Posts
Found on the Midwifery Today website
Written by Lydi Owen
© 2008 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved.
[Editor's note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today Issue 86, Summer 2008.]
There is a rule of labor that forbids a woman to push with contractions until her cervix is completely dilated to 10 cm. Women are warned that to push before this doorway is completely open and out of the way will result in a swollen and/or torn cervix.
What will supposedly happen if the cervix swells?Doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas and childbirth educators all warn that a swollen cervix will impede labor and increase the chances of tearing the cervix, thus causing hemorrhage. They have been taught that a swollen cervix is easily broken or pulverized. If this is indeed the truth, then why do most women during labor have an irresistible urge to begin bearing down before dilation is complete?
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stress Hormone In Womb Predicts Poorer Cognitive Development, But Loving Care Can "Undo" It
Found on the Medical News Today website
Published February 26, 2010
A mother's nurture may provide powerful protection against risks her baby faces in the womb, according to a new article published online today in the journal Biological Psychiatry. The research shows that fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone - shown to be a harbinger for babies' poor cognitive development - can escape this fate if their mothers provide them sensitive care during infancy and toddler-hood.
The new study represents the first, direct human evidence that fetuses exposed to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol may have trouble paying attention or solving problems later on. But what may be more intriguing is the study's second finding - that this negative link disappears almost entirely if the mother forges a secure connection with her baby.
"Our results shape the argument that fetal exposure to cortisol - which may in part be controlled by the mother's stress level - and early caregiving experience combine to influence a child's neurodevelopment," said study author Thomas O'Connor, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and director of the Wynne Center for Family Research. "If future studies confirm these findings, we'll need to not only engineer ways to reduce stress in pregnancy, but we'll need to also promote sensitive caregiving by moms and dads."
A Mother's Love
For the study, researchers recruited 125 women at an amniocentesis clinic in an urban maternity hospital, taking a sample of their amniotic fluid so that stress hormones in it could be measured. The mothers were at 17 weeks gestation on average; only mothers with normal, healthy pregnancies and subsequent deliveries were followed.
When their children reached 17 months of age, researchers administered a Bayley infant developmental scale test, which relies on puzzles, pretend play, and baby "memory" challenges to gauge youngsters' cognitive development. They also observed the baby and mother using the Ainsworth "Strange Situation" test, which judges childrearing quality, categorizing mom-baby pairs as either showing secure or insecure attachment to each other (to watch a YouTube video of a sample of this sort of test in action, click here).
With cortisol levels, relationship quality results, and cognition scores in hand, researchers analyzed how the first two measures might influence the third. Indeed, for children showing "insecure attachment" to their mothers, a high prenatal cortisol level was linked with shorter attention spans and weaker language and problem-solving skills. But interestingly, for kids who enjoyed secure relationships with their moms, any negative link between high prenatal cortisol exposure and kids' cognitive development was eliminated.
"This is such refreshing news for mothers," O'Connor said. "Pregnancy is an emotional experience for many women, and there is already so much for mothers to be careful of and concerned about. It's a relief to learn that, by being good parents, they might 'buffer' their babies against potential setbacks."
Study Spawns Future Questions
O'Connor goes on to note a couple important nuances of the study. The first is that the amniotic (in-utero) cortisol studied could result from two sources, and it's hard to pinpoint which. It might, for instance, be passed along the placenta from an anxious mother to her unborn baby - or it could be created and excreted directly by a stressed fetus itself.
"While many large-scale studies have observed that prenatal stress may influence child development, our particular study sheds some light on the 'how'," O'Connor said. "Still, much more research is needed to better pinpoint the exact mechanisms behind a mother 'transferring' her stress to her unborn baby."
This study plays into the much larger theory of "fetal programming," which suggests that events in the womb may prime the developing child for long-term health and developmental outcomes. Past studies, for instance, have found a pregnant mother's diet can sway a child's long-term risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Along with diet, prenatal stress has emerged as another large-looming factor in such programming.
