Health

Look After Yourself Better This Year

Published

2 years ago

March 14, 2022

Self-care is one of the key things that you need to make the most of in 2022, and this is something that not enough people take the time to get right. It is important to focus on what you can do to improve your life and come up with some of the best ways of looking after and taking care of yourself. This is one of the key things that you need to focus on to improve your life right now.

There are so many ideas that you need to try to make the most of when it comes to things like self-care and this can make such a huge difference to your life moving forward. Working on the best ways of being able to look after yourself is so important, and there are a lot of ways of being able to achieve this right now. Start to focus on the best ways of looking after yourself in 2022, and these are some of the things to consider.

Get More Rest

There are a lot of elements that you need to try to consider when it comes to boosting your self-care, and there is no question that rest is a key part of this. You have to try to make sure you come up with some of the best ideas that will help you make the most of this moving forward. Sleep is so important, and you need to make sure you have the right kind of circadian rhythm that will help your body and mind to get the rest and recuperation they need, and this is something that you need to try to focus on as much as you can.

Change of Career

A change of career is certainly something that can help when it comes to improving your life and making the right decisions for self-care moving forward. Careers can be intense and highly stressful, and it is important to find one that is not going to adversely affect your health and well-being. A job that brings you happiness and joy is more important and fulfilling than a job that brings you money. And this is something that you need to try to make the most of moving forward. There are a lot of ideas that will help you to make the most of this, and a change of career is vital for improving this.

Improve Your Mental Wellness

There are a lot of things that you can do to try to improve your mental wellness, and this is something that plays a massive part in helping you to achieve this, and you need to try to focus on the best ways of being able to improve this moving forward right now. Come up with some of the key ideas that will allow you to do this, including checking out ketamine therapy in Washington, a process that can really go a long way towards helping you improve your mental health and well-being, and looking after yourself better moving forward.

These are a few of the key things that you need to be getting right when it comes to improving your life and focusing on self-care as much as possible. This is something you need to think about when you are trying to improve this process, and there are plenty of ideas that are going to play a part in this when you are looking to make the right decisions moving forward.

Health

What Interferes with Successful Breastfeeding?

Published

3 weeks ago

September 5, 2023

Michelle Langton

While breastfeeding is ideal, it comes with many difficulties new parents might face.

After experiencing the intensity of labor and delivery, many new parents are left exhausted. Despite this fatigue and surviving pospartum, new parents soon learn the importance of managing the needs of an infant. Putting aside their own desires, parents learn to quickly adapt.

Exhaustion and recovery are not the only things that discourage parents from breastfeeding. There are a variety of other woes that can make it difficult for a lactating parent to continue to choose this option.

While 83 percent of women breastfeed at the beginning of postpartum, there is a drastic reduction by 6 months, resulting in only 56% of babies still being breastfed.

Engorged Breasts

When a lactating woman’s milk comes in, she may experience intense pain and discomfort. The breasts typically become overly filled with milk because they have not yet regulated their supply. This engorgement can continue throughout the breastfeeding journey for a variety of reasons.

If the baby’s schedule changes, a woman’s breasts can become overly full. If the parent misses a feeding, breasts can experience discomfor which can lead to breastfeeding infection. If a woman becomes preoccupied at work and does not make time to pump, she can experience discomfort.

If breast engorgement is not treated properly, milk ducts can become blocked, and if a woman does not work to move the milk through her breasts (via feeding her baby, pumping, or expressing the milk), this engorgement can lead to further problems and may cause clogged milk ducts.

Infection

One of the biggest concerns beyond the pain a woman experiences with engorgement is infection. This is known as mastitis, and leads to a woman experiencing not only breast pain and warm breast tissue, but also flu-like symptoms that come with fever, chills, headache, and further exhaustion.

In order to help prevent infection, regular feedings are essential. Often, the best mastitis treatment, at least for early symptoms, is to massage the breast in a warm shower and express the extra milk.

Furthermore, by working with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), parents can have a great resource on how to best deal with, treat, and alleviate these problems.

Not only is an IBCLC a great resource in helping prevent breast infection, but a great source for your breastfeeding journey to encourage and educate you in best practices.

The best way to achieve breastfeeding success is to utilize the many tools that an IBCLC offers.

Burnout

To exclusively breastfeed your baby can be quite overwhelming and exhausting. Between nightly feedings, cluster feedings, and pumping sessions for working mothers, breastfeeding is difficult to maintain. Unless a woman is properly supported by her family, friends, and workplace, the chances that a woman will continue to breastfeed are significantly impacted.

Culture also impacts the likelihood of a baby being breastfed beyond 6 months. The CDC discovered that parents in the Southeast United States are less likely to breastfeed their children past six months. This was in contrast to the Northwest, where business policies and the culture is more breastfeeding-friendly and supportive.

Conclusion

Despite the nutritional benefits afforded to a breastfed baby, there are many obstacles that can be discouraging for parents on their breastfeeding journey. From exhaustion to pain to lack of supoort, parents have many reasons to give up.

To increase your chances of success, surround yourself with supportive individuals, reach out to an IBCLC, also known as lactation consultants, and gain the necessary tools required to provide your child with the healthiest option available – you!