Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Infant Pain, Adult Repercussions: How Infant Pain Changes Sensitivity In Adults

Posted by Kim
Found on Science Daily website

This article was interesting to me as my first son Connor spent two weeks in the NICU at the Children's Hospital of Denver. It is brief, but an interesting topic. It always amazed me about what people assumed about babies, especially preemies. Did people really think "a newborn infant is insensitive to pain"? That sounds so outrageous to me. Of course this study is negatively correlating the effectiveness of morphine in adulthood to the number of painful procedures an infant has to endure in the NICU, but it would be my hope that regardless of the number of procedures Connor had to endure as an infant he will never require morphine treatment as an adult. However, this is definitely a study that can simply open the door to a new way of infant care in the NICU.

I recently talked with someone in the Boulder County Health Dept and we were discussing nursing care in NICUs and how there is a movement toward following a babies cues and instead of taking the babies vitals on exact regular intervals and feeding the baby on exact intervals, there should be some consideration of the babies cues. Not always waking a sleeping baby to do a procedure. Granted this may be necessary, but there can be some consideration of the baby's cues. Hum, a lot to think about and a lot we just don't know........

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2009) — Scientists at Georgia State University have uncovered the mechanisms of how pain in infancy alters how the brain processes pain in adulthood.

Research is now indicating that infants who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) show altered pain sensitivity in adolescence. These results have profound implications and highlight the need for pre-emptive and post-operative pain medicine for newborn infants.

The study, published online in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, sheds light on how the mechanisms of pain are altered after infant injury in a region of the brain called the periaqueductal gray, which is involved in the perception of pain.

Using Sprague-Dawley rats, Jamie LaPrairie, a graduate student in associate professor Anne Murphy's laboratory, examined why the brief experience of pain at the time of birth permanently decreased pain sensitivity in adulthood.

Endogenous opioid peptides, such as beta-endorphin and enkephalin, function to inhibit pain. They're also the 'feel good' substances that are released following high levels of exercise or love. Since these peptides are released following injury and act like morphine to dampen the experience of pain, LaPrairie and Murphy tested to see if the rats, who were injured at birth, had unusually high levels of endogenous opioids in adulthood.

To test this hypothesis, LaPrairie and Murphy gave adult animals that were injured at the time of birth a drug called naloxone. This drug blocks the actions of endogenous opioids. After animals received an injection of naloxone, they behaved just like an uninjured animal.

The scientists then focused on the periaqueductal gray region to see if inflammation at birth altered the natural opioid protein expression in this brain region. Using a variety of anatomical techniques, the investigators showed that animals that were injured at birth had endogenous opioid levels that were two times higher than normal.

While it's beneficial to decrease pain sensitivity in some cases, it's not good to be completely resilient to pain.

"Pain is a warning sign that something is wrong," Murphy explained. "For example, if your hand is in water that's too hot, pain warns you to remove it before tissue damage occurs."

Interestingly, while there is an increase in endorphin and enkephalin proteins in adults, there is also a big decrease in the availability of mu and delta opioid receptors. These receptors are necessary in order for pain medications, such as morphine, to work. This means that it takes more pain-relieving medications in order to provide relief as there are fewer available receptors in the brain. Studies in humans are reporting the same phenomenon.

The number of invasive procedures an infant experienced in the NICU is negatively correlated with how responsive the child is to morphine later in life; the more painful procedures an infant experienced, the less effective morphine is in alleviating pain.

The study by LaPrairie and Murphy has major implications for the treatment of infants in neonatal intensive care. On average, a prematurely born infant in a neonatal intensive care unit will experience 14 to 21 invasive procedures a day, including heel lance, insertion of intravenous lines, and intubation. All of these procedures are quite painful and are routinely conducted without prior analgesics or anesthetics.

"It's imperative that pain be treated," Murphy said. "We once assumed that a newborn infant is insensitive to pain, and this is clearly not the case. Even at that period of time, the central nervous system is able to respond to pain, and our studies show that the experience of pain completely changes the wiring of the brain in adulthood."

