Birth Junkie Chronicles

Part 2-Placenta Encapsulation!

2010-05-11T20:17:00.001-07:00

I posted the first part of the process yesterday and I really hope you learned something you didn't know about placentas and encapsulation of them. After going through this process now, I am eager and excited to help another mama out by offering encapsulation for her. I hope this was useful to you and please, feel free to share this blog with mother's you know to spread the word on the benefits of placenta pills and help someone learn the process.

STEP 11:
After removing the placenta from the oven and letting cool, break larger pieces by snapping them. Pieces should be about 3/4 in.

STEP 12:

Place pieces in grinder (Mr. Coffee works great, but remember, you must only use this grinder for placentas so you'll need one separate from your "regular" coffee grinder). Note that some pieces may not grind down. Larger calcifications or clusters of hardened vessels will simply stay intact, that's ok. Just discard this larger chunks.

Your ground placenta should look like this:

STEP 13:
Pour all the ground placenta into a bowl or onto a deep plate.

STEP 14:

Take the two parts of your capsules (we used organic vegetarian gelatin capsules, sizes 0 and 00. 0 seemed to work best for me and is a little smaller.) and scoop them towards each other in the freshly ground powder, making sure to seal tightly. Place in "resting place" on paper towel.

STEP 15:
Discard any excess capsules that came in contact with the powder as well as any excess powder that you couldn't encapsulate.

STEP 16:
Wipe down the pills to remove any loose powder, grooved paper towels work great. Then place in jar/bottle/bag to give to mama. Store in fridge or freezer.

We were able to yield 122 good size capsules from this placenta. Mom takes about 3 tablets 2-3 times daily for general use or up to 8 a day if using to stave off post partum depression.

A huge thank you to the lovely Jessica J. for teaching Doula Faye and myself this art of placenta encapsulating. I am happy to offer this service to anyone who might be interested and we'd love to spread the knowledge, know-how and fun of this ancient art.

Placenta Encapsulation-Phase/Day 1

2010-05-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

This is honestly not something I would have ever thought I'd think was beneficial or anything short of freaky. However, the more I learn about pregnancy and childbirth, especially the benefits of natural remedies or alternatives, the more this became a topic of interest. I'm sad now that I never got to examine my placenta much less use it to my advantage health wise. Encapsulation is not consumption in the sense that you're "eating" your placenta. It is the process in which you cook and dry it with herbs and put it in pill form to take post partum.

For more information on the benefits of placenta encapsulation and why many women choose this option (or perhaps to learn of the benefits for yourself) please visit: http://placentabenefits.info/about.asp

What you need:
*Dissection kit (surgical scissors, scalpel, tweezers)
*Sterile Gloves
*Strainer
*Large Pot
*Baking tray
*Oven/dehydrator

You must only use these items for placenta encapsulation. If you're doing this regularly, you need to make sure you have a separate baking tray only for placentas, a separate pot only for placentas, a separate strainer...you get it.

STEP 1:
Wipe placenta clean with gauze or cloth, removing as much blood/debris as possible.

STEP 2:
Remove membrane (sac) with scissors, following the margin of the placenta.

-Puncture hole in membrane with sharp point of scissors and follow along placenta's edge, removing as much as possible. You can try to remove the membrane from the fetal side of the placenta as well.

STEP 3:
Using scissors, remove cord at base.

STEP 4:
Fill pot about 1/2 way with water so that strainer can sit above water level, floating freely without touching the water.
-Grate fresh ginger over placenta, covering lightly.

-Pour ground tea (chai is good, vanilla chai smells heavenly) over placenta, 3-5 bags depending on size.

-squirt with lemon.

STEP 5:
Place placenta in strainer over water, remember water should not touch placenta.

STEP 6:
Once boiling, let steam for 20 minutes, placenta will shrink.

STEP 7:
Remove steamed placenta from strainer and place on non-stick baking tray.

STEP 8:
With scalpel and tweezers, cut into even strips.

STEP 9:
Arrange evenly on tray to allow air flow.

STEP 10:
Place in oven 200-225 degrees and bake for 8-10 hours.

Pieces should be completely dry, black and not at all rubbery.

***Phase 2 tomorrow!***

This process has been not only fun but VERY informational. The placenta is an AMAZING organ. Something that only begins to grow as life begins and continues to grow with your baby, providing nourishment during your pregnancy. How awesome that it's amazing benefits don't end there? I hope you enjoyed what I've shared so far today and look forward to the rest of the process and sharing that with you tomorrow.

Please post any questions or discussion below.

Epidural Epidemic - Drugs in Labor: Are They Really Necessary. . . or Even Safe?

2010-05-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Epidural Epidemic - Drugs in Labor: Are They Really Necessary. . . or Even Safe?
By Joanne Dozer and Shannon Baruth
Issue 95, July/August 1999

The use of epidurals is so common today that many perinatal professionals are calling the 1990s the age of the epidural epidemic. Believed by many in the medical profession to be safe and effective, the epidural seems now to be regarded as a veritable panacea for dealing with the pain of childbirth.

It is true that most women experience pain during the course of labor. This pain can be intense and very real, even for those who have prepared for it. But pain is only one of many possible sensations and experiences that characterize the experience of giving birth. Barbara Katz Rothman, a sociologist who studies birth in America, writes that in the medical management of childbirth, the experience of the mother is viewed by physicians as pain: pain experienced and pain to be avoided.1 Having experienced childbirth ourselves, we have great compassion for women in painful labors. However, we also feel a responsibility to mothers and their babies to explore issues concerning the use of epidural anesthesia in labor issues that are seldom discussed prenatally.

Several factors make the use of epidurals potentially hazardous. The Physician’s Desk Reference cautions that local anesthetics - the type used in epidurals - rapidly cross the placenta. When used for epidural blocks, anesthesia can cause varying degrees of maternal, fetal, and neonatal toxicity which can result in the following side effects: hypotension, urinary retention, fecal and urinary incontinence, paralysis of lower extremities, loss of feeling in the limbs, headache, backache, septic meningitis, slowing of labor, increased need for forceps and vacuum deliveries, cranial nerve palsies, allergic reactions, respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, and seizures.2 In addition, a piece of the catheter that delivers the drug into the duraregion of the back may break off and be left in the woman, a dangerous risk that necessitates surgical removal. One of the most well-known side effects of spinal anesthesia is a spinal headache. Depending on the amount of anesthetic used and how the catheter was placed, the headache can be mild or severe, lasting between one and ten days after the birth. This is not how any of us wants to feel in our first days and hours with our newborn.

Epidurals also have been linked to an overall increase in operative deliveries: cesareans, forceps deliveries, and vacuum extractions. A meta-analysis of the effects of epidural anesthesia on the rate of cesarean deliveries was undertaken by a group of physicians who examined, categorized, and analyzed all available literature. Eight primary studies revealed that the rate of cesarean section was 10 percentage points higher in the women who had received epidural anesthesia. One study actually found that the cesarean rate increased to 50 percent when the epidural was given at 2 cm dilation, 33 percent at 3 cm, and 26 percent at 4 cm.3 What caused this increase? In the first stage of labor, the muscles of the pelvic floor may become slack from the numbing effects of the epidural, causing the baby to change an otherwise ideal position or fail to descend into the pelvic cavity. In the second stage of labor, the anesthetized woman often is unable to push effectively since she cannot feel her muscles. When the baby does not descend properly or is malpositioned, progress can slow or stop, resulting in a longer labor and the increased possibility of a cesarean section, vacuum extraction, or forceps delivery.

In addition, epidurals usually slow contractions, which prompts medical personnel to administer intravenous Pitocin in order to strengthen them and increase their frequency. Even with Pitocin, which carries its own set of risks, an anesthetized labor may remain prolonged, risking a difficult labor with lack of progress. Prolonged labors put both mother and baby at greater risk of infection, necessitating the use of antibiotics. The longer a labor and slower the progress, the more likely it will end in a forceps, vacuum, or cesarean delivery. Since cesarean section is a major surgery, it strongly influences a woman’s recovery and the initiation of breastfeeding. Of course, the rate of postpartum infection is much higher with cesarean births. All vacuum extraction and forceps deliveries increase the risk of morbidity and birth injuries.

Another effect of epidurals during labor is the creation of hypotension in the mother, which can lead to bradycardia (a decrease in the heart rate) in the fetus. All types of anesthesia, including epidurals, can negatively affect the baby’s heart rate, possibly leading to fetal distress and necessitating an operative delivery. The newborn can continue to have breathing difficulties after birth, requiring supplemental oxygen or even resuscitation. While these problems may be resolved immediately following the birth, they often require the mother to be separated from her baby for neonatal nursery observation. This separation delays bonding and initial feeding. In addition, poor muscle tone and increased acidity in the baby’s blood due to bradycardia and oxygen deprivation may affect her ability to suck effectively, hampering initial attempts at early breastfeeding.

A mother’s temperature may become elevated with the use of epidural anesthesia, resulting in the infant being taken to the nursery and given a full work-up for possible infection. This may include extensive blood work and a spinal tap.4, 5

Furthermore, though epidurals usually remove all sensation in the lower body, "windows" can occur which leave the woman experiencing the intensity of her labor (perhaps on one side of her body) but with extremely limited mobility - obviously hindering her ability to cope with her contractions.6 The idea that pain medication can play a role in "natural childbirth" is deceptive, despite the assurance of the authors of What to Expect When You’re Expecting that "...wanting relief from excruciating pain is natural...therefore pain relief medication can play a role in natural childbirth."7 This is rather twisted logic, since the concept of natural childbirth depends on the mother experiencing both mental and physical sensations of labor. The epidural may allow a woman to be awake and aware of what is happening, but she will not be experiencing a natural labor as she will be numb to any physical sensations below the waist. A split between the mind and the body is effectively created with this anesthetic, disengaging her mind from her physical feelings. Could such disconnection be natural childbirth? Robbie Davis-Floyd, an anthropologist who studies birth in America, argues that the woman in labor with an epidural "...is separated as a person as effectively as she can be from the part of her that is giving birth."8 There is an eerie quality to this kind of birth; the mother is robbed of her own connection to her power and life-creative force. She loses the opportunity to experience the inherent wisdom of the body and its ability to birth without interference. Indeed, most women who have felt childbirth agree that it was a deep, enriching, and positive experience.

What alternatives do women have for the relief of pain in labor? Unfortunately, many women enter the birth experience with a strong belief that birth is something horrible and nightmarish. They are already filled with fear, not only for their own and their baby’s safety but also about what they have heard is the unbearable pain of childbirth. Another important fear is that of "losing control" during labor and delivery. A mother often is labeled out of control if she expresses the natural, primal sounds of labor. Technologically oriented medical practitioners who are sure that childbirth is something to be wrestled into submission feel that the sound of a mother wailing in pain is a sign that she is "losing it" and ought to be medicated. In hospitals, mothers are often told by well-meaning nurses to be quiet so as not to disturb the other "patients." But release of sound is a natural way to express and release painful - and intense - sensations. Suppressing a mother’s natural instincts to move around freely and make noise in labor will increase her actual pain. The prepared childbirth movement - in particular the Lamaze technique - has been successful for some women by helping them remain "in control" by training for structured labor breathing. However, some women actually do connect to their body rhythms and natural breathing patterns in labor, and if they are more loyal to themselves than to their training, they may be seen as wild, out-of-control "Lamaze failures." This failure is defined as their inability in labor to be mannerly and controlled. In fact, one of the primary psychological reasons for lack of progress and cesareans is a fearful mother’s unconscious attempts to control the intensity of her labor. Her lack of progress is due to her inability to let go and surrender. Mothers are told they must be in control when actually they need to let go.

So how does a mother let go and find her way through the pain of labor? First, she needs to give birth where she feels safe. For some women this may mean a medicalized hospital birth; others may feel safest at home or in an alternative birthing center. Most women find that they feel safest in the loving hands of a practitioner with whom they have developed a supportive and loving relationship. This person may be a special kind of doctor or it may be a midwife. Midwives specialize in personalized, supportive perinatal care. Support is the best form and prime source of non-pharmacological pain relief. Support can also come from the love and care of a partner. If you are having your baby in a hospital, it may be worthwhile to secure the help of a knowledgeable friend or a doula. Support can be active: massage, breathing together, encouraging words and attentiveness, and reassurance that what it happening is normal and that you are handling it well. Other support can be more passive: a midwife’s calm demeanor, a gentle nurse’s presence, the peaceful attentions of loved ones. A laboring mother needs to feel safe, loved, and accepted. And when she is, whether she screams, hollers, whines, moans, bargains, begs, or just plain doesn’t act "civilized," giving birth vaginally without medication is a triumph in itself.

One of the ways to endure labor is to recognize (ideally, during one’s prenatal education) the connection between fear, tension, and pain - the "fear-tension-pain syndrome." Basically, when a mother feels fear, she will be tense and experience more pain. Relaxation relieves the tension that helps create the sensation of intense pain. The notion of a relaxing labor might seem crazy, but it is possible, and we have seen it many times. Of course, a mother will feel more relaxed and safer in the birth environment of her choice and with her chosen caregivers. Perhaps the more the mother chooses about her birth environment, the more fully she can relax.

Childbirth education classes that focus on birth as natural and normal encourage women to trust the birthing process. Birthing is full of new sensations which can be frightening and difficult to integrate; some women tell us that they felt they might split in two! Understanding the reasons behind the sensations can make them more manageable, since we fear most that which we do not understand. Another key concept in prenatal education is truly believing we can birth our babies, just as women have done for ages. The world was well-populated long before modern obstetrics, and today the lowest maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates are in the countries where natural, midwife-assisted births are the norm.

Not only can we birth our babies naturally, we can birth in our own style. Birth doesn’t need to be performed in any specific way. It is a woman’s right to create her labor her way, and she needs to be accepted for her way of doing it. She may find help in deep breathing, light breathing, dancing, singing, yelling, screaming, moaning, crying, walking, or bathing. She needs support for whatever works to assist her to birth her baby. Soaking in water can also help tremendously in reducing pain in labor. Prenatal yoga can be extremely helpful since it teaches women to relax by using deep breathing techniques and imagery. Both of these methods help her to connect more profoundly to her body and baby.

