Wednesday, NPR reported that the CDC is strongly recommending that pregnant women get the new swine flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, as they are one of the high-risk groups for the illness.
Of the 45 initial deaths from H1N1 (between April 15 and June 16), 6 were pregnant women. Although that doesn’t sound like a lot, proportionally it’s huge. It’s 13 percent of swine flu deaths, whereas only 1 percent of the population overall is pregnant at any given time. They face a higher death risk and a higher hospitalization risk.
In general pregnant women get sicker for longer.
Experts know they’re climbing an uphill battle with preggos. Many are hesitant to take anything during pregnancy, and OBs don’t generally prescribe medications unless absolutely necessary.
So should all pregnant women jump on this vaccine bandwagon, especially for a shot that is just starting to be tested?
A few weeks ago, I wrote on Non-Toxic Kids about the roll out of a swine flu vaccine for this fall. I realized then I needed to learn a great deal more about this virus and the vaccine. As a teacher, I will be in direct contact with hundreds of kids and could bring this virus into my home. But I am also a minimalist when it comes to medicating my children.
I’ve been concerned as to what chemicals are in vaccines, especially mercury containing thimerosal. I do know this ingredient has been phased out of the flu vaccines in my area of Vermont.
Apparently, this vaccine will be similar to other flu vaccines in content. I have not heard anything about thimerosal in these new vaccines, but I will be asking my doctor about it. Read the rest of this entry »
Who doesn’t love a baby? I’ve never once felt that obligatory, “Ugh, I have to go to this baby shower but I don’t want to” that I often feel with other social events. There is something about walking through the baby section that brings out the mushy gushy in me. I could spend hours walking up and down all the baby aisles… I even stop and ponder bottles (I, who breastfed my babies and had no need for bottles). This baby stuff obsession can lead to some ugly consumerism (which is exactly what the stores and manufacturers want). Because of my adoration of babies and all their junk, I’ve become the Queen of Baby Showers. Here are some idea’s I’ve come across to help baby get started in a more sustainable way. Read the rest of this entry »
Having a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) could help you have an empowering birth experience. No, they won’t make your birth beautiful. But most CPMs believe in the ability of women’s bodies instead of the medicalization of childbirth.
That’s why you should join The Big Push. This consortium of birth activists and midwives is fighting for a voice in the health care debate. From the press release,
All women deserve access to midwives no matter what their economic status, and adding Certified Professional Midwives to the Medicaid Providers list will help expand access to those who otherwise could not afford it.
A key member of Congress has said that 10,000 signatures for their petition would make a big difference. We’re about halfway there. Read on to find out the particulars of the campaign and pass it on!Read the rest of this entry »
Annmarie Schulte and her husband Matthew had planned on a natural birth for their fourth daughter. They had also planned the perfect name for the babe. What they didn’t plan on was Annmarie reaching down and delivering the baby while stuck in rush hour traffic on the I-43 near Milwaukee.
Annmarie shouted to Matthew at 7:48 a.m. after she felt her baby crowning,
She’s here!
As we all know ad nauseam, OBs generally warn against a vaginal birth after C-section, or VBAC. And in this case, it would be a VBA3C; all 3 of the Schultes’ daughters were born by cesarean. This time, to ensure they’d get the natural birth they wanted, the couple worked with two doulas, a midwife, and a physician throughout the pregnancy.
As a step toward our goal of educating women about their choices and options during the childbearing years, Birth Matters Virginia solicited short videos about evidence-based maternity and delivery care. With our nation ranking 41st in maternal mortality and our cesarean rate surpassing 30%, it is more important than ever for women to be educated about their options.
We were pleased to have received nearly 40 informative and thoughtful videos on topics ranging from personal birth journeys, the role a doula plays, midwifery care, cesarean sections, birthing in the Amish culture, birth in Ireland, and more. Each video carried a message of the understanding that change needs to occur in our culture related to pregnancy and birth for the well-being of both mothers and babies.
But a new article on the University of California, San Francisco site claims that neuroscientist Michael Merzenich has performed research that may make some leaning toward formula fulling tip over the edge.
Merzenich tested newborn rats by dosing them with the proportionally even amount that newborn humans get from human breastmilk of the chemicals PCBs and PBDEs. The outcome, he said, was
brains that were more degraded in their organization developmentally in these rats than we have ever seen before
So it’s as simple as that, eh? Breastmilk causes autism. Not so fast, there, Nestle.
For women of Afghanistan, pregnancy and delivery are dangerous. The war torn country has the “world’s second-highest death rate in women during pregnancy and childbirth”, second only to another war torn country Sierra Leone. The medical journal Lancet reports that 78% of these maternal deaths could be avoided. The New York Times reports:
For every 100,000 births, 1,600 mothers die; in wealthy countries the rates range from 1 to 12. In one remote northeastern province, Badakhshan, 6,507 mothers die for every 100,000 births, according to a 2005 report in the medical journal Lancet. In all, 26,000 Afghan women a year die while pregnant or giving birth. The main causes of these deaths are hemorrhage and obstructed labor, which can be fatal if a woman cannot obtain a Caesarean section. Even if the mother survives, obstructed labor without a Caesarean usually kills the baby.
I had my first child in August of 2003. Although that was a mere 6 years ago, no one was talking about the safety of baby products, synthetic fragrances, petroleum-based oils or parabens. How fortunate for new mothers and moms-to-be that so much has changed in just a few years! I can now say I’ve tried almost a dozen natural and organic baby products, and many of them are simply amazing. My current favorite in the pack is Erbaorganics, a 100% natural, nearly 100% organic affordable line of skin care for mother and baby. Read the rest of this entry »
Look at you, ya beautiful pregnant woman! You glow! There you are, ready to bring life into this world, waddling through grocery stores and Farmers’ Markets. Feeling beautiful and just a little spacey.
Well, what do you know? Turns out that holding the gift of life in your womb makes you a trash receptacle for other peoples’ baggage.
I have had some—shall we say?—interesting comments during my pregnancies. But I also turned to Twitter and Facebook, as well as my friends in real life. Here are some of the funniest and most disturbing comments women have gotten during their nine months with child.
Wednesday, NPR reported that the CDC is strongly recommending that pregnant women get the new swine flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, as they are one of the high-risk groups for the illness.
A few weeks ago, I wrote on 
