Monday, October 31, 2011

Friday, October 28, 2011

Blind archaeologist uncovers ancient childbirth inscription


A legally blind archaeology student uncovered one of the oldest depictions of childbirth yet found, inscribed on a pottery sherd from an Etruscan temple site, perhaps 2,700 years old.

To read the rest of this article here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

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).

To read the rest of this article click here.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Monday, October 24, 2011

John Elliot’s Birth


Parents: Sara and Michael
Date of Birth: April 13, 2011
Baby Info: 9 lbs. 1 oz. | 20.8 inches
Birthplace: Home

Birth trauma. Just after the “emergency” cesarean with my first baby in 2008, if felt as though something had been stolen. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t understand all of my feelings so I just pushed them aside. I had a new baby to take care of, after all. She and I struggled to breastfeed, and struggled to bond in general. We had just moved to the UK for the Air Force and with no support and a husband working 16 hour shifts, I was miserable and suffering from PPD. I just knew I didn’t want more children. I couldn’t guarantee the outcome and I didn’t want another cesarean.

To read the rest of this lovely birth story click here.

Friday, October 21, 2011

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.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Skin to Skin Minutes After C/S in the OR… Speaking Up and Making it Happen


Submitted for the Healthy Birth Blog Carnival #6: MotherBaby Edition

Skin to Skin immediately after birth is an extremely important part of the continuum of the nurturing of pregnancy, the process of birth and the transition of nurturing from inside mom to outside mom. This is the natural habitat where baby should transition and begin his own regulations of breathing, heart rate, temperature etc… This is recognized by the AAP in their changes to the Neonatal Resuscitation Algorithm back in 2000. The recommendation was to keep baby with mom and provide all initial evaluations and steps with baby on moms chest for all healthy babies! We all know that babies have an inborn innate ability to self attach and nurse right after birth. These recommendations are not just for vaginal births. Kathy Petersen has a beautiful description of the importance of STS after a Cesarean birth on her Woman to Woman Childbirth Education blog in her 5/30/10 post Skin-to-Skin in the O.R. after a C-section.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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.

************************************************************************************************

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.

To read more click here.

Friday, October 14, 2011

25% Off EVERYTHING!!!

Today is my birthday, and I thought it would be the perfect day to extend a gift to you! For today only, use the code CarriBirthday and you will receive 25% off everything on our site. This code will expire at 12:01 AM October 15th.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

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.”

To read the rest of this article and watch the video click here.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

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)).

To read the rest of this article click here.

Monday, October 10, 2011

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.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Friday, October 7, 2011

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.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Canadian mother plans to live stream birth of her third child


Ottawa - A Canadian mother and professional birth coach has announced she is planning to live stream the birth of her third child on the Internet, in an effort to empower women and promote natural home childbirth.
Nancy Salgueiro, a 32-year-old mother of two, says "women and young girls used to be exposed to birth throughout their lives." This changed, she said, "when we took birth out of homes and moved it into the hospital we took away the generations of information handed down from one woman to the next."
Salgueiro is on a mission to remove the secrecy and mystery from childbirth and she will do so by broadcasting her third experience with motherhood online.
"I feel it's really important for people to see the difference because birth is not what you see on TV. It can be, but it doesn't have to be like that," she said.
The mother of two, who is a chiropractor, childbirth educator and natural health expert, has established a website, yourbirthcoach.com, where visitors can pre-register for access to the live-stream birth. CBC News reports over 800 people have already signed up for the big event.
Updates on her website give women an idea of what to expect during pregnancy. She hopes this will counter women's fears of childbirth.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Doulas: Support For Dads


July 18, 2011 by Rhythm of Life Consulting

Do you wonder how comfortable your husband will be with your doula? Good news: this week we brought back Micky Jones, an LLL Leader, doula, lactation trainer, conference speaker, IBCLC, Hypnobabies instructor, and author to guide you through her doula “cheat sheet” for Dads.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Monday, October 3, 2011

The Truth about Midwives.. Part I


Posted by The Skeptical Mother on September 26, 2011

There is a lot of misinformation out there about midwives. Generalizations about their character, why they choose midwifery and how much money they make, have all been misrepresented. I think we deserve to know the truth about midwives and all the different areas of concern. There's a lot of ground to cover and there is a lot I have to learn so I am beginning this post as Part I and will continue with Part II in time. I want to discuss where there is room for improvement as well as the best aspects of midwifery care. I am also interested in interviewing a CPM, so if anyone reading is interested, please let me know.
In this post I'd like to look into a misconception I've been seeing a lot lately.. the salary of the CPM.

To read the rest of this article click here.