Nothing to do with childbirth but.....

But this is a great example of advertising! How many people will view this video, some because they love babies, some because they are amazed at how the editing was done.

Who cares...it is cute!

World Breastfeeding Week August 1 - 7, 2009

I have been looking for an excuse to use this photo ~ given to me by a dear friend who is NOT a birth professional but aware of my passion for birth and breastfeeding!

With only 18 days left until World Breastfeeding Week, you may want to start your own campaign! With the amazing free downloads available from The World Breastfeeding Week website, you quickly have posters, videos, research, and press materials at your fingertips!

The theme for the 2009 World Breastfeeding Week is "Breastfeeding~a vital emergency response. Are you Ready?" The focus is to reinforce the vital role that breastfeeding plays in emergency response worldwide. Sub-optimal breastfeeding practices are responsible for 1.4 million deaths of children under 5 years in low-income countries and settings world wide.

Plus a staggering 1/5 of neonatal deaths could be prevented by early initiation of exclusive breastfeeding within the first hour of life.

The purpose of the 2009 World Breastfeeding Week is to to draw attention to the vital role that breastfeeding plays in emergencies worldwide; to stress the need for active protection and support of breastfeeding before and during emergencies; to inform mothers, breastfeeding advocates, communities, health professionals, governments, aid agencies, donors, and the media on how they can actively support breastfeeding before and during an emergency; and to mobilise action and nurture networking and collaboration between those with breastfeeding skills and those involved in emergency response.

Also at the World Breastfeeding Week website are the winners of the WBW Photo Contest and an important handout on the Myths vs. Realities of breastfeeding!

Don't delay - download your free materials today! Need more WBW supplies? Check out the balloons, stickers and tshirts at Noodle Soup!

Gosh Darn It: The Continued Admission of Guilt

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is rerunning an article you may have seen in 2006.

The article points out several issues we "birth people" have known about for some time. I guess the reason why I am so surprised/appalled/amazed is that they are admitting it!

The following are italicized excerpts from the article. The exclamations are my own.

Driven by soaring liability-insurance premiums for their obstetrics units, hospital groups are adopting policies to discourage or prohibit births induced before the minimum 39 weeks recommended by maternal and child health experts, unless medically necessary. They are curtailing the use of drugs such as the hormone oxytocin to start or speed up contractions, which in too-high doses can lead to ruptures of the uterus, fetal distress and even death of the infant. And they are limiting the use of forceps and vacuums that can help coax babies from the birth canal but also lead to injuries such as bone fractures and nerve damage.

First, why does it take higher insurance premiums/fear of litigation to discourage induction prior to a baby being full term (unless medically necessary)? Why cannot the reason be respect for the growth of the baby? Respect for the mother who may encounter an unplanned cesarean due to a failed induction? And to even use the word coax in talking about forceps and vacuum shows ignorance on the part of the author. The baby is probably trying to stay IN the uterus because he/she knows it is dangerous out here!


With communication breakdowns at the root of 85 percent of all adverse events reported in obstetrics units, hospitals are also taking steps to ensure better teamwork, such as making sure electronic fetal monitors that trace baby's heartbeats are interpreted the same way by both doctors and nurses.

Oh, my....

"The OB is its own little world in a hospital setting, and 99 percent of the time it's a happy and nice place," says Kathy Connolly, assistant vice president of risk management at the insurance-management unit of Premier Inc., an alliance of 1,500 nonprofit hospitals. But obstetricians don't always adhere to guidelines for elective induction set by groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They often schedule deliveries around their own office hours or travel plans, and don't always take the time to document care in patient records, increasing hospital liability, she says.

The written word is odd. Ms. Connolly might have the voice inflection such as "Those pesky folks, do they need another time out?"

There was good news though.....


Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare began requiring doctors to obtain special permission to induce delivery earlier than 39 weeks. Intermountain, which operates hospitals in Utah and Idaho, reduced elective inductions at less than 39 weeks to 5 percent of all births today, from 27 percent before the program started in 2001.

Then it is back to the admission of guilt....

"Pitocin is used like candy in the OB world, and that's one of the reasons for medical and legal risk," says Carla Provost, assistant vice president at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, who notes that in many hospitals it is common practice to "pit to distress" -- or use the maximum dose of Pitocin to stimulate contractions.

Let's clarify that. Pit to Distress is referring to the practice of increasing the dosage of pitocin until the baby shows distress on the electronic fetal heart monitor and the mother immediately becomes a candidate for an emergent cesarean.

In plain terms, the practices of the physicians cause fetal distress and make operative delivery urgent, life-threatening and painful.

Gary Hankins, professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and chairman of the practice committee of ACOG, says doctors can cite hospital policies in declining to do preterm elective deliveries, which are sometimes requested by mothers tired of being pregnant.