"Our results support this emerging theory," said London-based study co-author, Vivette Glover, Ph.D. "In neurology, the idea emerging is that unborn children sense their mothers' stress hormone levels, programming them for greater watchfulness. We're trying to determine whether or not that sensitivity comes with greater anxiety during childhood, and if so, what we can do about it."
The team's next study will revisit these same children when they turn 6; at that point, researchers hope to give the group a battery of more definitive tests to see how the interplay between in-utero cortisol levels and sensitive parenting pans out in the long-term. Those tests would include imaging studies of the children's brains, looking to see if the higher cortisol levels may be linked to anatomical changes.
O'Connor partnered for the study with Pampa Sarker, M.D., an honorary research fellow, Vivette A. Glover, professor of Perinatal Psychobiology and Karin Bergman, Ph.D., all at the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at Imperial College in London. The study was supported by grants from the March of Dimes and the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Source: Becky Jones
University of Rochester Medical Center
Published February 26, 2010
A mother's nurture may provide powerful protection against risks her baby faces in the womb, according to a new article published online today in the journal Biological Psychiatry. The research shows that fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone - shown to be a harbinger for babies' poor cognitive development - can escape this fate if their mothers provide them sensitive care during infancy and toddler-hood.
The new study represents the first, direct human evidence that fetuses exposed to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol may have trouble paying attention or solving problems later on. But what may be more intriguing is the study's second finding - that this negative link disappears almost entirely if the mother forges a secure connection with her baby.
"Our results shape the argument that fetal exposure to cortisol - which may in part be controlled by the mother's stress level - and early caregiving experience combine to influence a child's neurodevelopment," said study author Thomas O'Connor, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and director of the Wynne Center for Family Research. "If future studies confirm these findings, we'll need to not only engineer ways to reduce stress in pregnancy, but we'll need to also promote sensitive caregiving by moms and dads."
A Mother's Love
For the study, researchers recruited 125 women at an amniocentesis clinic in an urban maternity hospital, taking a sample of their amniotic fluid so that stress hormones in it could be measured. The mothers were at 17 weeks gestation on average; only mothers with normal, healthy pregnancies and subsequent deliveries were followed.
When their children reached 17 months of age, researchers administered a Bayley infant developmental scale test, which relies on puzzles, pretend play, and baby "memory" challenges to gauge youngsters' cognitive development. They also observed the baby and mother using the Ainsworth "Strange Situation" test, which judges childrearing quality, categorizing mom-baby pairs as either showing secure or insecure attachment to each other (to watch a YouTube video of a sample of this sort of test in action, click here).
With cortisol levels, relationship quality results, and cognition scores in hand, researchers analyzed how the first two measures might influence the third. Indeed, for children showing "insecure attachment" to their mothers, a high prenatal cortisol level was linked with shorter attention spans and weaker language and problem-solving skills. But interestingly, for kids who enjoyed secure relationships with their moms, any negative link between high prenatal cortisol exposure and kids' cognitive development was eliminated.
"This is such refreshing news for mothers," O'Connor said. "Pregnancy is an emotional experience for many women, and there is already so much for mothers to be careful of and concerned about. It's a relief to learn that, by being good parents, they might 'buffer' their babies against potential setbacks."
Study Spawns Future Questions
O'Connor goes on to note a couple important nuances of the study. The first is that the amniotic (in-utero) cortisol studied could result from two sources, and it's hard to pinpoint which. It might, for instance, be passed along the placenta from an anxious mother to her unborn baby - or it could be created and excreted directly by a stressed fetus itself.
"While many large-scale studies have observed that prenatal stress may influence child development, our particular study sheds some light on the 'how'," O'Connor said. "Still, much more research is needed to better pinpoint the exact mechanisms behind a mother 'transferring' her stress to her unborn baby."
This study plays into the much larger theory of "fetal programming," which suggests that events in the womb may prime the developing child for long-term health and developmental outcomes. Past studies, for instance, have found a pregnant mother's diet can sway a child's long-term risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Along with diet, prenatal stress has emerged as another large-looming factor in such programming.