No woman should feel like a failure for having used pain relief medication during labor. There is a time and place for it in specific circumstances, and epidurals may be very effective. However, the decision to use an epidural should be an educated one, made only after all other options have been exhausted. Birthing is hard work. It is sweaty, noisy, and emotional, and it always requires our full attention. If we accept this, and stop trying to make birthing "civilized," we can help mothers to endure and cope.

Assisting a woman who is giving birth also is hard work, requiring education, love, and our full attention. Supporting birthing women in this way results in less fear, less pain, and a decrease in the need and desire for epidural anesthesia. The satisfaction of a natural birth - including the sheer endurance of pain and sometimes overwhelming sensations - is accompanied by great joy, even ecstasy. The realization of all these complex emotions is experienced not only by the mother but also by her partner and those who assist, attend, and support her in labor. The sense of joy and accomplishment from a natural birth is the right of every woman - and a wonderful gift to any newborn in those very special, first moments of life. NOTES
1. Barbara Katz Rothman, In Labor: Women and Power in the Birthplace, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991), 80
2. Sifton, David W. Ed., The Physician’s Desk Reference (Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, 1996), 2318.
3. Joseph Gambone, D.O., and Katherine Kahn, M.D., "The Effect of Epidural Analgesia for Labor on the Cesarean Delivery Rate," Obstetrics and Gynecology 83, No. 6 (June 1994):1045-1052; Thorp, M.D., et. al., "Epidural Anesthesia and Cesarean Section for Dystocia: Risk Factors in Multiparas," American Journal of Perinatology 8, No. 6: 402-410; Thorp, M.D., et. al., "The Effect of Intrapartum Epidural Analgesia on Nulliparous Labor: A Randomized, Controlled, Prospective Trial," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 169, No. 4: 851-858.
4. Author’s name, "The Bad News About Epidurals," Time, March 24, 1997, page 40.
5. Fusi, et al., "Maternal Pyrexia Associated with the Use of Epidural Analgesia in Labour," Lancet 8649 (3 June 1989): 1250.
6. B.M. Morgan, S. Rehor, and P.J. Lewis, "Epidural Anesthesia for Uneventful Labor," Anesthesia 35 (1980): 57-60.
7. Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkhoff, and Sandee Hathaway, What to Expect When You’re Expecting (New York: Workman Publishing, 1984), 227.
8 Robbie E. Davis-Floyd, Birth as an American Rite of Passage (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992), 115. OTHER REFERENCES
Griffin, Nancy. "The Epidural Express: Real Reasons Not to Jump On Board," Mothering , Spring, 1997.
Mitford, Jessica. The American Way of Birth. Dutton, New York, 1992.
Morton, Sally, Ph.D.; Williams, Mark, M.D.; Keller, Emmett, PhD.; Peaceman, M.D., et. al., "Factors that influence route of delivery - active vs. traditional labor management," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 169, No. 4, 940-944.
Sepkowski, Lester, Ostheimer and Brazelton. "The effects of maternal epidural anesthesia on neonatal behavior during the first month," Development of Medicine and Child Neurology, 1992, 34, 1072-1080. This article was originally edited by Leslie Hauslein. Shannon Baruth is a birth assistant, apprenticing midwife, mother to Cassidy Rose (2 1/2) and Sage (14 months), and partner to Michael. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. She resides in rural Wisconsin. Joann Dozer is a registered nurse and CPM who has been delivering babies at home for more than 20 years. A trained Gestalt therapist, she provides counseling and workshops for women and couples. Joanne is the mother of Scott, born in 1968 in a hospital delivery that included the use of Demerol and spinal anesthesia; Lianna, born in 1973 in the birthing room of an Amish midwife’s home; and Emily, born in 1976 at home with a midwife and doctor.

Who Profits?

2010-02-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

Anyone can admit that we are easily influenced and swayed by what seems to be a popular opinion. Most people would agree that it is much easier to be a PART of the masses than to be APART from them.

"What is popular is not always right,
and what is right is not always popular."

When it comes to parenting (specifically birthing and infant care) we are led to believe that our instincts are no longer necessary and that technology knows better than nature. But who profits from this philosophy? Certainly not mother and baby. Instead, there is a very large LITERAL profit to be made off of influencing you in your choices.

There is money to be made off of where you birth, how you birth and also, how you feed and treat your infant. The hospital makes a very large portion of their profit from the labor and delivery ward and let's face it, hospitals are businesses. They do NOT want to lose that money, even if it might mean safer outcomes can occur at home for low risk women. Obstetricians make thousands of dollars off your birth (and prenatal care) whereas homebirth midwives make around $4000 (for both the birth and prenatal care total). A cesarean can cost you more than $20,000 and only costs your OB 30 minutes of work (and a nice early bed time if you aren't "progressing" fast enough). Vaccinations, routine exams and procedures (episiotomy, circumcision, forcep delivery) all take just a moment to do/perform and net a nice profit.

Now, before you stop reading and get angry and tell me I hate OBs and that I think hospitals are evil, let me say, no. OBs are SPECIALISTS. They are INCREDIBLY skilled in saving what needs to be saved BUT for that, I think *most* of them have a difficult time knowing and trusting that birth is normal. If your focus of study is all that can go wrong with something, it's hard NOT to want to act in a precautionary manner. For this, I believe that most OBs truly have women's best interest at heart with certain things. However, there are a few scenarios that are indisputably self centered and dangerous, serving the woman absolutely no benefit.

To continue, it is ignorant to think that every ad or persuasion doesn't have an underlying hidden meaning. Formula companies for example want to make money. They do not care about you and your baby, they care only for the profit. At the beginning, when infant formulas were first introduced, they provided a way for the women who could truly not breastfeed or have a wet nurse a way to provide for their infant children. Again, just like the hospitals, this can be and was life saving for those infants. However, there was profit to be made, a feminist movement of choice and a desire to no longer have to feel tied down to your children...and they marketed that. Today they advertise with such sayings as "Just as good as breastmilk" or "Has all your baby needs!" Stop. Think. Who profits from promoting breastfeeding? The mother and child who nurse. Who profits from promoting formula feeding? The industry.

Am I going to lose sleep over another parents' choices? Nope. But as a parent who did things this way and that way before stepping back and evaluating the choices, I wish only to share the other side of the glass with you. I would never tell a woman what choice she should make, I can only share what I know and what I continue to learn, because I care.

To say that homebirthers are selfish or that it's dangerous, because that is what those who profit from your hospital birth tell you, well...that makes you sound not only uneducated, but silly.

Remember who profits from routine interventions in normal birth: it's not you...and it's certainly not the baby.

What's in Breastmilk?

2010-02-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

What's in Breast Milk?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. It is optimal for both babies and mothers. For babies it can protect against infections and reduce the rates of later health problems including diabetes, obesity, and asthma.

For mothers breastfeeding helps the uterus to contract and bleeding to cease more quickly after delivery. Breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and also provides a great way for mothers to bond with their babies.

Find a Lactation Conultant in Your Area

The advantages of breastfeeding are numerous. Breast milk is ultimately the best source of nutrition for a new baby. Many components in breast milk help protect your baby against infection and disease. The proteins in breast milk are more easily digested than in formula or cow’s milk. The calcium and iron in breast milk are also more easily absorbed.

The following is a brief overview of the components of breast milk and the nutrients they provide for your baby.

Proteins

Human milk contains two types of proteins: whey and casein. Approximately 60% is whey, while 40% is casein. This balance of the proteins allows for quick and easy digestion. If artificial milk, also called formula, has a greater percentage of casein, it will be more difficult for the baby to digest. Approximately 60-80% of all protein in human milk is whey protein. These proteins have great infection-protection properties.

Listed below are specific proteins that are found in breast milk and their benefits:

Lactoferrin inhibits the growth of iron-dependent bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. This inhibits certain organisms, such as coliforms and yeast, that require iron.
Secretory IgA also works to protect the infant from viruses and bacteria, specifically those that the baby, mom, and family are exposed to. It also helps to protect against E. Coli and possibly allergies. Other immunoglobulins, including IgG and IgM, in breast milk also help protect against bacterial and viral infections. Eating fish can help increase the amount of these proteins in your breast milk.
Lysozyme is an enzyme that protects the infant against E. Coli and Salmonella. It also promotes the growth of healthy intestinal flora and has anti-inflammatory functions.
Bifidus factor supports the growth of lactobacillus. Lactobacillus is a beneficial bacteria that protects the baby against harmful bacteria by creating an acidic environment where it cannot survive

Fats

Human milk also contains fats that are essential for the health of your baby. It is necessary for brain development, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and is a primary calorie source. Long chain fatty acids are needed for brain, retina, and nervous system development. They are deposited in the brain during the last trimester of pregnancy and are also found in breast milk.

Vitamins

The amount and types of vitamins in breast milk is directly related to the mother’s vitamin intake. This is why it is essential that she gets adequate nutrition, including vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K, are all vital to the infant’s health. Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, and panthothenic acid are also essential. Because of the need for these vitamins, many healthcare providers and lactation consultants will have nursing mothers continue on prenatal vitamins.

Carbohydrates

Lactose is the primary carbohydrate found in human milk. It accounts for approximately 40% of the total calories provided by breast milk. Lactose helps to decrease the amount of unhealthy bacteria in the stomach, which improves the absorption of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. It helps to fight disease and promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the stomach.

Breast Milk is Best

Breast milk has the perfect combination of proteins, fats, vitamins, and carbohydrates. There is nothing better for the health of your baby. Leukocytes are living cells that are only found in breast milk. They help fight infection. It is the antibodies, living cells, enzymes, and hormones that make breast milk ideal. These cannot be added to formula.

Though some women ultimately are not able to breastfeed, many who think they cannot actually are able to breastfeed. Lactation consultants are able to provide support to women learning to breastfeed. For those who are not able to breastfeed, milk banks can be an alternative.

Last Updated: 08/2006

Compiled using information from the following sources:

Breastfeeding the Newborn: Clinical Strategies for Nurses. Biancuzzo, Marie, 1999.

Bestfeeding: How to Breastfeed Your Baby. Renfrew, Mary et al, 2004.

Circumcision: The Uncut Version

2010-02-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

X-posted from my NoNonsenseParenting Blog:

Sadly, many new parents do not even research circumcision. This is just as disappointing to me as when they choose to keep their sons intact, but do no research and therefore don't care properly for them. When we just blindly make decisions, especially those about our children's health (Vaccinations, elective surgeries, feeding, etc) we aren't just hurting ourselves, or our kids...but the population as a whole.

If you circumcise your son because it's "Just what everyone does" what other things are you going to alter in the name of popularity? Will you get your daughter a boob job in high school if "everyone else is doing it" according to rumor? Because that's all that myth is, a rumor. Roughly, only half of US boys are being circumcised today. In some areas, like the West Coast, that number is as low as 30%. But, I won't make an argument for something as important as circumcision based off of location. After all, perhaps you're on the East coast which boasts a disgustingly high circ rate of 90% in some areas. And after all, you may move someday.

I'd much rather convince you of the ill effects of infant circumcision with FACTS. To do so, I'm going to list common pros that are given in favor of circumcising young infant boys. Then, I'm going to explain why they're bull shit.

"My husband is circumcised, I don't want him to wonder why he doesn't look like daddy"
-This is a very common reason for wanting to circumcise an infant. But, let's just think about this for a second. What other body parts of your husband's need to match? If your son's ears are different, are you going to alter them? No. And hey, your son won't have the same genitalia as you, but you'll explain that to him, that boys and girls look different. So why not explain to him that his daddy had a surgery as a baby to remove his skin, but you didn't do that to him because *insert whatever reason here, like "You were born perfect".* I can tell you that your son, if he has any questions at all about dad's privates, will probably be more interested in why he has pubic hair and why daddy's penis is bigger than his. You don't go around performing elective surgeries on people so they match. We're all different and unique...this should involve a life lesson, not scalpels.

"All his peers will be circumcised and I don't want him teased in the locker room."
-If a child is going to be teased about something, there's little you can do to prevent it. He could be teased for having a small penis...you're not going to get it enlarged. Plus, this excuse works on the assumption that guys are going to be checking each other out in the locker room. In the rare event that someone were to poke fun at your kid for having a foreskin, there are many retorts your son could shoot back, like "Why are you checking out my junk, jealous?" or "At least I'm not lacking in that department and have my whole penis." There's no reason to alter your perfect infant because someday, someone in some random situation may tease him. Plus, I remind you that the circ rates are dropping, drastically. The boys of today are being left intact, much like the rest of the world (85% of the men in our world have their foreskins).

"Well, those two reasons aside, it's better for his health. It's cleaner, it's easier to clean and he won't spread STDs as easily."
-No, no, and, no. To understand this you have to first understand how the foreskin functions. In infant boys, the foreskin is fused to the glans (head of the penis) much like your finger nail is attached to your finger. When your baby pees, it flushes out the inner part of the foreskin (and remember that urine is sterile) so this works to keep your son clean. Also, by keeping his foreskin, you prevent feces from his diaper from touching his urethra or getting under his foreskin, and therefore, prevent the chance of him getting foreign bacteria in his urinary tract. Older studies suggested that circumcised boys were less likely to get UTIs. There are more studies that show no difference and others that show that intact boys get them less often. Regardless of what the truth is, girls are more prone to UTIs than either circumcised OR intact boys, and we treat them with proper hygiene and antibiotics, no surgery.

Now to clean, let's imagine this: An intact boy requires NO special care. Because the foreskin is fused to the glans, you do NOT retract it, ever. This could cause pain, tears, and adhesions. Instead, you wipe only what you see, like you wash your finger. If you circumcise your infant, you'll have much more to do. During the healing process, you'll be taking care of a wound, in a diaper. Afterward, you'll have to clean any skin that was still left very thoroughly so that he doesn't get an infection. You may also have to worry about the freshly cut skin trying to heal back to the glans, usually resulting in adhesions. Advice on this varies from "do not retract" (like in intact boys) to "you must retract to prevent the adhesions or break them" so there's really no TRUE information on what to do. When the intact boy retracts naturally (sometime between infancy and puberty, but most commonly toddlerhood) he can retract, rinse and replace at bathtime. No soaps, just water. No harder than if he lacked foreskin.