The next steps in Murphy's research include the study of how neonatal injury at birth alters stress responses, as well as the affects of infant injury on long-term learning and memory.

LaPrairie's and Murphy's work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Behavioral neuroscience, a consortium of seven universities at Georgia State, and the Georgia State Brains and Behavior Program.

The article, titled "Neonatal injury alters adult pain sensitivity by increasing opioid tone in the periaqueductal gray," appears in the September 2009 edition of journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 3, p. 1-11.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Postpartum - Losing the Pregnancy Weight

Written by Carri

So I'm 3.5 months out from the birth of Emery my 4th child. With my other three pregnancies, I was pretty much back to normal at this point - but not this time. This last pregnancy was brutal, and I reduced my exercise considerably (which pretty much means no exercise except a once a week prenatal swim class). I felt sick or extremely exhausted (like so exhausted I felt like I would pass out). I'm not sure why, but my midwife highly recommended that I take it easy this pregnancy and so I did. But now I'm frustrated with the weight and shape of my body, and sadly I still feel exhausted. I had a full blood panel done, and everything was fine - which means I'm just overweight and out of shape. This is both good and bad news. Secretly I wanted them to tell me something simple was out of whack and if I took a pill or changed my diet slightly my body would magically bounce back to normal. Logically, I am glad that there really isn't anything wrong and I only need to exercise and take better care of myself. How does a mom find time to exercise with 4 kids though?! With 3 kids in schools full of germs, I don't want to put her in daycare so I can exercise, and I've never been a night exerciser. Emery is still not sleeping through the night, so the last thing I want to do is get up early and exercise. So I'm going to have to suck it up and do it at night. I got Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD and my husband and I started doing it on Monday. It is 20 minutes of strength and cardio exercise. We have both really enjoyed it - and I'm sore to prove that I'm actually doing it! So I'll let you know how it goes, but my tip to you if you're pregnant is to exercise if you can and you will be so much better for it!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Considering a home birth? Midwives' qualifications vary

Found on the USA Today website

Although two new studies from Canada and the Netherlands found that home births were as safe as hospital births among low-risk women, Erin Tracy of Massachusetts General Hospital argues that the findings can't be extrapolated to the USA.

In Canada and the Netherlands, midwives who attend home births must have at least a bachelor's degree, which is not the case for all U.S. midwives, says Tracy, a spokeswoman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which opposes home births.

In the USA, certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives, both of whom are represented by the American College of Nurse-Midwives, will need master's degrees in midwifery to take the test for accreditation beginning in 2011. According to executive director Lorrie Kaplan, her college has accredited 11,500 certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives.

But a third group, certified professional midwives — who only attend home births — has no minimum formal education requirements.


According to the North American Registry of Midwives, which accredits certified professional midwives, they have varied educational backgrounds, ranging from self-study to college- and university-based midwifery programs. Certified professional midwives are allowed to practice in all but 10 states and the District of Columbia, according to the registry.


ACOG shouldn't confuse the site of a birth with the qualifications of the midwife attending it, Kaplan says. "The research is really quite compelling that home birth under the right circumstances is really very safe," she says. "People are going to keep doing it, no matter what ACOG says."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Pre-Pregnancy - BFP

Written by Tink, Friend of BINSI

"I want my BFF to get her BFP." These words came out of my best friend's mouth yesterday afternoon. They are priceless. Thanks, B! Yes, I am hoping sooner than later too. Could it be something as simple as we didn't "do it" on the right days? HA!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Home births get a bump, over obstetricians' objections

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY

Although the delivery of her first son, Nicholas, went as planned, Mara Vaughan began thinking a change of venue for her second child's birth might be in order.In labor with Nicholas at a hospital, "I felt like I was so limited in how much I could move around, what positions I could be in. If I were at home, I could be a little more distracted. I could look out my windows. I could be on the first floor or the second floor."

