Natural Mama NZ

Increasing Milk Supply: Straight From the Mamas Mouth

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:57:00 +0000

Very often women bring up low milk supply issues on Beautiful Breastfeedings Facebook page (Natural Mama NZs sister site). Mothers pour in with helpful advice, sharing what has worked for them personally. For me this is the best advice and it's one of crowning achievements of motherhood support pages on Facebook. Because supply issues keep coming up on Beautiful Breastfeeding and other motherhood pages I thought I'd collate some of the great advice shared through various threads into a blog post. Enjoy...

Photo credit: Richard Meats

Increase suckling

Just keep constantly reminding your babe that s/he wants to nurse--offer, offer, offer. And you wouldn't have to pump every hour, just maybe a few times a day if there's really no nursing going on, to replace the missed feedings. Try finding a quiet room a couple times a day with little in the way of distractions to help keep the focus on your breasts, and also try wearing an eye-catching necklace that your babe can play with while nursing. Another thing is, if you co-sleep and can nurse all the night long, you'll keep your supply up. Then you have to manage getting enough sleep, but if you're able to sleep through the night time nursings you'll be in great shape.

Its supply and demand which is the best way. Night feeds are very important.

Offer breast for anything and everything.

Take a nursing vacation. Stay in bed for the weekend having skin to skin with the baby.

What's very important is that you get as much rest as you can and skin contact is very important. Let your husband take care of the household, crawl into bed with your baby, wear as little clothes as possible and just let your baby nurse as often as he/she would like. Do this for a couple of days and your milk supply should be 'in sync' with what your baby needs.

Babywearing works wonders too (I'm a big fan of ring slings). Bed-sharing is another great thing to do.

I’d suggest going to bed for a day and just feeding, babywearing topless for loads of skin to skin, and a pregnancy multi vitamin and loads of water.

Nurse on demand

If you are nursing on demand your milk will not stop unless there is a hormonal reason (new pregnancy, birth control pills), or unless you slow down/stop nursing. Is baby peeing and pooping? Sleeping and growing? Then things are fine.

Pumping

Number one way to increase supply is more stimulation. So, if you don't have time to pump every hour, try to add a few pumping sessions per day, right after you feed baby. Toss all your parts into a ziplock bag and toss in the fridge, then just wash once per day.

To increase supply, I pumped for 5-10 minutes after each feeding. This will stimulate your breasts to produce more milk. You can then feed the baby the pumped milk as extra if the baby is still hungry, or have your partner take a feeding for a break!

If you don't want to add extra pumping sessions you can nurse on one side and pump on the other. Then switch the pump when you switch the baby. This developed my supply so I could pump 12 ounces in a sitting to donate. Just do this twice a day.

I would pump and then as soon as the baby was done eating I pumped. I know a lot of breastfeeding "purists" discourage from pumping but I love to have a stash of breastmilk in the freezer, especially now that my 7 month old is eating cereal and I can mix the breastmilk with the cereal and if I need to run to the store alone my husband or parents can give the baby a bottle, since she WILL NOT take formula for anything.

I had a dip in supply when my daughter was 2 months (as well again around 8 months - she's 11 mo now). I started pumping one side while she nursed the other and fed in demand. At the 8 month mark I was back at work so I made sure I pumped at least 2x a day (as well as continued feeding on demand and bed sharing.) It's true about supply and demand - your body makes what your baby "demands".

Brewers Yeast

Brewers yeast helped me a ton! You can bake with it or sprinkle it on your food. Tastes a bit bitter but it's worth it to keep your supply up! Make sure you stay hydrated too.

I used to make a strawberry milkshake with Brewers Yeast, it helped almost immediately.

Brewers yeast made a HUGE difference for me! 1-2 Tbsp in a glass of orange juice was what I found most palatable.

Illustration by
Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé

Fenugreek and other herbs

I took Fenugreek (got it at GNC), and it worked within a couple of days. It made it to where I didn't have to supplement with formula, and I was so happy!

I've had success with fenugreek.

Basil, fenugreek, water... Avoid tea, coffee, mint, sage... and maybe one or two days only nursing skin to skin.

Blessed thistle and fenugreek.

Fenugreek works for me too, 2 capsules 3 x a day.

Keep in mind that you CANNOT take Fenugreek while pregnant, and Domperidone is contraindicated, too. I was referred to a company, Motherlove, that makes things that help supply, and the More Milk Two product is good for lactating pregnany moms. I have found that it has REALLY helped my supply since I got it on Monday. You can get it cheaper thru Amazon, and if you have Prime, shipping is free.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal always amped up my supply, but really, the only way to increase output is to nurse more.

I never had a supply issue but I ate oatmeal everyday like it was my job, lol!

Eat oatmeal, drink lots of water, actually nurse baby as much as possible and believe in yourself!

Big bowl of oatmeal topped with maple syrup.

Here's what has worked for me: steel-cut oats in the morning, granola for snacks later -- as much oats as you can stand.

Beer?

My lactation consultant said that if I know I have at least an hr then to drink a beer. Full of yeast I guess! Anyway pizza and beer at his longest nap and I was full and almost hurting by the time he'd wake up!

Dr sears say drinking non- alcoholic beer helps.

ONE Guinness or other low-alcohol content DARK beer (imported is best, or so I've heard) in the evening before nursing (or pumping) -- per my midwife, this is okay. They actually PRESCRIBE Guinness in the UK for milk supply, pregnant or not.

While it is safe to consume in reasonable amounts, alcohol does not actually increase supply.
http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alcohol.html

Lactation cookies from MilkMakers

Lactation Cookies

Lactation cookies you can go on http://www.whattoexpect.com and search it.

Lactation cookies are a good way to bump up your supply... you use brewers yeast.

Best lactation cookies, here you go: http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/major-milk-makin-lactation-cookies.html

I made lactation cookies, with oats, nuts, flax, craisins, and a bottle of beer I boiled down with honey (makes it thick and boils out the alcohol). So good and really helped me out.

Drink lots of water

Drink loads of water and try feeding little bits more often.

Drinking water and eating all day is also very important. Snack healthy: fruits, nuts, cheese...

Don’t stress and get lots of sleep

Don’t stress too much that will drop your supply.

Drink plenty of water and relax, stress never helps.

Get as much rest as you can and try not to stress.

Get lots of sleep and nap nurse as often as possible.

Take note of growth spurts

It may be the perfect time for a classic growth spurt age, where baby wants to nurse almost continuously for about 48 hours, acting like he is starving the whole time. Then, suddenly will go back to normal once he has doubled your supply by adding so much demand, and he'll suddenly grow.

Are you positive its slowing? Breastfed babies tend to feed a LOT with the growth spurt, and the amount you express isn’t always a sign of supply.

Remember you aren’t going to pump as much after he is done eating cause he is getting a good amount out.

My baby seemed very unsatisfied between 7 and 8 weeks, but he was still growing and had plenty of wet diapers. So we pushed through it, although I took a pumping break, and then things settled down quite a bit!

Soft breasts don't always mean low milk supply

Drying up out of the blue is pretty rare. If baby is draining you properly, your breasts *should* be soft and not engorged. Engorgement means your supply has nowhere to go. Soft boobs = ample supply.

If your breasts aren't enlarged it doesn’t mean you are losing supply.... its supply and demand... if your son is getting full at every feeding then your making enough.