"Our results support this emerging theory," said London-based study co-author, Vivette Glover, Ph.D. "In neurology, the idea emerging is that unborn children sense their mothers' stress hormone levels, programming them for greater watchfulness. We're trying to determine whether or not that sensitivity comes with greater anxiety during childhood, and if so, what we can do about it."
The team's next study will revisit these same children when they turn 6; at that point, researchers hope to give the group a battery of more definitive tests to see how the interplay between in-utero cortisol levels and sensitive parenting pans out in the long-term. Those tests would include imaging studies of the children's brains, looking to see if the higher cortisol levels may be linked to anatomical changes.
O'Connor partnered for the study with Pampa Sarker, M.D., an honorary research fellow, Vivette A. Glover, professor of Perinatal Psychobiology and Karin Bergman, Ph.D., all at the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at Imperial College in London. The study was supported by grants from the March of Dimes and the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Source: Becky Jones
University of Rochester Medical Center
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
CDC Study Says Home Births on the Rise in U.S.
Found on the abc News/Health website
Written By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
Published March 3, 2010
After having her first child in a hospital, Lorra Jacobs decided it was an experience she did not care to repeat.
She had two more children, and she chose to have both of them at home.
"When I had my first child in the hospital, I was young and I didn't know of any alternatives. It wasn't a real positive experience," said Jacobs, who now works as the office manager at Mat-Su Midwifery in Wasilla, Alaska. "It was a stark, very impersonal feeling, treating me like I was sick and not pregnant."
Jacobs explained she believed she had more control over many aspects of the birth when it took place at home, including whether she got to be with the baby after delivery and having the siblings there at the birth.
"Doing a home birth, I felt like I had a say," said Jacobs. "This is not the hospital's baby. This is my baby."
New numbers released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that a very small but slightly growing number of women are making the same choice that Jacobs did. While less than 1 percent of all births in the United States take place outside the hospital, the number of those births taking place at home has increased by 3.5 percent between 2003-04 and 2005-06, according to the new report. The stats say there were 46,371 home births in 2003-04, and 49,438 home births in 2005-06.
"They're still not that common, but we did see some increase," said Marian MacDorman, a statistician at the CDC's Nation Center for Health Statistics and one of the study's authors.
The new numbers came after a period in which births outside the hospital, which can include births at a birthing center or in a doctor's office, as well as home births, had been decreasing since 1990.
Some of the breakdowns behind the new numbers suggest that the most recent trend might be a negative reaction to a hospital birth experience, since the majority of mothers choosing a home birth have had children before.
"The fact that it's primarily women who had kids before and had birth in hospitals before, certainly suggests it's a reaction to their prior birth," said Eugene Declercq, a professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, and a author of the study. "It certainly suggests it's an experience they don't want to repeat."
Finance Not A Likely Driving Force
Home births may cost only a quarter or a third of what a hospital birth costs -- $7,737 for a vaginal delivery, $10,958 for a C-section, according to a 2004 March of Dimes study -- but finances do not appear to be a prime reason for choosing home births.
The CDC's numbers appear to suggest that finances are not a driving force, since mothers who are older and better educated seem to choose home birth most often.
"I suspect that economic issues are not the main issues," Eileen Ehudin Beard, a nurse and senior practice adviser for the American College of Nurse-Midwives. "I suspect consumers are becoming more informed … and seeing home births are a safe alternative for healthy women with a qualified provider."
She said a likely cause of any increase is a desire to avoid the interventions hospitals perform, ranging from cesarean sections and epidurals to controlling when the mother is with the newborn.
"I think a lot of consumers are really scared by the high cesarean rate, and they're becoming aware that Caesarian is a major surgical procedure," said Beard.
She stressed that home birth is only a safe option for healthy mothers who are not expected to have complications.
A Dearth of Evidence About Safety of Home Births
Home birth remains a contentious issue.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has long opposed home births, citing a lack of data regarding their safety.
"Studies comparing the safety and outcome of U.S. births in the hospital with those occurring in other settings are limited and have not been scientifically rigorous," according to the organization's 2007 statement.