READ MORE: Midwives' qualifications can vary

So on Aug. 17, Vaughan, 26, delivered Nicholas' little brother, Noah, all 7 pounds, 14 ounces of him, in the comfort of her own Bristow, Va., bedroom, with certified nurse-midwife Alice Bailes in attendance.

Compared with her first delivery, the time immediately after her second "was so leisurely," Vaughan says. As soon as Noah was born, Bailes went downstairs, leaving Vaughan and husband Brandon alone with their new son. A little later, Bailes came back upstairs to cut Noah's cord and weigh him.

Noah is one of only a tiny minority of U.S. babies born at home. During the first half of the 20th century, home births dropped dramatically. Today, fewer than 1% of U.S. births are at home, compared to just under 30% in the Netherlands.

Citing safety concerns, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has campaigned against home births, distributing bumper stickers that say "Home deliveries are for pizza."

And the American Medical Association's House of Delegates last year passed a resolution stating that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

Around the time Noah was born, though, researchers in Canada and the Netherlands published two large studies concluding that among low-risk women, planned home births attended by qualified midwives appear to be as safe as hospital births. The new studies have fueled the debate but have not convinced ACOG.

For one, says Erin Tracy, ACOG's delegate to the AMA, the studies weren't large enough. Problems are infrequent in childbirth, no matter where it takes place, so only "really large numbers" could reveal whether the home truly is as safe as the hospital, says Tracy, an OB/GYN at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

"The majority of patients ... might get away with it," she says, but low-risk pregnancies can become high-risk in minutes: A baby's shoulder might get stuck in the birth canal, or heavy bleeding could necessitate a blood transfusion for the mother.

Patricia Jannsen, the University of British Columbia researcher who is the lead author of the new Canadian study, notes that it included all 862 planned home births attended by midwives in her province from Jan. 1, 1998, through Dec. 31, 1999. Canada was the last developed country to regulate midwives, she says, and 1998 was the first year British Columbia women could opt for a home birth with a regulated midwife.

Bailes, based in Alexandria, Va., has found a number of OB/GYNs to serve as backup for her home births. "We have wonderful relationships with hospital-based practices (both OB/GYNs and midwives) in the community," she says. "These relationships ... are important for peace of mind for us and our clients and for safety."

She says she doesn't call upon them often. She has attended about 3,500 home births and has had to transfer only six or seven women to a hospital because of excessive blood loss. Overall, about one in nine of her patients in labor end up being transferred to a hospital. One reason: They go into labor prematurely, or before 37 weeks, or post-term, which is after 42 weeks. In both cases, the chance that the baby will need hospital care is greater than that of a full-term baby.

The main reason for Bailes' practice's low rate of transfers is that the nurse-midwives refer higher-risk patients to hospital-based practices when problems arise before they go into labor. The nurse-midwives won't care for women who require insulin to manage their gestational diabetes or whose babies don't turn head down in their womb.
"We get to see one normal birth after another," Bailes says.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Special Delivery

Written by Hannah Gaitten, Natural Choices for Living

Hi Friends!

I wanted to put it out there that if you are needing anything from my store (think: Natural things- amazing herbal remedies and salves, baby carriers, agave nectar, etc) let me know so I can bring it out with me to deliver to you while we are back east (which is pretty much the enitre month of October, though it depends on when we will be in your area...).

And to sweeten the deal, here are some discounts...
10% off Earth Mama Angel Baby products
20% off Motherlove products
20% off Madhava Honey and Agave Nectar products (check out their flavored agave nectars- they are amazing!)
10% off Moby Wraps
20% off Wishgarden Herbs products

Go to my website: http://www.naturalchoicesforliving.com/ to shop but instead of ordering through the site, email me your order at info@naturalchoicesforliving.com I'll then figure out your order total and get your order ready which you can then pay by credit card through Paypal or cash/check upon delivery.

It would be most helpful if orders were placed by next Sunday (9/20) so that I have time to get everything ordered and ready by the time we are ready to leave. If you know of anyone else that would be interested in taking advantage of these discounts, please feel free to pass this along!

