formula

Birth Defects are showing in studies now from Roundup ready soy crops. That is a lot of the soy in circulation, including formula, but it begins before the many babies being fed non-organic and GMO soy. Mamas are ingesting lots of soy in good faith about it’s benefits. Make sure your clients who are attached to their soy understand 3 or three things as they make their choices if you can.

Research is strong now showing long term genetic effects on sterility third generation – we haven’t as humans given this a chance yet, but scary animal research. Already known in humans to reduce testosterone levels and M/F libido, not just from ingestion or absorption of the pesticide, roundup, it is also from the soy itself. But lots of Roundup is being used on Monsanto’s directly influenced growing soy market – from seed to farming.
Ayurvedic medicine explains the properties of soy are cold, drying, heavy, difficult to digest. IE, increasing to the metabolic imbalances already most naturally experienced already after childbirth – VATA dosha. If using soy, a) use partially digested via fermentation (this is the ancient use of it, anything else was for animal fodder, or came up just a few centuries ago at most) – which is heavy energetically and emotionally postpartum even if easy to digest, or b) use freshly made (tofu, soy milk) and cook LONG and with generous digestive spices – ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove etc. And use organic GMO free!
The story with soy formula influences is appalling – babies are coming up with many times normal adult levels of estrogen in their bodies just the beginning. Risk of fibroids 25% higher in adult women fed soy formula. Often high aluminum, risks to thyroid and more. GMO author Jeffrey Miller and Dr. Joseph Mercola are just a few blowing the whistle. Discussed in the core class, Ayurvedic Maternal Newborn Care and Cooking in the chapter on Baby’s Best Nourishment.

Although Ayurveda didn’t predict many of these things, the qualities of soy are contraindicated for early postpartum mothers and for babies already, or anyone with delicate system. It could be enough, or maybe you need to cite corroborating discussion for your client such as these links or this great article by Sally Fallon, The Ploy of Soy. She wrote it in the 1980’s!

Peace is beyond understanding, thank God! And more essential to our practice than ever.

Ysha Oakes, LMT, CPAD, D.Ayur.

Dean and Founding Faculty

Usually, there are 1 or two key factors to baby reflux, and 1 or two things which do the trick:

Air bubbles pushing up

Many of us have an intense milk let down at start often babies take in too much air and milk too fast. I learned a trick from one of my twice around postpartum clients: briefly take baby off sucking when this happens. Support her head with your opposite hand – press your near forearm against your nipple and areola for a few moments to diffuse the spray throughout the breast, and then let baby latch again. This is often a big help, and does not create problems of any breast congestion that I have seen with many mothers. Baby just can suck the generous supply without being forced.
Try nursing with feet lower instead of your “Boppy” pillow level, so air bubbles don’t go out the long way. similarly, burping helps.
Bottle feeding often results in very quick delivery of milk, and Baby takes a lot in at once.
Either way, if baby takes in too much food, it won’t be just air bubbles that push milk out – it can be the excess milk itself.

Feeding too often – less than every 2 hours from end one feeding to beginning of another for breast milk, or – with formula feeding maybe less than 3-4 hours as a minimum, I’m not sure. In either case –

Feeding too often is such a common issue, and results in poor food combining for Baby self induced. Ie, fresh milk on top of sour or partly digested milk makes for a confused tummy, maybe gas, bloating, or general uncomfortable feelings.
It is like for us, after snacking on top of a full meal, we tend to feel ucky or mucky, and then gassy in the gut.
It is complicated by Baby’s common need to suck which goes beyond her need to eat. Sucking balances hemispheres when they get out of sync, and gives him or her bliss.
So of course they want to suck, for that reason alone. Even if tummy hurts, sucking at other times makes a tummy happy.
So babies do need our help and guidance with their instincts, not just with diaper changes and rocking and cuddling and loving.

Feeding baby while distracted, arguing, talking business, on phone, movie etc –

Here is a test of this – does the reflux happen at night too? Often it does not.
It results in baby sometimes not doing the mind-body integration dynamic as well – He often will eat too fast or anxiously, again causing confusion, tensions or indigestions pushing milk back up.
It is better to try feeding in quiet place for a while and see how that works.
Similarly, this is an obvious probably to you – be slower and gentler with a baby who has just eaten – whether in burping, bouncing, bending or any other activity putting crimp on the tummy’s process.

More on food combining

I have seen common that some formulas now have two or more types of protein – dairy, soy, whey….even a raw milk formula with raw liver and 3 kinds of oil in it. Simpler is better, easier.
Complementary feeding of formula on top of breastfeeding can complicate digestion or overfeed also.

More on difficult digestion issues

With breastfed babies often mama’s diet is compromising baby’s digestion, creating gassy or hot stomach. We call them VATA or PITTA aggravating foods, respectively. We can talk more about this if you like.
For more useful input for most people, I’d like to send you to my e-cookbook, “Touching Heaven, Tonic Postpartum Recipes with Ayurveda.” It is in the Sacred Window online shop with a companion handbook. Recipes are annotated, menu planning for Mom is basically by weeks postpartum, and even Baby’s first foods are discussed.
For formula fed babies, we must remember formula is heavier – and takes longer to digest. It has “old” or low prana (life force), and is not exactly what Baby’s biology was designed to handle. It is not just about chemistry, it is about life force and other things. So indigestion, gas, bloating, or just tension or tummy ache are more common with formula, and can easily trigger the body to move food back out. It does depend on the formula recipe, and Baby’s constitution, imbalances and circumstances such as above, how well she handles formula or other influences on breastfeeding.

Essential oils, baby massage, warmth, swaddling

These can help in short term, each in their own way.

Essential oils choices depend if the need is for calming, tummy aches from gas, acidity, ama (accumulated impurities) from overfeeding, even parasitic influences….we can talk about this more soon.
A lovely book by author, Ashley Montegu, “Touching” reports we might scientifically consider newborns as premies until they are 6 months of age. It is an interesting thought – how compared to other animals and brain size, humans at 6 months old are where other mammals are at birth, but that size head would not fit through the birth canal well at all! He proposes what from a different perspective, Ayurveda speaks of, that the newborn digestion is quite immature for about 6 months.

It is so worth tending to the little things that protect baby for best beginnings, and it is not just to mollify the tears. All these factors can help structure good foundations done right. The time flies, and babies are so influenced in their early days, weeks and months, for such a long time to come. Moms too!

Love,

Ysha ma

The Sacred Window

Ayurveda for Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum Care

Soy formula, birth defects, GMO, and Ayurvedic analysis

Baby Reflux