Life is Busy

Now that I have kids - yes I said Kids.  I have a 21 month old and a 5 month old so you can imagine how busy I am with them.  I will still try to add to this blog but in the meantime I have started a new one that centers around things to do in our area for families.  Check it out. http://afamilylifeinnva.blogspot.com/

Feel free to share any topics that you would like to see on this blog or my new one.

Cheers - Karen

More Reasons to Breastfeed

Not only is it free and natural but it can save billions of dollars and hundreds of lives according to this article.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/05/breastfeeding.costs/index.html?hpt=T2

I have heard lots of women say how hard it is and what trouble they have but I think with a little education, understanding and practice all women can breastfeed (okay, not all because there are medical complications but most).

Thoughts?

How can I get the otherside on the same page?

I am continuing to read books and do research on birth and all the things that go along with it such as babies, raising children, feeding them, diapering them, on and on we can go. There are so many different subjects that come up when you start with pregnancy. I am still seeking as much information as I can so that I feel better about the choices I make. The one road block that I keep hitting though is a discussion with my husband. I just don't know how to answer all of his questions. What would you suggest I do to help my husband be on the same page as I am with knowledge so that we can make educated decisions together? I was thinking about making an appointment with my Midwife so that he can meet her and ask questions or maybe finding a group that meets and he can ask others what their experiences were like. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this subject.

Been a while...

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I plan to do more posting soon. Work, class and life have kept me busy but I do want to keep posting and will so soon. Feel free to send messages or content for me to respond to or post.

thanks - Karen

Due Dates

I wanted to understand how a due date is calculated and came across the below links, I tried to do more online searching but didn't come up with much besides calculators. I have read about it in books, which I try to mention which ones I read through the blog so feel free to check any of them out. The due date is typically given as 40weeks after the first day of the women's last period. So this means that for the first two weeks there typically isn't a baby yet since ovulation on average doesn't occur until 14days after the first day of the women's last period, or longer or even shorter. This also means that at 40weeks women are really only 38weeks.

Something that bothers me is when I hear about how people are being asked to induce or schedule c-sections since they are "overdue". Is this good medicine or are Americans impatient? Everything seems like such a rush - I am sure it is not comfortable to be pregnant that long but if the baby isn't ready why would anyone force them out? There are of course times when induction and c-sections are appropriate but not as often as they are actually happening. Over 1/3 of all births in the U.S. are c-sections when only 10%-15% of births require them. This of course leads to other questions about medial treatments for pregnant women but I want to focus on due dates.

Keep in mind that the median of the normal range is 40 weeks, range of 38-42 (Block, 2007, Pushed). Key words in that statement are median and normal. Women are all so different that we don't all fall in the median nor are considered normal. So remember that women have a few weeks on either end of this median, women could fall in a range more like 36-44 weeks long, there are even a few outliers from that range. I don't think that there should be any additional stress placed upon a pregnant women right before she is to give birth. Why start planning an induction before women have even reached the end of the normal range. Once a women hits 42 weeks of being pregnant then maybe that is a time to have a discussion about helping the birthing process get started. Why would it be a conversation earlier than that - what is the rush?

So even though the due date is based upon the idea of lunar moons and not actually months but translated into that humanity as a whole has given into the thought of controlling something that shouldn't be. There is so much intervention and I think people, women, and men should really appreciate the beauty that pregnancy and birth are. Why not fully experience what your body, mind and soul go through in that miraculous moment when the baby and body are ready?

Why can't science be more accurate? Why do we just do something that sounds good? Question after question arises and I could go off on many tangents so I am going stop now and let you read the links below and think about what your feelings are on the subject. I would love to hear what you think about the topic.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1047180/the_lie_of_the_edd_why_your_due_date.html?cat=25

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/372825/why_pregnancy_due_dates_are_inaccurate.html?cat=52

Belly Laughs

I have been doing a lot of reading about pregnancy and birth. I went searching through the bookstore and wanted to find a new book to read. But I didn't want to just keep reading the same material in a different presentation, I wanted to read something different and fun. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy fit the bill. It was a very quick read and fun. I read half of the book in just over an hour and then tried to string it out over a week. It didn't have a lot of educational information but it was fun to read about Jenny's pregnancy and birth experience in a no holds bard presentation. I have passed the book along to a friend and do recommend it if you want something fun to read.

