This was posted on Facebook by a fellow midwife. Thought I’d pass it along:
We
are making great progress with the VBAC Empowering Stories Book,
“Victorious Surrender” and we are ready for your submissions!If you are interested in sharing your VBAC story with us please read
through the guidelines below and submit your story to us as soon as
possible.
The latest criteria for screening for gestational diabetes. There is also an excellent article in the Fall 2010 issue of Midwifery Today on these criteria.
What do you think?
Here are the latest (provisional) guidelines for the prevention of GBS disease from the CDC. The official guidelines should be published in November. Even though this was a collaboration between ACOG, ACNM, APA, AAFP, and other “experts”, it shows that what they say and what they do are two very different things.
Why, oh why must nursery nurses be so rough with a newborn? I understand being efficient. I understand that some babies must be stimulated to breathe. But why must a healthy newborn immediately be whisked aside, buffed vigorously with a towel until they howl in protest, suctioned repeatedly and aggressively, turned this way and that like a lump of dough, suctioned again and rubbed some more?
“Come on, get mad at me!” the nurse urges. Where else is anger considered a sign of health and vigor? Often the poor babe is screaming so hard that he can barely catch a breath. He gets suctioned again. I grit my teeth.
I have seen babies who clamped their lips shut and refused to even root for the breast after such treatment. Others have been so upset that even their gentle mother had a hard time calming them enough to get them to latch on — 30 or more minutes after the assault.
As much as I dislike hospital births for all of the interventions that they “offer” to mothers (offer, as in “We’re going to do xyz now…”), the mother is an adult and has the ability to speak up for herself or may have a partner who will. She has a choice. I absolutely detest the way that new little soul is treated by the staff in the first minutes after birth. It makes ME angry!
Welcome to the world, sweet little one. I’m so sorry that your first impression is one of violence.
Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels are NOT invited
Wow. This is interesting stuff. Revolutionary even.
…Could Reduce Down Syndrome Dysfunction, Guard Against Dementia
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100603132456.htm
Barbara Strupp, professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology. (Credit: Alexi Wenski-Roberts)
ScienceDaily (June 4, 2010) — More choline during pregnancy and nursing could provide lasting cognitive and emotional benefits to individuals with Down syndrome and protect against neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, suggests a new Cornell study of mice.
The findings, published June 2 in Behavioral Neuroscience, could help lead to increasing the maternal dietary recommendations for choline (currently 450 milligrams a day during pregnancy, 550 milligrams for lactation), a nutrient found in egg yolks, liver, nuts and such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower.
“Research into the role of choline in human development casts a glimmer into the dark corners of the current paradigm. Choline is critical for good health and is especially necessary for growing children. If choline intake is too low during pregnancy and growth, brain connections cannot form. And if choline is abundant during developmental years, the individual is protected for life from developmental decline. The National Academy of Sciences recommends 375 mg per day for children nine through thirteen years of age, 450 mg for pregnant women and 550 mg for lactating women and men aged fourteen and older. These amounts are provided by four or five egg yolks per day—but that would entail consuming 800-1000 mg cholesterol, a crime by USDA standards. The committee referred to this as the “choline problem”—I kid you not! Chicken liver and beef liver are also excellent sources of choline, but to get enough of this brain nutrient from liver, you would “poison” yourself by exceeding the maximum recommended allowance for vitamin A.”
“Brain function in baby rats was enhanced by feeding extra choline during the equivalent of the third trimester of pregnancy, according to a study at Duke University Medical Center. The offspring performed significantly better on memory tests than those of mothers with the normal intake of choline. Researchers found that choline enhanced a brain function responsible for paving the path between nerve cells, allowing electrical messages to travel more easily. The improved brain wiring persisted in the rats through early adulthood. (Neurophysiology, April 1998)”
All emphasis below is mine–dw
New Rochelle, NY, May 28 –
New CDC birth control guidelines http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr59e0528a1.htm )
could undermine mothers who want to breastfeed.
The new guidelines
advise that the benefits of immediate progesterone
contraception outweigh the
risks, and that by 4 weeks, there is no
risk. Previously, progesterone birth
control was not recommended for
nursing mothers until at least 6 weeks after
birth, and combined
hormonal methods were not recommended for 6 months. In
the new
guidelines, combined pills are rated as “generally acceptable” from
4
weeks.
“The new guidelines ignore basic facts about how
breastfeeding works,”
says Dr. Jerry Calnen, president of the Academy of
Breastfeeding
Medicine. “Mothers start making milk due to the natural fall
in
progesterone after birth. An injection of artificial progesterone
could
completely derail this process.”
Clinically, breastfeeding support
providers report a negative impact
on breastfeeding when these methods are
introduced too early, and one
preliminary study found dramatically lower
breastfeeding rates at 6
months among mothers who underwent early insertion
of progesterone-
containing IUDs, compared with insertion at 6-8 weeks
postpartum.
“The data are limited,” says Calnen, “but for now, the state
of the
science suggests that early progesterone exposure
undermines
breastfeeding.“
The ABM wrote to CDC Director Thomas Frieden in
January urging
reconsideration of the guidelines. In his reply, Dr. Frieden
described
the new recommendations as “the best interpretation of the
existing
evidence.”
Calnen is less confident. “Physicians and mothers
should proceed with
caution,” he says. “There are plenty of birth control
methods that are
proven to be safe for breastfeeding. Early progesterone is
not one of
them.”
…wanted to wish you a Happy Valentines Day by giving you a promo code for 90% off on 3 piece gift sets at www.uddercovers.com. Each 3 piece gift set includes the Udder Cover™ nursing cover of your choice, a color coordinated Milk Bands™ breastfeeding bracelet and 2 pairs of 5 ply washable 100% cotton breast pads!
If you’re not currently nursing, you probably know someone who is or shortly will be! They make great baby shower gifts! You can get any of their 3 piece gift sets (regular price $46) for only $5 + S&H!
The code is “Valentine”.
Go to www.uddercovers.com , click on “Shop Now”, scroll down to the gift sets, select the one you would like and you will automatically be repositioned to the center of the page where you can enter in the promo code! Type in Valentine and it will bring your product total to $5! This promotion will expire on March 1st 2010. You can use the code more than once – you just have to open a new browser/window to do so.
Full moon
(not quite)
hovering above
round and ripe
blessing the world
with her silver light
waxing, growing…
biding her time.
A woman waits
late in the night
lying in bed
her belly gets tight
and the little one kicks
marking the time
that she waits in the dark
for her babe to arrive.
The moon when she’s full
or the fullness of moons?
One never can tell
how late or how soon
the call will come
but one thing is true:
the moon will be right
and the hour will too.
–ddw
(inspired by a comment from another midwife and looking at the moon while driving home last Friday night)
I ran across a very interesting site this evening that offers some state by state statistics on birth. The link above will take you to the Texas Peristats page, but you can change the state with a drop-down menu on the left hand side of the page.
Some highlights: