Since the amount of women who actively choose a midwife for their care has drastically dropped over the last century, I thought I would show a great, and informative video today on why women should choose a midwife for their birth.
Before I do post the video, one more thing I wanted to include was a quote of information from a recent consumer report survey.
An Obstetrician will deliver better maternity care, overall, than a midwife or family doctor. False. Studies show that the 8 percent to 9 percent of U.S. women who use midwives and the 6 to 7 percent who choose family physicians generally experienced just-as-good results as those who go to obstetricians. Those who used midwives also ended up with fewer technological interventions. For example, women who received midwifery care were less likely to experience induced labor, have their water broken for them, episiotomies, pain medications, intravenous fluids, and electronic fetal monitoring, and were more likely to give birth vaginally with no vacuum extraction or forceps, than similar women receiving medical care. Note that an obstetric specialist is best for the small proportion of women with serious health concerns.
With that statement being said, modern misconceptions about midwifery care should be put to rests.
Something we are seeing more and more is pregnant women blindly choosing health care providers, and in turn complaining about them for the duration of their pregnancy, or having a negative experience with that provider for the birth of their child. My biggest suggestion to newly pregnant women, and pregnant women in general is interview several different providers before picking one to stick with for your pregnancy. This will help to eliminate stress from disagreeing or not getting along with your provider.
I certainly did this with my second pregnancy after having a less than ideal experience my first time around. So when it came time to interview providers, though I was interviewing for a VBAC provider, I put together a sample list of some questions mothers may want to ask before committing to a provider. Also remember, you can change providers any time during pregnancy, even if you are at your due date already!
What Hospital/Hospital’s do you deliver at?
How do you handle post date pregnancies? (Meaning over 40 weeks gestation)
What type of protocol do you have for delivery such as requiring IV’s, constant monitoring, etc.?
What percent of your patients have cesarean sections?
What percent of your patients have inductions?
What percent of your patients have epidurals?
What positions can I give birth in? (Most providers will only allow you to birth on your back in stirrups)
What kind of pre natal testing do you order? (And how do you handle patients that decline testing?)
How many providers are in your practice?
What is the likelihood I will have you attend my birth?
Do you perform episiotomies?
What are after hour policies?
What is the protocol when I go into labor?
When should I call you?
How many babies do you delivery yearly?
Do you have any vacations coming up?
How long have you been practicing?
What made you want to deliver babies?
What is your view on pregnancy & birth?
What percent of your patients are high risk?
How do you handle low risk pregnancies?
All these questions are simple suggestions, you do not need to go into a providers office and ask all of them, or even ask any of them if they do not apply to you. Be sure to ask things that are important to you, just not what is on a sample list.
If you have any questions that you would like ot add, please leave them as a comment!!
Since becoming a parent, I have noticed there is a large population of Connecticut Parents that are not familiar with the laws in the state regarding car seat safety, as well as one pediatrician that told a friend to start her 6 month old forward facing because he was a big boy. I was completely astonished by this, and I really wanted to tackle the laws regarding car seats in the state of Connecticut, as well as proper installation of car seats, and where you can go to have them installed.
After October 1st of 2005, ALL children must ride in a proper car seat, booster seat or restrain system until they are OVER 6 years of age, AND over 60 pounds. This means, if your child has outgrown their car seat, they must ride in an appropriate sized booster seat. This is the LAW there is no exception to it. Another law that people are not familiar with is, a child under the age of 1 year is REQUIRED BY LAW to be rear facing until they are at least 1 year old AND over 20 pounds. Meaning, if your child is over 20 pounds, but still under one, they MUST be rear facing by law, or if your child is OVER one year old, but not yet 20 pounds, they MUST remain rear facing.
These laws are not to make your child uncomfortable in the car, they are for their safety and to help prevent serious injury in the case of an accident.
If you are interested in learning more about Connecticut State Laws regarding car seat safety, and where you can have your car seat properly installed, you can call any of the Connecticut SAFE KIDS chapters.
Connecticut – 860-545-9988
Valley Parish Nurse – 203-732-7584
New London County – 860-442-0733
Fairfield County – 203-853-7115
Greater Waterbury – 203-346-3908
Windham County - 860-456-6978
To find an inspector to inspect and see if your child’s car seat is properly installed, you can visit this link.
To obtain a printable copy of the Connecticut Child Car seat Safety Statutes, visit think link.
If you are interested in becoming certified as a child passenger safety seat technician visit this link.
Thank you to the Connecticut Department of Transportation for all the great information above and helping to keep our children safe!
I decided to do something new for my blog weekly for the next couple weeks.
I am going to do a featured post called “Birth Organization of the Week” and feature a helpful, and amazing birth related organization that not too many people know about. I think it will make a difference in some of my readers, and help to educate local women more about natural birth, or support for birth.
I hope you will enjoy this as much as I am going to enjoy writing about each organization.
