Updated 2026 | Original article © 2019 Marie-Celine Farver RN BSN IBCLC Usually a product goes by a generic description, but this product is too new to define any other way than its brand name, the Haakaa pump. Perhaps this name will ultimately stick, much as "Kleenex" came to define facial tissues and "Scotch tape" to define transparent household tape. Developed in New Zealand in 2016, the silicone device suctions onto the breast and catches what is called "drip milk." It is applied over the...

I believe there's something profound happening in labor beyond the physical. God has designed this process not only to bring forth new life but also to prepare us for the sacrificial nature of parenting itself. In labor, we lay down our own comfort and ease to bring forth our child. This is agape love—Christ-like, sacrificial love. And this laying down of self is very much a part of mothering and parenting in general. It is a sanctifying process through which we learn so much about Christ and...

A common misconception involves what drives labor progress. Many people believe that if a laboring mother becomes exhausted, her labor will stall or fail to progress. This misunderstanding can create unnecessary anxiety and even lead to premature interventions. The truth is that labor does not progress by maternal energy or willpower. It is driven by an internal force of the uterus working in combination with fetal positioning. Labor is not a voluntary process that you can somehow "fail" at...