Thanks so much! If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know! I am so excited to see all of you- it has been incredibly too long! Hannah

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Mark your calendars for International Babywearing Week 2009!

Found on the Babywearing International website:

The second celebration of International Babywearing Week is scheduled for September 21-28, 2009 with the theme "Close Enough to Kiss." International Babywearing Week 2009 is jointly presented by the non-profit organization Babywearing International Inc. and the premiere online resource for babywearing information, TheBabywearer.com.

NEW SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES! Be a General Sponsor or an Awards Sponsor of International Babywearing Week 2009. Get a local proclamation! Use the handy forms in our online toolkit.NEW! Nominate someone for an Award! Add your organization to the 2009 list of Official Celebrating Organizations around the world!

Learn More About International Babywearing Week:


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Societal Barriers to Breastfeeding

Societal Barriers to Breastfeeding

by phdinparenting on September 10, 2009

When people think of breastfeeding difficulties, the things that probably come to mind are supply issues, bad latch, cracked nipples, constant feedings, and the like. Certainly, there are women who are afflicted by those difficulties and who cannot overcome them. But I believe the societal barriers to breastfeeding (propagated by the kyriarchy) have a much more significant impact on breastfeeding rates than the medical or technical issues.

What are the societal barriers to breastfeeding?


Formula advertising: Everywhere you look, formula is being pushed on new moms. Buying maternity clothes? You can enter a draw to win a year’s worth of formula. Buying a parenting magazine? Expect a few two-page spreads telling you about the latest hype on formula being closer than ever to breast milk. Giving birth at a hospital? Expect to go home with a sponsored bag full of formula samples and coupons unless you are lucky enough to give birth in a baby friendly hospital. Surfing the web looking for breastfeeding advice? The formula companies will try to deceive you into clicking on their ads by pretending they are about breastfeeding. We need to push to make compliance with the WHO International Code of Marketing Breast-Milk Substitutes into a standard or a law or find some other way to ensure that formula and bottle companies are not acting unethically and unnecessarily sabotaging breastfeeding in pursuit of corporate profits.



Insufficient education of medical professionals: Women having trouble with breastfeeding often turn to their pediatrician or to a general practitioner. Unfortunately, the amount of education that these doctors have in breastfeeding is insufficient. It will obviously range from school to school and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but I have heard of some doctors having merely a few hours of training on breastfeeding. In addition, pediatricians attitudes about breastfeeding are declining, doctors whose skills are most lacking are least likely to seek training to upgrade their knowledge and skills, and there are plenty of medical professionals who are just downright not supportive of breastfeeding, either on purpose or out of ignorance. So when I hear people say, the pediatrician said “X” and I trust him, so we followed his advice, forgive me for being a bit skeptical. If you are having breastfeeding difficulties and your doctor does not refer you to a lactation consultant, you should be concerned. Be proactive and build your A-Team before your baby arrives.



Lacking access to lactation consultants and breast pumps: People who are struggling with breastfeeding need access to qualified lactation professionals, i.e. International Board Certified Lactation Consultants, and may often need access to a quality double electric breast pump to help maintain or increase supply while working on breastfeeding issues. However, a lot of people who do have access to health care still do not have access to these essential breastfeeding supports.



Lack of maternity leave: In the United States, women do not have access to decent maternity leave. Some have no access to maternity leave at all. In Canada, most women have access to maternity leave, but there are things that prevent many women from being able to take leave or that force them to go back early. It can take months to get breastfeeding well established and many women are back at work before that has happened. The lacking maternity leave provisions in many countries pose a significant barrier to breastfeeding.



No workplace support for breastfeeding: Whether they are forced back to work due to lacking maternity leave provisions or choose to go back to work, women do not have sufficient support for breastfeeding in the workplace. Some states have laws that protect women’s rights in this regard, but many do not. Even among those that do have laws, employers are known to put pressure on breastfeeding women or make them feel bad for needing facilities or time to pump. There is also not enough support for babies at work programs, which allow women to bring small babies to work with them if they choose. Without the right support, women often find themselves trying to pump enough milk sitting on a toilet without frequent enough breaks to maintain milk supply.



