Saturday, January 13, 2007

In-Home Support for New Mums

Yesterday, I had a visit from a midwife from the hospital. She stayed for an hour. We discussed breastfeeding and baby's health. She showed me how to express my milk by hand and with a pump, weighed baby and pronounced that she has put on 100g since her discharge, checked her all over, and even bottle-fed her while I experimented with the pump! She also went through baby's health book with me and told me about the milestone checkups to do at the Maternity and Child Health Centre, the postnatal exercises that will help me get my bits back together, checked my stitches, and said she would arrange for a one-on-one session with a lactation consultant and help me bring forward the date of my Breastfeeding Day Stay (BDS is a free session at the hospital, where new mums and bubs are taught how to breastfeed efficiently).

This afternoon, I got a call from the hospital saying my BDS appointment has been brought forward from next Thu to next Mon. I am to bring a pram and bub's necessities for the session. Lunch is provided.

The next call should be from the Maternity and Child Health Nurse who will visit and explain what the Centre can do for me and bub.

It's just fantastic how much support new mums get here. It really helps when you're needing advice or just someone to show you how to do things. I have nothing but praise for the public healthcare system, as far as parenting goes.

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