Wisdom and Births

This blog has been in the works for many months, but due to my own concerns about portraying the research correctly, and the potential for backlash from the medical community, I have sat on publishing this for quite some time! So here we go... Over the span of 30 years there has been a steady increase in the routine use of ultrasound technology during pregnancy. Initially, women received one, maybe two ultrasounds to determine the sex of the fetus, to determine size and confirm the EDD, and to assess for any congenital abnormalities. Now, women often received multiple throughout their pregnancies, but we'll get to that in a bit. Ultrasounds are generally thought to be completely safe and to carry very little risk, but unfortunately this isn't true. Contrary to over 30 years of warnings about the potential risks of ultrasound exposure and other non-evidence based interventions, the market for medical technology in pregnancy and childbirth has continued to expand. In many case...

Another inspiration from the results of the Listening to Mothers Survey III ... I currently work on a March of Dimes funded grant project with the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative where we provide education and support to hospitals and providers in an effort to eliminate non-medically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation. The recent LTM-III survey results reveal dis-heartening statistics about a mother's knowledge of a "term" pregnancy... SO MANY MOTHERS still don't know that a healthy pregnancy should be allowed to continue for AT LEAST 39 weeks! Check out my info-graphic below: Spread the word and protect those tiny, developing babies! A Full-term p regnancy is 10 MONTHS!!! ~Wisdom and Birth

I am on a roll tonight, the results of the third Listening to Mothers Survey have me so inspired! I want to share the news! Here is a positive infographic for all the birth advocates out there, thank you for all your work to improve maternity care! *Cheers* to our accomplishments! Up next, a 39 week info-graphic! ~Wisdom and Birth

I know I haven't contributed to the greater realm of internet knowledge in the past many months, but here is something I was just inspired to put together after seeing the Listening to Mothers Survey III results today! Ultrasounds have been a point of concern for me for a number of years. The lack of research into how ultrasound waves may effect the developing prenate gives me reason to shy away from them.With the concerns voiced around the internet and ACOG 's own stance on "nonmedical" ultrasounds leaves me questioning the wide-scale, routine, over-use of yet another maternity intervention. ... then when the listening to mothers survey III was released and I saw that almost 50% (HALF!) of women are receiving 4 or more ultrasounds!! WHY!?!? I am of the opinion that a healthy pregnancy and mother have no need for an ultrasound - seeing as how cuurent research doesn't support routine ultrasounds and since we don't have conclusive data to demonstrate that even ...