Archive for the ‘Testimonials’ Category
January 30th, 2012
I congratulated Michelle when she sat down in my office this afternoon. She was elated. 5 weeks old, her baby had gained 10 oz since her weigh in a week before. And this was the week she had cut back from supplementing her breastmilk by 50%.
Michelle wanted to breastfeed her baby but had begun supplementation due to concerns that she was not supplying sufficient breastmilk. Her baby was fussing and her weight gain was below the expected weight gain of 6 oz per week. Using a feeding tube, Michelle found the combination was a relief in terms of satisfying her daughter, but it was cumbersome and stressful. She hoped to be able to produce enough milk to satisfy her baby’s needs. She felt exhausted and guilty and wondered if something was wrong with her.
This is a common scenario postpartum. For a variety of reasons, many women have difficulties with breastfeeding. Luckily there are supports for such women (see www.lllc.ca for information about a La Leche League in your neighbourhood or ask your primary care provider about lactation consultants and breastfeeding clinics); however, even with the supports in place, breastfeeding difficulties are truly challenging.
I was pleased for Michelle, but I was not congratulating her on the weight gain alone. I was excited to watch her trusting her instincts and taking appropriate action. Michelle had recently decided to feed her baby every three hours throughout the night. She had been encouraged to follow a feeding on demand model, but in her particular case she felt that it made sense to wake her baby to feed at night since her breasts felt full at night, an experience she did not enjoy much during the day. Michelle decided to offer her daughter the breast (without feeding tube) every three hours through the night. The baby nursed happily and fell back asleep most of the time. Within a few days she was waking just before the 3 hour mark looking for the breast.
Michelle was already turning the corner when she came in for an acupuncture treatment. My focus was to support her digestive system and milk production. I also strongly encouraged her to sleep more – in fact, to sleep whenever she could. Michelle was very dehydrated during her labour and lost a considerable amount of blood. She has a lot of rejuvenating to do.
Michelle is thrilled that her baby is gaining weight. Michelle has also gained trust and confidence in her intuition and her body.
In Michelle’s words, “The acupuncture was magical. I came home from treatment and I turned a corner. It just seemd to work. I feel more confident and less deficient. I’m feeling engorged for the first time.”
January 13th, 2012
It was my pleasure to treat Sarah twice late in her pregnancy. She went into labour the day after her 2nd treatment. It was bound to happen some time soon. As I explained to Sarah, an acupuncture “induction” treatment is just an invitation. We have no real control over the mystery of labour. Even so, treatments are also helpful to prepare and relax the mother. Sarah wrote me this update on her positive experience.
Our baby, named Vita Pope Cullen, was born on November 13th (9lbs1oz!). I ended up going into labour on my own on Saturday the 12th and arrived at the hospital one hour before my induction was scheduled! Amazing. The combination of things I did in the preceding days made a huge difference and really got things moving. I got to 7 cms on my own while walking the halls. Things weren’t progressing so I ended up having an epidural and oxytocin and slept for 5 hours. When I woke up I was fully dilated. They turned off the epidural so that I could feel the contractions and I pushed her out in about 30 minutes. No tearing. Easy! Thanks for fitting me in at the last minute!
Congratulations Sarah and family!
September 29th, 2011
“Dawn works magic with those needles. She helped my body feel great during my pregnancy and helped my son become a happy baby with the happy baby point. She is obviously a gentle, beautiful soul if you meet her. Receiving healing treatments from her is not to be missed. She handles pretty much any pregnancy problem and makes you feel comfortable to be open and relax.”
-Lauren Larsen, September 2011
September 5th, 2011
Dear Dawn
I’m happy to let you know that our daughter was born on Friday morning at 9:07 am. She was 7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long.
After I saw you on Thursday, I had a pretty vigorous stretch and sweep both by my midwives. I think perhaps the combination of that plus the great work you did got things moving through the night and by 4:30 am I realized I was probably in labour. The funny part was that my next door neighbour and good friend had dropped off her son at our house a few hours before as she and her husband headed to the hospital to have their baby – their baby girl ultimately arrived 10 minutes after our daughter.
I had about 3 hours of relatively calm and relaxed labour to get to 10 cm. After that I had a bit of a stall and my water still hadn’t broken so the midwife broke my water but still nothing. With the help of a breast milk pump, I had 2 very intense contractions and she popped out into my hands on the birth stool just after 9 am.
Thanks again for your great sessions – I found them calming and relaxing and really enjoyed them.
JT- July 2011
July 1st, 2011
I thankfully share this testimonial from Heather.
“Dawn saw me for a prenatal ‘labour prep’ course of treatment in 2009 (I gave birth to our son at home after a wonderful labour the day before our last treatment scheduled treatment!).
I really liked her approach –gentle, soothing, relaxing, and informative. Although I came to her to prepare my body for labour, her treatments were also a chance for some peace and relaxation that I looked forward to each week.
Thank you for contributing to our positive birth experience!”
I congratulated Michelle when she sat down in my office this afternoon. She was elated. 5 weeks old, her baby had gained 10 oz since her weigh in a week before. And this was the week she had cut back from supplementing her breastmilk by 50%.