It goes on to say that, "Until the results of such studies are convincing, ACOG strongly opposes home births. Although ACOG acknowledges a woman's right to make informed decisions regarding her delivery, ACOG does not support programs or individuals that advocate for or who provide home births."
While the risk of neonatal death is low overall, it may be higher at home births and that is a problem, said Dr. William Barth, Jr., chair of ACOG's committee on obstetrics practice and chief of the division of maternal-fetal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
"It's one of those situations where overall the risk is low, but it is increased two to three-fold," he said. "Even though it's a rare outcome, it is a catastrophic outcome. It's preventable in that it is less likely in the hospital."
Explaining his stance, Barth cites a study presented by researchers from Maine Medical Center at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting in Chicago in early February. The study, a meta analysis of research from around the country comparing home births to hospital births, appeared to show a twofold increase in the rare event of neonatal death at a home births.
Declercq said one problem with relying on this study is the results may have been skewed because the researchers relied on the location the birth was planned for rather than where it actually took place.
While the gold standard of clinical research is the double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, it is impossible to blind a mother to whether she is giving birth at home or in a hospital, and most mothers are unwilling to be randomized to a home birth or hospital birth.
Studies of home versus hospital birth are typically the less reliable cohort study, where women who chose one option or the other but have otherwise similar characteristics are compared.
Barth said that an attempt to run a randomized controlled trial of home versus hospital births had to be canceled because only 11 mothers signed up.
Home birth advocates have cited several studies supporting the safety of home births among low-risk women. However, those studies have taken place in the Netherlands and Canada.
Barth said its unrealistic to apply the findings to the United States.
"Those are highly regulated, highly integrated systems. Their system is prearranged -- it's very different from the systems available in the United States," he said.
Agreeing with that notion, Declercq argued that it is the lack of such a setup that keeps safer
home births from being a bigger option in the United States.
"In the United States, people who want to have a home birth have to fight the system," he said, explaining that there is a lack of support for a midwife who decides a patient is too high-risk for a home birth and should be transferred to a hospital.
"I think if you actually move to a system like that, it would be fine in the United States, because the evidence from other countries suggests that it is as well," said Declercq.
Looking at the numbers, he said, adopting such a system probably wouldn't lead to widespread home births in the United States. It would not climb to 30 percent like the Netherlands, but would be closer to the rise to 3 percent seen in the United Kingdom.
But for now, he said, it is likely to remain a highly charged issue, with some advocates of home birth irrationally opposing the choice of a hospital while opponents cite risks of home birth while ignoring complications that can happen at a hospital.
"The mothers who are having these home births are not crazy, unaware people," said Declercq. "They plan carefully, they think about this all the time. They think they're better off not having the interventions that they feel will happen unnecessarily at hospitals."
Written By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
Published March 3, 2010
After having her first child in a hospital, Lorra Jacobs decided it was an experience she did not care to repeat.She had two more children, and she chose to have both of them at home.
"When I had my first child in the hospital, I was young and I didn't know of any alternatives. It wasn't a real positive experience," said Jacobs, who now works as the office manager at Mat-Su Midwifery in Wasilla, Alaska. "It was a stark, very impersonal feeling, treating me like I was sick and not pregnant."
Jacobs explained she believed she had more control over many aspects of the birth when it took place at home, including whether she got to be with the baby after delivery and having the siblings there at the birth.
"Doing a home birth, I felt like I had a say," said Jacobs. "This is not the hospital's baby. This is my baby."
New numbers released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that a very small but slightly growing number of women are making the same choice that Jacobs did. While less than 1 percent of all births in the United States take place outside the hospital, the number of those births taking place at home has increased by 3.5 percent between 2003-04 and 2005-06, according to the new report. The stats say there were 46,371 home births in 2003-04, and 49,438 home births in 2005-06.
"They're still not that common, but we did see some increase," said Marian MacDorman, a statistician at the CDC's Nation Center for Health Statistics and one of the study's authors.
The new numbers came after a period in which births outside the hospital, which can include births at a birthing center or in a doctor's office, as well as home births, had been decreasing since 1990.