Milk banks not a priority: As I explained in my post on blood, milk and profits, there is an entire industry and infrastructure set up to collect, screen, and distribute blood to those that need it. But milk banks are not a priority. There are too few of them and the ones that exist appear to be in it more for the profits than for ensuring every baby has access to breast milk. Making milk banks a bigger priority would allow women with excess milk to provide it to those that need it, thereby reducing the dependency on formula.



Attitudes and imagery: People will breastfeed if they see others breastfeeding. Peer pressure, feeling normal, having role models. Call it what you like, it is what it is. If the predominant image in public, in magazines, in movies, on television, is bottle feeding, then people will see that as normal. If it is not, then fewer people will breastfeed and those that do will be ostracized and discriminated against by the anti-nursing-in-public brigade. This is one of the reasons I think it is so important to breastfeed in public. This is why I think we need at least as many breastfeeding dolls as bottle feeding dolls.



We need to keep providing medical, technical and moral support to women who are struggling with breastfeeding. That will always be a requirement. But to truly facilitate breastfeeding, we need to break down these barriers so that all families and all babies can benefit from the health benefits of breastfeeding and the economic benefits of breastfeeding.


Which of these barriers have you faced? Did it prevent you from breastfeeding for as long as you wanted to? Are there other societal barriers that I missed?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Perils of Home Birth? - Carri's Thoughts

Posted by Carri

On Friday there was a segment on The Today Show titled "The Perils of Home Birth." Frankly the title already tells you what kind of piece this was. Though they tried to make it somewhat balanced by showcasing a bad outcome of a home birth and then also a short part about a couple that had a good outcome from a home birth, I felt that the whole piece was very crafty and I'm certain was effective in deterring many women away from home birth that may have chosen it otherwise. There is nothing more effective than showing pregnant women that their babies could die if they choose something out of the "norm." That was the point. The Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology has a publicist with the agenda to steer women away from alternatives in childbirth, and this was a prime example of their smear campaign against midwifery.

I thought it was interesting that it was two men discussing this subject and casually saying things like giving birth at home is "hedonistic" and like a "spa treatment." Both comments are very untrue and frankly offensive. I have given birth both in the hospital and at home, and neither were "spa like" - I'm not sure how two men get away with thinking that?! All in all, I feel this is a huge issue for women today. For some reason people are all about "choice" when it comes to abortion - even partial birth abortion, but if women want to make choices they feel are best for them and their babies they are hedonistic and jeopardizing the life of their baby. This is very controversial and I beleive is profit driven. Birth is one of the leading profitable businesses for a hospital and they would suffer huge losses if there was a large shift away from the hospital birth.

They also mention in the piece that many women have a home birth for the "experience." Duh! This is where the main disagreement lies; they are approaching birth as a medical emergency, and midwives and other natural birth supporters view it as a natural part of life that can occasionally have medical emergencies. Birth is more than pushing a baby out. Birth is about welcoming your child into the world and digging deep within your soul to grow as a woman and become a mother. There is a lot of evidence that shows that women who give birth naturally bond better with their babies and adapt to their role as mother much more strongly than those that have epidurals or cesareans. No mother should have to suffer the loss of a child, but depriving women of the choice of where and how they want to bring their babies into the world is also a travesty.

Do I think all babies should be born at home? No. I believe there is a place for both and am thankful that we have both. However, I do not agree that it is OK for ACOG to head a smear campaign against midwives and home births for their own profit driven agenda. Women should have choices, and that most definitley includes where and how to birth thier babies.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Perils of Midwifery/Home Births?

As seen on the Today Show

The Non-Perils of Midwifery

Blog post from the ACNM website on September 11, 2009

Earlier, the Today Show aired a sad, unfortunate piece called “Perils of Midwifery.” (They later updated the Web segment title to "Perils of Home Births.") Not only does it follow the heart-breaking account of a birth gone horribly wrong; it exploits the couple’s tragedy—turning it into a sensationalized story that scares women and grossly misrepresents midwifery.