Natural to NICU at The Birthing Inn

The Birthing Inn in Lansdowne, VA is a wonderful place offering everything from a natural birth to a NICU. http://www.thebirthinginn.org/ The only thing that takes place at this center is births. It is much nicer to go to a place where births occur and not to a hospital where everything happens. By being in a birth center instead of a hospital you can avoid a lot of sick people which can only be better for both mom and baby. I am a fan of a natural birth but I am also a fan of having access to advanced medical care if it is needed. Not only do you have a full range of services but the nurse-midwife pratice that I go to delivers here. http://www.lcmidwives.com/ (I will discuss the idea of midwives in another post)

Another birth center in the Northern VA area is http://www.birthcare.org/ - located in Alexandria, VA. I am not familiar with this center but thought I would share it anyway since there are a limited number of birth centers in my area and in most areas.

Feel free to share information about Birthing Centers in your area.

Why wait to potty train?

I came across a website about EC (Elimination Communication) - http://diaperfreebaby.org/. I had never heard of EC before this. I didn't realize that children do not have to wait until they are 2-4yrs old to be potty trained. It is possible for children to learn how to control their urge to use the bathroom and for parents to understand their children's needs. I did more research on the subject and discovered that EC is a normal way of life in many countries around the world. It is a practice that has been around for ages.

I wondered why it is not a normal practice in the US and the only conclusion I can come to is that it is not convenient or easy. A lot of the changes in maternity care and parenting seems to have been shaped around convenience. It might be more convenient and easy to have children in diapers but it is probably not the best way for children to understand their elimination needs. We teach children to eliminate in their diapers but then at a young age try to change that teaching and teach them that it is wrong or an accident to eliminate in their pants. That has to be confusing for a child. Besides being confusing for children diapers are a pollutant to nature. An infant can use as many as 10 diapers a day - that is a lot of trash. If parents are able to reduce or completely eliminate diapers then it is one step closer to saving the earth from unnecessary trash. Another solution to the use of diapers is cloth diapering (I will discuss this in another post). However, limiting the time and use of diapers all together is not only better for nature but also easier for the child to understand their elimination needs.

I plan to practice EC once I have children. I know it will be a challenge like most things when it comes to raising children but I feel that it will be worth it for many reasons.

Do you EC? Would you consider it now after learning about it?

Some Recommended Reading

After doing a lot of searching for a book that would give me information about different types of interventions in birth I found "Creating Your Birth Plan" by Dr. Marsden Wagner. It is very well rounded giving pros and cons to all types of birth interventions. All of the information is backed by extensive research. The book gives you information so that you can make an educated decision on whether you want a certain intervention or if you really need a certain intervention. I feel that the best way to make a decision or to consent to something is to know all of its benefits and risks. It is so easy to just agree with your healthcare provider but I think that it is much more important for women to know why they agree or possibly disagree with their healthcare provider's recommendations.

"Pushed" by Jennifer Block is a book that I am currently reading and can't put down. This book really goes through the history of obstetricts in the US. It discusses the changes from normal birth to medicalized birth and the pros and cons of each advancement in technology. I really love reading books that back up opinions with research. The best part is all the research is current and relevant. There is tons of eye opening and thought provoking information. I can't wait to finish the book and find another one.

Have you read either of these books? If so, what do you think? Do you have any books that you can recommend and why?

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog.

My hopes for this blog is to share my thoughts on what I have learned about pregnancy, birth and motherhood. It is also a place where other women can share thoughts, resources and help educate each other with all the options that are out there. I feel that we as women need to empower each other so that we understand why we make the decisions that we do and feel good about those decisions. There is no wrong way as long as you have an understanding as to why you have chosen that way. Otherwise we are chosing a misinformed way.

Please feel free to comment, send information, send links, share your experiences and give advice.

Thank you for helping empower others.