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 ...

November 17, 2012  is World Prematurity Day !   Prematurity, or preterm birth, refers to live births that occur before 37 weeks gestational age. The following are categories defined by how many weeks gestation were completed before the birth: extremely preterm (under 28 weeks gestation) very preterm (28 to 32 weeks gestation) moderate to late preterm (32 to under 37 weeks gestation)    A pregnancy is considered full-term at 39 weeks and as such I think these definitions need some adjusting, but March of Dimes, WHO, ACOG and many others agree that an induction or caesarean birth should not be planned before 39 completed weeks unless there is a TRUE medical indication. However, if your pregnancy is healthy, it is best if your baby is born at 40 weeks or later! (watch for a future post on this!) Preterm birth can lead to a variety of complications and the earlier the baby is born, the more severe the health challenges they will face. More infants die from preterm rel...

Save the Children has released their most recent report on the State of the World's Mothers and one of the features is a rank of the countries based on a number of maternal and child health indicators. This report not only shows the top countries for motherhood, but discusses very thoroughly the devastating health conditions that far too many mothers, infants, and children experience around the world, and thus the worst countries for motherhood. The countries are ranked based on scores in certain indicators including female education, political representation, MCH policies (such as maternity leave), life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality rates, etc. To exemplify the extremes, In Niger (#165) the life expectancy for women is 56 compared to 83 in Norway (#1), which offers one of the best maternity leave policies in the world.  Every mother in Niger is likely to suffer the loss of a child. These rankings give you an idea of the overall picture of maternal health and motherho...

This post is in response to an excellent inquiry made by a friend. She wanted to know what I thought about lanolin, coconut oil, or shea butter as a natural nipple cream. I wasn't sure how to answer, so this blog is my researched response! First I would like to recommend good 'ole Breastmilk for nipple care. You can rub a little breastmilk on the nipples and allow them to air dry. For many women this is all they need for normal nipple care. Also, remember that you DO NOT need to use any soap on your nipples! This will only increase dryness and decrease your own natural and protective oils. As for some other commonly used natural products... Lanolin, which means "wool oil", is a yellowish and waxy secretion from the sebaceous glands of woolly animals; most commonly from sheep. Lanolin is collected from the sheep's wool when it is pressed between rollers and squeezed out. While scouring the internet I found some mothers wondering and discussing about thrush and lano...