, to me, is one that is quite poignant because it highlights and places a needed emphasis on a population that deserves more:

more support, more outreach, and more resources for all women, babies, and families of color.

This is not a political statement. This is all based on research showing disparities in care, which I discuss at length below. And now we’re raising awareness.

In fact I did not post this yesterday because the attention needed to be on sites such a Black Breastfeeding Week, along with their incredible social media campaigns on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

First, let’s address why Black Breastfeeding Week is important. Then, I’ll point out events that are happening in the Cincinnati and surrounding areas, so that you can take part in supporting this amazing cause.

Black Breastfeeding Week.org has their own list of what makes it important to them. This deserves to be read and listened to; as the topic raised by #4 would have been overlooked by a middle-class white woman such as myself.

That statement above only highlights its importance. 

As a mother, lactation expert, childbirth educator, and mother’s support facilitator, I also have research-based reasons why this is important to us as a community of mothers and professionals:

  • Disparity of care. The majority of Lactation professionals in the United States are white. Yes, I know this includes myself. This unfortunately speaks to the realities of racial privilege as means and access to available training. This disparity needs to be recognized and addressed within training organizations, as well as in how we recruit and interact with communities outside of our own personal culture.
  • Lack of people of color in professional roles.  A lack of women of color in professional roles creates an even greater divide because of relatability. Women have better outcomes with professionals they can identify with, yet this lack of representation in advocacy and role models only furthers the goal of successful breastfeeding within African American communities.
  • Access to care.  Many people of color aren’t aware of the resources available to them in the general populace.
  • Economic divisions. In many, too many, places in the US, there are economic boundaries to getting the service, care, and educational materials needed. This is seen in surprising places, such as hospitals. (See the next bullet point.)
  • Institutional support. Black women report a lack of support to breastfeed by medical institutions that serve their communities, even from nurses, pediatricians, and lactation professionals in hospital settings.
  • Health differences. The sad fact is that access to prenatal care and health care in general for African American women in the United States is dismal, and it is a problem that spirals. Birth outcomes have a major impact on breastfeeding outcomes, yet African Americans have greater rates of Gestational Diabetes and hypertension, which then translates to childhood obesity rates, SUIDS & SIDS, and asthma. Many cite the reasons behind these health issues as going back to economics: access to food, housing issues, and preventative medical care.
  • Infant mortality. This is the worse statistic of all, and it is clear: African American infants die at twice the rate of their white counterparts, with higher rates of preterm birth, higher NICU stays, and lower birth weights.

At this point I want to apologize to Black Breastfeeding Week organizers, as this is not the Joyous Post idealized in this year’s awesome #BlackBFJoy theme. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow with a simply gorgeous breastfeeding photo story.

Today’s post was instead to explain, to educate, and to confirm the necessity of this week’s outreach. I sincerely hope you readers will pass along this knowledge to your own communities.

The idea is that when confronted with all of these factors, you can start to see a bigger picture. You can start to see how one person’s role can sadly cause a chain reaction of negative damage, yet also how one point of outreach could truly help a family, and therefore a child, a baby.

bbw 16 more

So how CAN YOU be one of those points of outreach and support?

Happily, Black Breastfeeding Week.org has also compiled a helpful list of events throughout the week.

Here’s a list that’s local to Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. Visit the text link above to see what might be in your area if you’re not in Cincy, Dayton, Hamilton, or Indiana!

IN ORDER OF DATE + TIME:

Dayton, OH – Presented by The Color of MILK

Event includes face painting, refreshments, raffles, meet & greet doulas, midwives, and lactation consultants.

Saturday, August 27th, 2:00-3:30PM

Location: Northwest Recreation Center, 1600 Princeton Dr, Dayton, OH 45406

Contact Denise Thomas, 937.212.5847, bedrestandbeyond@gmail.com

Cincinnati – Presented by TrinityOutreach

Lift Every Baby event, with free breast pumps, nursing bras, and milk storage supplies

Saturday, August 27th, 6:00PM

Location: Blue Rock Park, 3010 Blue Rock Road, Cincinnati, OH 45239

Contact Natashia Conner at 513.620.6455 with questions.

Indiana – Presented by Indiana Black Breastfeeding Coalition

Family, Food, Fun! Splash park for little ones!

Sunday, August 28th, 4:00-7:30PM

Location: TBA

Contact Ryan Karim, ryankarim@gmail.com for information

Hamilton, OH – Presented by Butler County Breastfeeding Group and OEI/BCPRIM

Event is a prenatal birthing / breastfeeding class, childcare for women attending, and mother-led breastfeeding support group, along with access to African-American CLCs and IBCLCs.