As far as STDs are concerned, no study really has the truth established. Those that say intact men are at greater risk, or rather carriers, of more infections (like HPV) are grossly incorrect and make little sense. The most commonly quoted study is about a group in Africa, where they taught the freshly circumcised men safe sex practices and provided them with condoms, but not the group they left intact. They also didn't factor that the freshly circumcised men weren't having sex while their penises healed. They found that the intact men contracted HIV more often than their cut counterparts, based on their poor approach of collecting this data. This study was, on top of it all, cut short (no pun intended). We can also look at the population of America and conclude this study makes no sense. Our own HIV/AIDS rate is quite high to that of other industrialized counter parts, yet, we have an astoundingly high circumcision rate (about 90% of grown men in the US are circumcised, as this was the rate about 20-some years ago). So, how is it that we have such a high rate of HIV/AIDS when we also have such a high rate of circumcision? That makes no sense...

On top of that, to argue in favor of surgery on infants, to possibly reduce the risk of STD transfer in adults is irresponsible. Instead, we need to teach our children how their bodies function, how STDs are transferred and contracted, and push safe sex. THIS is what will protect your son or daughter, not a false sense of protection because they were circumcised (or their partner is).

"But uncircumcised penises are soooo gross!"
-Really? How attractive is YOUR genitalia? If a man you were really in to took you home, and you started to fool around, and he caught a glimpse of your goods and never called you again because it was "so gross" he'd be labeled an asshole. Most genitals are not very attractive, female or male; circumcised or not. We are all made differently and none of us "match". To discount a person because they have foreskin is incredibly shallow. Just like a man discounting a woman for having an extended clitoris, longer labia, or not having her clitoral hood removed is shallow.

There is nothing gross about the state of a man's (or infant's) natural penis. This is how they are SUPPOSE to look; without tight skin or dark circle scars. We tend to be afraid of what we don't know, but that doesn't make it's ok. It's just ignorance to how a penis is suppose to look. If your son's toes were oddly shaped and ugly, you wouldn't remove them. They are part of him, and you love every bit.

"Well, I've never actually seen one. I didn't mean it was gross looking because of the skin, I meant because of all that nasty stuff that builds up in there!"
-If you've never seen one, how do you know it's nasty? Oh, because of rumors and stigmas surrounding intact men in America. Well, we're talking about infants, for one. Remember how I said the glans and foreskin were fused? Yea, there's nothing "building up". And, the "stuff" is called smegma. This is a natural lubricant produced by the body, you have it too. It's your discharge. It keeps your pH balance normal, it keeps you lubricated for sex, it keeps your skin there soft. Everyone needs to practice proper hygiene, circumcised men included. In the end, a dirty penis is a dirty penis. Most intact men take extra care to keep themselves clean, partly because there is such a stigma about having a foreskin. In order for smegma to build up, the man needs to really lack in caring for his man bits, and this would probably be no different if her were circumcised, and I doubt you'd put EITHER penises in your mouth. But again, we're talking about infants, and whether you need to worry about his for YOUR son...so again, the answer is no. For the first portion of his life, his foreskin is self cleaning, after that, you teach him how. After that, it's up to him whether he'll be a slob or a Mr. Clean kinda guy. Regardless, it's nothing to remove body parts over.

"If it was unnecessary, they wouldn't do it."
-Many insurance companies, and state medicaid, are no longer covering circumcisions. Certain hospitals have banned the procedure as well. I've heard, first hand from friends/aquaintances, quotes in the range of $350-$1500 to have the surgery performed on their newborn. The reasons given "It is not medically necessary, it is a preference." My co-worker and I were discussing this issue one day. She was telling me that she had taken him (her son) to the pediatrician to get it done, because the hospital didn't perform the. The pediatrician told her the procedure was not covered by her insurance because it was considered a cosmetic surgery, and it would cost them $400. She debated it, but he told her that there was absolutely no reason to do it, that many boys today aren't getting circumcised, and told her proper care (not to retract). He's 5 and while her intentions walking in to the pediatricians office that day were to circumcise him without a thought or any research, she told me how happy she is that it wasn't covered and that he remained intact. I'm pretty sure he'll be happy about that, too!

If there are any other reasons you've heard for someone wanting to circumcise, I'd love to hear them. If you've been considering it and are still confused, have more questions, etc I would love to address that.

There are so many decisions for new parents to make, and it's important that you're informed. What I found when researching circumcision was that EVERY pro-circ benefit could be debunked with medical facts. That was enough for me. Why expose my perfect newborn boy to the risks of bleeding, pain, MRSA staph infection, decreased sensitivity and genital integrity if there were no benefits to it?

For a great first time parent article, check this out: http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html
Here's a group of doctors opposing circumcision: http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
For a quick, easy fact-checking decision maker, look at this: http://circumcisiondecisionmaker.com/
To find out why this group is fighting for baby boy's rights, go here: http://www.intactamerica.org/
Already raising an intact son (or pregnant with one who'll stay that way) join us here:
*Raising Intact Boys* on cafemom.

Just Because It's Natural, Doesn't Mean it Comes Naturally!

2010-02-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

There are many things that we do in our day to day life that have become like second nature, but aren't necessarily "the natural thing" to do. On the other hand, there are many things that should come naturally to us that we struggle with.

I find this a lot in terms of birthing and breast-feeding. To simply say "I'm going to have a natural birth" and do nothing to prepare for that is, in most cases, just not enough. I've seen it many times in friends/family and I've heard it many times from other women. "Yea, I wanted the natural birth but I just couldn't do it in the end."

Now, I had 2 natural births after a run of the mill epidural birth. The first was completely accidental; she came quickly and I birthed her at home with only my friend (who I originally called for a ride...that wasn't happening!). For my third baby I figured I had the last one without an epidural on accident, so surely, it won't be hard to do on purpose. I was pretty naive about it all at first, still learning many things as my pregnancy progressed. In my third trimester I hired a doula to help me through labor, but she proved to be unreliable. Though this seems to be a rare thing, it was the experience I ended up having. We didn't do *a lot* of preparation during pregnancy, and perhaps that was because the intent was that she'd be there for the birth to help at that time. It didn't end up that way for me.

By the time I was actually in full blown labor with Alex, my doula was unable to make it in time. So I was left to cope with it all myself. Is it impossible? Heavens no. After all, you will not DIE if you grin and bear it without an epidural...the pain WILL NOT kill you. So, worst case scenario for me was that I just dealt with it. Birth plan: Don't get epidural, it doesn't exist. End of story.

However, I know that it can be much more challenging for some women and I had the advantage of already having an unprepared natural birth. But what of the women who are pregnant with their first (or planning their first natural birth) and don't know what to expect? They may be surprised.

Yes, birth is natural. It is normal. Epidurals and other medications are new and our species THRIVED for centuries before their invention. Women were not dying of pain 100's of years ago.

However, even though giving birth is a natural occurrence (and for arguments sake, I'll state that I am talking about low-risk women and pregnancies) it is still something one needs to prepare for. It is called LABOR, after all. If you apply for a job and the description is "general labor", you don't assume it's going to be easy. In fact, you may avoid applying for this job if you aren't properly equipped or in the best shape to take it on. So WHY would you go in to LABOR (for birth) unequipped and unprepared...and basically, unqualified? Would you expect the same results as the woman who prepared for her natural birth and learned coping techniques? Would you expect as smooth a labor and delivery? No...just like your work would probably be sloppier had you applied for that job you hadn't prepared for.

Now, what works for one woman, may not work for another. You will have better luck if you learn to use a variance of coping tools for your labor. You may plan a water birth to find out the water makes you nauseous in labor. You may think a water birth sounds awful, only to find water is the only thing you want when in labor.

The key is to keep an open mind, and above all, listen to your body.

This becomes difficult in the hospital setting because there are many distractions interfering with your need to concentrate. You might not even notice that certain things are hindering the process. Not only are you in a foreign and somewhat "cold" environment, but there are numerous strangers, in and out, you're typically hooked up to various machines (though you have the option to have intermittent monitoring and refuse IVs) and you're often put under pressure to dilate on a schedule or continuously offered pain meds. Natural birth in a hospital is not impossible, as I can personally attest to. But it is certainly not easy. I do strongly urge women to thoroughly research their birthing choices, places, and care providers, regardless of the type of birth they choose in the end.

When a woman is in the comfort of her home, there are far fewer distractions. She is in her own peaceful place, she has chosen only those she wishes to be there to attend her in her birthing and she calls the shots. There aren't beeping machines, and clock to dilate by or a tee time that must be met by her surgeon. There is only her, and her baby (and the overseer, her midwife, if she's hired one.) This woman will have better luck, even if unprepared, because there is less interference.

But for the woman that is choosing the hospital, and wishing for a natural birth, she MUST look in to her options to help her through her journey. She must take the initiative to prepare for her laboring, unless she's not truly set on natural birth. If avoiding medications is the goal, she must believe that she can do it. And then, she must use the tools available to guarantee her success.

After all, just because it's natural, doesn't mean it comes naturally...but it's sure as hell not impossible.

For Information On Natural Birthing Techniques, Check These Out:
Birthing Naturally
Birth Ball
http://www.lamaze.org/
http://www.bradleybirth.com/
http://www.doula.com/
http://www.dona.org/
http://www.hypnobabies.com/
http://www.hypnobirthing.com/
http://www.waterbirth.org/
Find out fetal positioning and techniques: http://www.spinningbabies.com/
On Cafemom? Join some of these groups:
Birth is Normal
Birth Unhindered
Natural Pregnancy and Childbirth
The Homebirth Debate

In Case of Emergency, Bear Down and Push!

2010-01-29T23:42:00.000-08:00

So what on earth am I talking about with that title? Well, pretty much exactly what I said.

There have been many times I've heard a woman talk about her "emergency" birth story. Labor progressed quickly (she may be home or she may already be in the hospital) and she feels pushy. Let's say she's at home and on the phone with a 911 dispatcher (or her spouse/friend/kid/dog/etc is) and she feels an overwhelming urge to push. But alas, she is told to FIGHT against her body's natural desire and force to prevent the baby from being born until help arrives. Let's say the woman was in the hospital and the doctor isn't there, but of course he will be soon, so she's told by her nurses to resist the urge to push.

Now, I've felt that urge to push, in fact, I've been that woman at home in full blown labor ready to have a baby and I can tell you if you don't know for yourself, there is NO way you're going to fight that urge. It doesn't do you any good, anyway. If the urge to push has come, your body will literally birth the baby without your help. So you can push to help it or let it happen on it's own...either way, you're havin' a baby!

So for the rest of this blog I am not speaking as a homebirth or out of hospital birth advocate. I am speaking solely for the purpose of educating on "emergency birth", that is birth outside of how it was planned to take place.

I'm not naive, so I know that 3% of US women are choosing to birth with midwives and only 1% are choosing to birth at home. That being said, EVERY woman should be prepared for an unassisted home birth. I repeat: EVERY WOMAN SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR AN UNASSISTED HOME BIRTH.

Why?

Well, because you NEVER know what's going to happen. You need to trust that birth truly IS normal and that it is very rare that complications arrive especially when the process is left to happen naturally. It may be your second or third baby and labor just progresses quicker than expected or perhaps you handle your contractions very well and don't realize you're truly that close to birthing. Whatever the reason, you're now at home and about to have a baby. Quick, what do you do?

First, you RELAX and calm down and trust in this process.

Second, you let your support person and doctor/midwife/witch doctor know that you are in full blown labor and baby will be coming where you're at.

Third, get COMFORTABLE. Listen to your body, what does it want? Should you be squatting with support? Or is laying on your side more comfortable? Listen and do that.

Next, breathe through your contractions and push when your body tells you to push. If you have a partner there, have them get you some sheets or towels for the birth mess. Don't be afraid if your water hasn't broken, most bags of water don't break until the pushing phase. The towels will help to keep this mess under control. If fluid is clear: awesome. If meconium is present, that's ok. If the baby happens to aspirate the meconium, they can be suctioned. Many hospitals/midwives/birth centers are no longer suctioning for meconium unless they know the baby has swallowed some. So, you're still good to go.

*Do not have your support at any time check you for dilation*

As you and your body are pushing together, have your partner prepare to catch the baby. If you don't have someone there, try to get in a position so that you can gently welcome baby to this world. Don't pull the baby out, continue to push with your body. It may help to take a little rest after the head is birthed before you push the baby the rest of the way out. If you notice the cord around the baby's neck, don't be alarmed. Nuchal cords are present in 1 in every 3-4 births, wrapped at least once. This is not an emergency but rather another variation of normal. If you're able, simply loosen the cord and slip it off the baby's neck, then push to deliver the body.

You may notice that when your baby is first born, they are gray or bluish in color. Don't be alarmed. When your baby passes through the birth canal, up to half of their blood volume is pushed back up in to the placenta. As long as the cord is thick and pulsating, they are receiving nutrients and oxygen from the placenta. There is no need to clamp or tie off the cord. Many people let the cord finish pulsing on it's own so the baby gets vital blood that was lost back to the placenta, this helps reduce jaundice and other complications in newborn babies. As your baby's blood begins to circulate, they will "pink up", you can rub them to help get the blood moving, and skin to skin contact is vital to keep them warm.

If able, bring the baby skin to skin and begin nursing. Nursing immediately after birth will help with any post partum bleeding and can reduce hemorrhaging. If you notice that your baby's umbilical cord is short and they cannot reach your chest, hold them lower on your abdomen, DO NOT tug on the cord. The placenta can stay attached to the uterine lining for 30-60 minutes, so let the after contractions do their work and release the placenta. You may push it out when you feel the need, if help hasn't arrived yet.

In the event that the cord was short and your baby appears hungry or you feel the need to nurse immediately, try to push. It's not in your best interest to cut the cord without sterile scissors, as you don't want to risk an infection to the baby. If your placenta is not coming out, just be patient and wait for help. Don't attempt to tug on the cord and manually remove the placenta. Bend down/over to nurse if you need to.

