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Meditations and Visualizations
The Story of Breastfeeding Meditation By Kim Seidel
Those first few weeks of motherhood and breastfeeding can be a stressful time. The challenges of having a newborn can make breastfeeding difficult. Many mothers have found practicing guided meditations and visualizations with a CD to serve as a wonderful remedy for stress. The practice can enhance their breastfeeding experience and help them bond with their baby.
Working mother Kristin Juve of Temecula, Calif., listened to the Breastfeeding Meditation (White Heart Publishing, 2004) by Sheri Menelli while she quickly needed to pump breast milk on the job as a nurse. It dramatically increased her supply within one day. "I only had 10 minutes to pump," she says. "I consistently was getting 4 ounces of milk when I pumped in that 10 minutes. When I listened to the breastfeeding CD, I was getting between 8 and 10 ounces every time. It was truly amazing."
Juve discovered many benefits of listening to the calming meditation CD by Menelli, a certified clinical hypnotherapist and HypnoBirthing Educator in Carlsbad, Calif., and the author of Journey Into Motherhood: Inspirational Stories of Natural Birth (White Heart Publishing, 2004). "It really helped me to forget about work and let me concentrate on my body," she says. "I was hooked."
Juve initially tried Menelli's CD because she had developed mastitis, which made it extremely difficult and painful to nurse. "The CD helped me relax enough during nursing to have a 'letdown,' and made it more comfortable," she says. It was breastfeeding women with difficulties like Juve that Menelli hoped to help with her CD. As the instructor of HypnoBirthing classes, which teach pregnant women techniques for naturally safe, stress-free labors, Menelli was surprised how many of her past clients gave up breastfeeding. "They felt that they weren't producing enough milk," she says. "I knew that most of the time it is a perceived problem or just stress-related and not truly physical." She also was intrigued with research published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1989 that showed women could increase their milk supply while pumping. Menelli didn't find any other products on the market like the CD she wanted to create. "I knew that women needed this," she says.
