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I’m glad you’ve found your way here!

Pregnancy is full of unknowns, whether it is your first or eighth time around. You may be bombarded with words you don't know and feelings you have never felt.

When it comes to one of the most important times in your life, you deserve to be as informed as possible. So, have you considered hiring a doula?

Whether you're having your baby in a hospital or at home, a doula will provide the information you need to make the best decisions about your pregnancy and birth and will support you and your decisions without judgment.

Every pregnant woman deserves a doula!

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Welcome to the World Baby!

July 6th, 2010

Congratulations to Stephen and Jennifer, who welcomed beautiful baby girl Samantha into the world last night!

The Website is Up!

June 17th, 2010

So YAY! My website is finally up and running again (as you can well see)! Hope everyone likes the re-design. Please let me know if you have any comments or critiques! It’s still a work in progress, but it’s just about there!

Bishops Score

May 26th, 2010

Before considering labour induction, you can determine your chances of a successful induction by scoring yourself using the Bishops Score table, below.

A lower score can mean induction may be more difficult, longer, and will most likely be harder on you and your baby.

The higher the score, the more favorable the cervix. Clinical trials showing a score of 6-7 or more were associated with successful inductions, but most agree that a score of 9 is preferable.

Cervix Score
0 1 2 3
Position Posterior Mid-position Anterior —
Consistency Firm Medium Soft —
Effacement 0-30% 40-50% 60-70% >80%
Dilation Closed 1-2cm 3-4cm >5cm
Baby’s Station -3 -2 -1 +1, +2

Further Bishops Score considerations:

Add 1 point to your score for:
  • Preeclampsia
  • Each prior vaginal birth

Subtract 1 point from score for:

  • Postdates pregnancy
  • Nulliparity (if this is your first baby)
  • Premature or prolonged rupture of membranes

What pain reliever is ten times more effective than Valium?

May 22nd, 2010

Oxytocin!

Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin rise by 5 times, determining a huge release of endorphins. These chemicals calm pain because the pressure in the brain’s blood vessels is lowered while we love.

This is why natural oxytocin (the love hormone) in labor signals the brain for endorphins and lessons the pain of contractions.

The primary conscious behavior or thought process that increases oxytocin is caring for another. Appreciation, generous touch, gratitude, and emotional connections with others also raise oxytocin levels. In addition, oxytocin appears to be behind many of the health benefits from meditation, massage and acupuncture.

In addition to oxytocin’s powerful effects on the body, it strongly affects your mind and behavior. It is nature’s antidepressant and anti-anxiety hormone. It creates feelings of calm and a sense of connection, so it actually shapes how you view the world. The whole universe looks like a better place when you feel tranquil and loving.

Cesarean Rate Jumps Again

April 25th, 2010


For Immediate Release

Cesarean Rate Jumps Again To Record High; 32.3% of Births Resulting In Major Abdominal Surgery
12th Consecutive Year to Show Increase

Redondo Beach, CA, April 6, 2010 – The National Center for Health Statistics has reported that the cesarean rate hit another record high in 2008 with a rate of 32.3 percent, up 2.6 percent from 2007. The findings reflect the 12th consecutive year of increase.

“Every U.S. woman in childbearing years should have deep concern over this rate,” said Desirre Andrews, president of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). “With the cesarean rate showing no signs of decreasing and VBAC access being limited in many areas across the U.S., women need to be well educated and well versed in self advocacy during pregnancy and birth.”

With the preliminary number of 4,251,095 U.S. births reported in 2008, a 32.3% cesarean rate results in approximately 1,373,103 women undergoing surgical deliveries. This total is equivalent to the entire population of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or the combined populations of Alaska and Washington, DC. “This real life comparison highlights how serious the near 1 in 3 percentage of pregnancies resulting in major abdominal surgery is,” said Andrews. “Evidence shows that cesareans put women and babies at increased risk for morbidity and mortality immediately and long term. Cesarean sections are being overused in the United States and as the rate continues to rise, mothers and babies are exposed to these risks avoidably. The repeat cesarean rate of over 90% is undoubtedly helping to drive this record setting data.”

ICAN has a variety of educational, advocacy and support options on-line through webinars, forums, blog, twitter and white papers at www.ican-online.org.

About Cesareans: When a cesarean is medically necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique for both mother and baby, and worth the risks involved. Potential risks to babies from cesareans include: low birth weight, prematurity, respiratory problems, and lacerations. Potential risks to women include: hemorrhage, infection, hysterectomy, surgical mistakes, re-hospitalization, dangerous placental abnormalities in future pregnancies, unexplained stillbirth in future pregnancies and increased percentage of maternal death. http://ican-online.org/ican-white-papers.

Mission statement: ICAN is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery and promoting vaginal birth after cesarean. There are over 130 ICAN Chapters across North America and internationally, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery.

Container Syndrome

March 11th, 2010

I was reading an article from October today.