Take note of your menstrual cycle

It is normal in times of illness or menses to see a drop in production. Nourish yourself well and rest plenty.

I noticed a drop with my first cycle post partum (which was at 11 months pp). Every other cycle since hasn't caused such a drop. We are now at 14 months EBF.

I always have lower milk during / leading up to my period.

‎1000 mg of calcium and 500 magnesium help hormonal dips.

I take an extra calcium magnesium supplement during my period for this reason.

Check for Thyroid Disease

Something similar happened with my first and I found out much later that I had thyroid disease. My suggestion would be to check for an underlying health issue.

Check for Anemia

I barely had any milk at all with my youngest, and nobody could tell me why. After she self weaned at 10 months (we supplemented every day), someone finally said to me, "are you anemic?" yup. Just a thought, but maybe try some iron.

Prescription Medication

Domperidone is supposed to help greatly to increase milk supply. Here is a link with some info: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/domperidone.shtml

You can get a prescription for motillium/domperidone to boost supply.

Motilium!! (Domperidone) Doubled my sis in laws milk supply! But you have to get it from canada or something. But worth it not to stress!

I have been on domperidone for 11 months...it saved my breastfeeding...no side effects.

Helpful websites

Check out Dr. Jack Newman's website. He is breastfeeding guru in Canada, and has tons of great info on everything from increasing your milk supply to thrush.

Don't forget KellyMom.com!

Call the professionals

Call La Leche League for advice.

Here's the results of the poll we did at Beautiful Breastfeeding...

Facebook's Misogyny Needs to End Now

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Facebook censorship of breastfeeding photos has been a long standing issue with hundreds of photos being removed over the years Facebook has been active, along with entire pages and profiles removed, many had thousands of followers. The site 'Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene' has been created to document many of the photos removed, though this is said to be a fraction of what may have been removed over the years.

Beautiful Breastfeedings Facebook page has recently come under fire from FB censors, who warned that the breastfeeding photos used on the page were "sexually inappropriate". Eight photos were removed and the page administrator banned for a short period of time. Facebook censors warned that if any more photos were reported, the page would be removed.

Like the Beautiful Breastfeeding blog, the FB page is filled with hundreds of beautiful photos and artworks of breastfeeding women and animals from around the world. Below are the photos removed.

These photos are not 'sexually inappropriate', these women are feeding their children, not performing a sexual act, or provoking sex. Lets remember too that breastfeeding is the most important evolutionary purpose of breasts, and standards for dress are different all around the world. Facebook argues that these photos are classed as 'nudity'. Why then are mens chests not classified as nudity, why are women singled out, particularly when women need to use their breasts so often to breastfeed their children? Logically womens breasts should remain bare, free to feed children as often as required. And in many countries they are, as evidenced in the above photos. So why not us here in Western countries?

In Western societies breasts have become a sexual icon, womens breasts have been 'fetishized', prompting women to cover their breasts so they don't appear sexually provocative. Is this fair? Shall we expect all women to cover their feet as well so we don't get potential foot fetishists all hot and bothered? No we don't cater to foot fetishists. So should we cater to breast fetishists? Many of our men have been taught that it's OK to oggle at breasts, it's OK to plaster pictures of breasts on their walls, they've been taught that objectifying breasts to the point of obsession is OK. This breast obsessed culture has been hundreds, if not thousands of years in the making. But it's not OK.

Let's get one thing clear, this is not about prudishness, this is about respect and fairness. All of us, men and women, need to respect a womans body, it's not fair to make a woman feel objectified, judged or embarrassed of an essential body part that she may one day use as a necessary tool to feed her child. The price of sexualizing breasts has been the inhibition to breastfeed. As a society our priorities are revealed by the fact we have put sexual gratification above the needs of women to breastfeed their children. We are content to perpetuate a breast obsession, while women feel too inhibited to breastfeed and children go without breastmilk.

No, this is NOT OK. The only way it will end is when we, both men and women, stand up and refuse to participate in the objectification of womens breasts; when we create nudity laws that treat men and women equally; when we as a society respect and embrace the necessity of breastfeeding.

I'm asking you to join us in changing our society, so we can free women from this objectification. Please share this blog post or write your own on the issue, or send an email to Facebook administrators, telling them their misogyny needs to end now. Tell them breastfeeding is not 'sexually provocative', tell them bare breasts are not 'nudity' just as a mans chest is not classed as 'nudity' either.

One of our goals is to change Facebook policy, to allow all breastfeeding photos to be exempt from removal for reasons of being 'sexually inappropriate' or 'nudity'. So please join us in bombarding FB administrators with your disapproval of current FB policy that discriminates against breastfeeding women.

Mark Zuckerbergs official FB profile where you can send him a private message (he is the founder and chief executive at FB):
http://www.facebook.com/zuck

Chris Cox FB profile where you can send him a private message (he is the vice president of product at FB):
http://www.facebook.com/chris.cox

Facebooks official FB HQ page where you can comment:
http://www.facebook.com/facebookhq?sk=wall&filter=2

You can also sign a petition to exempt non-sexual breastfeeding images on Facebook from removal for nudity:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/protect-breastfeeding-on-fb/

And another petition to stop removing breastfeeding support pages and pictures:
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-facebook-to-stop-removing-breastfeeding-support-pages-and-pictures

This is the message I've sent to Facebook, feel free to copy, paste and send (insert your own name):

Dear Mark / Chris / Facebook Censors,

Are you aware of the misogyny and female discrimination that goes on within your company? Photos of breastfeeding women are constantly being removed from FB, being labeled by your staff as “sexually inappropriate” and “nudity”. US federal law states that breastfeeding, in whatever fashion, is NOT classified as nudity. I implore you to please align FB policy with US federal law and exempt breastfeeding photos on FB from classification as nudity. Breastfeeding is in no way sexual, it is how all mammals feed their young. Breastfeeding mothers have a hard enough time establishing and maintaining breastfeeding, without having to deal with judgment and condemnation from their community. Please help our breastfeeding moms and show that you are supportive of them by allowing their lovely photos breastfeeding their children, that they are so proud of, to be allowed on FB.

Sincerely,
Cherie
Beautiful Breastfeeding

Childhood Vaccination: Aluminum

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:38:00 +0000

Aluminum is a metal used in small quantities in childhood and adult vaccines, usually in the form of Aluminium phosphate or Aluminium hydroxide. Aluminum's role in vaccination is to be an adjuvant - a substance that stimulates the immune system to fight.

The use of adjuvants enables the use of less antigen to achieve the desired immune response, and this reduces vaccine production costs. With a few exceptions, adjuvants are foreign to the body and cause adverse reactions. 13

Aluminum is not a ‘safe’ substance.
Despite Aluminum being one of the most abundant metals on earth, Aluminum is by no means ‘safe’.

Aluminum is an ‘excitotoxin’, a substance that damages neurons. It is a toxin that binds to certain receptors and may cause neuron cell death.1,2

Excitotoxicity may be involved in spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss (through noise overexposure or ototoxicity) and in neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such asmultiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, alcoholismor alcohol withdrawal and Huntington's disease.3

Aluminum in various forms can be toxic to the nervous system. The widespread presence in the human environment may underlie a number of central nervous system disorders. The continued use of aluminum adjuvants in various vaccines for children as well as the general public may be of significant concern. In particular, aluminum presented in this form carries a risk for autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation and associated neurological complications and may thus have profound and widespread adverse health consequences.4

Infants are significantly more vulnerable to neurotoxins, such as Aluminum, than adults.