If the cord was long enough for baby to be brought to breast, keep nursing until your help arrives or you're able to birth the placenta. Keep baby, cord and placenta intact without properly sterilized scissors.

That's pretty much it, you've had a baby. Congratulations.

Regardless of where you plan to birth or who you plan to attend you during that momentous occasion, it is wise to be prepared for anything and to know what is truly required, and what else is not. The easiest thing to remember in an emergency birth situation like this, is that less is more. Hopefully all of you get the births you're planning, but for those who end up in a situation that's, to them, less than ideal, be well informed.

Homebirth Babble

2010-01-28T14:11:00.001-08:00

Most recentlyGisele Bundchen's home birth of her son in December has been a topic of discussion. But there have been many other celebrities who've birthed at home. This is of course good for the homebirth awareness cause, but myself and some others wonder if this makes the anti-homebirth group cry "Trend!" in regards to women choosing to birth at home. Obviously, there's hardly anything trendy about the way women have been birthing since the dawn of time. However, since the big push to move birth from home to hospital and replace midwives with OBs it seems that anyone who has a natural birth even in the hospital is "primal and crazy".

If you've ever been around a group of women discussing birth, you've probably noticed a similar trend. Stories told with a life threatening complication and drama, how they had to endure this and the doctor had to do that and it was an awful horrible experience...but it was all worth it to have a healthy baby. You may have been one of these women, I know I was. I told my first birth story with excitement and enthusiasm but it wasn't that of a happy or calm birth, it was that of peril and fear; of internal monitoring and the "need" for an episiotomy that's left me forever scarred (literally and figuratively).

Now, if you've been lucky enough to talk to a group of homebirth (or even natural birthing) women, the stories are much different. They have that same excited tone and dramatic arm movements, but yet, there's a calm and tranquil quality to the woman who experienced birth in her own home. Even if a "complication" arose, they usually include how their midwife simply did X, Y or Z and the rest went smoothly.

I would love to hear these celebrity accounts of homebirth, straight from their mouths. After all, drama is their JOB, so I can only imagine how intriguing these stories are. I do hope to continue to see many more celebrities choose homebirth, and I'd love to hear more public speeches on their experiences. I also hope that the anti-homebirth movement stops claiming that homebirthing is a "trendy, new-age" idea simply because in the last CENTURY birth was taken from home.

I'd also love to hear YOUR thoughts on celebrities, homebirth and the idea of the supposed trend. What are your thoughts on it all?

The Importance of Nutrition in Pregnancy

2010-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share an article on Nutrition in Pregnancy. We all have cravings during pregnancy and it's certainly not harmful to indulge occasionally, but it seems many care providers really aren't giving women the real deal on just how important eating healthy in pregnancy is. Enjoy the article below from an older issue of Midwifery Today.

Nutrition during Pregnancy
by Amy V. Haas

[Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Having a Baby Today Issue 5, Spring 1995.]
Photos by Jennifer Rosenberg

The single most important thing that you can do for your baby is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. A well-balanced diet is one that includes foods from all food groups in appropriate amounts, so as to ensure proper nutrition. Proper nutrition ensures that all essential nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals and water) are supplied to the body to maintain optimal health and well-being. Good nutrition is essential for normal organ development and functioning; normal reproduction, growth and maintenance; for optimum activity level and working efficiency; for resistance to infection and disease; and for the ability to repair bodily damage or injury. While pregnancy is a normal alternative condition for the female body, it is stressful, and all nutritional needs are increased in order to meet the needs of the pregnancy.

Dr. Tom Brewer found through more than 30 years of research that each day, pregnant women need a well-balanced, high-quality diet that includes 80 to 100 grams of protein, adequate salt (to taste), and water (to thirst), as well as calories from all of the food groups. The World Health Organization recommends that a pregnant woman eat a minimum of 75 grams of protein per day, but protein is just a marker for a nutritious diet. It must be obtained from a wide variety of whole food sources in order to get all of the important nutrients a woman needs during pregnancy. While the government's food pyramid is a good example of a well-balanced diet, pregnant women need more protein and calories in general.

This means including:

2 to 3 servings of meat, fish, nuts or legumes, and tofu
2 to 3 servings of dairy (milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese)
2 servings of green vegetables; 1 serving of a yellow vegetable
3 servings of fruit
3 servings of whole grain breads, cereals, or other high-complex carbohydrates
salt to taste
6 to 8 glasses of clean, filtered water each day.

While this may seem like a lot of food, it will supply the 2000 to 3000 calories needed per day to make a healthy baby.

A study conducted at Harvard University found that by eating at least 75 grams of protein per day, pregnant women could prevent diseases of pregnancy such as preeclampsia (metabolic toxemia of late pregnancy). During pregnancy a woman's blood volume increases as much as 40 to 60 percent, and in order to reach this necessary level and maintain it, a woman's body needs adequate protein, salt, calcium, potassium and water from her diet. In April of 1996 the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article indicating that calcium may also help reduce the incidence of preeclampsia. Other recent research indicates that pregnant women need adequate folic acid (a B vitamin) to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. The Food and Drug Administration now recommends that breads and pastas be fortified with folic acid to ensure that all women of childbearing age get enough of it. Four hundred micrograms of folic acid a day is recommended. This can be obtained by eating whole grain breads, citrus fruits and dark green leafy vegetables.

As long as junk food and excessive sweets (sugar) are avoided, or kept to a minimum, weight gain should not be an issue. The diet listed above (or something similar) should provide all of the necessary nutrients, and a woman should have little problem obtaining everything she needs. A "whole food" is one that is unprocessed and is as close to its natural state as possible. While vitamin supplements are very popular these days, there are risks to taking supplements of certain vitamins while pregnant (i.e., vitamin A), and others are simply poorly assimilated (i.e., calcium or iron). The B vitamins, for example, must be taken in congress (B complex supplement), as absences, insufficiencies or excesses of one or another can cause problems. Check with your care provider before taking anything while pregnant. Vitamins and minerals should be obtained from natural, whole sources whenever possible, to ensure quality and proper assimilation by the body. A qualified nutritional expert should assess special dietary needs.

Cravings for foods are common in pregnancy and, in theory, can indicate a need or deficit in a diet. Cravings for healthy foods can be indulged, but cravings for non-food substances such as clay or laundry starch, a condition known as "pica," can be harmful and should be reported to your care provider.

Milk, eggs and other dairy products are inexpensive sources of calcium and protein. For those who are vegetarian, or simply to provide variety in an omnivorous diet, soy products, beans and nuts can be substituted. Dark green vegetables provide carbohydrates, water, bulk fiber, vitamins A, C, and B, calcium, iron, and magnesium; the darker green, the better. It is best to eat these vegetables raw whenever possible, but steaming or baking will also retain most of the nutrients. Citrus and berry fruits provide a great deal of vitamin C, and yellow fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, sweet potato, carrots and mango are good sources of vitamin A. Both of these vitamins are important for fighting infection, boosting the immune system, cell structure development and preventing placental detachment (abruption). Zinc is another important mineral for pregnant women, as it aids in supporting the immune system. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, zinc also helps to improve birth weight and certain aspects of fetal development.

While a vegetarian diet is a good, healthy choice when well balanced, vegetarians do have to work harder to obtain all the protein needed to increase their blood supply. If a woman follows a strict vegan diet, it may be even more difficult to get the necessary protein, but it is possible with diligence. See the supplemental reading list for sources of information on this subject.

Good Sources

Protein: chicken, fish, beef, pork, turkey, tofu, nuts, legumes (beans), milk, eggs, cottage cheese, whole grains, wheat gluten, soy cheese

Whole grains: brown rice, kasha (buckwheat groats), whole oats, whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals, quinoa, wild rice, wheat gluten, wheat germ, whole wheat pastas

Fruits: strawberries, kiwi fruit, apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, cantaloupe, pears, grapefruit, plums, nectarines, and peaches

Green vegetables: spinach, broccoli, zucchini, dark green lettuces, kale, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, arugula, lambs lettuce

Dairy: milk, yogurt, hard cheese, cottage cheese, egg

Other good whole foods: baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, green peas, soy products, corn

Iron: red meats, organ meats, eggs, fish poultry, blackstrap molasses, cherry juice, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits (raisins, apricots, etc.)

Zinc: pumpkin seeds, squash seeds, sunflower seeds, seafood, organ meats, mushrooms, brewer's yeast, soybeans, eggs, wheat germ, meats, turkey

Folic acid: spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, lima beans, soybeans, organ meats, brewer's yeast, root vegetables, whole grains, wheat germ, bulger wheat, kidney beans, white beans, salmon, orange juice, avocado, milk

Trained and certified as a Bradley® Method Childbirth Educator in 1995, Amy Haas' educational history includes a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Plattsburgh State University of New York. For the past six years she has taught Bradley® classes to pregnant families, empowering them to make healthful decisions. Amy's article, "How to Stay Healthy and Low Risk during Pregnancy and Birth" appeared in the Winter 2001 issue of Having a Baby Today. The original version of this article was shared through The Rochester Birth Network.

Sources:

Dunne, Lavon J., ed. 1990. The Nutrition Almanac. 3rd ed. New York: Nutrition Search, Inc., McGraw-Hill Publishing.
Brewer, Gail Sforza and Tom Brewer. 1985. What Every Pregnant Woman Should Know: The Truth about Diet and Drugs in Pregnancy. New York: Penguin Books.
Frye, Anne. 1993. Understanding Diagnostic Testing in the Childbearing Year. 5th ed. Portland, OR: Labrys Press.
Frye, Anne. 1995 Summer. Unraveling Toxemia. Midwifery Today 34: 22–24.
Frye, Anne. 1995. Holistic Midwifery, Vol. 1. Portland, OR: Labrys Press.
American Medical Association. 1996 Apr 10. JAMA. 275(14).
American Medical Association. 1995 Aug 9. JAMA. 274(6).

Other Recommended Reading:

The Brewer Pregnancy Hotline by Gail Sforza Krebs and Dr. Tom Brewer (http://ebooks.kalico.net/)
Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet, by Michael Klaper, MD
Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé
The Birth Book, by William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN
The Pregnancy Book, by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, and Linda Holt, MD

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/nutritionpreg.asp

ttp://www.blueribbonbaby.org/

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/mainindex.shtml

2 pending homebirths

2010-01-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a log time and I was planning, at one point, to blog about why but I've decided to just let it go.

So to bring everyone up to speed I have recently started a new adventure in the world of pregnancy and post birth working at a very popular Maternity clothing store part time. It's been very fun and fulfilling to help these women, some only weeks along in their first pregnancy.

Some clients are such regulars that I know them on a first name basis, others are one time shoppers getting a few basic things but I try to make the most out of each interaction. I've shared much breastfeeding advice and had to bite my tongue other times at things I've heard (or seen!). But all in all, I am so happy to work there, it's very good for me.

In other news, my best friend is pregnant with a baby boy and planning a homebirth. She had twin girls her first pregnancy 4 and a half years ago and had the typical hospital experience: helped along with pit, epidural, purple pushing, etc. She *did* have them vaginally which I think she's always felt was a blessing. So obviously, this is a whole new territory for her and I get to be there with her to experience it. I have yet to meet her midwife but she seems like a very sweet and smart woman. I cannot wait for this birth sometime between mid march and mid april.

There's another woman I know planning a homebirth with her second baby, a surprise package due at the end of February. She was looking for birth support through an online forum we both frequent and after meeting, we both clicked. I plan on photographing her birth as well as offering any support she may need. She's also in the care of an excellent and kind midwife.

I'm so looking forward to these experiences and feel giddy as a school girl! It seems like it's been so long since I've been around fresh new babies and even longer since I've gotten to experience this miracle with another mother.

I will continue to update on the these two births as time draws near!

Doula little dance, make a little love...

2009-06-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe in the opposite order! My good friend, Bre'Ann is now 39 weeks pregnant with baby number 1 and is right there at the end of the road! She has asked me to be a labor support person during her birth, along with her mother. Her goal is to have the baby without intervention or pain medication, which we all know is possible (barring some medical emergency). I myself birthed two of my babes with no intervention and her mother had all 3 of her children without any pain meds.

I am getting so excited to help her through her labor, to see little Ava and to share the amazing experience with her that I myself have gone through 3 times before. I'm hoping the phone call comes soon to rush over and lend my love and support.

I have been doing my best to prepare my dear friend to remember that pregnancy isn't always 40 weeks, that we can go longer than that and most first time moms do. She was sure she's have her by now, but has now resigned to the fact that she'll likely be pregnant for 42 weeks. I can definitely relate to that!

Whether tonight or 3 weeks from now, one thing is for sure...Miss Ava will be here soon! And we will all get to oooh and ahhh over her and her wonderful mommy.

Maternity Photography

2009-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Photograph property of Kathleen Holt of K. Holt Photography (aka myself)

This is something I really wish I had done with ALL of my pregnancies. However, during my first I didn't want ANY pictures of my belly. I wasn't a fan of the bump at all...interesting how things change! With Iris, other than a few snapshots (not at all intended to capture pregnancy) I have no pictures either. I finally decided I wanted professional maternity portraits with Alexander, but then we didn't have the money. Thankfully, we were offered a complimentary shoot to help build a local photographer's portfolio. I was taking photos at that time, but wasn't serious about it yet, or I'd have done my own.

Now I'm happy to offer the same to my own clients, and I have done a few complimentary shoots to build my own maternity portfolio. It is something that is so much fun, not only for a birth junkie like me, but for the mama herself. At a time when you are starting to wonder if this is all really worth the baby at the other end, you get to feel sexy, beautiful, glowing again...for some, even more than you ever did before. AND YOU ARE! A pregnant mama is one of the most beautiful things on earth (other than newborn babes, of course!).

Did you have maternity pictures taken for any of your pregnancies? Did you enjoy them or regret them? If you didn't have them done, was it a money issue or a personal preference? How bare would you go? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with us!

This was one of my favorites from our shoot, Iris's hand on my belly.

