Pregnancy and Childbirth Links
There are all kinds of chemicals surrounding us now in everyday products. Did you know BPA has been found in the cord blood of babies?What you are exposed to affects your baby at his/her most volnerable time of life. BPA and phthalates are two of the most in the media. Check out these websites for more information about products to avoid and what you can do to reduce your exposure.
Guide to less toxic products:
http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=personal
Listen to this great podcast from The People’s Pharmacy.
Many of the products we use every day, from non-stick frying pans to plastic toys like rubber ducks, expose us to chemicals. How safe are they? Phthalates and BPA are endocrine disruptors. Do we get enough in day-to-day life to make a difference? Two Canadian environmentalists decided to find out. They ran the experiment on themselves, and what they discovered is disconcerting
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/09/18/784-death-by-rubber-duck/
Many personal care products contain phthalates, chemicals that can damage the liver, the kidneys, the lungs, and the reproductive system. New research also links phthalates to feminized genitals in baby boys.
http://www.biggreenpurse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=70
Food Safety for Moms-To-Be– FDA website
What do you eat when pregnant? There are many concerns about mercury in some fish, but women who cut out all fish run the risk of not getting enought omega 3s which has been linked to post partum depression.
Here you’ll find top line points about food safety during pregnancy. It’s a great reminder of ways to keep you and your baby safe!
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/ucm081785.htm
Mayo Clinic informaiton:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-and-fish/PR00158
Omega 3s and Post Partum Depression
http://21months.com/firstyear/omega3-post-partum-depression.cfm
EEOC Announces Tougher Rules Protecting Pregnant Workers
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/16/331945772/eeoc-announces-tougher-rules-protecting-pregnant-workers
New Study: Pregnant Women Should Avoid Antimicrobial Products – See more at: http://www.mothering.com/articles/new-study-pregnant-women-avoid-antibacterial-products/#sthash.znacDOZb.dpuf
Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy –http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/pregnancy-childbirth/pregnancy-concerns/gaining-weight/healthy-weight-gain-during-pregnancy
“Are ultrasounds causing autism in unborn babies?” Find out more in this article by Jennifer Margulis, PhD: http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Informed-Choice/are-ultrasounds-causing-autism-in-babies.html
HypnoBirthing®
HypnoBirthing® – The Mongan Method, is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by hypnosis techniques, providing the missing link, that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing in a way that most mirrors nature. Emphasis is placed on both pregnancy and childbirth as well as on HypnoBirthing®. As a birthing method, HypnoBirthing® is as new as tomorrow and as old as ancient times.
www.hypnobirthing.com
Click on the link below to watch amazing videos about HypnoBirthing
The HypnoBirthing You Tube Channel
Does HypnoBirthing Really Work?
Our local TV station did a report on our HypnoBirthing Classes on 1/8/12 : See it on our YouTube channel here
Click on the links below to watch Dateline NBC– This amazing Dateline program follows two women and their OB/GYN that teaches hypnosis for birth in his practice.
A mother tells you her secrets to HypnoBirthing
Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth
Founded upon six care practices that support normal birth, the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth is an evidence-based resource for new and expectant parents and childbirth professionals. Use this site to find credible, relevant and useful information and discover how to come together with normal birth advocates in your community.
www.lamaze.org
Fantastic Videos from Lamaze.org:
Watch the videos on ALL 6 Health Birth Practices
#2 Walk, Move and Change Positions
#4 Avoid Unnecessary Interventions
#5 Get Upright and Follow Urges to Push
#6 Keep Your Baby With You After Birth
Hightly Recommended: Birth By the Numbers
Find out what other countries do that gives them better birth outcomes — healthier mothers and babies and fewer deaths than in the United States.
More amazing videos
Did you know your baby can crawl to the breast at birth? Watch these videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKFD0QdIb5E
More About Labor and Delivery
“I’ve hired a doula. Do I really need a lactation consultant?”
Click here to read Marsha Walker’s article
Are You a Candidate for Natural Childbirth?
Why Homebirths are Worth Considering
“I Don’t Need Childbirth Classes, I’m Going To Get an Epidural!”
American Way of Birth, Costliest in the World
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/health/american-way-of-birth-costliest-in-the-world.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Labor Pain — 8 Things That Can Make Pain Worse
Why should you consider taking childbirth classes? Read this great blog and find out how important they are.
http://mamabirth.blogspot.com/2011/12/if-you-are-asking-my-opinion-yes-you.html
Why do we wash babies immediately after birth? Did you know that the Vernix, the white ‘hand cream’ they are covered with is good for them? It is both antibacterial and antifungal. Maybe we should not wash it off. Other cultures simply keep their babies warm and the Vernix is absorbed like hand cream. Read the article below for more detailed information. Add this to your “birth plan”.
http://birthbliss.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/benefits-of-vernix-its-amazing-stuff/
Parents need to carefully consider and educate themselves about all the options in childbirth. Read all of this article. More inductions are being done for ‘non-medical’ reasons, (I”m tired of being pregnant, or I want to have the baby when my favorite doctor will be there”) ‘pushing’ a woman into labor, before her body is ready, causing longer, more difficult labors, ending in more cesareans.