Some of the breakdowns behind the new numbers suggest that the most recent trend might be a negative reaction to a hospital birth experience, since the majority of mothers choosing a home birth have had children before.
"The fact that it's primarily women who had kids before and had birth in hospitals before, certainly suggests it's a reaction to their prior birth," said Eugene Declercq, a professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, and a author of the study. "It certainly suggests it's an experience they don't want to repeat."
Finance Not A Likely Driving Force
Home births may cost only a quarter or a third of what a hospital birth costs -- $7,737 for a vaginal delivery, $10,958 for a C-section, according to a 2004 March of Dimes study -- but finances do not appear to be a prime reason for choosing home births.
The CDC's numbers appear to suggest that finances are not a driving force, since mothers who are older and better educated seem to choose home birth most often.
"I suspect that economic issues are not the main issues," Eileen Ehudin Beard, a nurse and senior practice adviser for the American College of Nurse-Midwives. "I suspect consumers are becoming more informed … and seeing home births are a safe alternative for healthy women with a qualified provider."
She said a likely cause of any increase is a desire to avoid the interventions hospitals perform, ranging from cesarean sections and epidurals to controlling when the mother is with the newborn.
"I think a lot of consumers are really scared by the high cesarean rate, and they're becoming aware that Caesarian is a major surgical procedure," said Beard.
She stressed that home birth is only a safe option for healthy mothers who are not expected to have complications.
A Dearth of Evidence About Safety of Home Births
Home birth remains a contentious issue.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has long opposed home births, citing a lack of data regarding their safety.
"Studies comparing the safety and outcome of U.S. births in the hospital with those occurring in other settings are limited and have not been scientifically rigorous," according to the organization's 2007 statement.
It goes on to say that, "Until the results of such studies are convincing, ACOG strongly opposes home births. Although ACOG acknowledges a woman's right to make informed decisions regarding her delivery, ACOG does not support programs or individuals that advocate for or who provide home births."
While the risk of neonatal death is low overall, it may be higher at home births and that is a problem, said Dr. William Barth, Jr., chair of ACOG's committee on obstetrics practice and chief of the division of maternal-fetal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
"It's one of those situations where overall the risk is low, but it is increased two to three-fold," he said. "Even though it's a rare outcome, it is a catastrophic outcome. It's preventable in that it is less likely in the hospital."
Explaining his stance, Barth cites a study presented by researchers from Maine Medical Center at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting in Chicago in early February. The study, a meta analysis of research from around the country comparing home births to hospital births, appeared to show a twofold increase in the rare event of neonatal death at a home births.
Declercq said one problem with relying on this study is the results may have been skewed because the researchers relied on the location the birth was planned for rather than where it actually took place.
While the gold standard of clinical research is the double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, it is impossible to blind a mother to whether she is giving birth at home or in a hospital, and most mothers are unwilling to be randomized to a home birth or hospital birth.
Studies of home versus hospital birth are typically the less reliable cohort study, where women who chose one option or the other but have otherwise similar characteristics are compared.
Barth said that an attempt to run a randomized controlled trial of home versus hospital births had to be canceled because only 11 mothers signed up.
Home birth advocates have cited several studies supporting the safety of home births among low-risk women. However, those studies have taken place in the Netherlands and Canada.
Barth said its unrealistic to apply the findings to the United States.
"Those are highly regulated, highly integrated systems. Their system is prearranged -- it's very different from the systems available in the United States," he said.
Agreeing with that notion, Declercq argued that it is the lack of such a setup that keeps safer
home births from being a bigger option in the United States.
"In the United States, people who want to have a home birth have to fight the system," he said, explaining that there is a lack of support for a midwife who decides a patient is too high-risk for a home birth and should be transferred to a hospital.
"I think if you actually move to a system like that, it would be fine in the United States, because the evidence from other countries suggests that it is as well," said Declercq.
Looking at the numbers, he said, adopting such a system probably wouldn't lead to widespread home births in the United States. It would not climb to 30 percent like the Netherlands, but would be closer to the rise to 3 percent seen in the United Kingdom.