Photo copyright Ashley Edwards of Focused Creations photography.

The mind is a powerful thing!

2009-06-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

It may sounds absurd or nutty to say that you can actually think yourself into the pains of labor, but it is true. Fear creates pain and tension, pain and tension create fear and thus, if you fear your labor you can be stuck in a vicious fear/pain cycle.

So, how do we break this cycle, especially for new moms and how on earth do we not fear something we do not know?

Well, you start by telling yourself just how well you can do this because, of course, as a woman and mother you are amazing. There are many different birth affirmations, you can do a quick google search and find many listings. Some are corny as you can get while others are so very powerful. My personal favorite is:

"My contractions cannot be bigger than me for they come from me."

Oh how mighty and true!

If you begin as early in your pregnancy as you like, saying positive things to yourself everyday about how your body knows to grow your baby perfectly, knows how to birth your baby perfectly, knows how and when to be born...you can really have a strong and powerful effect on your labor and delivery. Woman have sworn that they've turned breech babies, changed malpositioned babies, and sped up labor simply by speaking to their baby and themselves. Our minds are powerful things, if we let them they can rule us. However, there is no reason why we cannot be stronger than our negative thoughts, after all, they come from inside our very own head, so there is no reason we cannot will them away with more powerful thoughts of the positive variety.

So if you are feeling anxious, nervous, inadequate about birthing because you're "such a big baby" about everything else or you've heard it's "the worst pain in the world" tell yourself just the opposite. Why let others talk you down because of their own failures in birth or their own insecurities with their hidden strengths? Instead, tell them that you appreciate their concern buy you are confident in your body's ability to work through this safely and strongly.

You are woman, you will birth!

I'm a horrible person and deserve to be smited!

2008-12-09T21:52:00.001-08:00

Wow, I am even afraid to look at how long ago I last posted. I have been absent for far too long and far too much has happened!!

Kids are growing bigger each day. Maggie is in Kindergarten, Iris in preschool and Alexander is just terrorizing me all day! We are living with mom because my hubby was laid off this summer. He took the opportunity to go through the corrections academy and received his certification...now he's just looking for work where budgets haven't been cut or put on hold.

My photography has really taken off and I hope to see my little business grow this next year. I am enjoying the art very much and am so happy to be taking pictures. It's really fun for me and gives me something to focus on (literally).

I will be back to blog, I just need to get into the swing of it again! Man, how time just flies!

Cloth Diapering Mamas, Enter for a Chance to WIN!

2008-07-20T21:32:00.001-07:00

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

How to choose: Midwife or OB?

2008-04-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

In America, most mom's don't even ask that question since the norm is to go see an OB (either private or group practice) and deliver in a hospital with all technology at hand. However, more and more women today are educating themselves on their birthing options and the previously normal trend of midwife attended birth is rising. Though still less than 1% of births take place at home, more women are opting for a nurse-midwife (a midwife who has RN training also called a Certified Nurse Midwife or CNM) for delivery in a hospital or birthing center.

Though the ideal place for normal, low-risk pregnancy and birth is home, having a midwife and birthing in a birth center will greatly help a woman achieve a less interventionist birth.

"Why would this be important to the outcome of birth? Isn't this just more a matter of preference?" many may ask. Well, technically, yes, either way you birth is ultimately a choice you have the free will to make. But, it DOES matter and it DOES play a large role in how your birthing experience can and will go. For many women, they want a natural birth simply to feel more connected to their body, more empowered. After all, there is nothing more womanly than birth and breast-feeding. But for some women, it's more than that. It is about the child, and they learn through research and thought just how negatively unnecessary intervention can be to their precious baby. It always makes me laugh to see women watch so carefully what they eat and drink during pregnancy just to pump themselves full of drugs hours before their baby is born.

For the women looking to achieve natural childbirth, the environment in which they deliver is very important. Not only the location, but who is there with them in attendance of their birth. When looking for a prenatal care provider there is a list of things you'll want to make sure are met.

You want to look for someone who takes the time to listen and answer your questions and concerns without making you feel rushed or degraded. Don't forget, whether you're meeting with a midwife or OB, they work for YOU. You are paying them for their services and though they are there to offer their advice and suggestions, it is all up to YOU what happens.
You want to hire a provider that connects with you. This is probably the most important thing you will do in your life (giving birth) and you don't want to share it with someone who looks at you as another number or as a meal-ticket. You want someone who is genuinely concerned with yours (and your child's) well-being, someone who understands that your wishes for a natural birth aren't silly and shouldn't be undermined.
You will probably want a care provider who shares your similar views and interests regarding the area of birth. Perhaps your midwife or doctor has had natural births themselves and feels strongly about it, in turn, leading to more support for you. But, don't forget, midwives and doctors are people, and if you are delivering in the hospital, you get the hospital ride, meaning they could be one way during pregnancy, and another way in labor. Always be prepared. This is also why the previous "rule" is important.
You'll want to ask for the provider's stats. And, if they are associated with a group or specific hospital, ask for those stats as well. It is important to know the trend your provider has. If you're planning a birth center birth, it may not be a good idea to do so with a midwife who's got a transfer rate of 45%. Likewise, if looking for a natural hospital birth, you don't want to hire an OB who has a high cesarean rate (anything over 10-15%). This information is important AND you are damned welcome to it. Any provider that won't disclose this information freely and gladly should make you nervous.
You'll want to share early in pregnancy what your wishes and goals for your birth are. Don't wait until you are 35 weeks pregnant to say "Oh, by the way, I wanted to go natural.". At that time, your doctor has already built trust with you and probably has their own plans for the birth. Aside from that, it's sort of rude to tell your provider just weeks before birth that you want "this, this and that with no if's and's or but's". Just, be straight forward. When you first meet and share this information, you can also use their reaction and answers to it as a deciding factor in whether or not they are right for you.
You should question any routine testing/intervention/practices your provider has. Some OB's will hand out a sheet of "what to expect" at different points in your pregnancy (for ex: when certain blood tests are done). Don't be afraid to question or deny a test or procedure, but if your doctor has a pre-printed list for patients, expect that they will probably fight you on your choice to refuse. This may mean that provider is not a good match for you, and you should keep searching. No matter the procedure, you have a legal right to refuse it. Also, your provider cannot legally drop you within 30 days without finding another one to take you on. Gestational Diabetes testing, ultrasounds, amniocentesis, quad-testing, and other procedures are not required, only suggested and ONLY on a case by case basis and if the mother is willing.
You will also want to start saving, preferably before you get pregnant, but if it doesn't happen that way (for ex: if the pregnancy is a surprise) then you can start saving and budgeting early on in your pregnancy. The reason you want to save is not only for the purchases you'll make for baby, but also for your birth. You never know what may happen. Many women discover in the end of their pregnancy that they provider wasn't who they thought (this goes for OB's AND midwives). Women may go from planning a birth center birth to home, some go from home to unassisted, and sometimes late pregnancy complications arise and you could go from out of hospital birth plans to in hospital. Life is full of surprises, so it's no wonder that the journey to bring life into the world is full of surprises as well. Save enough money as you can comfortably, but try to shoot for a figure of a couple thousand.

If you follow some of these simple guidelines, not only should you end up with your desired birth, but you should have the confidence to know you made a good choice in care. Remember: your birth is important, and the provider you choose to attend it is a big part of your birthing experience.

Going Cloth?

2008-03-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a long time coming, but we're finally converting to cloth diapers. We have a stash of about 32 prefolds and I have 2 covers in the mail on their way to me due to arrive tomorrow!! I am very excited for a few reasons.

1. We will save a TON of money by not having to buy sposies.

2. The cloth is much softer and breathable. It also doesn't contain nasty chemicals like disposables, therefore, Alexander will have a nice rash-free bum!!

3. I can reuse them. Though it will be harder for me than another mommy as I will wash by hand, you just throw them in the wash, and you're done.

4. They are good for the environment (Earth day is April 22nd!!)

5. They are CUTE!! BumGenius, Swaddlebees, Bummis Wraps...the list goes on!! Such CUTE diapers!! And, I've been finding GREAT deals at www.diaperswappers.com!! Check it out and let the addiction take over!

Those are just a FEW reasons to CD. It's not like it was 20 years ago. It isn't the hassle or the mess that people assume it to be. Sometimes, the net can give you so much info, that it makes it confusing! Why not read about going cloth is one place.

For anyone looking for more info, a cafemom wrote a WONDERFUL journal with easy to read information, including pics, on the different diapers and methods of CDing!! Find it here.

So, when you're deciding which paths to follow in parenting (breast vs. bottle, natural vs. medical birth, circumcising or not) add cloth vs. sposies to your list!! If you want to do best by your baby and best by the environment, it's really something to look in to, you may be surprised!

Why SHOULD you breast-feed?

2008-03-08T23:31:00.000-08:00

We often hear from women how hard it is/was to breast-feed. Some of these well-meaning women may have been there themselves, but many never gave it a go OR approached it with little to no knowledge or desire. You can look up the benefits of breast-feeding and any medically based site will tout it's benefits. We all KNOW that breast-feeding your child is the best thing you can do for them, but here's some reasons why you should straight from the mouth of a mother.

Why do I think you might care what I have to say? Well, I've been on BOTH sides of the fence. Actually, I've been on both sides as well as balancing ON the fence. I have only recently been able to come to terms with some of the guilt I feel over my past choices, and I would HATE for any other woman to have to struggle with the guilt I did simply because you, like I, were uninformed.

So, here are my personal reasons on why *I* think *you* should breast-feed your baby(ies).

It is the biological norm- your baby's tummy is designed for consumption of breast-milk. A baby's digestive tract is sensitive and it is susceptible to bacteria. The phrase "breast is best" isn't really the best term, it should be "breast is normal", because it's the STANDARD for optimum infant health.
It's FREE!- When I informed my husband that I would be breast-feeding our son come hell or high water, his reaction was simple "Cool, because formula's freakin' expensive!". It wasn't until I educated him more, during my pregnancy, on the benefits of breast-feeding, and even after watching his son thrive on my milk, that he looked at it for it's many other benefits. To him, in the beginning, it was simply enough that we would save, literally, THOUSANDS of dollars by breast-feeding.
It's easy- it might not always be easy in the beginning, and yes, many mom's DO face hardships with nursing (though many can be avoided with good education on nursing and/or professional help from an LC) but once you've established your nursing relationship, NOTHING is easier than expose breast and attach baby. That's it, you're done! No lugging around powder, sterile water, clean bottles AND a baby! Boobs are attached, portable, and always ready to go!
It's soothing- and not just for baby! Yes, it's true, breast-feeding will calm a fussy baby or whiney toddler like nothing else can, but it is also quite comforting and soothing for mom, both metaphorically as well as literally. When you nurse, you release oxytocin (the feel-good bonding hormone) and seratonin (the sleepy one!) which puts you (and baby) in a state of goo-goo-ga-ga lovey bliss!
It HELPS PPD- Breast-feeding can help keep PPD (Post Partum Depression) away as well as help it to be less severe. In the event that you still experience PPD to the point of needing medication, there are medications you can take while nursing that will not hurt the baby.
It's educational- What? How is breast-feeding educational? Well, let me tell you! When yo breast-feed, other people will inevitably see you doing it! If you have older children, they will undoubtedly be around as you feed the baby, and if they are anything like mine, they will ask questions! This is the PERFECT time to share the beauty of breast-feeding with your children. Remember, they are the future! You can also educate OTHERS by breast-feeding. If you are breast-feeding in public, there may likely come a time when someone confronts you about it (either positively or negatively) and BOTH circumstances can prove benefitial to their breast-feeding education! If it's a negative reaction (usually pertaining to whether you are in the right for breast-feeding in public) you can give them a legal education, as almost every state has a law for breast-feeding mothers, and to my knowledge, NONE have a law AGAINST it! I carry a copy of my state's legislation in my wallet. If it is a POSITIVE encounter, you can perhaps tell an inquisitive person WHY you breast-feed, encourage them to keep going (if THEY are breast-feeding) and all in all, give them exposure to breast-feeding which is helping to remind people it's NORMAL.
It's fun- it really is! Especially as your child grows, breast-feeding can become acrobatic and humorous! As you gaze down at your little one suckling away at your breast, you get smiles, giggles, and even the occasional game of peek-a-boo as your baby hides in your breast. Sometimes, the world just melts away as you enter your own little world.
It eases baby to sleep- Instead of resorting to possibly damaging methods like CIO (Cry It Out) or having to spend hours rocking, singing or DRIVING to get your baby to go to sleep, you can simply lay with and nurse your child into a peaceful state of slumber. Granted, all babies are different, and what works for one might not work for all, but I have yet to meet a breast-feeding mother who couldn't simply lay with and nurse her little one to sleep, even into the difficult i'llkickandscreamtogetmywayandavoidbedtime toddler years.
It's bonding- You hear it all the time, and if you are or have been a formula/bottle feeder, it may jab you the wrong way, putting you on the defense to say "I'm BONDED with my baby! You can bottle-feed and bond ALSO!". Well, no one said you CAN'T bond with a baby despite bottle-feeding. The difference is HOW you bond and how WELL you bond. Breast-feeding gives you skin-to-skin contact, something very essential to newborn bonding. There is no other choice, if you breast-feed, you WILL be skin-to-skin with baby. Also, your breasts are attached to you, meaning there is NO option for NOT holding your baby when you feed them. Even when laying down, you are in contact with your baby. I know many bottle-feeding mothers that SWEAR they have never bottle propped, but truth be told, you WILL do it at some point, it's undeniable. It doesn't mean you ALWAYS bottle prop, but you will be much more inclined to do so, especially when you're trying to get things done and the darn baby just doesn't understand you can't drop everything for them right now! And let's not forget, baby's do learn how to hold bottles, and while they can also hold breasts, they can't exactly do it ALL on their own! Feeding is a very important time for baby, it is important that they are held, so even if you aren't nursing, please, hold your baby.
Your child will thank you- I have actually thanked my mother for breast-feeding me. I think it is so wonderful that she made the little sacrifices in order to provide me with the best start in life. She breast-fed me EXCLUSIVELY for my first year of life. I am so happy to know that my mom held me and cuddled me and comforted me, just like I do my son, while also providing me with the most nutritious food for me! I just recently spoke with my friend who discovered she was bottle-fed and when she asked her mom why, she said she just "wasn't comfortable doing that." My friend's response was "Gee, THANKS, mom!" (obviously she was being sarcastic). If your child is still young, they will thank you each time they nurse, just by gazing at you with that intensity, rubbing your breast as they fall to sleep. If your child is a toddler nursing, they may thank you verbally, with something like "Thanks for giving me your yummy milk, mommy!". Even if you're never given a verbal thanks, the appreciation will be there, at some point. You will know, just watching your child thrive off the milk you provide for them, that they are thankful. They are thankful they have a mommy who cares, a mommy who loves them, a mommy who sacrifices to give them the norm, the standard, the best.