“Car Seats can be Dangerous Outside the Car”

Ok, so finally – an article to back up my thoughts! I see the desire to have one of those “travel systems”.. it’s convenient, it’s easy… but what is NOT easy about wearing your baby? And it is so much nicer to be close to your baby, and you can snuggle them and smell their “BABY” smell. Ahhh…. I digress.

More than 8,700 infants end up in the emergency room each year because their car seats are used improperly outside the car, according to study presented Monday at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ annual meeting in Washington.

Interesting. So first, I was wondering what on earth are they doing with these car seats? Leaving them on the roof? Flinging them around? But then I read on…

Most of the injuries in Parikh’s study occurred when car seats fell off tables, countertops or other high surfaces. In some cases, babies who weren’t securely buckled fell out of the seats. Babies also were injured when car seats flipped over on soft surfaces, such as beds and couches, where infants can suffocate, he says.

But, THIS is what I thought was the MOST important part of the whole article.

Spending too much time in car seats can cause other problems.

Physical therapists are seeing more babies with “container syndrome,” or weak muscles and flat heads caused by too much time spent lying on their backs, says Colleen Coulter-O’Berry of the American Physical Therapy Association.

And a study in Pediatrics in August found that car seats can make it difficult for babies to get enough oxygen, which led the authors to suggest that the seats be used only while infants are in cars.

Think about it… how often are we putting our babies “IN” things. Swings, Bouncers, Car Seats, etc. They don’t NEED these things. Sure, they help if you need a shower… but you just can’t use them ALL day because they calm them.

Container syndrome is a relatively new term, first popularly used in mid 2008 to describe a condition observed by a variety of pediatric health care providers. In a survey sponsored by Pathways Awareness, pediatric health care workers have noted an increase in motor delays in infants, that may well be related to the amount of time infants spend on their backs. The broad strokes of container syndrome theory is that children who are not given adequate time on their tummies (tummy time) may be missing opportunities for natural and developmentally appropriate muscle development, especially of head and neck muscles.-WiseGeek


I suppose the bottomline is that we, as mothers, need to be MORE connected to our babies, both physically AND emotionally. We have to take them out of the “container” and hold them, love them, nurse them, carry them, wear them, interact with them.

Yeah yeah – I know! You have “things” to do, laundry to fold, dinner to cook. Why not try a sling – AND NOT THE ONES AT TARGET – but a real sling or wrap… Check out Maya Wraps for a good place to start.

It’s not THAT hard to hold your baby. :)

Maternal Mortality Rates Rising

March 7th, 2010

“New Study Shows More Women are Dying After Childbirth, but Most Deaths are Preventable”

Full Text Here

According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. ranks behind more than 40 other countries when it comes to maternal death rates, with 11 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies when measured in 2005. More women die in the U.S. after giving birth than die in countries including Poland, Croatia, Italy and Canada, to name a few.

My first instinct is to loudly shout, “I told you so!!!”, but I am going to refrain. At least for the moment.

The popularity of scheduled C-sections has also been cited by public health experts as a possible cause for rising maternal mortality rates. The latest data from the CDC shows that 31 percent of the mothers now choose to have C-sections, up 50 percent since 1996. Studies have repeatedly shown a higher rate of mortality in mothers who have a C-section delivery, especially those who have multiple C-sections. “If the risks of a Cesarean birth are small, they’re magnified greatly when you add many more Cesarean births each year,” said Main, adding that “not that many women actually choose to have an elective C-section at the beginning, but it’s easy to fall into a pattern of care that ends up resulting in a C-section.”

I’m really biting my tongue now. I mean, HELLO!!!!!! Where have the doctors been when the natural birth advocates are shouting – “NO, it’s not JUST about OUR experience… it’s about safety!”

And, it drives me crazy – because they aren’t looking at ways to REDUCE the underlying cause – the cesarean – they are looking for better ways to warn and treat mothers AFTER they have the cesarean. While this is important, this DOES NOT solve the problem… or even ATTEMPT to solve the problem.

Essentially we’re saying – “Hey, I know that your risk of dying is higher if you have this completely unnecessary elective cesarean, and even more so if you decide you want more children… but we’ll just put some compression boots on your legs and let you know that if you feel funny, you should tell someone… and that will make it all better.”

BULL!

Cesarean surgery is associated with 33 serious complications – a number 8 times greater that the risks of vaginal birth.

In comparison with vaginal birth, a cesarean increased harm due to:

- Death, related to surgery or anesthesia (rare)
- Emergency hysterectomy
- Blood clots and stroke
- Injuries from surgery
- Longer hospitalization
- Rehospitalization
- Infection
- Severe and long-lasting pain
- Ongoing pelvic pain
- Bowel obstruction (due to scar tissue and adhesions)

In comparison with cesarean, vaginal birth (both spontaneous and assisted with vacuum or forceps) increased harms due to:

- Perineal pain
- Any urinary incontinence
- Any bowel incontinence

The risk of maternal death 3 to 5 times greater during or after operative delivery.

We should be focusing on the cesarean rate, the induction rate, the rate of routine and unnecessary interventions to the normal labor and birth process…

But, now I’m moving on to a completely NEW post, and I will save that for later.

 
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