Monday, August 29th, 6:30PM

Location: YWCA in Hamilton, OH

Contact Tara Ramsey, 513.705.9040, ext. 2 for more, or via tarar@myprimaryhealthsolutions.org

Cincinnati, OH – presented by B.R.E.A.S.T. Friends (Black Breastfeeding Research, Education, Awareness & Support Taskforce) and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center

Wednesday, August 31st, 3:00PM

Location: UCMC Main building garden

Contact natashia.conner@uchealth.com for more

Also, check out BOOBS (Breastfeeding Outreach for Our Beautiful Sisters), a local non-profit in Cincinnati. 

Post your photos to any of my social media sites and tag @blackbreastfeedingweek #BBW16 #BlackBFJoy!

Help be a catalyst for change with every effort to better outcomes.

Blog

A NEW kind of Childbirth Education for Cincinnati

Creating blurbs describing what is included in a GREAT childbirth education class is NOT easy for me.

After teaching for six years, being trained in various methodologies and attending over 120 births as a birth doula, and a Master’s degree; it is hard for me to tell you exactly how a class will shape itself.

Sometimes those who attend shape the class, whether they are second (or more) time parents, those pursuing VBACs (Vaginal birth after cesarean), single moms by choice, or those pregnant with multiples, in addition to the normal group of first-time, expectant parents.

Other times it is the teacher and their experience or methodology shaping what should be an individual event – something that simply isn’t one size fits all.

So let’s talk about:

What’s covered in a childbirth education class, what you will find in MY childbirth education classes that sets them apart, and as always, how to find a great instructor in your area if you aren’t located in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas.

photo by Jeanine Persichini

First, in your standard childbirth education class, you will receive knowledge on:

What to expect, before, during & after delivery. This should include the stages of labor, coping skills and strategies (even if you plan on an epidural), and labor positions. You will also discuss postpartum healing, the beginning of breastfeeding, and it should help your partner learn how to support you.

In a GREAT class:

You should also have time to discuss interventions versus intercessions, i.e. learn about the myriad of tools you can have in labor either by choice or by necessity. This refers to inductions, augmentation of labor, epidurals and spinals, and of course, family centered cesarean births. You can also learn when you don’t need those same tools in labor, or alternatives to those tools in natural, normal births. You should get to practice labor itself, combining the tools you have learned in a real world way.

After all, complicated situations can arise, and while a class cannot turn you into a medical care provider (nor even replace your nurse or doula!) it can give you the tools to make decisions as a team during an emotional and physical event. Further, you will understand what nurses and medical care providers are explaining to you or asking you while you are in labor.

A standard class should:

Prepare you for what happens when you are laboring at home, when you arrive at the hospital, and discuss the things to pack.

A GREAT class:

Will also discuss nutrition in pregnancy, preparing you for your GD screening (Gestational diabetes glucose test), weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss post-delivery, practice exercises that help your pelvis and pelvic floor prepare for birth, and help you in creating birth imagery that specifically helps you.

It should also help you identify how to make medical decisions, address fear surrounding childbirth, and feel like you have been given the tools for postpartum recovery and healing.

The truth is a birth is more likely to go smoothly when we are prepared to discuss the fears we have ahead of time, as well as what pain means, and how we deal with it. We shouldn’t be afraid to discuss pain with each other as women.

Being a part of the decision making at your birth is what makes the “4th trimester” an easier shift for you as a family.

Finally, while a standard childbirth education class should cover breastfeeding in the first hour / hours after birth …

A GREAT childbirth education class should address breastfeeding as the full time reality it is – starting at the first hour after birth.

I am not shy; I DO think we create a GREAT class together. It has morphed over the years into something that is student led, partner* focused, and psychologically helpful to those welcoming a new addition to their household.

If you would like more information on what each of the six weeks include, contact me! In addition to the class itself, you will get access to a password protected site with extra links, videos, and local resources. We will also have an optional reunion class after everyone has given birth to process our stories together! And of course, class six is a full Breastfeeding Basics class itself.

Come and see how a GREAT class can help change the conversation you have about your birth, your confidence about your birth, and you and your baby’s healthy outcome – which is the MOST important thing!

*Whatever that means to you, all ranges of single-mom’s by choice are welcome, as are LGBTQA families. 

Starred Pick068Not in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas? Here is a link to finding a great instructor in your area!

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Why Childbirth and Breastfeeding Education should be taken in-person

With the myriad of books out there, YouTube videos, downloadable CDs, and class systems, it can get really tempting to take a class in the comfort of your own home and on your own time. It sounds … awesome! Unfortunately it’s not recommended.

Here’s why you should take an in-person Prenatal Childbirth (and/or) Breastfeeding Class, local to you!

