Beautiful Things Midwifery and Lactation

We are committed to making midwifery care accessible.

Beautiful Things is now in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield Community Health Plans in Illinois.

Taking a limited number of clients per month. Reach out at www.beautifulthingsbirthservices.com

A few openings remain for April- June due dates for families seeking thoughtful, relationship-centered midwifery care.

Personalized support through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum season.
www.beautifulthingsbirthservices.com

Join Jordan Scott for our upcoming Childbirth Education series at the Village CU starting next Thursday Sept. 17th!
This is a 4 class series, for 1 hour each Thursday night.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/childbirth-education-classes-tickets-2000012458101

At exactly this time exactly 12 years ago I had just birthed this little kiddo victoriously on my bedroom floor (on his 3 yr old sisters birthday).
I will never forget how empowering that moment felt as a baby student midwife myself at the time.

Immediately I asked someone to go get me a Mad Goat coffee and a cinnamon roll
The victory meal 😂

This morning another sweet baby boy had a birthday and I got to serve the family their own victory meal. What a gift!! What a great day to be born!

Eggs and seafood are the best combo for growing a baby brain! This is one of my favorite facts in How to Grow a Baby, my book about pregnancy nutrition.

What's your favorite way to eat eggs and fish together?

https://a.co/d/05CcmzMO

✨ World Breastfeeding Week✨

After nearly five years as an IBCLC, one thing stands out above almost everything else:

*The biggest predictor of breastfeeding success is that a mother has seen other women breastfeed before she has her own baby.*

The next most important? A baby with appropriate tongue mobility.

I'll never forget having my first baby 19 years ago. It was still uncommon to see someone breastfeeding in public. I was lucky that I had seen women nursing around the kitchen table my whole life- but not everyone has that.

Breastfeeding is a learned behavior for both mother and baby. We aren't meant to figure it out in isolation. We learn by watching, asking questions, and being surrounded by other women who have gone before us.

Every time a mother nurses her baby in public, she isn't just feeding her child. She's quietly teaching the next generation of mothers that breastfeeding is normal, beautiful, and possible.

So this World Breastfeeding Week, if you're breastfeeding, know that your presence matters. You may never realize who is watching- but you could be giving another woman the confidence she needs before she has her own baby.

And if you're struggling with breastfeeding, know this: struggling doesn't mean you're failing. Sometimes babies need help with latch, tongue function, positioning, or milk transfer. Support can make all the difference.

❤️ Here's to normalizing breastfeeding, supporting mothers, and raising a generation that sees breastfeeding in the wild.



(Photo of me nursing my 4th toddler, after many years of pain and struggle breastfeeding with baby #1 and baby #3)

Fundal massage 😳... Not evidence based??!

Many women describe this as "the worst part of birth!"

Homebirth midwives generally *avoid* routine fundal massage
(another example of how midwives are ahead of the curve in practicing evidence based care ❤️)

Instead, we do "fundal checks" (which is a quick check to see where the top of your uterus is in your abdomen and how firm it is) and teach you how to feel your own uterus after birth to do your own "fundal checks".

What did you think about routine fundal massage after birth?

Fundal massage, also known as uterine massage, is often performed as a routine procedure after birth, but research shows it does little to prevent postpartum hemorrhage and can be painful for many. On today's replay episode of the EBB Podcast, nurse, community educator, and advocate Barbie Christianson joins Dr. Rebecca Dekker to talk about the myths surrounding this common postpartum procedure and how it connects to broader patterns of obstetric violence in maternity care.

Barbie explains the difference between a fundal assessment, a routine massage, and the massage used to treat active postpartum hemorrhage, and walks through what the evidence actually shows about each approach. She also shares trauma-informed scripts that nurses and providers can use to explain what they are doing and obtain informed consent, even in urgent, fast moving situations. Learn how unit culture, staffing, and fear based practice patterns can affect whether an unnecessary intervention becomes the default standard of care, and how to speak up and advocate for respectful care.

🎧 Listen now to the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast - REPLAY: EBB 267 – Debunking Myths about Fundal Massage with Barbie Christianson, RN

ebbirth.com/267

Link in our bio. 🔗

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Arriving home after 27 hours gone, actual blood, so much sweat, and plenty of tears on my shirt. Sure, it's hard.

But providing safe, respectful care to families, tucking them into bed with their new baby, making them eggs for their bellies, delivering encouraging words for their hearts- there is nothing better.

Congratulations to two strong first time mommas! Welcome to the world, beautiful babies- we promise to do our best to make it a good place to be 🥰

Arthur area folks- now you don't have to travel so far for your pregnancy anatomy scan!
We are so excited that Love at First Sight 4D Ultrasound, LLC is now offering diagnostic ultrasounds in Arthur, IL

Visit www.loveatfirstsight4d.com for more information! 🌐