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.

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.

Good Hands mei tai

Here's a picture of my mei tai design--I have more, but my camera cord is broken! This is my friend Grace, carrying her brand-new baby boy Rhys <3

The mei tai is a Chinese baby carrier, and this one is updated with some modern features, such as funky reversible design (you should see the fabric Grace picked for the other side--fancy!) and wide padded straps and headrest.

Does the Vaccine Matter? and how to stay healthy this season

This is an article from the Atlantic that addresses the issue of whether any flu vaccine, for either the seasonal or swine flu, is actually helpful. Not maternity-related, but pregnant & nursing women are being encouraged by some to get vaccinated, and to vaccinate their small children.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200911/brownlee-h1n1

Nutshell:

• The composition of the seasonal vaccines is determined by an educated guess, based on previously-widespread strains. They may be pertinent to current strains, and they may be irrelevant.
• Flu vaccines do boost immune response to the virus in young, healthy people (who are not considered at risk), but not nearly as much or as reliably in the elderly, the sick, children and the immune-compromised (ie those undergoing chemotherapy, those with an autoimmune disease such as AIDS, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, and pregnant women). Immune response is an imperfect measure of vaccine effectiveness, but this does suggest that the vaccine may not be effective for those for whom protection is necessary (or necessary for those on whom it is effective).
• The trials for vaccine efficacy have not been very rigorous; they have largely been based on "cohort studies," which are notoriously difficult to control, rather than placebo studies. Many in the medical community, convinced of the vaccine's helpfulness independently of scientific trials, say it would be unethical to provide some patients with the vaccine and others with a placebo.
  
• Anti-virus drugs like Tamiflu are also not well-supported by scientific research; the virus can become resistant to them in days. In otherwise-healthy people, Tamiflu cuts the duration of the disease by up to 24 hours, but as many as 1 in 5 will experience nausea and vomiting as a side effect; it produces neuropsychiatric effects in 1 out of 5 children, including suicidal behavior, and it has also been responsible for fatal cardiac arrest.

Here's how you can take care of yourself this flu season and boost your immune system:

• Drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.
• Cut as much refined sugar and flour out of your diet as possible; these shut down immune response.
• Stay off antibiotics. They don't fight viruses and they weaken your immune system.
• Wash your hands frequently with a non-antibacterial soap; your skin has friendly bacteria that make up your body's first line of defense, and it won't kill viruses anyway.
• Get a good probiotic supplement, and/or consume probiotic foods (active yogurt, kombucha, kefir, there are many out there) every day.
• Vitamin C supports your immune system, and you need vitamin D as well.
  
• Echinacea also bolsters immune response, and tincture of osha kills both families of seasonal flu. Alfalfa is also a great immune and energy booster.
  
• If you feel ill or fatigued, stay home! Rest is good and you expose fewer others to whatever you have.
• Don't go to the hospital or emergency room unless you absolutely must; it is the best place to catch a virus.
  
• Chicken (or turkey) soup is really proven to help! Add cayenne to break up congestion and lots of garlic to fight the secondary bacterial infections that cause many flu complications.

Breastfeeding Basics

This is an online course I'm taking for my doula certification, and it has a lot of great information on the most important choice you can make in your baby's first year--breastfeeding. The modules are in pretty bite-size pieces, but I'll nutshell them for you and provide a link so you can read more if you're interested or if you're looking for documentation. You may have to register, not sure, but it is free, they don't send spam and you can hop around to the pages that interest you if you don't want to read the whole thing.

Link: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.org/cgi-bin/deliver.cgi/content/Introduction/history.html

We start with a short (or long, depending how you think of it) History of Breastfeeding (in a Nutshell): Breastfeeding started when humans started. Routinely using alternatives like cows' milk- or soy-based artificial baby milk (ABM) began in the 20th century.


Next time: Benefits & Barriers: Nutritional Advantages

Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood banking is marketed as either blood donation on a higher scale (can be used to save someone else) or biological health insurance (stem cells to treat future diseases in your child). This article highlights the reasons why one family decided against it.


http://alternativebirthservices.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-cord-blood-banking-was-not-right.html

Nutshell:

• 75% of donated cord blood samples are too small for a transfusion and are sold for research into such things as cloning and biological weapons, and the donor's family has no say in this.
• Any genetic disease the child has which might be treated with stem cells will be present in the cord blood; thus, while it could be used for a sibling, it is ineffective for that child.
• Early clamping of the umbilical cord, which is required for banking, is harmful to the newborn baby, depriving him/her of up to half his/her total blood volume, taking up to six months to regenerate. Babies need that blood at birth - it isn't waste, it's there for a reason.

My OB Said What?!

Oh, it's funny but it's sad. Real comments made by birth professionals in earshot of their clients.

http://myobsaidwhat.com/