The article ended with the above paragraph. Why do doctors have to use the hospital policies as a crutch to decline early/elective induction? Why don't they tell mothers the truth about the beauty of the uterus and the give they are giving their baby by providing an optimum living and growing environment for them....that with each passing day, they give their baby an even better advantage at life and health.

Not to mention the risk factors with elective induction.

The Childbirth Song

I take childbirth very seriously. It is my passion, my vocation, my profession, my job. I am a birth activist, researcher/speaker, teacher, mentor and journalist.

However, every once in a while, everyone has to have a good laugh.

Truthfully tho, this is really funny. Enjoy! I watched it about 6 times and kept the laughter going!

The Shift Has Begun ~ The Time is Now!

The shift has begun. The evidence is proving what many of us have been say for years, decades. The plain bare truth is that the evidence is showing that many health care providers in the maternity health care field are not practicing evidence-based care.

A study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in April (116(5):626-36) of this year examined the rising induction rates for labor and birth. Researchers (from the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI) searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library between 1980 and April 2008 using several terms and combinations, including induction of labour, premature rupture of membranes, post-term pregnancy, preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PROM), multiple gestation, suspected macrosomia, diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, fetal anomalies, systemic lupus erythematosis, oligohydramnios, alloimmunization, rhesus disease, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (IHCP), and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

After extensive examination, researchers recommendations for induction of labour for post-term gestation, PROM at term, and premature rupture of membranes near term with pulmonary maturity are supported by the evidence.

Induction for IUGR before term reduces intrauterine fetal death, but increases caesarean deliveries and neonatal deaths. Evidence is insufficient to support induction for women with insulin-requiring diabetes, twin gestation, suspected fetal macrosomia, oligohydramnios, cholestasis of pregnancy, maternal cardiac disease and fetal gastroschisis.

Likewise, a report issued in Evidence Report/Technology Assessment in March of 2009 (176: 1-257) stated the evidence regarding elective induction of labor prior to 41 weeks of gestation is insufficient to draw any conclusion.

And finally, a study published in Pediatrics (June 2009, 123(6):e1064-71.) showed elective cesarean delivery is consistently associated with increased intrapartum and neonatal mortality, risk of admission, and respiratory morbidity compared with planned vaginal delivery and has no advantage over emergency cesarean delivery in terms of mortality. Neonatal morbidities are lower after elective cesarean delivery than emergency cesareans only with term births. Their data provide evidence that elective cesareans should not be performed before term.

To add to this information, a study last month in Obstetrics and Gynecology (113(6):1239-47) demonstrated that even when controlling for confounders, there was an association between primary cesarean delivery and insurance status regardless of hospital type. The cesarean delivery rate of women with private insurance delivering in private hospitals was 30.4% compared with a cesarean rate of 21.2% in Medicaid patients delivering in public hospitals.

The evidence IS clear.

The time is now to be accurate and vocal about the practices that are not evidence-based and are therefore posing possible harm to mothers and babies, to breastfeeding and to new families. Post is on websites, blog it, Twitter it. Disseminate the information...NOW.

Reducing Stress During Pregnancy

Researchers from Imperial College in London want to raise awareness about stress during pregnancy.

According to Professor Vivette Glover, maternal stress and anxiety can alter the development of a baby's brain. In fact, the effects of stress during pregnancy can last many years, including into adolescence.

The stress hormone cortisol one way the fetus is affected by the mother's pregnancy anxiety. Usually the placenta protects the baby from the mother's cortisol by producing an enzyme that breaks the hormone down. When the mother is very stressed, the enzyme doesn't work as well and allows the cortisol through the placenta. Researchers suggest that the higher the level of cortisol in the womb, the lower the toddler's cognitive development or IQ at 1.5 years.

Cortisol and other stress hormones also affect labor itself, by affecting the naturally occuring hormone oxytocin that stimulates contractions!

If you see your glass as half empty and stress is getting to you during pregnancy, try these helpful hints:

1) Find a massage therapist trained in pregnancy massage ~ get a massage.

2) Make sure you are eating properly and getting 8-10 glasses of water each day.

3) Reduce the level of stressful activity in your life by saying "no", either to others or to yourself.

4) Have quiet time each day ~ listen to relaxing CDs that also have relaxation exercises on them. Meditate or take a yoga class.

5) Reach a good balance of sleep and exercise.

and finally, have a good support system ~ friends, family, your childbirth care team!

New York Subway Conductor Uses Skills From Childbirth Class

Not that this is a reason to attend childbirth class, but did you happen to read the news article about the NY subway conductor who assisted a mother in labor?

The emerging newborn slid right into her (the conductor's) hands.

A concerned by-stander kept the crowd down and away from the mother, who birthed her baby in about 7 minutes after her water broke.

Oh, and the mother was sitting on the seat of the subway - naturally using the upright and gravity positive position for birth!

You can read more here.

And see the interview with the conductor, here!