To start, I am going to begin with the birth organization that is nearest and dearest to my own heart, and has helped me through the past couple years, through the recovery from my first birth, to the journey of pregnancy and birth for my second child.
ICAN better known as The International Cesarean Awareness Network.
ICAN is is a vibrant and growing network of mother-to-mother volunteers, passionate advocates and women who care deeply about the state of birth today, as expressed on their website, but to me they are a education group, support system, and sisterhood. There are chapters featured all over the world. Yes, WORLD! ICAN is in several different countries. And we currently have one chapter right here in Connecticut!
As a chapter leader for ICAN, I donated my time, and talents to make this video below for ICAN. I was honored to be able to put it together to help women understand further, what ICAN is and how we help women all over the World.
A new study suggests that it very well might!
For years it seems like the popularity of cry it out has been increasing but mainly for one reason. It is easier and clearly more convenient to many parents.
But now a new study is saying that parents should never leave an infant younger than 6 months old to cry on its own, even for just a couple minutes of time. Many parents, especially old school parents will insist that running to a baby every time they cry will only “spoil” the baby, but as a mother who has had to let my child cry sometimes, I do not believe you can spoil a baby at all. Example? My toddler. Every time he cried as an infant, I tended to him whether it was a dry diaper, a feeding, or just some gas. He is 2 now, the shining example of independence, and is far from spoiled.
But going back to the research, Doctors and Scientists have been studying the negative impact of allowing an infant to cry for period of time, and what kind of impact it can have on their development and mental health.
Many things parents do not take into consideration are the things that can happen, such as suffocation, hyperventilation, or choking on their own vomit. Another very scary outcome could also be brain damage. Now as parents we look at these risk factors and should ask ourselves, “Is letting out baby cry really work risking this?”
Take a couple minutes, and read the study linked above. Hopefully it will help you to change your opinion on cry it out.
As previously promised, part 3 in the What Do I Really Need series?
Though I wanted Part 3 to be the end, it looks like from this ridiculously long list from Babies R Us, there will be a part 4!
Part 2 left off at a splat mat, which I didn’t even know what it was till I took a look at the Babies R Us “Must Have” quick registry starter. Which has been the guide I have used in the what do I really need series?
So lets get started on Part 3!
Bathtub and Seat – I love the bathtub that we have, which we were able to use until my toddler was old enough to sit up himself in the tub safely, so we completely cut out the baby seat in the tub. The seat that I highly suggest from infant up is, This one. Super easy to use, lasts longer than most, and it folds up small for easy storage, unlike those huge plastic tubs. Washcloths – You will need a ton of baby washcloths. I swear our dryer eats them. We started out with 3 packs of 8, and I think now that my oldest is 2, we have 3 of them left. Though I have started just using normal washcloths you can get at Walmart for $5.99 for a whole pack of 12. But when they are new babies, I suggest the for baby washcloths. Hooded Bath Towels – Worth the money completely!! We still use them for our toddler, and of course our youngest. But I have noticed like the washcloths, they seem to disappear. I think our dryer gnomes eat them. But they are completely worth the money, especially for bath time in the colder months! Bath Robe – Worthless! We got 3 of them for my oldest which we insisted that we would use. Never used one of them. We still have them hanging up in the boys closet, tags on them, expecting to use them with our second child. See how that worked out? Save the money, because they aren’t cheap! Shampoo & Body Wash – I highly suggest all natural products such as California Baby. There have been recall’s and many traces of chemicals found in most of the popular everyday shampoo and body washes for babies. I always go with better safe than sorry. This is an item that you clearly need on almost a daily basis, so why not make sure it is something really safe for your children to use. Also one of the benefits of using an all natural soap is if your little one is like my kids, and has sensitive skin, it is very rare for them to have some kind of an allergic reaction to the soap. Baby Lotion – I stand by what I said about the soaps, stick with something all natural. We don’t use lotion on our kids often, but many people do. My oldest has very sensitive skin, and had a reaction to several different lotions we tried on him before going to the all natural stuff. Bath Accessories – Now for me, when it came to bath time, I wasn’t about making it a huge project so we skipped on the toys until around a year old. The only real “accessory” I used was the little ducky with the temperature check on the bottom to see if the water was too hot for the baby. I tend to take VERY hot bathes and showers, so I always wanted to make sure it was not too hot for my little guys. Step Stool – Like most other things, this is not something your little one is going to need for a while. My oldest is 2 now and still not in need of this in the bathroom. Skip it on the baby registry and wait till they actually need it. This will also help to save yourself from having baby stuff take your house over. Potty Seat – Another thing that you are not going to need for a while. Save yourself the time, space, and wait to buy it till your child really needs it. We bought ours when our son was about 18 months old, and we also purchased two, so they could be in different areas of the house. But if you are a first time parent, don’t worry about this one for a while. Same goes with a travel potty seat. Baby Grooming Kit – Skip buying all the things individually and buy the all in one kits. Some of the things you will use, some you will not. What I find most handy are the nail clippers, brushes (because my kids have a ton of hair) and the tooth brushes that come with them. Digital Thermometer – Does anyone really use the old school ones without a digital read out anymore? We always need a thermometer, because who knows when our little one will get sick, or when we will freak out and think they are sick, when in reality they are fine. Ear Thermometer – I found that if you have a digital thermometer, you really do not need to think about an ear one until your children are really rounding 2 years old. It seems like a premature buy for a new baby as they say only to use rectal temperatures with them for the time being.
