Friday, November 20, 2009

Formula-Fed America

This is on my must-watch list.

http://www.formulafedamerica.com/

Nursing your baby provides the best food, the best medicine, the best comfort for your baby. It's well-nigh free, doesn't take any preparation, and the hormones released during breastfeeding make moms happier parents (a scientifically-documented phenomenon). Your baby gains weight faster, and you lose that baby weight quickly (As of 9.5 months post partum, I'm 25 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, all through eating wholesome foods that sound good in the quantities I want them and breastfeeding on demand). You're at a lower risk for developing breast cancer and osteoporosis. Your baby is at lower risk for obesity, allergies, learning disorders, ear infections and colic, among many other things.

So why don't more women do it? Our parents didn't, our friends don't and we've never seen a woman breastfeed. Our doctors don't understand it, and are subject to the wiles of formula companies. We receive no support, no help and in some cases active hostility. We hear
  • "I didn't make enough milk" (correctable with general advice--ask!)
  • "I have blue milk," (utter fallacy, no such thing)
  • "The baby doesn't like my milk," (could be allergies and fixable with diet)
  • "It hurt so much I couldn't keep doing it" (preventable and treatable with good advice, a support system and a few inexpensive tools!).
  • "My baby wasn't growing fast enough" (the growth charts at pediatricians' offices are often based on formula-fed babies, the growth curve is different for breastfed babies)
  • "Formula will make my baby sleep through the night" (false--there is no connection between formula feeding and sleeping through the night, which is a brain development issue. If anything, breastfed babies are more likely to go down easier since they are less likely to have gas, reflux and colic).
The rate of breastfeeding success in 3rd-world countries where there is no other option approaches 100%. You can breastfeed your baby.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Timely Birth--the facts about induction

Here's an article from Midwifery Today with some well-presented info on the indications, reasons and risks for induction of labor, as well as some practical tips on how to avoid preterm labor.
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/timely.asp

Labor is usually artificially induced in order to avoid "post-dates syndrome" in the baby, which includes growth retardation and a rise in the incidence of stillbirth in babies who have been in the womb longer than the normal gestation period (the average of which is, by the way, not 40 weeks, but 41 weeks and one day). But it is used far too commonly: modern research indicates that there is no significant rise in stillbirths between 40 and 42 weeks, and a very slight rise between 42 and 43 (all rates are below 1 in 1000). Also, determining a baby's development and gestational age by ultrasound is very imprecise and becomes more so as the pregnancy progresses, so it is very difficult to be certain that a "post-dates" baby is actually postmature.

The main risk with induction (there are many, including cesarean section, uterine rupture, cord prolapse, meconium aspiration, fetal distress, neonatal jaundice, maternal hemorrhage and even the rare but disastrous amniotic fluid embolism) is prematurity, which is the leading cause of death in newborns other than genetic anomaly. Premature babies are more likely to have serious breathing problems, hypoglycemia, trouble maintaining body temperature, colic, and trouble nursing and/or digesting.

Nutshell: Avoid induction if at all possible; it is very, very rarely necessary and, when it isn't, it causes far more problems than it solves. There is little reason to be concerned about an "overdue" baby and much more about prematurity. Even if your doctor or midwife schedules an induction (over one third of American women's labors are induced), you do not have to attend. Studies show that waiting for labor to begin spontaneously is associated with no greater occurrence of problems and fewer interventions in labor (and hence fewer problems for mama & baby).

The rest of the article is on avoiding premature labor, which is a very important topic in itself and deserves its own post.