But for now, he said, it is likely to remain a highly charged issue, with some advocates of home birth irrationally opposing the choice of a hospital while opponents cite risks of home birth while ignoring complications that can happen at a hospital.
"The mothers who are having these home births are not crazy, unaware people," said Declercq. "They plan carefully, they think about this all the time. They think they're better off not having the interventions that they feel will happen unnecessarily at hospitals."
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Study: Acupuncture Helps Fight Depression during Pregnancy
Found on the Voice of America website
Published March 3, 2010
Researchers at Stanford University in California say acupuncture
can be an effective weapon against depression in pregnant women.
Depression can pose serious health risks to mother and baby, according to Rachel Manber, a Stanford University psychiatry professor. "Depression is associated with suffering, can be associated with suicide or wishing to not live." She adds that depression has been linked to babies who are more difficult to console.
Need for safe alternative treatment
Psychological counseling is commonly used to treat depression in pregnancy. But many women avoid taking antidepressants while they're pregnant because of safety concerns. That makes finding an alternative treatment important.
Acupuncture has been used to treat other medical conditions during pregnancy, like pain and nausea. It's also used to treat depression in other patients. Manber and her colleagues wanted to find out if the technique could be used to ease depression during pregnancy as well.
They recruited pregnant women who suffered from major depressive disorders for a study. "We then randomized them to receive eight weeks of treatment with one of three treatments. One of the treatments was the acupuncture that we have tested for depression." The two other groups, who received massage therapy and acupuncture treatments not known to ease depression, were used as controls.
Modern success for an ancient practice
After eight weeks, the women were tested to see if their symptoms of depression remained. "What we found is that women who received the acupuncture for depression had a greater reduction in symptom severity and a greater proportion of women have responded to treatment than the control groups," Manber says.
Researchers found acupuncture to be about as effective as the current treatment approaches, counseling and drugs. "We that found 63 percent of the women who received the acupuncture for depression ended up responding to treatment, which is really at the high end of response rates for treatment for depression in outpatients."
Manber says the results must be independently replicated, and scientists need to better understand the mechanisms of how acupuncture therapy works.
This study is published in the March issue of "Obstetrics and Gynecology."
Published March 3, 2010
Researchers at Stanford University in California say acupuncture
can be an effective weapon against depression in pregnant women.Depression can pose serious health risks to mother and baby, according to Rachel Manber, a Stanford University psychiatry professor. "Depression is associated with suffering, can be associated with suicide or wishing to not live." She adds that depression has been linked to babies who are more difficult to console.
Need for safe alternative treatment
Psychological counseling is commonly used to treat depression in pregnancy. But many women avoid taking antidepressants while they're pregnant because of safety concerns. That makes finding an alternative treatment important.
Acupuncture has been used to treat other medical conditions during pregnancy, like pain and nausea. It's also used to treat depression in other patients. Manber and her colleagues wanted to find out if the technique could be used to ease depression during pregnancy as well.
They recruited pregnant women who suffered from major depressive disorders for a study. "We then randomized them to receive eight weeks of treatment with one of three treatments. One of the treatments was the acupuncture that we have tested for depression." The two other groups, who received massage therapy and acupuncture treatments not known to ease depression, were used as controls.
Modern success for an ancient practice
After eight weeks, the women were tested to see if their symptoms of depression remained. "What we found is that women who received the acupuncture for depression had a greater reduction in symptom severity and a greater proportion of women have responded to treatment than the control groups," Manber says.
Researchers found acupuncture to be about as effective as the current treatment approaches, counseling and drugs. "We that found 63 percent of the women who received the acupuncture for depression ended up responding to treatment, which is really at the high end of response rates for treatment for depression in outpatients."
Manber says the results must be independently replicated, and scientists need to better understand the mechanisms of how acupuncture therapy works.
This study is published in the March issue of "Obstetrics and Gynecology."