During prenatal and early postnatal development the brain is extremely vulnerable to neurotoxic insults. Not only are these highly sensitive periods of rapid brain development in general but also, the blood brain barrier (BBB) is incomplete and thus more permeable to toxic substances during this time. Further, immune challenges during early development, including those induced by vaccines, can lead to permanent detrimental alterations of nervous and immune system function.5

The level of Aluminum in pediatric vaccines is well over the threshold for toxicity.

A 2004 statement by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), a group that monitors oral and injectable nutritional products for safety and side effects, states the daily limit of aluminum is 5 mcg per kilogram of body weight. 6

An average 6 week old weighs 4.5kg, measures 55cm in length, and has just 400mL of blood. For an infant of this size, the daily allowable limit of injectable aluminum is 22.5mcg. A 6 week old infant receiving the Infanrix and Synflorix vaccinations as per NZ schedule, will receive 1320mcg of aluminum in one sitting, grossly exceeding the daily allowable limit of 22.5mcg aluminum for a 6 week old, 59 times over. This will be repeated at 3 months, again 5 months, and at 15 months a final 4th dose of Synflorix will be administered. Following the NZ Immunization Schedule, by the time an infant has reached 15 months old, he or she will have received 6260mcg of aluminum. 7,8

New Zealand Immunisation Schedule 2011
*Age*	Diseases covered and Vaccines
6 weeks	Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping Cough / Polio / Hepatitis B / Haemophilus influenzae type b 1 injection (INFANRIX®- hexa) Pneumococcal - 1 injection (Synflorix®)*
3 months	Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping Cough / Polio / Hepatitis B / Haemophilus influenzae type b 1 injection (INFANRIX®- hexa) Pneumococcal 1 injection (Synflorix®)*
5 months	Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping Cough / Polio / Hepatitis B / Haemophilus influenzae type b 1 injection (INFANRIX®- hexa) Pneumococcal - 1 injection (Synflorix®)*
15 months	Haemophilus influenzae type b - 1 injection (Act-HIB®) Measles / Mumps / Rubella - 1 injection (MMR® II) Pneumococcal - 1 injection (Synflorix®)*
4 years	Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping Cough / Polio - 1 injection (INFANRIX-IPVTM) Measles / Mumps / Rubella - 1 injection (M-M-R® II)
11 years	Diphtheria / Tetanus / Whooping Cough - 1 injection (BoostrixTM)
12 years girls only	Human Papillomavirus - 3 doses given over 6 months (GARDASILTM)
45 years	Diphtheria / Tetanus - 1 injection (ADTTM Booster)
65 years	Diphtheria / Tetanus - 1 injection (ADTTM Booster) Influenza 1 injection (annually)
*Synflorix will be available when existing stocks of Prevenar are used up.
Source: http://www.moh.govt.nz

Aluminum Levels in NZ Childhood Vaccines 2011
Vaccine Name	Aluminum type	Amount
Infanrix®-hexa	Aluminium hydroxide Aluminium phosphate	500mcg 320mcg
Synflorix®	Aluminium phosphate	500mcg
Prevenar®	Aluminium phosphate	500mcg
Infanrix®-IPV	Aluminium hydroxide	625mcg
Boostrix®	Aluminium hydroxide & aluminium phosphate	390mcg
Gardasil®	Amorphous aluminium hydroxyphosphate sulphate	225 mcg
Prevenar 13®	Aluminium phosphate	570mcg
ADT™ Booster	Aluminium hydroxide (hydrated)	500mcg
HBvaxPRO®	Amorphpus aluminium hydroxyphosphate sulphate	250mcg
IPOL	Aluminium	0mcg
Hiberix®	Aluminium	0mcg
Act-HIB™	Aluminium	0mcg
M-M-R® II	Aluminium	0mcg
Source: http://www.immune.org.nz

For more information on US vaccination schedules and vaccine ingredients:

Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 0 Through 6 Years, or 7 Through 18 Years —United States 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/0-6yrs-schedule-pr.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/7-18yrs-schedule-pr.pdf

Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary, Part 1 & 2 - CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-1.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf

Package Inserts and Manufacturers for some US Licensed Vaccines and Immunoglobulins
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

If the body is overloaded with Aluminum it will deposit it in various organs.

Approximately 95% of aluminum in the body becomes bound to transferrin (plasma protein that transports iron through the blood to the liver, spleen and bone marrow) and albumin (main protein in human blood) in blood vessels and is then excreted via the kidneys.1

If a significant load exceeds the body's excretory capacity, the excess is deposited in various tissues, including bone, brain, liver, heart, spleen, and muscle. This accumulation causes morbidity and mortality through various mechanisms.1

Once inside the body, Aluminum can take years to be cleared.

The elimination half-life of aluminum from the human brain is 7 years, this can result in cumulative damage via the element's interference with neuron transport and assembly.1

Levels of aluminum in the lungs and brain show significant accumulation with age. Aluminum appears to accumulate in most brain cells.6

In patients with macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) Aluminum was shown to persist at the site of injection from several months up to 8 years following vaccination. Patients were found to suffer from diffuse arthromyalgias, chronic fatigue, muscle weakness and in some cases, multiple sclerosis. Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) has been specifically attributed to aluminum adjuvants in recipients of hepatitis A and B and tetanus toxoid (Td) vaccines. MMF Electron microscopy and microanalytical analysis showed that the appearance of MMF lesions was due to long-term persistence of aluminum adjuvants at the site of injections and concomitant ongoing local immune reactions.4

Even minimal exposure to Aluminum through vaccines can provoke autoimmune disorders.

Experimental evidence shows that simultaneous administration of as little as two to three immune adjuvants, or repeated stimulation of the immune system by the same antigen, can overcome genetic resistance to autoimmunity.5

A variety of conditions encompassed by the ‘Autoimmune/inﬂammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants’ (ASIA) have been linked to exposure to aluminum (Al) vaccine adjuvants. These conditions include: Siliconosis, the Gulf war syndrome (GWS), the macrophagic myofasciitis syndrome (MMF), and post-vaccination phenomena. Furthermore, these four diseases share a similar complex of signs and symptoms: Myalgia (muscle pain), myositis (inflamed, damaged muscles) or muscle weakness, arthralgia (pain in joints) and/or arthritis (inflammation of joints), chronic fatigue, un-refreshing sleep or sleep disturbances, neurological manifestations (especially associated with demyelination (degeneration of nerves)), cognitive impairment, memory loss, pyrexia (fever), dry mouth, appearance of auto-antibodies or antibodies directed at the suspected adjuvant, irritable bowel syndrome, evolvement of an autoimmune disease (i.e. Multiple Sclerosis).5

Studies show Aluminum is also correlated with Autism

Aluminum (Al), the most commonly used vaccine adjuvant, is a demonstrated neurotoxin and a strong immune stimulator. Hence, adjuvant Al has the potential to induce neuroimmune disorders. Our results show that:

(i) children from countries with the highest ASD prevalence appear to have the highest exposure to Al from vaccines;
(ii) the increase in exposure to Al adjuvants significantly correlates with the increase in ASD prevalence in the United States observed over the last two decades (Pearson r = 0.92, p < 0.0001); and
(iii) a significant correlation exists between the amounts of Al administered to preschool children and the current prevalence of ASD in seven Western countries, particularly at 3–4 months of age (Pearson r = 0.89–0.94, p = 0.0018–0.0248).
The data indicates that the correlation between Al in vaccines and ASD may be causal.12

Symptoms of Aluminum toxicity

Musculoskeletal disorders
Muscle pain and weakness, macrophagic myofasciitis (pain and inflammation of muscles).
Bone pain and weakness, premature osteoporosis (thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density), arthritis, fractures (particularly of the ribs and pelvis), bone deformity - due to the increased rate of growth and remodeling usually involving the epiphyseal plates (ie, femur, wrist), thoracic (rib) cage abnormalities, lumbar scoliosis (curving of the spine sideways), kyphosis (curving of the spine leading to a hunchback), rickets (softening of bone leading to bone deformities), craniosynostosis (premature ossification of the skull and obliteration of the sutures in infants).