The safety of midwife-attended births is well documented in a substantive and ongoing body of research. If ACNM, the professional organization for certified midwives and certified nurse-midwives, had been consulted during the development of this piece, the Today Show’s journalists would have known about these top 5 fact-based resources from the past year:

1. Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve says that midwives top the list of “underused interventions” that should be used “whenever possible and appropriate.” Several systematic reviews showing improved outcomes associated with midwifery-led care are cited.

2. A Cochrane Review concluded that “most women should be offered midwife-led models of care.”

3. A study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that planned homebirth is as safe as hospital birth for women with low-risk pregnancies.

4. Just last week, Canadian researchers declared that “Planned home birth attended by a registered midwife was associated with very low and comparable rates of perinatal death…and other adverse perinatal outcomes compared with planned hospital birth....”

5. Authors of an ACOG Obstetrics & Gynecology article say they encourage midwifery care and “support future randomized trials to compare” home vs. hospital births.

Women and health care professionals need to be making decisions that are informed by evidence-based medicine—not reactionary interventions and unbalanced investigative journalism. Women deserve better.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The End of the 4th Trimester!

So I warned you that you may not hear from me for a while! It has been a wild three months since Miss Emery was born, and I am just now getting back on track. I have always told my doula clients and friends that the first three months after the baby is born is the "4th trimester" and it really really is! The first three months are all about adjustment. There is breastfeeding, lack of sleep, tummy troubles, always wanting to be held (only by mommy) and naughty siblings that take advantage of your inability to be consistent and fully present. I think all of these "symptoms" are comparable to insomnia, nausea, back aches, constipation, and heartburn. But now Miss Emery is 3 months old today and we all feel like we have turned the corner - hooray! Now don't get me wrong, it is still a major challenge parenting 4 children, but there are many things that are getting so much better. She sleeps really well at night, she will finally let her daddy hold her for a bit so I can eat dinner with BOTH hands (and allow me to type this blog), she will play with her toys while I dress her brothers, and overall she is just turning into a cheerful adorable fun little girl. Happy 3 month birthday Emery!

Friday, September 4, 2009

The Golden Bow

Why do we use The Golden Bow as the symbol for breastfeeding protection, promotion and support?


It's Meaning and Purpose:


Many social change efforts have used ribbons and pins to create a sense of belonging to a social movement. While The Golden Bow serves this purpose, but it is unique in that it is not simply a symbol for social change, but carries many meanings within its own design. The Golden Bow is, in and of itself, a lesson in the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.

Gold: The use of the gold colour for the bow symbolises that breastfeeding is the gold standard for infant feeding, against which any other alternative should be compared and judged.


A Bow: Why do we use a bow, rather than the looped ribbon of most campaigns? Each part of the bow carries a special message:



One loop represents the mother.






The other loop represents the child.





The ribbon is symmetrical, telling us the mother and child are both vital to successful breastfeeding - neither is to the left nor to the right, signifying neither is precedent, both are needed.



The knot is the father, the family and the society. Without the knot, there would be no bow; without the support, breastfeeding cannot succeed. The ribbons are the future: the exclusive breastfeeding for six months,a nd continued breastfeeding for 2 years or more with appropriate complmentary feeding, and the delay of the next birth, preferably for 3 years or more, to give the mother and child time together to recover and to grow, respectively, and to five the mother the time she needs to provide active care for the health, growth and development of this child.


Origins: While we have not been able to identify the origins of this symbolism, it has been in scattered use for about 8-10 years.

Much has been written about breastfeeding as "the gold standard" for infant feeding (http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/ will soon carry an article first published in 1995 on this issue).

The Future: UNICEF is proud to launch this symbol and educational campaign on the 12th anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration. Please wear it proudly, and tell everyone who asks of its many meanings.

