Trying to Take Back Childbirth

A Note From Carri:

It is very scary that fewer and fewer doctors are getting training and experience in natural childbirth. It only widens the gap between natural and medical childbirth, and I think is a huge disservice to women. I live in a very open and natural birthing community, but I know that is not true everywhere. I had to seek medical care for my daughter in upstate New York and I thought the doctor was going to call child services because I gave birth to my daughter at home and was not on schedule for all of my vaccinations. I couldn't wait to get home and near the doctors that I trust, and allow me (without condemnation) to do what I believe is best for myself and my children. I am inspired whenever I hear of women going outside the box and birthing the way that is best for them. It takes incredible amounts of power and confidence, and you ladies pave the way for many more women in the future!

By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
July 28, 2008

Pregnant with her first child, Julie Speier prepared to deliver with the help of a midwife at a New York City birthing center. But in June -- three weeks before the due date and 600 miles from home -- her water broke.

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Mothers and babies can instantly synchronize their hearts just by smiling at each other

Mothers and their babies are often said to share a deep, intimate connection...but even so, this new discovery is weird. Simply by looking and smiling at each other, moms and babies synchronize their heartbeats to within milliseconds of each other.

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What babies learn before they're born

Editor's note: Annie Murphy Paul is the author of "Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives." She's now working on a book about learning, and writes a weekly column at Time.com called "Brilliant: The Science of Smart." TED is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Ideas worth spreading," which it distributes through talks posted on its website.

(CNN) -- When does learning begin? As I explain in the talk I gave at TED, learning starts much earlier than many of us would have imagined: in the womb.

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Delay cord clamping to 'prevent newborn health problems'

Maternal and newborn health researchers have recommended delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord after birth.

A study conducted by Swedish researchers and published on BMJ.com found waiting at least three minutes before undertaking the procedure can protect kids against iron deficiency during infancy.

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Dr. Sears Addresses Recent Co-Sleeping Concerns

Every night millions of mothers and babies the world over sleep close to each other, and the babies wake up just fine. Instead of alarming conscientious parents, like the recent shocking and insensitive ad campaign in Milwaukee did, as reported in the Journal Sentinel, sleep advisors should be teaching parents how to co-sleep safely.

Since I’m a show-me-the-science doctor, consider the following:

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Pre-Eclampsia Linked With Low Vitamin D During Pregnancy

Vitamin D deficiency early in pregnancy is associated with a five-fold increased risk of preeclampsia, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

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Changing Lives at Birth

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Breastfeeding tied to lower blood pressure risk-study

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Mothers who breastfeed for the recommended period of time, at least six months exclusively, may have a somewhat lower risk of developing high blood pressure later on, a U.S. study of more than 50,000 women said.

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Caesarean link to respiratory infections in babies

3/11/2011-
A new study from Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has found that babies born by elective caesarean are more likely to be admitted to hospital with the serious respiratory infection, bronchiolitis, in the first year of life.

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First Foods: Why White Rice Cereal Is Bad for Your Baby

White rice cereal is one of the most commonly recommended first foods for infants. It is easy to make, easy for infants to eat, and easy to sell to parents since it is fortified with important vitamins and minerals like iron.

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Cesarean vs. VBAC: A Dramatic Difference

Cesarean vs. VBAC: A Dramatic Difference from Alexandra Orchard on Vimeo.

Cord around the neck – what parents & practitioners should know

This article shares information about the common practice of checking for a nuchal cord during the second stage of labour, and unlooping or cutting the cord – interventions that are not evidence-based and can cause birth trauma.

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Meconium in the amniotic fluid

Posted on May 22, 2009 by gloria

It’s estimated that about 10% of full term babies pass their first bowel movement while still in the womb. It can be a sign of distress or it can be a perfectly normal, physiological event. When a midwife sees meconium in the amniotic fluid, she usually increases her surveillance of the fetal heart rate. The meconium can be well mixed with the amniotic fluid giving the appearance of pea soup or brown gravy. If just meconium is pouring out like oil, the midwife will realize that the baby is presenting bum first (breech).

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S.Africa to stop free infant formula at hospitals: minister

(AFP) – Aug 23, 2011

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa will no longer distribute free infant milk to public hospitals and clinics in an effort to promote exclusive breastfeeding and lower child mortality, the health minister said Tuesday.