Neurological disorders
Encephalitis (acute inflammation of the brain), dementia (loss of brain function affecting memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior), difficulty learning, inability to concentrate, lack of co-ordination, confusion, disorientation, extreme nervousness, speech impairment, mutism (in infants and children), seizures, multiple sclerosis (degradation of the central nervous system), Guillain-Barré syndrome ( paralysis and loss of reflexes), transverse myelitis (erosion of spinal cord), facial palsy

Iron anemia
Due to the interference of aluminum with iron metabolism

Liver and kidney disorders
Decreased liver and kidney function, liver and kidney disease

Gastrointestinal disorders
Nausea, flatulence, heartburn, stomach and intestinal ulcers, intestinal colic, gastrointestinal disease.

Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders
Idiopathic thrombocytopenia

Immune System Disorders
Anaphylaxis and/or other generalized hypersensitivity reactions, inflammatory arthritis/arthralgia, fever, and dermatologic reactions such as erythema, systemic lupus erythematosus

Cardiac Disorders
Cardiac arrhythmias

Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders
Asthma

Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders
Angioedema, erythema

Aluminum in food is not a valid comparison to injected Aluminum.

In healthy subjects, only 0.3% of orally administered aluminum is absorbed via the GI tract and the kidneys effectively eliminate aluminum from the human body. It is only when the GI barrier is bypassed, such as intravenous infusion or in the presence of advanced renal dysfunction, that aluminum has the potential to accumulate. As an example, with intravenously infused aluminum, 40% is retained in adults and up to 75% is retained in neonates.1

Aluminum has never been tested by the FDA for safety.
Aluminum has been exempted from testing for safety by the FDA and has been classified as GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe). It has never been tested by the FDA for its safety. Yet, there are numerous studies confirming the adverse effects of aluminum. This means vaccine manufacturers can technically say Aluminum is ‘safe’, even though it’s a neurotoxin. There are no enforceable regulations on Aluminum. Agencies such as the EPA or FDA cannot enforce any organization to comply with their recommendations. 10, 11

Aluminum does not have to be used in vaccines.

Calcium phosphate adjuvant has been used for simultaneous vaccination with diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, BCG, yellow fever, measles and hepatitis B vaccines and with allergen. The advantage of this adjuvant has been seen to be that it is a normal constituent of the body and is better tolerated and absorbed than other adjuvants. It entraps antigens very efficiently and allows slow release of the antigen. Additionally, it elicits high amounts of IgG-type antibodies an much less of IgE-type (reaginic) antibodies.13

While having similar properties to alum salts, calcium phosphate has the advantage that it is a natural compound to the human body and is therefore exceptionally well tolerated. It has a reasonable capacity to adsorb antigens, induces high levels of IgG antibodies and does not increase IgE production. Neurological reactions to pertussis vaccines adsorbed to calcium phosphate are rare.14

Sources:
1. Aluminum Toxicity, Medscape
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview
2. Excitotoxin
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Excitotoxin
3. Excitotoxicity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excitotoxicity

4. Aluminum Vaccine Adjuvants: Are they Safe?
http://vaccinexchange.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tomljenovic_shaw-cmc-published2.pdf

5. Do aluminum vaccine adjuvants contribute to the rising prevalence of autism?
http://sanevax.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aluminum-adjuvants-autism-Chris-Lucija.pdf
6. Is Aluminum the New Thimerosal?
http://www.whale.to/vaccine/sears.html
7. Blood Volume Calculator
http://easycalculation.com/medical/blood-volume.php
8. Baby Weight & Length Charts
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c018.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c018.pdf
9. Aluminum Toxicity
http://www.arltma.com/AlumToxDoc.htm
10. Aluminum in Vaccines: A Neurological Gamble http://www.vacinfo.org/Aluminum%20in%20Vaccines,%20Free%20ebook.pdf
11. TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR ALUMINUM
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp22.pdf
12. Do aluminum vaccine adjuvants contribute to the rising prevalence of autism?
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0162013411002212
13. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ADJUVANTS IN VACCINES
http://www.whale.to/vaccine/adjuvants.html
14. Vaccine adjuvants: Current state and future trends
http://www.nature.com/icb/journal/v82/n5/full/icb200475a.html

Birth: It’s not a competition

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:50:00 +0000

On a friends facebook page recently I came across a statement by a young mother, she angrily wrote:

“It’s rather sad that you feel like you need a pat on the back for giving birth vaginally. If you highlight the fact that you gave birth vaginally without pain meds whenever recounting your birth story, and if the only way you can “recover” from your “traumatic” other births is by shoving a baby out your vag, then yes, it’s pathetic. Other people have actual accomplishments. But I get it, everyone needs a trophy in the mommy race.”

Another mother on the thread likened giving birth vaginally to a child learning to take a crap in a potty, she believed vaginal birth deserved no more recognition.

Where does this animosity come from? What drives someone to write such nasty and ridiculous comments? While these are some of the most irrational comments on this subject, this attitude, albeit toned down, is seen lot in discussions. It's not uncommon to read something like this in a discussion about natural birth:

You are no better than me because you had a natural birth and I had an epidural. The only difference is I didn’t have to feel pain.

Firstly, all of these comments show a profound lack of knowledge about the physiological and emotional aspects of normal birth, and a profound lack of knowledge of the benefits of a normal birth and the detriments of certain interventions (would you believe the first commenter above was a nurse).

Secondly, it shows a deep seated resentment and misunderstanding of why women feel proud of their normal births (note I’m calling ‘natural’ birth ‘normal’, because I think it’s more appropriate).

Unless you’ve personally experienced a normal birth, I wouldn’t expect you to understand what it’s like. Normal birth is different for each woman. For most it’s very intense and exhausting, both physically and mentally, requiring immense focus. Towards the end, many women go into a trancelike state, becoming less aware of what’s going on around them and focusing solely on giving birth. It’s also a process of learning to let go emotionally and physically, learning to trust your body, instead of fighting against the pain of contractions. This may sound airy fairy to those who’ve never experienced it, but I’m trying to be as matter of fact as possible. The truth is, normal birth is very emotional, the body is literally taken over with huge surges of hormones you’ve never felt before. It’s a strange, painful, intense and exhilarating experience like nothing you’ve ever experienced.