SIDS & Enfamil "RestFull" Formula ~ Yes, the connection exists

Posted on the Peacful Parenting Blog
on August 27, 2009
Written by Danelle Frisbie

I recently posted a brief blurb on Enfamil's new "RestFull" formula ~ designed and marketed to "keep babies full" and "help them sleep longer." The vast majority of responses I have received have been from other concerned parents and those dumbstruck at this marketing tactic - not to mention slightly afraid at what we are going to see uninformed parents do with this 'thick' formula that 'expands' in babies' bellies.

I have also received a couple (2 to be exact) responses from people who state there is no possible way that a link can exist between formula, sleep/night-waking, and SIDS and that such statements are outlandish. However, ample amounts of research conducted the world-over, for several decades now, show time and again that not only is there a link between these factors, there is also strong causality that exists. And so, I will re-hash a couple items here and provide sources for those wishing to dig a little deeper into the data we have.
For starters...

Babies who wake more frequently, and sleep lightly (i.e. are easily woken - or what some people call 'bad sleepers') are at a significantly lower risk for SIDS.

Babies who wake less frequently, and sleep more deeply (sometimes called 'good sleepers') are at a significantly higher risk for SIDS.

This is one reason that a formula which artificially 'fills' the stomach with chemicals and grains and goop, designed to expand internally and trick a baby's brain into thinking s/he is full, induces deeper/longer sleep, and in turn, may lead to an observable increase in SIDS cases.

To read the whole post click here.....

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Obstetrics Model vs Midwifery Model

Doctor's Voices - Stuart Fischbein, MD

Home birth with midwife as safe as hospital birth

Updated Mon. Aug. 31 2009 12:51 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

Giving birth at home with a midwife present is as safe as a hospital delivery accompanied by a doctor, suggests a new Canadian study, which found home births were associated with fewer adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed nearly 2,900 planned home births in British Columbia that were attended by regulated midwives, more than 4,700 planned hospital births attended by the same midwives and more than 5,300 hospital births attended by physicians.

The research found that women who had a planned home birth had a lower risk of having to undergo obstetric interventions such as electronic fetal monitoring, epidural, assisted vaginal delivery and caesarean section, and adverse outcomes such as hemorrhage and infection.
The babies born at home were also less likely to suffer birth trauma, require resuscitation at birth and less likely to have meconium aspiration, where they inhale a mixture of their feces and amniotic fluid.

The perinatal death rate per 1,000 births was also low across all three groups.
"The decision to plan a birth attended by a registered midwife at home versus in hospital was associated with very low and comparable rates of perinatal death," the authors said. "Women who planned a home birth were at reduced risk of all obstetric interventions assessed and were at similar or reduced risk of adverse maternal outcomes compared with women who planned to give birth in hospital accompanied by a midwife or physician."

The findings add to the ongoing debate about the safety of home births. According to the study, research from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand has not found a link between planned home births and an increased risk of complications.
However, the Canadian researchers say these studies are limited by problems such as incomplete data, non-representative sampling and the inclusion of unplanned home births.
A number of professional medical bodies, including the American, Australian and New Zealand Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists oppose home births, while the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists in the U.K. supports home birth.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada has recommended research into the safety of every birth setting, as is the case with this study.

The researchers say this study does not explain why home birth is linked to fewer complications -- for example, if environmental factors in the home reduce the risks.

The researchers also "do not underestimate the degree of self-selection that takes place in a population of women choosing home birth," which they speculate may be an important component for risk management.

But the findings will help other researchers who study the safety of home births.
"Our population rate of less than 1 perinatal death per 1,000 births may serve as a benchmark to other jurisdictions as they evaluate their home birth programs," the authors conclude.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

C-Section Rates at Denver Area Hospitals

Found on the Doula Baby website

"The World Health Organization recommends that the caesarean section rate should not be higher than 10% to 15%"

The following information (in no paticular order) was taken from a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance website from data collected in 2007. Keep in mind that rates vary among practitioners, but are somewhat telling of a hosital's support of normal birth. Contact your health care provider or your birthing place for more specific, up-to-date statistics.