"South Africa is one of only 12 countries in the world where infant mortality has been on the increase and as government we have committed ourselves to changing this unacceptable situation..., said Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

"Hence reducing child mortality is one of the most important priorities in our country and central to this is breastfeeding as a child survival strategy."

He was speaking at a breastfeeding summit where delegates recommended that infant formula milk should be distributed only if an authorised health practioner gave permission to mothers who, for medical reasons, could not breastfeed.

"It is undeniable that breastfeeding is the very best way to nourish babies - there is, literally, no substitute for it," he said adding that even HIV-positive mothers were encouraged to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months.

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Flu Vaccine Causes Inflammatory Response in Pregnant Women – Vaccine Journal

Posted on October 2, 2011 by The Refusers

MB Comment: A new study shows an increase in inflammatory response among pregnant women who receive flu vaccine. This inflammatory response increases the risk of preeclampsia and preterm birth. Preeclampsia is a life-threatening condition characterized by a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure and death of the mother and/or baby.

The CDC recommends flu vaccination for pregnant women. Most doctors will unquestioningly follow that CDC dictate. This new study is a stark warning to pregnant women about the safety of CDC-recommended vaccines. Health authorities apparently don’t mind killing you or your baby when they conduct a successful universal vaccination program. Their experts would claim it is a coincidence and state unequivocally that the benefits outweigh the risks.

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Inflammatory responses to trivalent influenza virus vaccine among pregnant women.
Vaccine Journal September 2011

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

In the U.S., seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination (TIV) is currently universally recommended for all pregnant women. However, data on the maternal inflammatory response to vaccination is lacking and would better delineate the safety and clinical utility of immunization. In addition, for research purposes, vaccination has been used as a mild immune trigger to examine in vivo inflammatory responses in nonpregnant adults. The utility of such a model in pregnancy is unknown. Given the clinical and empirical justifications, the current study examined the magnitude, time course, and variance in inflammatory responses following seasonal influenza virus vaccination among pregnant women.

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Woman gives birth 7 hours after finishing marathon

By Rita Rubin

Amber Miller sounds almost apologetic when she says yes, she did have an epidural when she delivered daughter June at 10:29 p.m. Sunday. She just didn’t think she had the strength to go without an epidural. Not surprising, considering she had completed the Bank of America Chicago Marathon seven hours earlier.

Really, that last sentence should have a row of exclamation points after it.

In a phone interview from her hospital room, Miller says she wasn’t sure until the last minute whether she was going to run the marathon, her eighth. Not because she didn’t think she could do it, but because it fell eight days before her due date.

“I kind of was thinking it was likely I was going to have her before the race,” says Miller, 27, a stay-at-home mom who lives in the Chicago suburb of Westchester, Ill. After all, son Caleb, now 19 months, was born 18 days before his due date.

But “the night before, I’m still pregnant, I’m still feeling good. I figured I paid for it.”

So what the heck, she thought, not planning on actually completing the whole 26.2 miles. “I thought it’s likely that the last few miles I’m going to get really, really tired.”

On her doctor’s advice, she conserved her energy by alternating between running and walking every two miles. “Pregnancy-wise, I felt fine. The baby was still moving. I was drinking a lot, eating a lot.”

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Doula support more effective in improving obstetric outcomes – latest review

In February 2011, the new Cochrane Review of Continuous support for women during childbirth was published.

The study includes 21 randomized controlled trials with 15,060 women with doulas and hospital staff (including 4 newly added trials that compared trained support people from the woman’s own social network (partner, family friends)).

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Five Things You Should Ask Before Hiring a Doula

By Rae Crawford, Certified Labor Doula

So you have decided you need a doula! What now? First things first, interviews! Each doula has different skills and services that they offer. One may offer a pre labor massage while the next may know how to use hypnobirthing. It is important that the doula you hire supports what you desire to have in your birth.

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My VBAC Success Story I ignored my doctor to have the birth I wanted

By Jana Llewellyn | September 27, 2011

I ignored my doctor to have the birth I wanted

When I was pregnant with my son in 2007, I read articles, listened to radio broadcasts, and watched TV shows that all reported the alarming rate of C-sections. Since my pregnancy had been without complications up to that point, I assumed this wasn’t something I had to worry about. I was more interested in the increasing popularity of natural birth.

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