Having been through this intense, exhausting experience, having done it all by myself... yes, it did make me feel proud as punch. I once heard the quote, “happiness is self sufficiency”, and it definitely applies here. But according to some, I don’t deserve to feel proud of what I’ve done, apparently it’s no more significant than taking a dump. Last I heard we don’t beg for epidurals when passing a stool (no your haemorrhoids are nothing in comparison), or spend 24 hours passing one giantic stool the size of a large watermelon, or tear from vagina to anus in the process. I don’t want to put anyone off normal birth, but for many women normal birth was the most painful experience of their lives (but also the most amazing). Why try to deny that a woman overcame that? Why crap all over their hard work, and try to convince them their pain and effort was worthless and insignificant?

In my opinion, it is resentment of the positive attitude and pride women feel and express after having their normal birth, that drives other women to express negative comments. This is fuelled by a lack of understanding about birth (especially the psychological aspect) and the reasons why women feel so positive and proud of their normal birth. No one likes the thought that their birth was any less of an accomplishment than someone else’s. Many who opted for an epidural or cesarean may wonder why a woman who had a normal birth should be congratulated or feel proud for putting herself through unnecessary pain? This is where knowledge about the negative effects of birth interventions comes into play.

See this post here for a large list of risks associated with common interventions such as epidural, cesareans and inductions.

An important reason to avoid interventions that lower naturally occurring birth hormones (epidurals, induction, cesareans, pain medication) is that these hormones are needed for bonding or breastfeeding. Provided hormones are left intact, massive surges of hormones cause a 'birth high' when baby is born, promoting a very memorable and happy time after birth. This helps explain why women often remember their normal births with such excitement and enthusiasm.

Besides the risks associated with unnecessary intervention, many women who opt for a normal birth do so simply because they can, because their bodies are capable of doing so and the feeling of accomplishment and self sufficiency is fantastic. It may not seem practical to some, just like I don’t see the practicality of climbing a mountain when you could helicopter to the top, but the exhilaration the mountaineer feels at the top of that mountain is like nothing we can imagine. Just like the accomplishment of giving birth to your offspring, all by yourself, is like nothing you can imagine.

In summary, to answer a commenter angry at women for expressing their pride in their normal birth:

Women don’t choose to have normal births to feel superior to those who don’t.
The reasons a woman may choose a normal birth is unique to each woman, for instance she may have faith in the normal way in which our species procreates and wishes to follow suit, or she has knowledge of the negative consequences of unnecessary intervention in an uncomplicated pregnancy and wishes to avoid them.
A woman who gave birth normally may feel and express pride because she was glad she was able to avoid unnecessary and detrimental interventions, or simply because the experience was amazing, birth hormones surged through her body imprinting memories of intense feelings of love and happiness in the moments after birth. And of course she may also be proud because she accomplished something huge, it was a mammoth task, and she did it all by herself. She was self sufficient, and in self sufficiency there is happiness.

Babywearing: Everyone's doing it!

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Effective Discipline – What the Studies Say

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:19:00 +0000

There are so many ‘discipline techniques’ making their way around parent circles – time out, time in, removing privileges, rewards, distraction, and of course spanking. So I thought I’d see what the studies have to say to try to get some definitive answers. Though the studies didn't cover all of those techniques, the most important message I got out of these studies was this:

Success in discipline depends on how you interpret your childs behavior – do you view their behavior as developmentally normal, or hostile and aggressive?

Parents who view their childs behavior as hostile are likely to overreact and dish out harsher punishment, making the child feel ashamed, humiliated and disliked (see below chart). Parents who view a childs behavior as developmentally normal are likely to be nurturing even if they still dish out punishment, which counteracts the feelings of exclusion or shame. It’s important to remember ALL childrens behaviors are developmentally normal reactions to their environment.

According to the studies the most effective form of discipline was this:

Adopt a specific, habitual, method of responding, that involves...
1. Pausing to set aside your own moral judgments of your childs behavior.
2. Rephrasing your childs behaviour as ‘undesired but developmentally normal’.
3. Focusing on giving reprimands that are:
- Immediate
- Firm
- Short
- Teaching
- Nurturing
- Consistent

How we implement this in real life…

Situation: Jamie, who is 2 years old, is hitting another child.
Set aside the moral judgment that Jamie is ‘naughty’ or ‘bad’.
Remember Jamies hitting is undesired but developmentally normal.
Immediately reprimand Jamie for his hitting, using a firm voice.
Make the reprimand nice and short.
Use words that teach Jamie to understand why hitting is an undesired behavior. Example: “We don’t hit, hitting hurts!”
Show love and nurturing to Jamie by giving him a hug or kiss after the reprimand.
Consistently reprimand Jamie in this way every time he hits.

The studies revealed many other factors that played a role in effective discipline:

Work together with your partner
Preschoolers are less aggressive in cohesive families versus families in which alliances are formed.

Don’t just distract, reprimand
Reprimands are significantly more effective than using distraction in controlling children's undesired behaviour.

Deliver immediate, short, firm reprimands, but still be very nurturing
Reprimands that are immediate, short, and firm, are far more effective at controlling undesired behavior compared with reprimands that are delayed, long, and gentle. A very nurturing attitude also helps to lessen undesired behaviour alongside immediate, short, firm reprimands.

Reprimand in a ‘teaching’ manner
A ‘teaching’ based reprimand style is not only more effective than a ‘power’ based reprimand, it also bears the more positive outcomes in child self-concept, social competence, and cognitive maturation.

Don’t be too authoritarian
‘Power-based’ reprimands are related to children not being able to make decisions for themselves (self-regulatory behavior) when it comes to limit setting.

Reprimands must be consistent
If your reprimands are inconsistent – you reprimand an undesired behavior half of the time, but then ignore or cater to the behavior the rest of the time – not only will your efforts be ineffective, the child’s behaviour will become worse.

Be careful not to overreact
When parents overreact, dishing out harsher than normal punishment, children’s aggression and misbehavior worsens.

Be careful what you attribute your child’s undesired behavior to
Parents often overreact to children’s behaviour that they’re not accustomed to, but as parents become accustomed to the behavior, their attitude softens and they view the behavior as ‘normal’. This is classic in families where the eldest child cops it hard, but subsequent siblings get off a lot easier as parents become more relaxed with typical childhood behavior.

Find solutions for the stress in your life
Depression, marital discord and an unsupportive family are known to cause parents to overreact to their children’s behavior.

Take it easy on the older children
Interestingly, parents are more likely to believe a child's behaviour is hostile as the child gets older.

Remember your 'power' over your child will weaken as they get older
When a child is young they rely on their parents almost entirely, and because of this parents can get away with manipulating their kids to do what they want - such as making them feel ashamed or disliked, taking away toys, putting them in time out. But as a child reaches adolescence, they will become more independent and develop their own social circle. The parents will no longer be the child's only source of influence and emotional support. Unless a strong bond has already been developed between parent and child, the child will find alternative support in others instead. At this stage whether your child complies with what you ask is largely dependent on whether you have earned their trust.