Monday, March 8, 2010
'World News' Wants Your Stories About Difficult or Tragic Pregnancies
Found on the abc World News with Diane Sawyer website
Published March 4, 2010
The statistic is both sad and shocking -- women die after childbirth at a greater rate in the U.S. than in 33 other countries, and the danger for mothers appears to be worsening. A new study in California found that the number of women who die after childbirth in the state has tripled in the past decade, from 5.6 deaths per 100,000 to nearly 17 deaths per 100,000.
Why are a growing number of American moms dying shortly after giving birth? Experts say that the rise in maternal mortality could be tied to obesity, the increasing popularity of C-sections and other factors. More importantly, they say, most of these tragic deaths are preventable when doctors and hospitals take precautions.
We want to hear your thoughts and experiences related to this story.
Are you a doctor or nurse who has dealt with this issue before and have a story to share? Have you or your family been touched by tragic childbirth complications? Did you have a close call with your own pregnancy? If so go to the World News website and fill out their form with your experiences. The "World News" producer may contact you for a future story.
Published March 4, 2010
The statistic is both sad and shocking -- women die after childbirth at a greater rate in the U.S. than in 33 other countries, and the danger for mothers appears to be worsening. A new study in California found that the number of women who die after childbirth in the state has tripled in the past decade, from 5.6 deaths per 100,000 to nearly 17 deaths per 100,000.
Why are a growing number of American moms dying shortly after giving birth? Experts say that the rise in maternal mortality could be tied to obesity, the increasing popularity of C-sections and other factors. More importantly, they say, most of these tragic deaths are preventable when doctors and hospitals take precautions.
We want to hear your thoughts and experiences related to this story.
Are you a doctor or nurse who has dealt with this issue before and have a story to share? Have you or your family been touched by tragic childbirth complications? Did you have a close call with your own pregnancy? If so go to the World News website and fill out their form with your experiences. The "World News" producer may contact you for a future story.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
No Bottles, Please! I’m a Breastfed Baby!
Hat helps remind hospital staff that you wish to breastfeed your newborn.I am a huge proponent of creating a birth plan and making your requests known. But let's face it, many of the things the hospital staff does is not because they want to disrespect your wishes, it is simply procedural for them (ok sometimes it feels different). I sometimes wonder how may birth plans actually are read, no matter how simple to try to make it.
A friend of mine posted this on facebook and I thought it was a great idea, because sometimes the staff could just use an extra reminder. No Bottles Please!
These cute hats are only $10 and can be purchased on this website (click here)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Prenatal Meditation at Solar Yoga
Creation Songs
Vibrational (sound) healing is the next wave in alternative health care. It is a non invasive, touch free, drug free, inexpensive and simple method of stimulating the body and mind from the inside out.
Vibrational healing is simple and effective. It should be considered first when addressing any issue from a common cold to a closed head injury or cancer. From a stressed out work environment to severe emotional trauma or addiction . It is an excellent adjunct to any other healing therapy.
Vision
To bring vibrational and sound healing into the light of alternative health care awareness.
Mission
To provide powerful and effective sound and vibrational healing through crystal singing bowls.
Every Saturday 1:00pm - 2:00pm
645 Tenacity Drive, Unit E, Longmont CO 80504
Walk in $15 - not included in yoga packages
Ideal for any trimester of pregnancy.
See http://www.creation-songs.com for more information.
Vibrational (sound) healing is the next wave in alternative health care. It is a non invasive, touch free, drug free, inexpensive and simple method of stimulating the body and mind from the inside out.
Vibrational healing is simple and effective. It should be considered first when addressing any issue from a common cold to a closed head injury or cancer. From a stressed out work environment to severe emotional trauma or addiction . It is an excellent adjunct to any other healing therapy.
Vision
To bring vibrational and sound healing into the light of alternative health care awareness.
Mission
To provide powerful and effective sound and vibrational healing through crystal singing bowls.
Every Saturday 1:00pm - 2:00pm
645 Tenacity Drive, Unit E, Longmont CO 80504
Walk in $15 - not included in yoga packages
Ideal for any trimester of pregnancy.
See http://www.creation-songs.com for more information.
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