Supplement breast feeding with formula

Week 2 since your baby came into the world.

Why not supplement breast feeding with formula. Your baby is now going through a growth spurt and becoming much hungrier. If you find they are asking for more milk than you are producing then there is no harm in giving him a bottle here or there.

Caution: too many bottles and you run the risk of not allowing your milk supply to increase naturally to his demands. Try and only use a bottle if you are finding your milk supply is low, such as at the end of the day or an "emergency" bottle if you are feeling particularly tired.

Mrs Christine Azeeta Nielsen

Partner at Massage Muswell Hill
Lecturer at London School of Massage

 

Tension headaches

 

Areas to focus on during massage are illustrated below:

 

Tension headaches

Cervico-genic headaches or "tension headaches" are a common cause of pain with clients, usually they are present with those under a lot of stress and who spend a lot of time sitting down. Manipulative therapy may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches (1).

Areas to focus on during massage are illustrated below:

Biomechanical factors such as increased cervical lordosis may contribute to excessive tension in the upper cervical extensors that may interfere with the occipital nerve. Stretching of the occiput and massage along the base of the occiput are very effective in treating the problem. Excessive sensitivity in the area is common amongst clients with tension headaches.

References

1. Nilsson et al - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15266458

 

Diet during pregnancy

The amount of weight gain during pregancy can have a direct effect on your child, with too little weight gain being associated with an increase in infant mortality and too much weight gain associated with maternal health problems(3). 25% of mothers are reported as being underweight whilst 41% are reported as being overweight. The amount of weight gain during pregnancy is specific to your BMI and weight goals should be addressed before and during your pregnancy.

Kids gravitate to sugary and fatty foods, including fruits surprisingly. Taste preferences reveal themselves quickly after birth with a predilection towards sweet and salty and aversion toward bitter and sour.

The diet in pregnancy must be diversified as diets are determined in utero(1). Pressurising kids into eating their vegetables doesn't work and bribing them with desserts will make them dislike them even more.

A maternal diet based on junk food diminishes the "happy response" of a baby during eating, which means that the child growing up will have to eat more of the same kind of junk food to attain that satisfied full feeling(2).

Between the ages of 2 and 6, the child's eating habits have been established and changing them to more healthy alternatives can be tricky. One method is to offer sweet dips to a portion of vegetables which has shown to increase a child's intake of greens.

Reference:

1. http://www.ift.org/newsroom/news-releases/2013/july/16/taste-rules-for-kids-and-healthy-food-choices.aspx
2. http://www.ssib.org/web/index.php?page=press&release=2013-2
3. Regina R. Davis, Sandra L. Hofferth, Edmond D. Shenassa.Gestational Weight Gain and Risk of Infant Death in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 2013; : e1 DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301425

 

Massage focus areas

The picture above illustrates the areas that hold the most tension in the average client. Tightness of each of these muscles can cause; lordosis, femoral internal rotation, tibial lateral rotation, hunched neck ( gothic shoulders) and forward head posture to name a few.

Deep and sustained pressure must be used to relax the muscles and bring blood to them allowing the muscle to decontract.

IT Band- gliding along the IT band in supine or sidelying can be done in either direction.

 

Posture and future disability

The angle between the true vertical and a straight line from the first thoracic vertebra to the first sacral vertebra determines the chance of future disability.

Individuals with the greatest spinal inclination were 3.47 times more likely to need help with daily activities. They were also more likely to have injurious falls.

To reduce this spinal inclination, we must bring back the vertical alignment of T1 over the sacrum, this is achieved by exercising the lower abdominals contracting the transverse abdominus.

References:

http://www.geron.org/About%20Us/press-room/Archived%20Press%20Releases/82-2013-press-releases/1652-posture-provides-clue-for-future-disability

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17595423

 

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