What about time-out?
On it's own, time-out doesn't teach a child specifically what they did wrong, why it was wrong, and what they should have done instead. The study 'Young children's perceptions of time out' in the The Journal of Research in Childhood Education reveals some interesting insights into the use of time-outs:

The fact that fewer than half of the young children queried could accurately recall what they had done that resulted in their placement in time out, raises doubts that these preschoolers were mulling over their misbehavior, generating feelings of guilt, or pondering alternative desirable responses. What is more likely is that these children are withdrawing or acting out in other even more undesirable ways. With little direct tuition provided by adults to children regarding the specific misbehavior to correct, it is hard to imagine that the children will not misbehave again.
Despite recommendations that time out be reserved for occasions when the child is wildly out of control or an imminent threat to other children, it appears that time out is being used largely for reasons of noncompliance that give immediate irritation to caregivers.
Indeed, many children are receiving time out for trivial reasons, thus confirming the observation that time out is a seductively easy reinforcing technique for harried caregivers, who may be eager to get a noncompliant child "out of their hair" for a few moments.
It appears that the consequences of time out may be punitive rather than instructional. Children who perceived themselves to be in time out often liked time out less and felt more isolated, sad, scared, and disliked by their peers. These harshly negative self-attributions again appear to confirm the punitive effects of time out when employed with the preschool child, especially the child who is frequently in time out.
Time out can have unintended consequences. Time out can lead to increases in other maladaptive behaviors. Some young children may indeed feel anxious and hurt by the practice.
There is speculation that time out may be hurtful in a number of ways. If the child perceives it as a punishment, time out can have serious side effects that are commonly associated with punishment, including increases of other maladaptive behaviors and withdrawal from or avoidance of the adults administering time out.
Furthermore, when escape is impossible, some young children are apt to withdraw and become passive. Because of the young child's limited knowledge and experience, he or she may ultimately feel anxious, rejected, hurt, and humiliated as a result of time out. Given their social inexperience, young children tend to internalize negative labels, see themselves as they are labeled, and react accordingly.
Time out is a "dead end" for young children at the threshold of social development. Instead, the preschool-age child, who is wrestling with egocentrism and with limited knowledge of social relations, would probably benefit from social skill modeling and instruction.
Critics of time out acknowledge that the practice can reduce undesirable behavior; they lament, however, that time out fails to teach desirable behavior.

What about spanking?

Apart from the fact spanking also doesn't teach a child specifically what they did wrong, why it was wrong, and what they should have done instead, spanking is associated with damaging consequences. Below is an excerpt from the American Association of Pediatrics document, Guidance for Effective Discipline, outlining the damaging consequences associated with spanking:

Spanking children younger than18 months of age increases the chance of physical injury, and the child is unlikely to understand the connection between the behavior and the punishment.
Spanking models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict.
Spanking results in a child behaving more aggressively. Although spanking may result in a reaction of shock by the child and cessation of the undesired behavior, repeated spanking may cause agitated, aggressive behavior in the child that may even lead to physical altercation between parent and child. When controlling for baseline antisocial behavior, the more 3- to 6-year-old children were hit, the worse their behavior when assessed 2 years later. Spanking of preschool boys by fathers with whom the child identified only moderately or little resulted in increased aggressive behavior by those children.
The more children are hit, the more anger they report as adults, the more they hit their own children when they are parents, the more likely they are to approve of hitting and to actually hit their spouses, and the greater their marital conflict.
Spanking and threats of spanking lead to negatively altered parent–child relationships. This makes discipline substantially more difficult when physical punishment is no longer an option, such as with adolescents.
Spanking makes the use of other discipline strategies less effective. Time-out and positive reinforcement of other behaviors are more difficult to implement and take longer to become effective when spanking has previously been a primary method of discipline.
Spanking is likely to increase in frequency. Because spanking may provide the parent some relief from anger, the likelihood that the parent will spank the child in the future is increased.
Parents who spank are more likely to use harsher forms of corporal punishment. When punishment fails, parents who rely on corporal punishment tend to increase the intensity of its use rather than to change strategies. Parents who spank are also more likely to use other forms of corporal punishment and a greater variety of verbal and other punitive methods.
Parents are more likely to spank their children when they’re angry, irritable, depressed, fatigued, and stressed. In 44% of those surveyed, corporal punishment was used 50% of the time because the parent had lost it. Approximately 85% expressed moderate to high anger, remorse, and agitation while punishing their children.These findings challenge most the notion that parents can spank in a calm, planned manner. It is best not to administer any punishments while in a state of anger.
Parents who spank their young children are likely to continue spanking them info adolescene. More than half of 13- and 14-year-olds are still being hit an average eight times per year. Parents who have relied on spanking do not seem to shift strategies when the risks of detrimental effects increase with developmental age, as has been argued.
Spanking older children and adolescents has been associated with higher rates of physical aggression, more substance abuse, and increased risk of crime and violence.
Corporal punishment in two-parent, middle class families occurred weekly in 25%, was associated with the use of an object occasionally in 35% and half of the time in 17%, caused considerable pain at times in 12%, and inflicted lastingmarks at times in 5%. Thus, striking children in the abusive range is neither rare nor confined to families of lower socioeconomic class, as has been asserted.
Although children may view spanking as justified and symbolic of parental concern for them, they rate spanking as causing some or much pain in more than half of cases and generally experience anger at the adult as a result. Despite this, children come to accept spanking as a parent's right at an early age, making changes in adult acceptance of spanking more difficult.
Although 93% of parents justify spanking, 85% say that they would rather not if they had an alternative in which they believed. One study found that 54% of mothers said that spanking was the wrong thing to have done in at least half of the times they used it. This ambivalence likely results in inconsistent use, which limits further its effectiveness as a teaching tool.
Although spanking has been shown to be effective as a back-up to enforce a time-out location, it was not more effective than use of a barrier as an alternative.
Actions causing pain such as spanking can acquire a positive value rather than the intended adversive value. Children who expect pain may actually seek it through escalating misbehaviors.

For more information on the ideology and effects of spanking, and gentle discipline techniques:
Spanking and Punishment: Does it 'work'?
Why not smack?

Sources:

Effects of maternal discipline and nurturance on toddler's behavior and affect.
Effects of maternal distraction and reprimands on toddlers' transgressions and negative affect.
Inconsistency of mothers' feedback and toddlers' misbehavior and negative affect.
A longitudinal study of mothers' overreactive discipline and toddlers' externalizing behavior.
MATERNAL LIMIT-SETTING PATTERNS AND TODDLER DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE
Guidance for Effective Discipline

Spanking and Punishment: Does it 'work'?

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:38:00 +0000

Does spanking and punishment work? It depends what outcome you're wanting. If you want to humiliate, shame and upset your child, yes of course it works. If you're wanting long lasting compliance, no it does not work.

Spanking on its own doesn't TEACH a child specifically WHAT they did wrong, WHY it was wrong, and what should have been done INSTEAD. Spanking on its own simply teaches a child:

Mum is bigger than me and has the power to dominate and humiliate me when she's angry with me.

In order for a reprimand to stick and have a long lasting effect a child needs to comprehend WHAT they did wrong, WHY it was wrong, and what should have been done INSTEAD. A child needs to be taught to THINK about why something is wrong, not simply obey because they’re scared of being told off. Unless you know WHY something is wrong you'll never passionately believe it's true, and the only thing motivating you to 'obey' will be external factors, like negative enforcement (punishment, shame from parents) or positive reinforcements (rewards, money, gifts).

It doesn't matter whether you receive negative or positive reinforcement, they're both EXTERNAL. INTERNAL motivation comes from knowledge, from knowing the reasons why you should or shouldn't do something - knowing the benefits or drawbacks, the consequences for you and others affected.

