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Breastfeeding Help and Proper Latch
Good Info On Pre-eclampsia!
Preeclampsia (pre-e-CLAMP-si-a) is a condition unique to human pregnancy. It is diagnosed by the elevation of the expectant mother’s blood pressure usually after the twentieth week of pregnancy combined with the appearance of excessive protein in her urine. Important symptoms that may suggest preeclampsia are headaches, abdominal pain, visual disturbances such as oversensitivity to light, blurred vision, seeing flashing spots or auras, shortness of breath or burning behind the sternum, nausea and vomiting, confusion or heightened state of anxiety. Preeclampsia and related hypertensive disorders of pregnancy impact 5-8% of all births in the United States.
Most women with preeclampsia will deliver a healthy baby and fully recover. However, some women will experience complications, several of which may be life-threatening to mother and/or baby. A woman’s condition can go from a mild form of preeclampsia to severe preeclampsia very quickly.
Preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can be devastating diseases, made worse by delays in diagnosis or management, seriously impacting or even killing both women and their babies before, during or after birth.
...Read more and veiw full article and links here
Most women with preeclampsia will deliver a healthy baby and fully recover. However, some women will experience complications, several of which may be life-threatening to mother and/or baby. A woman’s condition can go from a mild form of preeclampsia to severe preeclampsia very quickly.
Preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can be devastating diseases, made worse by delays in diagnosis or management, seriously impacting or even killing both women and their babies before, during or after birth.
...Read more and veiw full article and links here
Hypnobabies Birth
Live and Let Birth- 5 Empowering Ways to Create the Birth Experience You Desire (Click here)
By Michelle Pier
Childbirth is a wonderfully mysterious and spontaneous rite of passage that offers a life-changing opportunity for empowerment and transformation. Love is the key ingredient to creating a joyous and peaceful birth. Birthing free of fear and pain is not only possible, but is the natural state in which we were meant to experience birth. Your body has infinite power and wisdom, and can overcome any perceived obstacle. Believe that you can birth in any way that you desire, and you are one step closer to achieving it. Here are some suggestions to help you move toward the birth experience that you desire:
The Golden Hour: Getting the Best Start With Your Newborn (Full Article)
by Robert W. Sears, MD
When that tiny baby is placed into your arms, he or she is the ultimate reward for your nine months of careful preparation. You may not know that what you and others around you do in that very first hour of your baby’s life can have a significant—even lifelong
—impact on the bond you have with your baby. In this article I will show you how to best prepare for that “golden hour”, how to maximize the bonding experience, how to defer hospital procedures that may interfere with bonding during that first hour and
how to communicate those needs to your medical caregivers in a way they will be receptive to. You’ve spent nine long months doing everything right.
Let’s get that very first hour of baby’s life right, too.
—impact on the bond you have with your baby. In this article I will show you how to best prepare for that “golden hour”, how to maximize the bonding experience, how to defer hospital procedures that may interfere with bonding during that first hour and
how to communicate those needs to your medical caregivers in a way they will be receptive to. You’ve spent nine long months doing everything right.
Let’s get that very first hour of baby’s life right, too.
Why a Doula is Better than your Best Friend (full article)
By Birthing Hands of DC
...On the day your baby is born, your doula will most likely be the one and only person in the room in that in between space who can understand what is happening from multiple perspectives. She will work to get to know you to get a sense of who you are emotionally and spiritually as well as what fears and hopes you have for your labor, birth and postpartum period..
Cesarean vs. VBAC: A Dramatic Difference (video)
by Alexandra Orchard
Click picture, and watch how a baby is delivered in a cesarean birth and see the dramatic difference in what both the mother and baby experience in a home water birth after cesarean.
Bundle of Joy: Doulas (click here)
Here is an article and video clip from a TV news Station in Florida. Check it out :)
Have you thought about having a Doula at your birth?
Article by Penny Simkin PT, CD(DONA)
| thought_of_having_a_doula.pdf |
Epidural Anesthesia- Worth the Risk? (click here)
By Danielle Griffin
So you’re pregnant! It seems that one of the first things that a woman thinks about upon finding out she is pregnant is the pain of childbirth. It’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I found out I was pregnant with my first son. It seems that it is brushed aside quite easily though, once we remind ourselves that we have the option of epidural anesthesia. It’s safe, and everyone gets one, right? Wrong. If you find yourself considering an epidural, please make sure you are fully aware of all risks and side effects associated with it before committing to the decision of having one.
An epidural is a drug cocktail of opioids that is administered into the ‘epidural space’ which is a part of the spine. It causes a loss of sensation and a loss of pain by blocking the nerves near the spinal cord.
An epidural is a drug cocktail of opioids that is administered into the ‘epidural space’ which is a part of the spine. It causes a loss of sensation and a loss of pain by blocking the nerves near the spinal cord.
Prevent Cesarean Surgey
A film by student Ragan Cohen for her Master's project. A YouTube video about preventing cesarean surgery.
VBAC and HBAC Birth Videos (click here)
From: Giving Birth Naturally
These birth videos are dedicated to the fight against non-evidence based maternity care. In 2008, the US cesarean section rate climbed to 31.8%, more than double the rate deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization.
Setting Yourself Up For A Successful Breastfeeding Relationship (Click here)
by Robyn Berman, CD(DONA)
Ask a pregnant woman what is on her mind the most toward the end of her last trimester, and undoubtedly breastfeeding will come up. Today, over 85% of women around the world are breastfeeding.1 While breastfeeding is cited as the best way to feed your baby, there are many misconceptions about this special relationship between infant and mother. Breastfeeding is a learned skill that both the mother and the baby need to practice many times before both fully know and understand the process. While breastfeeding is natural, it is not naturally known. Both the baby and mother need to acquire this skill. The key to a successful breastfeeding relationship is SUPPORT.
Here are some tips to help you get started.
Here are some tips to help you get started.
Consider the Source: An interview with Cord Clamping Researcher, Judith Mercer PhD, CNM (Click here)
Posted: 17 Nov 2009 04:03 PM PST
Consider the Source is a new series of interviews with prominent researchers working to improve the health outcomes of women and infants around the time of childbirth.
A member of the faculty at the University Rhode Island, Judith Mercer, PhD, CNM, FACNM, is the Principal Investigator on a randomized controlled trial at Women & Infants Hospital examining the effects of delayed cord clamping on outcomes of preterm, very low birth weight babies. She and her multi-disciplinary research team reported short-term outcomes in 2006 in the journal Pediatrics, and outcomes of infants at 7 months of age appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Perinatology.
A member of the faculty at the University Rhode Island, Judith Mercer, PhD, CNM, FACNM, is the Principal Investigator on a randomized controlled trial at Women & Infants Hospital examining the effects of delayed cord clamping on outcomes of preterm, very low birth weight babies. She and her multi-disciplinary research team reported short-term outcomes in 2006 in the journal Pediatrics, and outcomes of infants at 7 months of age appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Perinatology.
Sweet Birth Video
Just wanted to share this sweet video...
Sleep Training: Higher Stress, Lower Serotonin May Increase SIDS (Click Here)
by Liz DeMar
“Lower levels of the hormone serotonin may help explain why some infants succumb to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).”