If you choose not to breast-feed, I hope that you (and your child) never suffer any guilt from the decision. I say that from the bottom of my heart, having been in a position of regret. If you choose to breast-feed, make sure you have a system of support. Educate yourself in pregnancy by reading books like "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" (put out by LLL) or "So That's What They're For", join a group like La Leche League (membership is not required to attend meetings or even borrow from the library) and make sure if birthing in the hospital you have in your birth plan that you wish to see an LC immediately following birth. Arming yourself with knowledge PRIOR to having your baby will help you feel more confident and will also help you counter any difficulties that may arise early. It is a selfless act to breast-feed, and your baby will benefit greatly from your choice to do so!

Baby Thoughts

2008-03-02T23:23:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about having a fourth child. No, no, no, I don't plan on doing it now, but I like to think about things and plan, daydream, etc.

One thing that amazes me is how far I've come from my first child, my first birth experience. I've done a complete 180. Would I even recognize that young girl in the delivery room? Legs in stirrups, flat on her back, monitor screwed into baby's scalp, doctor cutting away at her numb genitals? What would I say to that girl, if I could go back? Would I congratulate her on a beautiful baby? Would I tell her it was "Ok" to make those choices based absolutely on complete and utter naivety?

To tell you the truth, if I saw that girl, I don't think I could say a darn thing to her. I think I would sob, hang my head, and walk away. The good news is, it's impossible to ever be in that scenario (time travel not existing and all), but also because that same young girl who was so vulnerable to being taken advantage of (and basically asking for it) has changed so much since then. The dilemma that I REALLY face is telling OTHER women BEFORE they are that girl.

I've seen many women go through something like I did with baby number one, but come out of the OR after it all. Even if they escaped surgery, the wounds are still there. You can see it. Women who praise epidurals do it because they fear their own ability and they also feel as if they failed themselves. They KNOW that they are upset they couldn't birth their baby naturally (or rather, THOUGHT they couldn't). After all, how many natural birthers have heard from someone how "strong" they are, how "amazing" or that they are "a hero"? I've even been told this.

I am no super woman!!! I am simply A WOMAN. I went the route of trusting the doctor and yea, I survived and, at the time, I enjoyed my experience (for the most part), but I have since learned that trust in the doctor is trust misplaced. We need to trust in OURSELVES. We need to take responsibility for our labors, for how we will get through the pain because YES, there will be pain! You can either run from it, risking yourself and your baby, or you could embrace it, EMPOWERING yourself and sparing your baby!

The choice is yours. You can numb yourself from the beauty of childbirth or you could enjoy the amazing experience for what it is.

Junk Food for Babies?

2008-02-11T00:53:00.000-08:00

43.2% Corn Syrup Solids, 14.6% Soy Protein Isolate, 11.5% High Oleic Safflower oil, 10.3%Sugar (Sucrose) 8.4% Soy Oil, 8.1% Coconut Oil, Less than 2% of calcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Choloride, Magnesium cChloride, Ascorbic acid, choline, Chloride, L Methionine, Taurine, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ferrous sulfate, m- inositol, mixed tocopherols, Zinc Sulfate, d-alphatocopheryl acetate, L-carnitine, Niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, Cupric sulfate, thiamine chloride hydrochloride, vitimin a palmitate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid potassium iodide, potassium hydroxide, phylloquinone, biotin, sodium selenate, beta-carotene, Vitamin d3 and cyanocobalimin.

Those are the ingredients listed (in order) on a can of Similac Soy Formula (artificial baby milk). Below, you will find some information from the web on the ingredients. On top of the fact that these ingredients are mostly bizarre to find in a BREAST-MILK SUBSTITUTE, they are gross. I cannot believe that babies are being fed this crap, and then we're wondering why our society suffers from a diabetes epidemic. Gah! The following info was compiled by Savina (http://savina.livejournal.com/). Thanks for taking the time to help figure out what most of this junk was!

43.2% Corn Syrup Solids - Corn syrup solids are produced by carrying out the corn syrup refining process until the dextrose content makes up more that 20% of the total dry product. Because of this high ratio of dextrose, corn syrup solids are often used as a sweetener, especially in low-fat foods. Corn syrup is often used in low-fat foods as it adds sweetness, viscosity, and improves texture.

14.6% Soy Protein Isolate - Soy critics point to the fact that soybeans, as provided by nature, are not suitable for human consumption. Only after fermentation for some time, or extensive processing, including chemical extractions and high temperatures, are the beans, or the soy protein isolate, suitable for digestion when eaten.

11.5% High Oleic Safflower oil - The preferred form of the oil is high oleic safflower oil which has a higher percentage of monounsaturated (oleic) fatty acids — 76% monounsaturated, as opposed to 13% monounsaturated in regular safflower oil. Monounsaturated fat, found in high quantities in olive oil, is thought to be heart healthy because it lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels while at the same time maintaining HDL (good) cholesterol levels. High oleic safflower oil is also less susceptible to oxidation than regular safflower oil, another beneficial attribute.

10.3%Sugar (Sucrose)

8.4% Soy Oil - During World War II, soybeans became important in both North America and Europe chiefly as substitutes for other protein foods and as a source of edible oil.

8.1% Coconut Oil - Coconut oil is a fat consisting of about 90% saturated fat. The oil contains predominantly medium chain triglycerides,^[1] with roughly 92% saturated fatty acids, 6% monounsaturated fatty acids, and 2% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Of the saturated fatty acids, coconut oil is primarily 44.6% lauric acid, 16.8% myristic acid a 8.2% palmitic acid and 8% caprylic acid, although it contains seven different saturated fatty acids in total. Its only monounsaturated fatty acid is oleic acid while its only polyunsaturated fatty acid is linoleic acid.^[2]The American Heart Association recommends that individuals reduce their consumption of saturated fats, including those found in coconut oil, to less than 7% of one's caloric intake. ^[4] ^[5]

Less than 2% of calcium Phosphate - Calcium phosphate is the name given to a family of minerals containing calcium ions (Ca²⁺) together with orthophosphates (PO₄^3-), metaphosphates or pyrophosphates (P₂O₇^4-) and occasionally hydrogen or hydroxide ions. Seventy percent of bone is made up of hydroxylapatite, a calcium phosphate mineral.

Potassium Citrate - Potassium citrate is rapidly absorbed when given by mouth and is excreted in the urine as the carbonate. It is, therefore, effective in reducing the pain and frequency of micturition when these are caused by highly acidic urine. It is used for this purpose in dogs and cats, but is chiefly employed as a non-irritating diuretic.

Potassium Chloride - The chemical compound potassium chloride (KCl) is a metal halide composed of potassium and chlorine. In its pure state it is odorless. It has a white or colorless vitreous crystal, with a crystal structure that cleaves easily in three directions. Potassium chloride crystals are face-centered cubic. Potassium chloride is also commonly known as "Muriate of Potash". Potash varies in color from pink or red to white depending on the mining and recovery process used. White potash, sometimes referred to as soluble potash, is usually higher in analysis and is used primarily for making liquid starter fertilizers. KCl is used in medicine, scientific applications, food processing and in judicial execution through lethal injection. It occurs naturally as the mineral sylvite and in combination with sodium chloride as sylvinite.

Magnesium chloride- Magnesium chloride is the name for the chemical compounds with the formulas MgCl₂ and its various hydrates MgCl₂(H₂O)_x. These salts are typical ionic halides, being highly soluble in water. The hydrated magnesium chloride can be extracted from brine or sea water. Anhydrous magnesium chloride is the principal precursor to magnesium metal, which is produced on a large scale.

Ascorbic acid - a sugar acid with antioxidant properties. Its appearance is white to light-yellow crystals or powder. It is water-soluble. The L-enantiomer of ascorbic acid is commonly known as vitamin C.

choline - Choline is an organic compound, classified as an essential nutrient^[1]^[2]^[3] and usually grouped within the Vitamin B complex.

Chloride - Chloride is a chemical your body needs for metabolism (the process of turning the food you eat into energy). It also helps keep the body's acid-base balance. The amount of chloride in the blood is carefully controlled by the kidneys

L Methionine - High levels of methionine can be found in sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, fish, meats, and some other plant seeds.^{[citation needed]} Most fruit and vegetables contain very little of it; however, some have significant amounts, such as spinach, potatoes, and boiled corn.

Taurine -Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in lower amounts in the tissues of many animals including humans. ^[1]^[2] Taurine is a derivative of the sulfur-containing (sulfhydryl) amino acid, cysteine. Taurine is the only known naturally occurring sulfonic acid.^[3]It is a very important ingredient in pet food, specifically cats, as it's vital for their nutrition.

Ascorbyl Palmitate - Ascorbyl palmitate is an ester formed from ascorbic acid and palmitic acid creating a fat-soluble form of vitamin C.

Ferrous sulfate - Ferrous sulfate provides the iron needed by the body to produce red blood cells. It is used to treat or prevent iron-deficiency anemia, a condition that occurs when the body has too few red blood cells because of pregnancy, poor diet, excess bleeding, or other medical problems.

m- inositol - I can't quote anything specific, but it is manufactured vitamin C.

mixed tocopherols - Tocopherol, a class of chemical compounds of which many have vitamin E activity, describes a series of organic compounds consisting of various methylated phenols. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, it was given the name "tocopherol" from the Greek words “τοκος” [birth], and “φορειν”, [to bear or carry] meaning in sum "to carry a pregnancy," with the ending "-ol" signifying its status as a chemical alcohol.

Zinc Sulfate - Zinc sulfate (Zn SO₄) is a colorless crystalline, water-soluble chemical compound. The hydrated form, ZnSO₄·7H₂O, the mineral goslarite, was historically known as "white vitriol" and can be prepared by reacting zinc with aqueous sulfuric acid. It may also be prepared by adding solid zinc to a Copper II Sulfate solution. (Zn+CuSO₄→ZnSO₄+Cu) It is used to supply zinc in animal feeds, fertilizers, and agricultural sprays

d-alphatocopheryl acetate - Vitamin E acetate is a dry, powder form of vitamin E that has no antioxidant power until the acetate is removed in the intestine as it is absorbed.

L-carnitine - Carnitine, also known as L-carnitine or levocarnitine, is a quaternary ammonium compound biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine.^[1] It helps in the consumption and disposal of fat in the body because it is responsible for the transport of fatty acids from the cytosol into the mitochondria.

Niacinamide - Niacinamide is one of the water-soluble B-complex vitamins.

calcium pantothenate - Other commonly used names are vitamin B ₅ and calcium pantothenate .

Cupric sulfate - http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/C5918.htm
I don't even know why this is included. It's NEVER used in food, from what I found, and is actually hazardous to ingest, citing even burning of the esophogus and stomach.

thiamine chloride hydrochloride - Thiamine (vitamin B1) is useful in deficiencies of B vitamins, usually due to alcoholism, poor diet or starvation. The best natural sources are in all plant and animal foods but good sources are in brown rice, whole grains, seafood and legumes (pulses).

vitamin a palmitate - Retinyl palmitate, or vitamin A palmitate, is a common vitamin supplement, with formula C₃₆H₆₀O₂. It is available in both oral and injectable forms for treatment of vitamin A deficiency, under the brand names Aquasol A® and Palmitate A®.

riboflavin - Riboflavin (E101), also known as vitamin B₂, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B₂ is required for a wide variety of cellular processes. Like the other B vitamins, it plays a key role in energy metabolism, and is required for the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

pyridoxine hydrochloride - Water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. There is no clearly identifiable disease associated with deficiency but its absence from the diet can give rise to malfunction of the central nervous system and general skin disorders. Good sources are liver, meat, milk, and cereal grains. Related compounds may also show vitamin B₆ activity.

folic acid - Folic acid and folate (the anion form) are forms of the water-soluble Vitamin B₉.

potassium iodide -Potassium iodide is used in photography, in the preparation of silver(I) iodide for high speed photographic film. Potassium iodide is also added to table salt in small quantities to make it "iodized". In a saturated solution, it is also used as an expectorant to treat lung congestion.
potassium hydroxide

phylloquinone - Phylloquinone is a polycyclic aromatic ketone, based on 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, with a 3-phytyl substituent. It is often called vitamin K₁.

biotin - Biotin, also known as vitamin H or B₇, has the chemical formula C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₃S (Biotin; Coenzyme R, Biopeiderm), is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin which is composed of an ureido (tetrahydroimidizalone) ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring. Biotin is a cofactor in the metabolism of fatty acids and leucine, and in gluconeogenesis.

sodium selenate - Selenium is a chemical element that is essential, in small amounts, to humans and other living things. In the body it is found as part of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which helps to rid the body of destructive ‘superoxide’ molecules.

beta-carotene - The name "carotene" was first coined in the early 19th Century by the scientist Wachenroder after he crystallized this compound from carrot roots. Beta-carotene is a member of the carotenoids, which are highly pigmented (red, orange, yellow), fat-soluble compounds naturally present in many fruits, grains, oil and vegetables (green plants, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, spinach, apricots, and green peppers). Alpha, beta, and gamma carotene are considered provitamins because they can be converted to active vitamin A.

Vitamin d3 - Vitamin D regulates the calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood by promoting their absorption from food in the intestines, and by promoting re-absorption of calcium in the kidneys.