Many friends I talk to have this same issue with their parents, they love their parents to bits, but their parents never TAUGHT them WHY they shouldn't do something, it was always:

You'll do what I say because I'm your parent.

How does that teach a child anything? Instead a child has to learn consequences for him/herself, through experience, and that's hard. It's hard not having a parent you can go to for advice, when you're having trouble, because you fear being told off and punished.

A perfect example of how punishment is not the solution to a problem is our justice system. In our justice system if a person does wrong, they go to prison, serve and sentence and are let out. Not surprisingly our re-offending rate is horrendous! Why? If a person leaves prison and goes right back to the environment and situation they came from, that was influencing them to commit crime in the first place, more than likely they will commit that crime again - they'll just be more careful to not get caught this time (or not, who knows if prison made a difference at all). If a person is not taught WHAT the situation was that got them in prison in the first place, WHY it was wrong, HOW to avoid it, and given the tools, help and support to avoid it, chances are they won't be able to avoid it, and end up in trouble again and again. Punishment simply is NOT a long term solution.

But we’re talking about parents and kids here, not criminals – the situation is quite different. Many 'spanking' parents love their kids, showing affection and comfort along side hitting. This has a weird effect that causes kids to accept the hitting as normal. While the effects of hitting are still negative, they aren't quite as bad if the child still feels loved.

What ‘hitting with affection’ teaches is that when we do something deemed 'wrong' it is normal to experience hitting, punishment, humiliation and feeling over powered by those who love us. What’s wrong with this concept? Not only is it a totally warped version of ‘love’, it means we don't bother searching for the REAL solution to the problem, we don't search for the reason WHY it happened in the first place and figure out what we should have done instead. We believe that punishment IS the solution, which it is NOT, it does not fix the problem, it does not search for solutions, it simply teaches submission and compliance. It's a great method of control, but it doesn't promote free thinking, learning, insight, solution finding, independence, confidence or self sufficiency.

So do we want submissive, compliant children, unable to make decisions for themselves, or do we want free thinking, solution finding, confident children? The choice is yours.

For more info on the effects of spanking and gentle discipline tips:
Why not smack?

Replies to: if they're old enough to ASK to nurse, they're too old to nurse

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:38:00 +0000

By theloushe / Flickr

How many times have you heard this: if they're old enough to ASK to nurse, they're too old to nurse. As logically barren as this statement might be, I see it tossed around A LOT. When I saw it brought up in a Peaceful Parenting thread on Facebook I was so proud to read the responses from mothers nursing their toddlers, so I thought I’d collate some of best ones below.

"How do you respond to the whole, 'If they're old enough to ASK to nurse, they're too old to nurse...' criticism?"

Really? Why? What makes you say that? How do you know? Says who?

Do you mean if you can ask for it, you can't have it? 'It' meaning love, nutrition, comfort, nurturing, food, drink?

When my child can ask for broccoli by name, should I stop feeding it to him?

And if he is old enough to tell me he needs a diaper change I shouldn’t do it?

Did you stop feeding your child when they were old enough to ask for food?

You're old enough to ask your waitress for food, should she not bring it to you then?

Just because we can communicate that we want something doesn't mean we don't deserve to have it.

Children have been asking to nurse since they were born! Language isn't always just spoken.

Children started asking at birth with the rooting reflex. The only difference now is that they use words.

In my family, children are to be seen, heard and believed. I know my child is done when he stops asking for it.

Meeting my child's needs now means that he won't have childish needs as an adult. If you baby the baby, you don't have to baby the adult.

And lastly, thanks for your concern. I will give it all the consideration it deserves.

I carry around a Kellymom article about extended breastfeeding in my diaper bag

The idea of carrying around some facts about extended breastfeeding (full term breastfeeding) is great. So you can quote things like this from Kellymom:

The biological weaning age of humans is 2.5 to 7 years of age.

Children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness.

Nursing toddlers have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration.

Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins.

Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation, and increase during the 2nd year.

Breastfeeding perks up children and energizes them; it soothes the frustrations, bumps and bruises, and daily stresses of early childhood. Nursing past infancy helps little ones make a gradual transition to childhood.

The WHO recommends breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
It is recommended to breastfeed beyond 1 year and for as long as mutually desired by mother and child. There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding. Increased duration of breastfeeding has significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother. There is no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer.

The longer a mother breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes.

There is no evidence that nursing past infancy interferes with a child’s appetite for other foods.

If you don't want to carry a sheet of facts, you can print out smaller info cards to keep in your handbag to dish out when needed:

Here's a few articles with tips on how to deal with people's disapproval, questions or comments about breastfeeding past infancy:
How do I respond to and avoid criticism about breastfeeding?

Ask Dr. Sears: Extended Breastfeeding -- Handling the Criticism
Handling criticism about breastfeeding

A clip 'Ignorance Meets Knowledge (extended breastfeeding)' you can send to naysayers:

A clip of a typical mother and child (past infancy) breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding past infancy is not weird! It's normal, it's beautiful.

I'll leave you with one last light hearted comment from the Peaceful Parenting thread:

I'd squirt milk in their faces and chase them out yelling,"leave, leave this place now you mean terrible person". When I see these people again they honor me with gifts and say, "you are a goddess, liquid gold floweth from your body into your babe childs body, we have witnessed a miracle" I'd forgive them and bless them by annointing them with said liquid gold, upon their heads before leaving the room.

Guest Post: Psychological benefits of breastfeeding and bonding

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:16:00 +0000

Written by Allison Gamble

In a world so full of scientific and technological advances, there are few things that are more natural than breastfeeding. This beautiful experience that is shared between mother and child has long been known for its many health benefits, but is doesn't take a psychology degree to see the benefits breastfeeding provides mentally. Despite the fact that there are a number of ways to bond with a child, breastfeeding has been proven to not only create a physical connection, but an emotional one as well.

Although the bonding process is said to begin in the womb, many women feel that the true psychological impact begins when skin to skin contact can be made. This impact is usually enforced by the frequent contact and interaction that occurs when a child is breastfed without restrictions or schedules. Though this almost constant contact can have a number of benefits for the child, for the mother, this contact creates a feeling not only of closeness with and affection for her child, but can serve to enhance her desire to be nurturing, and can also foster a feeling of confidence and accomplishment. After all, she is providing sustenance and good health to the life she has helped to create.

Despite the fact that many common psychological aspects are directly related to the physical contact that occurs during breastfeeding, many other mental and emotional responses can be directly linked to the release of hormones. For instance, in order for the milk to drop in the mother's breasts, a hormone known as oxytocin must be released into the system. Although this hormone acts in a number of ways to help the physical process of nursing, it also has a strong influence on emotions, often creating a general sense of well-being, happiness and love. Because of this, it is easy to link the child with this new-found feeling of contentment, and thus, the connection deepens.

Two other hormones that can benefit the psychological health of the mother are prolactin and cholecystokinin. Prolactin is best known as an aid in the production of breast milk. However, it is also thought to have an influence on maternal behavior, and in some animal studies, it is shown to act as a stress reducer and pain reliever. Like prolactin, cholecystokinin is thought to work as a pain reliever, but is also said to have a relaxing effect on both mother and baby. These three hormones work together in harmony, and because of this, mothers who breastfeed are thought to be generally calmer, have lower blood pressure, and are typically more responsive to their baby's needs and emotions.