HOSPITAL C-SECTION VBAC EPISIOTOMY
RATE RATE RATE

Rose 31% 8% 8%
St. Joeseph 22% 21% 4%
Mountain Midwifery 6% n/a n/a
Free-Standing Birth Center
Sky Ridge 27% 12% 14%
Denver Health 17% 34% 1%
Swedish 26% 11% 13%
Presbyterian Saint Lukes 31% 22% 4%
Littleton 24% 6% 13%
St. Anthony 18% 20% 2%
Lutheran 23% 9% 6%
Boulder Community 23% 12% 3%
Parker 31% 10% 15%
North Suburban 20% 11% 8%

World Health Organization

New Guidelines for Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Written for the March of Dimes website

New Guidelines for Weight Gain During Pregnancy

If you're an expecting mom or know a woman who is, we have important information for you. The Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recently released a report with new recommendations for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy, including how much weight she should gain week by week.

It is important for women to get to a healthy weight BEFORE getting pregnant. That's because women who are overweight or obese before pregnancy face greater health risks to themselves and their babies during pregnancy. For women who are overweight or obese and ALREADY pregnant, the report recommends that they work with their providers to carefully monitor their weight gain so that both mom and baby have a greater chance of staying healthy.


Curious about the pregnancy weight gain recommendations? Check it out.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Pre-Pregnancy - Tricks

Written by Tink
Friend of BINSI

I don't really know how to relax yet it's impossible to just say 'I'm over this baby-thing' because true be told, I want a baby more than anything right now. Somehow I thought I could trick myself into thinking I don't care so it'll just happen like they say it should. Who knows. What I do know is that I'm over myself being any kind of upset or feeling sorry for myself. I can cry (which I have), pout (which I have), listen to sad music (um, yes, me) all I want but it won't change anything. (Get over yourself, Tink!) I must remain positive and continue to live strong. It will happen. A sperm analysis of 54% motility, a high/normal count, and 7% morphology actually isn't that bad. Gotta get those normal-headed sperm moving! Go man go! J is hopped up on Vitamin C. DJ Baby Z will come to the party when it can.

Some Women Giving HypnoBirthing a Try

Some Women Giving HypnoBirthing a Try
Written by DEENA CENTOFANTI
For FOX 2 News
Published Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 6:06 PM EDT



For many women, pregnancy and childbirth can be a struggle. While conventional medicine can offer hope through infertility treatments, some women are using alternative methods to get pregnant and deliver their babies.

Some local mothers are saying forget the drugs. Instead, take the pain and fear out of giving birth with hypnosis. This is what Tasha Schurgin believes helped her through 36 hours of labor. It's called HypnoBirthing, a type of hypnosis that teaches pregnant women how to get past the pain.

"It just gave me the confidence to go through the process without using any drugs or anything. I just wanted a natural, healthy pregnancy and delivery," said Schurgin.

"When you're looking at natural childbirth, it's just so much better for mom and baby, and if you have a calm and relaxed mother throughout the entire pregnancy, you are actually growing a calm and relaxed baby," said hypnotherapist Pauline Rzepecki.

Rzepecki teaches moms to be to follow the natural instinct that comes with childbirth. Using deep relaxation, visualization and self hypnosis, she says she takes the fear out of labor.
Juanelle Degiulio tried fertility treatments for years, but believes it's hypnotherapy that helped her get pregnant.

"I went through, I think it was four, four accelerated sessions with Pauline, and then here we are with twins and we're very excited," Degiulio said.

"But switching the affirmations that they may be saying to themselves, 'I'll never get pregnant', to 'I do have a fertile body'," Rzepecki said.

There's no scientific proof that hypnotherapy treats infertility, but Beaumont fertility specialist Dr. William Keye says it can't hurt.

"Hypnosis can change body chemistry, body's hormones, the body's immune response, so it wouldn't be surprising that in some situations that hypnosis could be of some value," Keye said.
Schurgin says she looks at her baby girl and needs no other proof to know that HypnoBirthing does work. "It was definitely a long process, but it was well worth it," she said.

To learn more about HypnoBirthing, visit http://www.hypnobirthing.com/.