Cyanocobalamin is an especially common "vitamer" (that is, member of a family of vitamins, all of which have some particular nutritional activity in preventing some vitamin deficiency disease) of the B-12 vitamin family. It is the most famous vitamer of the family, because it is chemically the most air-stable, and it is the easiest to crystallize and therefore easiest to purify after it is produced by bacterial fermentation.

Born Again Breastfeeder

2008-02-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

I've often been addressed, when the debate of formula vs. breast comes up, as a holier than thou breastfeeding "nazi", a term both offensive and moronic. Often times, the formula feeding mothers involved in the debate assume I've been breastfeeding for years all my babes and that I could never understand their side of the story having never been there.

But ahhh, I HAVE been there. I am, in fact, a born again breast-feeder. My first child received the benefits of my breast-milk for an exclusive 2 month period, becoming totally weaned to the toxic bottle by the age of 4 months. This was due mostly to lack of support or information (in regards to the benefits of breast-feeding as well as formula dangers). Being of the ripe age of 17, a full time student and worker as well as single mom and with no one urging or supporting me to pump for my daughter, the likely choice was to bottle feed with artificial and substandard baby-milk, also known as formula.

I never thought twice about this choice, and though I had enjoyed nursing my daughter, I had certainly had trials with it. One being that my mother had me nurse in separate rooms around company and that I couldn't "be a teen" while breast-feeding, aside from the nipple pain I had experienced in the beginning).

When my second child was born, my husband (then boyfriend) and I had decided we could not afford to raise our child, and prior to her birth had planned on adoption. Even during our stay in the hospital, this was our mindset. My daughter was receiving bottles of formula, as it was assumed this would be how she'd be fed upon her adoption. 24 hours or so after her birth we both finally admitted there was simply no way we could go through with it, and, no matter how hard a burden, we'd take care of her, not someone else. I half-heartedly attempted to put her to my breast. I was both nervous and emotional. She did not latch and showed absolutely no interest, and instead of pursuing it, I just admitted defeat. My second child never received a drop of breast-milk.

During my third live pregnancy, I decided I was going to breast-feed for a few reasons.

It was economically wise
I had no reason not to, being a SAHM
I knew it had benefits over formula, not only financially but health wise.
I missed nursing, even though I had only done it for a very short time.

I remembered more and more the bond I felt to my daughter when I nourished her from my breast and as my belly grew and grew, I looked forward to nursing my new baby. I began to make friends in my online mother's community and many of them shared the same basic parenting principles as I, and almost all were breast-feeders.

I began to hear more and more about how dangerous formula could be, and when looking in at it from someone who could see both sides, I was amazed at the reasons one would choose formula (barring all true medical necessities). To this day, I cannot think of nor have I seen one SELFLESS reason to formula feed by choice. The more I read and researched about this infamous formula vs. breast-milk debate, the more I learned that there were many misconceptions surrounding breast-feeding. I could start to predict someone's story as to why they "had" to formula feed. It was much like the "necessary cesarean" stories, which all fell into the same cookie cutter shape.

By the time I was 9 months pregnant, I knew not only would I breast-feed my son, but formula simply was NOT an option. I can tell you, my son and I have yet to run into a problem nursing. I hardly even experienced soreness in the beginning. I attribute 99% of this to my attitude toward breast-feeding this time around.

Do I look down on women that formula feed? No, not really, more-so I feel BAD for them, because many believe they have a medical reason to be using formula, when the reality was just poor advice on breast-feeding.

As someone who has been on both sides of the spectrum, I feel obligated to share what I've learned and I love sharing what I know with other women. Just because you didn't breast-feed your first doesn't mean you cannot breast-feed your subsequent children. I think that mindset comes from inner guilt. As with many things in life and parenting, when you KNOW better, you DO better, and breast-feeding is no different.

Bittersweet

2008-02-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

At dinner with my In-laws tonight, my step-mother-in-law (yes, you read that right) was sitting next to me as I tried to encourage Alexander to eat, something he was not interested in at the time. As I fixed my self and sat him up she smiled down at him and said "You're so lucky to be able to breastfeed.".

I know that she formula fed her daughters and it had come up at Thanksgiving. I think most of it was the times and the lack of support/information. They "wouldn't latch" to the breast, and therefor were bottle babies. I just thought it was sort of a bittersweet feeling to hear her say that I was lucky. Her voice sounded so sad, but I know that she's happy her little baby grandson is breastfed.

Yes, I'm lucky to be able to breastfeed, but my son is luckier to BE breastfed.

Why I love natural birth and how I came to love it.

2008-02-08T02:00:00.000-08:00

You may be surprised to hear that I have not always been a natural birth advocate. In fact, I was very far from it.

My first pregnancy was unplanned. I was with a huge jerk (to put it incredibly lightly) and was only 16 when I conceived my glorious daughter. After seeing the two lines on the test confirming my pregnancy and deciding right then and there I was keeping my baby, the second decision I made was to sign up for an epidural, because "No way was I going to feel that pain if I didn't have to!". My mother tried to talk me out of it numerous times, having birthed my brother and I naturally, but I wouldn't have it. Yes, I had sex and was soon to be a mother, but I was still a teenager, and part of my insistance was to spite her. Ahh, ignorance is bliss.

When Christmas break of my senior year arrived and I was just days away from my due date, I still never doubted my decision to "numb" my birth experience. When the big day came, I did just that. At 4 cm and "near death" from the pain (Read: I was a big fat wimp that did nothing to prepare except sign up for the epi) I received my epidural. "In 15 minutes, you'll feel nothing from the waist down.". GREAT. FINALLY. But, what's this? 15 minutes later I'm still crying like a baby. The epi didn't take, so I had to have it re-administered (oh yea, that was fun. Anyone who's had one of those gawd awful things KNOWS what I'm talking about!). This time, it took and I proceeded to fall asleep.

I was woken up a few hours later by nurse who checked me, said I was complete and told me to start pushing. After about 1 1/2-2 hours of pushing, my doctor showed up. 3 hours from the start of pushing, my mom holding one leg, my best friend holding the other, my daughter was finally born, with internal monitor in her head and all! She was whisked away to NICU to address this DANGEROUS (sarcasm) meconium, then her apgar was done and finally, at 1 hour old, I held my baby girl, nursed her for 15 minutes and she was whisked away again, to go to the nursery, while I was sent to post partum.

Fast forward to baby number 2. The birth of my second daughter was very different from that of my first. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning with contractions, pretty regular ones at that, but not painful, just consistent. I sent hubby off to work and told him that by the time he got home at around 1pm we'd probably need to head to the hospital to have a baby.

That never happened. I mean, we had a baby, but not at 1pm, and not at a hospital. My labor quickly progressed from consistent to efficient. I thought back to my previous birth, when I thought the end of the world was approaching at 4cm, and I decided I was nowhere near that this time and to labor it out at home until Seth returned.

I began to feel a lot of pressure, and was sure I had to go to the bathroom. I made a lot of attempts to do so, but to no avail. I paced a lot, it's just what my body needed, told me to do. I hardly sat still for a moment. Finally, I was having to really breathe through my contractions and decided a bath sounded nice. I ran the water, nice and warm, and sunk into the tub. I actually began to drift to sleep. The bath worked...for a while. Finally, I was in the mindset that birth was eminent and I need to go. I called Seth at work, but he said he couldn't leave (at this time we were very poor and he worked a minimum wage job that we needed and he was afraid of losing it). I called my best friend, Toni, and she rushed right over.

I answered the door in nothing but a towel and told her to call an ambulance, after all, birth is an emergency situation, right? I headed to my bedroom to lay in my bed and wait, and in the less than 30 seconds it took for her to make sure the gate and door were open for the paramedics and then return to my room, my daughter was born. As she walked back into my room, I pushed, feeling my body completely take over and tell me "You need to do this...NOW". In 3 pushes she was born onto my bed, after about 2 hours of labor, with only my friend there. All was well, it was the hospital experience that ruined it.

Had I known then that we had just done something that was perfectly legal, I would have turned the paramedics away. Instead, it got us a 3 day hospital stay, a myriad of tests and an array of accusations.

This experience made me realize quite a few things. First and foremost, how amazing our bodies are. I naturally did many things that you SHOULD do in labor (sitting on the toilet, walking, the warm bath, squatting to birth...) but yet, I was never told to do any of these things. This is probably ONE of the reasons my labor was so quick.

Secondly, I felt so empowered. Was it what I planned? No. But that's what was so great about it. I would have never thought I could do that, but I did do that. And, I did it ALONE. How cool is that?

Thirdly, I realized that had I not had that blasted epidural with my first, I would have KNOWN that pressure to "go to the bathroom" was a BIG sign we were close to birth, that when my contractions were one on top of the other I was in transition, that when that urge to push came my body would have done it without me. Instead, I was numbed from my first child's birth, not just physically, at this point, I realized it affected it emotionally.

I began to question my births, yes, even my second one, though not the birth itself so much as the post partum stay in hell, I mean, the hospital. I realized that natural birth was no doubt the only way I would birth my babies in the future, save for a true emergency in which a cesarean would be required.

As I enjoyed my third pregnancy and all the excitement that went with it, I read and researched as much as I could. I knew I could do this (the natural birth) but I wanted to be prepared this time, I didn't want any fear that I had before. I began to learn a lot, and the more I learned, the more leery I became of the hospital. I almost had another UC (unassisted childbirth) with my son, only it would have been on purpose, but my husband really wasn't comfortable. Due to an insurance change in my 8th month and lack of preparation, I planned a hospital birth with my first OB and a rigid birthplan. I had my natural birth, it was pleasant, as pleasant as a hospital setting can make it, but I WILL have my homebirth next time, with or without the aid of a midwife.

I am happy to have 'accidentally' discovered the beauty of birth. My second daughter has taught me a lot, that is just one of many things. All my children have helped me learn and discover who I am, I only hope I can aid them in their own self discovery.

A long journey, and not done yet!

Alexander Odin Holt just minutes old.
9.6 lbs 21 1/2 inches

My Beautiful Girls; My life
Margaret Jane, 5 yrs

Iris Melinda, 2 yrs

10 Intact Truths You May be Surprised to Hear

2008-02-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

*Warning, Satire*

10. Phimosis. Yup! It's REAL. It DOES happen. What exactly IS Phimosis? Well, in laymen's terms, it's when the opening of the prepuce (foreskin) is small, too small, in fact, to roll back over the glans (head) of the penis. OMG! Why would we risk this happening to our boys! Well, firstly, it's VERY rare and highly overdiagnosed. Since the foreskin is different on each person (such as the labia on some women is more extended or even the clitoris) it retracts any time between infancy and adulthood. Big range? Yes, yes it is. Therefore, you cannot properly diagnose someone with phimosis accurately before they are an adult, yet it is done all the time. In some cases, this may cause pain to the individual and when phimosis is truly the issue, it can be fixed, most of the time, without any surgery being required. Steroid creams and manual stretching or stimulation to the foreskin can often "cure" this "problem". In the instance of a stubborn foreskin, one need only see the urologist for a small incision in the opening of the foresking to allow it to stretch enough. Circumcision may never even be required for phimosis, so to do it to avoid the RARE possibility of having phimosis, is just not a valid enough reason.

9. SMEGMA. This word, for some reason, seems to have a lot of people freaked out. It is, in fact, a very REAL thing. Smegma is EVERYWHERE. Here's a surprise: YOU have smegma! All it is, is DISCHARGE. It is lubrication for the head of the penis or, in women, for the vagina. It traps bacteria to keep it OUT of the urethra and help AVOID infection. It is important and serves a purpose. Yes, it has an odor! So do you. If you were to smell yourself after a long day or if you hadn't showered, I can tell you, it's probably not attractive and any man would say he wouldn't venture there! Oh my, how dare he! Well, how dare we say it of him!

8. Retraction. It is true. An ADULT male DOES have to retract his foreskin to clean. I hate to admit it. It must really be tedious to have to retract, rince, and replace, instead of just rinsing. I think it might take a whole 10 seconds instead of five, who has that time these days?

7. Unattractive. An uncircumcised male's penis is unattractive. Yup, it sure as heck is. But wait...I have never seen an ATTRACTIVE penis. I've seen both, been with both. You have the choice of the offensive intact penis, with it's extended foreskin hiding the head except during erection or the circumcised penis, with it's scars and roughened head. Gross. I'll just be a lesbian, all penises are ugly. Oh wait, so are vaginas. Damn, I'm screwed.

6. Different from dad. So true. If your husband is circumcised, not doing so to your son is going to leave him wondering why they are so different. But, with all circucmsions being performed different, healing differently, penises being different sizes, adult men having pubic hair there seems to be a whole list of things that are different between father and son just with their genitals. So, if I have to worry about explaining that, what am I going to do when my son has a different nose, or ears, or chin than my husband? Or why my husband has a hairy chest, or deep voice! Oh my goodness, I am running into all sorts of problems here. But, at least I can try to make their penises look similar. That is a load of my back!

5. STD's. Quite a few different studies support a slight decrease in the transfer of STD's in circumcised partners. Most of these are in regards to men circ'd later in life or done in other countries. Nonetheless, I don't want my boy bringing home the nasties! But wait, can't he still get it? So, it's not a guarantee, right? I mean, the only way to PREVENT getting and transferring STD's is to practice SAFE sex or abstinence. I'm not really sure how the fact that it's decreased is relevent, but I suppose it is a lot easier to have him circumcised at birth and not have to worry about educating him on safe sex practices. Plus, how uncomfortable would THAT conversation be!

4. Culture. I don't think I need to tell anyone that circumcision is a cultural thing. And not just in the US, in other places around the globe. We have one of the highest circumcision rates of developed countries. And, we're America! We know what we're doing...right? I mean, we do have some of the highest HIV/AIDS rates, even though we're making sure to circumcise our boys because as we learned, it prevents that, err...CAN prevent...err, MAY decrease the risk of that. Nonetheless, it's cultural. It's the American way, and of course, America has NEVER been wrong. *cough*Bush*cough*

3. UTI's. This IS true. Circumcised men are less likely to get UTI's! PRAISE BE! However, girls still get far more UTI's, too bad we have to waste money on antibiotics for them. For boys, it's so much easier, since we have circumcision available to fix that! I mean, sure, they can still GET UTI's, and it's rare for a boy to get one anyway, but, like I said, all the money we'll save in copays for visits and prescriptions by just paying one time for circumcision, that is a HUGE load off of my back, especially since I'll need that money to pay for my girls' treatments.