1) Discipline

Clients, and their families, report the intention to read the books, watch the videos, practice the moves, but in reality report low usage, even when it is products they have paid for! In addition, those who do find they have the discipline, have no access to …

2) Getting Individual Questions Answered

By taking a class with a birth professional, you are face-to-face with someone who wants to help! Many report that the beginnings of any childbirth or breastfeeding education class raises more questions to mind than it answers – at first. Having a qualified instructor right in front of you is irreplaceable!

3) Local Resources

A local educator has a wealth of local l knowledge at their fingertips. Whether it’s simple, like where to get a massage, or as complex as hoping to hear about feedback of your own provider, the only person who can provide those resources is someone who is active in the birth community.

4) Practice

Practicing for your birth, meaning getting to practice the multitude of tools you’re learning in a real way, can be an invaluable tool. Not only can you do this in a great class, you can also take examples from the extra videos, handouts, and in-person measures a class provides.

5) Community

Certainly not least: Community. Everything listed above can be provided in a private class just as much as it can in a group setting. However, as someone who has watched entire classes create their own moms groups after delivery, it is wonderful to see everyday community being creating in prenatal classes. You are learning together, empathizing together, and ultimately sharing your birth stories together after the class has completed!

If you aren’t in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas, click here to learn how to find a great educator near you! 

While I hope this list gives you the impetus to find a group class that works for you, please know that any measure of education before birth improves you and your child’s outcomes! Enjoy it!

 

Blog

Vitamin D – Supplement Mom or Baby?

It has long been theorized that with enough Vitamin D supplementation for a breastfeeding mother, the amount needed for babies would pass through the mother’s milk.

Now this theory is confirmed, via a double-blind randomized controlled trial, which ran from 2006 to 2014, and was published in 2015.

Considering this information is incredibly new to the pediatric world, you may not hear about this from your pediatrician just yet, because it hasn’t changed the AAP recommendation.

Please note that this is an AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommendation, not a WHO one, so outside of the United States this information benefits your health and baby in a whole new way.

Here’s the takeaway:

If you are a breastfeeding mom, whether directly or Exclusively Pumping (EP), there is an option to give your baby the daily dose of Vitamin D, via your body!

Instead of supplementing your baby with Vitamin D everyday, moms can supplement themselves with a minimum of 6400 IU/day, and the baby’s levels will be the same as a mom who does not take a Vitamin D supplement and gives their baby the recommended AAP dose of 400 IU/day.

Of course, if you don’t trust yourself to remember to take a daily supplement, the recommendation is to still supplement your baby directly.

Want more information?

Many questions and answers can be found on the KellyMom.com reporting of this, in an interview conducted with the researcher himself, Dr. Bruce Hollis.

Pass on the information!

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Important Questions, re: Your Perinatal Education

1) Who is teaching the class? Can you find the instructor’s information beforehand? What are their qualifications, certifications, and continuing education credentials?

2) Is the class convenient for me?

Meaning, if you sign up, will you both actually get to go? Or can a friend, sibling, or parent go with you?

3) Is there a philosophy being taught? Are there any conflicting sponsorships?

4) Make a list of the subjects you want to learn about.

Then ask, are these being addressed in this class? If you aren’t sure from the class description, contact the instructor to ask!

This list has been generated by client feedback, please contact me if you’d like to add more! 

Consultations, Doula Services

Birth Consultation

**NEW SERVICE**

Gillian Foreman wishes to use her vast experience as a birth doula, perinatal educator, and lactation specialist to help you achieve the best outcome possible! Therefore Modern Breastfeeding + Education is offering a new type of service: a Private Birth Consultation.

This is ideal for families / couples who:

  • aren’t sure how to navigate birth right now without a doula, or even if they want one how to work with virtual support
  • have individual questions answered about their upcoming birth
  • are considering a change in birth location, due to COVID-19
  • are expecting twins, or more, and want to know about questions to ask care providers, normal protocols for multiples births, and more of what to expect
  • are pursing a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), as well as VBA2C, VBA3C, and HBAC. This can be especially helpful if pursued before pregnancy as we can address nutrition, physical therapy, healing, and care providers
  • had trouble breastfeeding a previous child or are worried about breastfeeding
  • want to review, or help compile, a birth plan, which is an excellent tool to discuss wishes with a care provider
  • are trying to conceive but have questions for a birth professional

This service is $50/hour, takes place via Zoom.

Contact Gillian directly to discuss how you would like to use your consultation!

Blog

A Week of Launch Giveaways

This Week of Giveaways, August 1-7, 2016, is Over!

Scroll down to see the AH-mazing things people won, and subscribe to the newsletter to be a part of the next one!

Welcome to the new Modern Breastfeeding + Education! This new site is a way to get easy access to prenatal education classes, in person individualized lactation support, and community resources such as our All Moms postpartum group series.

But first, it’s Giveaway Week to celebrate the launch of the site!

Normal online rules apply:
* Must subscribe to the Modern Breastfeeding + Education Newsletter
* Have to like and follow on Facebook AND Instagram. (Pinterest, Twitter, and Linked-In are optional, but have a ball.)
* Then, subsequently comment and/or share me on one of the above platforms for **that day’s** prize. You don’t have to comment or share on both, just one, Facebook or Instagram.
* Giveaway promotion starts **Monday, August 1st**, with prizes announced each day on Facebook AND Instagram, along with the winner from the previous day. I don’t want to clog up feeds too much.

ETA (Edited to Add): I’ve received questions on how I’m choosing winners and whether or not someone who has previously won can win again. The answer is YES. I’m pretty anal and love excel spreadsheets, so I’m doing this old school. Names are entered into a list once you share or comment on the post. Each day’s list starts anew. Then, after I double check that you’re following me on both facebook and Instagram, as well as subscribing to the newsletter, I ask my older son to pick a number between 1-however long the list is. I know, it makes me sound like a luddite, which I secretly am. I hope that helps, sounds truly anonymous and fair to all!

DAY ONE: Monday, August 1st

DAY ONE

 

DAY TWO: Tuesday, August 2ndDAY TWO

 

DAY THREE: Wednesday, August 3rdDAY THREE

 

DAY FOUR: Thursday, August 4thDAY FOUR

 

DAY FIVE: Friday, August 5thDAY FIVE

 

DAY SIX: Saturday, August 6thDAY SIX

 

DAY SEVEN: Sunday, August 7th

GET EXCITED!

Day Seven IS announced! Because it’s fun and big and for parents AND little ones.

Want to guess? Think: coffee. Mmmmmmmmm

DAY SEVEN

 

With Fun Ahead, Gillian Foreman

 

 

Blog

Open Letter to the Client who Didn’t Want to Breastfeed

An Open Letter to the Client Who Didn’t Want to Breastfeed,

This story is a long time coming, because at the time I was a newly trained doula. I was only in your apartment two minutes for an interview, your toddler enjoying her nap, when you looked at me with worry, and said “I don’t want to try to breastfeed this baby. Is that OK?”

I’m sure the pause that followed was perceived as me struggling to answer, but in truth it was my mind reeling (selfishly, with unknowing) on my own journey, my own struggle of breastfeeding, the things that inspired me to do the work I was doing now, here. You didn’t know my goal was to one day become an IBCLC, that breastfeeding defined my birth journey. Nor did I want to give you a blanket statement. So I leaned towards you, met your eyes intently, and said what was in my heart, “Of course. It’s your decision.”

But the look on your face was unsettled . . . 

So, perhaps too quickly, my mind racing ahead of my better judgement, I asked “Have people told you that’s not OK?” It came out incredulous; it was probably too much. And you cried. You told me of the multitude of providers and doulas you had interviewed, who all immediately tried to encourage you otherwise. You knew they meant well, but because of your own awful experience with your first child it was heartbreaking for you.

I never asked you why you didn’t want to, it honestly didn’t matter. In those moments, we switched from interviewer and birth professional to two moms, two women, devastated at a loss so simple – that of people respecting your decisions about your own body.

After hiring me, you went on to have such an incredible experience, and honestly, I can’t remember when it was that you told me of your reasons: a botched breast reduction as a young women in Europe, a complete restructuring of the breast, giving birth in another country years later where they said breastfeeding would be no problem, watching your baby lose weight for weeks as you pumped, and fed, and struggled, bouts of masitis as the milk was unable to leave your breast. It sounded horrific. It sounded like a physical barrier to breastfeeding.

But those reasons aren’t what mattered. They are irrelevant against a backdrop of personal experience, a loss of enjoying those weeks with your first newborn, the fear of not feeding the baby you loved, and of course, the judgement you already knew you’d face with this pregnancy.

To self: Exhale.

I see your face sometimes, in my work now.

It inspires me to remember that what you were truly asking for was real support – the kind that doesn’t ask why’s, or look for justifications. The kind of support that says – “OK. You’ve made a decision for you, OK.”

I see it when a lactation client calls and says she just can’t anymore, or when writing a care plan for a client, I’m reminded to make it realistic. I see when women feel guiltly for a choice they know is better for their family, but is one they already know they’ll be judged for.

So I just wanted to write you, and tell you thank you.

Thank you for such a wonderful lesson. Thank you for sharing your birth with me. Thank you for the years of photographs of your girls, who also remind me that one day they’ll need support too. Real support, the kind that doesn’t ask why’s or look for justifications.

The kind of support that says – “OK. You’ve made a decision for you, OK.”