Birth takes longer than 50 years ago– read this article
Homebirth vs. Hospital Birth – Your Missing the Point, People! http://www.improvingbirth.org/2014/02/versus/
U.S. has highest first-day infant mortality out of industrialized world, group reports
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-has-highest-first-day-infant-mortality-out-of-industrialized-world-group-reports/
New baby smell creates ‘very strong’ bond in mom’s brain, study finds
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/new-baby-smell-creates-very-strong-bond-moms-brain-study-f4B11241673
Fetuses can learn nursery rhymes from mom’s voice, study finds – http://www.today.com/parents/fetuses-can-learn-nursery-rhymes-moms-voice-study-finds-1D79962083?32098
U.S. has highest first-day infant mortality out of industrialized world, group reports
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-has-highest-first-day-infant-mortality-out-of-industrialized-world-group-reports/
Important Reasons to Ditch the Hat on Newborn Babies: http://www.bellybelly.com.au/baby/why-its-best-to-avoid-putting-a-hat-on-your-newborn-baby#.VGRFJ8t0zIV
Delayed Cord Clamping
What does the medical evidence say about objections commonly given for not delaying cord clamping.
NewWHO:
Optimal timing of umbilical cord clampingest links
http://cord-clamping.com/2011/09/05/who-optimal-timing-of-umbilical-cord-clamping/
Delayed Cord clamping Explained
90 Seconds to change the world TICC TOCC
By Dr. Greene. Learn how you can increase your baby’s intelligence in the important 90 seconds after he/she is born
Delayed cord clamping or premature cord clamping?
- What should you choose for your baby?
- When should the doctor/midwife clamp your baby’s umbilical cord?
- Do you know that it is giving your baby oxygen and needed nutients for the minutes it pulses after your baby is born?
Click here to see a medical ‘Grand Rounds’, Nicholas S. Fogelson, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USC School of Medicine discussing the implications of cutting the baby’s cord too soon. Share this link with you doctor or midwife.
http://academicobgyn.com/2011/01/30/delayed-cord-clamping-grand-rounds/
Special Situations in Pregancy and Childbirth
Reducing the risk of cesarean for first time moms–Excellent article.
In the U.S., outdated, non-evidence-based practice is routine and accepted; Cesarean section rates vary ten-fold among U.S. hospitals; and those rates vary fifteen-fold among the low-risk population. Over 40% of hospitals defy national health policy by “not allowing” vaginal birth after Cesarean, to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of mothers and babies. The United States is the only developed country in the world with a RISING maternal mortality rate. One factor in that rise is our overuse of surgery for childbirth. We simply cannot operate on the assumption that the surgeries women are receiving are always in their best interests, or that of their babies. – See more at http://birthmonopoly.com/allowed/
Unnecessary C-Sections on the Rise
Women Speak Out About What’s Gone Wrong with the United States Birthing System
Labor Induction: Words from an MD who is also a Midwife
http://avivaromm.com/labor-induction-low-natural-approaches-midwife-md
After Caesareans, Some See Higher Insurance Cost
Why Does the National U.S. Cesarean Section Rate Keep Going Up?
Worried about the possibility of a cesarean?
Want to have a VBAC (Vaginal birth after cesarean)?
Want to know how to reduce YOUR risk of having a ceasrean?
Click on this link to learn what you need to know to lower your risks of a cesarean, and increase the likelihood you can have a VBAC if you had a previous cesarean.
The International Cesarean Awareness Network
Minimizing the Negative Effects of Epidural Anesthesia
While the negative effects of epidural anesthesia are often discussed—whether they are evidence-based or experience-based—it’s important to recognize that there are occasions when an epidural is desired or needed. Clearly, an epidural or spinal anesthetic is preferable to general anesthesia for a cesarean birth, but there are other occasions during labor when an epidural may be a wise choice.
Easier Childbirth with Fetal Positioning: Spinning Babies.com
Fewer Women Are Having Labor Induced Early
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/06/18/322929144/fewer-women-are-having-labor-induced-early?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140618
New Cesarean Prevention
Recommendations from Obstetric Leaders:
What Pregnant Women Need to Know
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/maternal-health/new-cesarean-prevention.pdf
Homebirth vs. Hospital Birth – Your Missing the Point, People! http://www.improvingbirth.org/2014/02/versus/
U.S. has highest first-day infant mortality out of industrialized world, group reports
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-has-highest-first-day-infant-mortality-out-of-industrialized-world-group-reports/
Birth By The Numbers – http://www.birthbythenumbers.
Don’t be pushed into an early birth
Organizations and Resources
International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA)
ICEA is an organization of over 4,000 members from throughout the United States and 42 countries who believe in freedom of choice based on knowledge of alternatives in family-centered maternity and newborn care.
www.icea.org
Henci Goer
Henci Goer, award-winning medical writer and internationally known speaker, is the author of The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth. Her previous book, Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities, is a highly-acclaimed resource for childbirth professionals. An independent scholar, she is an acknowledged expert on evidence-based maternity care. Goer has written consumer education pamphlets and numerous articles for magazines as diverse as Reader’s Digest and the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. Previously appearing on ParentsPlace.com as the “Birth Guru”, she is currently a resident expert on Lamaze International’s website, the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth. Now concentrating on writing and speaking, Goer was a doula (labor support professional) for over 20 years and a Lamaze educator for ten.
www.hencigoer.com
Birth Matters
To bring together members of the community for the purpose of sharing information about pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. We value childbirth as a significant event. Its impact reaches beyond the individual and into the community. Decisions made during this time require careful consideration and an understanding of the scientific evidence.
https://birthmatters.us/
New Life Birth Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Click Here to go to New Life Birth Center in Roanoke, Virginia