I am going to stop here for the day, before again, the post gets way too long that people don’t read.
What do you think about this list?
As a mother, leave your comments on what items here were helpful and not so useful for you!
If you are anything like me, you find it hard to find time for yourself during the day, and may skip meals or eat way later than you really should because of course the kids come first. Then there are the mothers again like myself, who are striving for healthy snacks because you are looking to lose weight. Whether it is postpartum weight loss, or just wanting to shed a couple extra pounds.
So over the past week or so, I have really started to look for some healthy snacks that not only my toddler would love, but things I would also eat along with him. Not only will your hunger be cured, but you will also show your children that these foods must be good if Mommy is eating them with them!
My Snack list :
Fresh Fruit
Fresh Cut Veggies (With some type of dip, hummus, ranch dressing, peanut butter, etc.)
Most recipes are available through google, but as you can probably tell, I myself am just starting to take more of a turn to healthy eating.
Please share your recipes!
Blog News : I will be holding my first blog, talk radio show on January 31st, 2010 at 3:00pm EST and have booked my very first special guest! I will be talking with Desirre Andrews, the current President of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). To tune in, click on Meet The Blogger.
Facebook Fan Page : Did you know that Pregnancy, Parenthood & Playtime has a facebook fan page? Become a fan by clicking here : Pregnancy Parenthood & Playtime
I can’t say I was completely surprised when Yahoo! Health posted an article this past week suggesting that inducing labor leads to c-sections in many cases. In fact 40% of all labor inductions will end in a cesarean section because the baby and body is simply not ready to birth that baby, no matter how much medical intervention, medication, or procedures to help it along.
In the article, it details
“Dr. J. Christopher Glantz at the University of Rochester School of Medicine found that inducing labor introduces a risk of 1 to 2 cesareans per 25 inductions that might have been avoided by waiting for spontaneous labor to begin.
While this risk to individual women is not particularly large, Glantz told Reuters Health that 1 to 2 cesareans per 25 inductions can quickly add up to tens of thousands of unnecessary cesareans over the course of millions of inductions.”
While 1-2 c-sections out of 25 may not be a large number, those are c-sections that could have been prevented, in some cases being unnecessary. Leading to subsequent unnecessary surgeries as well as a laundry list of complications.
But what is even more concerning is the number of women that are being induced today. Not for medical reasons, but for reasons of convenience, which are leading to further complications in their delivery, and the also subjecting their unborn to unnecessary risks. It is estimated that one out of every 3 women has their labor induced, which is an increase of over 15% in the last 10 years alone. If you go back 20 years, we are looking at a induction rate of less than 20%.
Many women, if not all, are completely miserable at the end of pregnancy, it isn’t fun! I have been there twice, one child which I opted for an induction. I was lead to believe that it was the best thing for myself, and for my baby, though I had not made it to my due date yet, but with the complicated pregnancy I had I was too worried to take anymore risks. The problem is, I didn’t know all the risks associated with the induction itself. My induction ended in the operating room with a cesarean section.
The reality of the situation is, more than half of these inductions are being estimated to be NOT medically necessary, so why take the risk?
Risks of Labor Induction :
More painful contractions (Pitocin induced contractions are longer, and stronger than natural labor contractions)
Fetal distress
Failed Induction
Cesarean Section
Headaches
Fever
Backaches
Poor Fetal positioning
Longer Labor
Risk of NICU admission for the baby
Higher risk of vacuum or forcep use
Longer & Stronger Contractions (which can lead to a compressing of the oxygen & blood supply to the baby)
Higher risk for postpartum hemorrhage
Higher risk of infection
Uterine Rupture
Placental Abruption
These are all big risks, and while some may not be very common, some can be seriously dangerous. Most do not take these risks into consideration, or even know many of them actually exist.
Risks of a Cesarean Section :
Infection
Increased Blood Loss
Decrease in Bowel Function
Respiratory Complications in infants
Respiratory Complications in mom (General anesthesia can sometimes lead to pneumonia)
Longer Hospital Stay
Longer Recovery Time
Increased risk of Placental problems in future pregnancies
Increased infertility in the future
Need for other surgeries such as a hysterectomy or bladder repair surgery
Uterine Rupture in future pregnancies
So moms, why take the risk instead of waiting another week?
We all may be miserable, but you could save yourself and your baby from a lot of risks!