2. Religion. It's obvious that all religions have demands from their higher powers to do or perform certain things. Most require some form of prayer or praise and even different types of sacrifices. For Jews and Muslims, circumcision is one such practice required by God. I mean, yea, there's a group of Jews that oppose circumcision, but they aren't orthodox anyway. And, well, I know that none of us practice EVERYTHING that our faith teaches, but that's why God gave us free will, it makes it easier to pick and choose which parts we follow to suit our needs and which ones we ignore.

1. Choice. Here's the shocker: circumcision is a parent's choice. I'm not arguing with that. How can I? The law SAYS so. If I were to say it wasn't your choice, that'd be like saying blue is REALLY purple. It's simply not true, no matter how many times I say it! Is it the right choice? Should it be a choice? I mean, why not! But, how come I can't circumcise my daughter? Oh, the law says it's not my choice, that's right. But, what about my dog? Oh, you mean it protects him too? I remember when my mom's horse got an infection, and she had to clean out his sheath. Have any of you SEEN a horse penis? Do you KNOW how big those things are? FAR bigger than a man's! Anyway, I remember her saying what a PITA it was to clean that and you know, if only she could have circumcised her horse, she would never have had to deal with that! Instead, she was FORCED to clean him out and give him antibiotics. Damn horse.

You have entered a NO DRAMA zone.

Please, know your rights!

2007-12-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

The concepts of informed consent and the right to refuse treatment are supported by constitutional law (the right to privacy and self-determination protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments); federal law (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and the Patient Self-Determination Act); international tort law; as well as state laws and stated-mandated medical ethics. They are also covered in the ethical guidelines of the American Medical Association(AMA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

These laws provide all patients, pregnant or not, with certain fundamental rights:

The right to exercise self-determination and autonomy in making all medical decisions, including the decision to refuse treatment.

The right to bodily integrity. Any form of non-consensual touching or treatment that occurs in a medical setting constitutes battery.

The right to be provided with the necessary information on which to base medical decisions, including a diagnosis; recommended treatments and alternatives; the risks, benefits, discomforts and potential disabilities of proposed medical treatments; realistic expectation of outcomes; a second opinion; and any financial or research interests a physician may have in proposing certain treatments.

The right to be informed of any potentially life-threatening consequences of a proposed treatment, even if the likelihood of experiencing such and an outcome is rare.

The right to make medical decisions free from coercion or undue influence from physicians.

The right to have informed medical decisions witnessed, signed, and documented by the attending physician and another adult.

The right to revoke consent to treatment at any time, either verbally or in writing.

Source: Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner

The "Business" of Birthing in the US

2007-12-07T23:57:00.001-08:00

I felt this article was worth sharing. It's an easy read, as it simply lists some nice little facts about birth in America. Think that all the poking and prodding were safe? Think that you had a c/s because you "needed" it, not because it was iatrogenic (caused by physician), then perhaps you need to rethink your birth. Were you left 100% alone? Were you given pitocin? Had your membranes artificially ruptured? Had an epidural? Unless you had absolutely no intervention, you cannot say, nor can you know, that you would have needed surgery to remove your child from your womb.

Note: All of the information here represents fact, not opinion, of birthing within the United States. If you don't believe it, check the references listed at the end of the article. That being said, you may want to sit down before reading further...

FACT
Each year, the U.S. spends over $50 billion dollars on childbirth. This is more than any other nation in the world. (This number does not include babies in the NICU or readmissions during the first month.)

FACT
Birthing is the largest source of income for American hospitals.

FACT
The U.S. ranks 37th in the world for the quality of its health care.

FACT
Over HALF of all hospital admissions in America are for maternity.

FACT
Hospitals are NOT the safest place to have a baby. 25 infectious strains exist that are resistant to ALL known antibiotics. These are found primarily in hospitals.

FACT
75 years of routine hospital birth have produced NO studies to show it is safer than having a baby at home.

FACT
Both homebirth and birth centers have been scientifically proven to be safer than hospitals with a skilled labor attendant (i.e. midwives, not doctors).

FACT
The more technology used in childbirth, the more dangerous it becomes.

FACT
The larger the hospital, the greater the risks to both mother and baby.

FACT
Of the 4.3 million babies born annually in the U.S., a mere 5% represent natural childbirth.

FACT
America has the 32nd highest infant mortality rate in the entire world.

FACT
The U.S.A. has the 14th highest maternal mortality ratio among developed nations.

FACT
Over 90% of all infants in the U.S. are born with drugs (e.g. narcotics from epidurals, pitocin, acetaminophen, etc) in their systems. NONE of these drugs have been tested for safe use in infants.

FACT
A 24-hour hospital stay, uncomplicated delivery in the U.S.A. costs anywhere from $8,000-10,000. This cost DOUBLES for a c-section.

FACT
ALL families in the U.S. are charged newborn nursery charges, even if the baby NEVER leaves the mother's room. This "routine" charge amounts to about $1.3 billion dollars annually, for services that are NOT rendered. (I'm not quite sure why this doesn't constitute insurance fraud - billing for services not rendered.)

FACT
Every year, 1 million, or about 20%, full-term, healthy infants are sent to the NICU for "observation" for an average stay of 3 days, totaling a whopping $6,000.

FACT
For newborns suspected to have serious medical conditions, the same NICU stay totals $20,000.

FACT
1 in 3 American women has an episiotomy. Episiotomies are medically indicated for less than 10% of all women. Over 1 million unnecessary episiotomies are performed annually in the U.S.

FACT
1 in 5 births in the U.S.A. are induced. 44% of women surveyed in 2002 reported their doctor wanted to induce. Only 16% reported medically-indicated reasons.

FACT
American women who elect epidurals are FOUR times as likely to have cesarean sections.

FACT
1 in 4 American babies are born by cesarean section. The World Health Organization recommends a c-section rate of less than 10% as acceptable.

FACT
U.S. hospital policies for routine tests, practices, policies and procedures are based on financial considerations, which include malpractice insurance costs. They are not based on evidence, research, or appropriateness of care.

I truly hope you found these statistics disturbing. If they don't speak to the medicalization of childbirth in this country, I don't know what does.

The true horror comes in the fact that these views are being exported across the world. As the U.S. is such a powerhouse of marketing, more impressionable regions are adapting to these customs, despite the overwhelming evidence that the U.S. approach to childbirth IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED!

American obstetricians are taught to view birth as "a disaster waiting to happen." The average delivery in the U.S. is neither natural nor healthy. We have embraced a cascading system of successively more intense, unneeded interventions termed "active management" or the "standard of care".

So what do we do? How can we change the system?

We as a country need to reach beyond our own boundaries to embrace an effective model of maternity care. We, as women, mothers, and families, must educate ourselves as to the true process of labor and birthing.

We must regain our faith in our bodies' perfect ability to have a baby. We must look at what the research is already telling us - that nature has it right!

In short, we must take back our birthing!

And if you're still not convinced, check these out:

From Giving Birth Naturally dot com http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/birthing.html

2007 Cesarean Research Results

2007-12-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

The cesarean rate as of 2006 was 31.1% as a nation...sick. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends rates no higher than 15%...what gives USA?

Rising Cesarean Rate Bad for Mothers

Top 12 Studies from 2007

Maternal and neonatal individual risks and benefits associated with caesarean delivery: multicentre prospective study (Villar, et al., British Medical Journal, 2007;335:1025, 17 November)

Study Design: Researchers assessed the risks and benefits of cesarean delivery vs. vaginal delivery.

Bottom line: Cesarean carries twice the risk of injury and death for both mother and baby. Women with cesarean experience double the rate of hysterectomy, blood transfusion, admission to intensive care, prolonged hospital stay and death, compared to mother who delivered vaginally. Babies born by cesarean were 45 percent more likely to be in the neonatal intensive care unit for 7 days and 41-82 percent more likely to die than babies born vaginally.

Risk of Uterine Rupture and Adverse Perinatal Outcome at Term After Cesarean Delivery (Spong, et al., Obstetrics and Gynecology 2007; 110: 801-7)

Study Design: Researchers examined the risk of uterine rupture after cesarean and what harms it may have for mothers and babies.

Bottom line: Regardless of how the baby was delivered, the rate of uterine rupture was low and complications from rupture were also low for both mother and baby.

Maternal outcomes associated with planned primary cesarean births compared with planned vaginal births. (Declercq, et al. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007 Mar; 109(3):669-77.)

Study Design: Researcher divided mothers into two groups: women with a planned cesarean after no labor and women who labored and had either a cesarean or vaginal birth and then compared rehospitalization rates.

Bottom Line: Rehospitalizations in the first 30 days after giving birth were 2.3 times more likely in planned cesarean than with planned vaginal births. The leading causes of rehospitalization after a planned cesarean were wound complications and infection. Hospital costs were 76 percent higher for women with planned cesarean, and hospital stays were 77 percent longer.

Previous caesarean or vaginal delivery: Which mode is a greater risk of perinatal death at the second delivery? (Richter, et al., European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 2007; 132: 51-7)

Study Design: Researchers compared mothers who had delivered previously by cesarean vs. vaginally, and examined the number of babies who died in the subsequent pregnancy.

Bottom line: A previous cesarean delivery was associated with a 40 percent increase in perinatal death (the first week after birth) and a 52 percent increase risk of stillbirth. A vaginal or cesarean delivery in the current pregnancy did not impact the death rate.

Postcesarean delivery adhesions associated with delayed delivery of infant (Morales, et al., American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2007; 196: 461.e1-e6

Study Design: A common complication of any surgery is overgrowth of scar tissue, called “adhesions.” Researchers examined the frequency of adhesions with successive cesareans and whether adhesions caused by cesareans could slow down the delivery of a baby in the next pregnancy.

Bottom line: Researchers concluded that each successive cesarean significantly increases the incidence of adhesions and can slow down the delivery of a baby. One prior cesarean adds 5.6 minutes to the time it takes to deliver the baby, 2 prior cesareans 8.5 minutes, and 3 prior cesareans 18.1 minutes. This delay can compromise the health of the baby, researchers concluded.

Association of caesarean delivery for first birth with placenta praevia and placental abruption in second pregnancy. (Yang, et al., British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology: 2007 May;114(5):609-13.)

Study Design: Researchers examined the incidence of placenta previa (placenta blocking the cervical opening) and placental abruption (placenta separating from the wall of the uterus prematurely) in women who have had a prior cesarean vs. a prior vaginal delivery.

Bottom line: Compared to vaginal birth, cesarean increased the risk of placenta previa by 47 percent and placental abruption by 40 percent. Both complications carry the risk of death for both mother and baby. Researchers indicated that complications may be due to the cesarean scar on the uterus.

Risks of adverse outcomes in the next birth after a first cesarean delivery. (Kennare, et al. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007 Feb; 109(2 Pt 1):270-6.)

Study Design: Researchers examined the complication rate of women who delivered their first baby by cesarean vs. vaginally.

Bottom line: Women who had a prior cesarean delivery were more likely to have complications than women who had a prior vaginal delivery. Women with a prior cesarean were more likely to have a placenta previa (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66), placenta acreta (OR = 18.79), and bleeding during pregnancy (OR = 1.23). During delivery, women with a prior cesarean were also more likely to have a prolonged labor (OR = 5.89), uterine rupture (OR = 84.42), and need an emergency cesarean (OR = 9.37). Babies born to women with a prior cesarean were more likely to be small for their gestational age (OR = 1.12), have a low birth weight (OR = 1.30), and to be still born (OR = 1.56).

Safety and efficacy of vaginal birth after cesarean attempts at or beyond 40 weeks of gestation. (Coassolo, et al., Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Jan;107(1):205)

Study Design: Women who attempted VBAC before the estimated due date (EDD) were compared with those at or beyond 40 weeks of gestation.Researchers assessed the relationship between delivery after the EDD and VBAC failure or complication rate.

Bottom Line: The risk of uterine rupture (1.1 percent compared with 1.0 percent) or overall morbidity (2.7 percent compared with 2.1 percent) was not significantly increased in the women attempting VBAC beyond the EDD. Women beyond 40 weeks of gestation can safely attempt VBAC, although the risk of VBAC failure is increased. ( **Note from me…this is because of pressure from the OBs/Midwives…NOT because of the VBAC itself!** )

Incisional endometriomas after Cesarean section: a case series. (Minaglia, et al., J Reprod Med. 2007 Jul;52(7):630-4.)

Study Design: Patients were identified who were diagnosed with incisional endometriomas (functional endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity, within the incision) after undergoing cesarean section.

Bottom Line: The overall incidence of incisional endometriomas following cesarean section was 0.08 percent. Optimal treatment is by surgical excision.

Predicting Failure of a Vaginal Birth Attempt After Cesarean Delivery. (Srinivas, et al., Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007 Apr;109(4):800-5)

Study Design: Researchers analyzed the records of women offered VBAC in 17 community and university hospitals, to identify any factors that could be used to predict failure in attempting VBAC.

Bottom Line: Prelabor and labor factors cannot reliably predict VBAC failure.

Caesarean delivery and risk of stillbirth in subsequent pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study in an English population. (Gray, et al., BJOG:2007 March 114(3) 264-270)

Study Design: Researchers compared the incidence of stillbirth following a previous cesarean section with stillbirths following no previous cesarean section.

Bottom Line: Pregnancies in women following a pregnancy delivered by cesarean section are at an increased risk of stillbirth.

Predicting placental abruption and previa in women with a previous cesarean delivery. (Odibo, et al., Am J Perinatol. 2007 May;24(5):299-305.)

Study Design: In women with a previous cesarean section, researchers compared those who had a placental abruption and/or previa with those who did not.

Bottom Line: Three or more previous cesarean sections was a significant risk factor for placental abruption and previa.