Breastfeeding is undoubtedly favored by those seeking a more natural approach to child-rearing as it not only enhances the connection between mother and child, but also fits in well with other natural practices. For instance, mothers who breastfeed are more likely to practice co-sleeping. This particular process can further enhance the bond between both the mother and father, and the father and child, as sharing a family bed makes it much easier for the father to interact in an intimate manner with the child, and assist the mother in nursing. It may also aid in fostering feelings of attachment, emotional openness and trust across the entire family.

For babies, the psychological experience of breastfeeding is in many ways similar to that of the mother. For instance, skin to skin contact helps to provide the baby with a feeling of warmth and closeness. Additionally, this contact aids in the release of oxytocin, which in turn, gives the child the same feeling of contentment as the mother. Despite this, there are several psychological factors that differ from the mother. Many of these factors occur directly at the time of nursing, while others have a more long term effect.

In the early stages of the nursing process, while adjusting to the bright, loud external world, the intimacy of breastfeeding helps the child cope with the stress of its new life. It can also help to provide a feeling of safety, continuity and reassurance. Additionally, nursing can help the child to develop the simple feelings of attachment, love and affection through the natural bonding.

Long term effects are frequently the result of the tender experiences that go hand in hand with breastfeeding. In some research studies, it has been found that children who were breastfed were generally more likely to be assertive, confident and mature during their developmental years. Some reports suggest that, in the long term, breastfed children are less likely to develop behavioral, learning and psychological issues. These factors may be due in part to the chemical factors involved in breastfeeding; however, much of the credit can be given to the intimacy and bond that is created through the practice. For example, nursing allows the child to be given undivided attention, which may play a large part in the building of confidence. Mothers who breastfeed are more likely to talk to, hug and stroke their children while feeding, which may aid in the development of a sociable or affectionate nature later in life.

Aside from the numerous nutritional, economic and even societal benefits, nursing offers a natural way to improve the lives of children, mothers and families as a whole. From time immemorial, this nurturing, nourishing practice has been performed; however, in modern times it is beginning to fall by the wayside. Despite this, advocates of breastfeeding can feel secure in the fact that they are giving their children the best possible start in life – both in body and in mind.

Author Bio: Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing.

Breastfeeding Advocacy

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:44:00 +0000

Through the years I’ve talked to a lot of people about breastfeeding. I won’t lie, there’s been times I’ve made an ass of myself and turned people off breastfeeding rather than turning them on. But I’ve learnt better, thank god, and I hope others will join me in changing the way we advocate breastfeeding.

Do not say….

“Formula kills.”
This just sounds over the top. Technically you could say formula ‘kills’ in certain circumstances (a severely allergic, ill, or immune compromised infant), but in the same vein you could say ‘breastfeeding kills’ in certain circumstances (a meth addict’s infant recently died due to meth-tained breastmilk). The simple statement “formula kills” without any type of context is very leading and inflammatory. If you want to be taken seriously make realistic, detailed comments with specific context.

“Breastfeeding is normal and natural.”
I know this seems like a rather true statement, and while it is true, it only tells us one side of the story. It does not tell the whole truth, the part that says for some of us breastfeeding doesn’t always come naturally or feel normal – hours of pumping to produce tiny amounts of milk, or raw, bleeding cracked nipples does not feel normal or natural. When a woman encounters problems breastfeeding, as most women do, it entrenches the idea she has failed as a mother, and is neither normal or natural. A more realistic, inclusive statement would be: “Breastfeeding is the biological norm for our species, though in the beginning it is a major biological and lifestyle transition for any woman in which help is often needed, and in the rare occasion it is unsuccessful.”

“Formula is disgusting crap in a can.”
This statement is so belittling to a mother that relies on formula. For them this ‘crap in a can’ is a lifesaver. Formula isn’t as healthy as breastmilk, but it serves its purpose. The above comment is a bit like saying a person in a coma living on nutrients through an IV is living on ‘disgusting crap’. The IV isn’t as good as eating a nutritious salad, but given the circumstances this person relies on it to stay alive.

People will often say, “but I’m not saying you’re a bad mother for formula feeding, I’m just saying the formula is crap.” But calling formula disgusting is not going to make them decide not to formula feed and switch to breastmilk, because they can’t, they have no choice (or they believe they have no choice, when possibly there are options out there they just don’t know about). Either way, calling the food they rely on to feed their infant “disgusting crap in a can” is simply going to make them upset or pissed off.

“Nine times out of ten women who say they can’t breastfeed can, they just didn’t try hard enough.”
Where are the studies to back this up? Studies show the real reasons women stop breastfeeding are very different to “not trying hard enough”. Here is an adapted excerpt from Dr Jane Philpott’s blog, detailing the main points of why women don’t breastfeed from a national UK survey…

A focus group study in the UK suggested a number of reasons why women may not breastfeed or why they stop breastfeeding early. These were as follows:

Worry about insufficient milk supply – this was the most common reason women stopped breastfeeding. Women worried that insufficient milk supply was causing poor weight gain, and said that health visitors were ‘always worried about weight gain’. Women often interpreted an unsettled baby as an indication they had an insufficient milk supply.

Believing the child was old enough to wean – this was the second most common reason women stopped breastfeeding, being reported by 35.7% of women. However 78% of these women had stopped breastfeeding by 12 months, meaning these women were unaware that breastfeeding is recommended well beyond 12 months.

Physical or medical problem – this was the third most common reason women stopped breastfeeding. It was reported by 14.9% of women who did not breastfeed, and 26.9% of women who had breastfed, but had now stopped breastfeeding.

Society's negative attitudes towards breastfeeding - women felt that breastfeeding in public was unacceptable and embarrassing, while bottle-feeding was accepted by everybody and in all places. A lack of places to breastfeed out of sight restricted women’s ability to get out of the house. This may be a bigger issue for low-income women, who may not have the option of breastfeeding in the car. Some women reported breastfeeding in public toilets as the only option. Women wished that cafés and shops could provide places to breastfeed with some privacy.

Influence of family and friends - some women said that even family and friends found it ‘repulsive’ to be in the same room when they were breastfeeding. Some grandparents thought it excluded them from having the chance to feed the new baby. It was clear that the opinion of family and friends was a stronger influence than that of health practitioners.

Lack of knowledge - women vaguely knew that breastfeeding was supposed to be beneficial, but they could not name any benefits, and were not convinced about them. In the study only one woman had learnt at school about benefits of breastfeeding; most did not hear about it until they were pregnant. Feeding was not well covered in antenatal classes.

Lack of professional support - women experienced difficulty in trying to establish breastfeeding but were unwilling ‘to bother the midwife’. Bottle feeding seemed easier.
Experience - breastfeeding seemed difficult and painful, and many women experienced problems ranging from getting the baby latched on, sore nipples, and disturbed sleep. Some women complained of a lack of freedom to travel/socialise/work.

“Most formula feeding mums are just lazy and uninformed.”
A great way to ostrasize and insult the people you are trying to win over.

Think of the formula feeding mothers who have visited numerous lactation consultants, pumped endlessly, suffered through raw bleeding nipples, were forced to work, face immense stressors in their lives, had no support, or suffer through severe post-natal depression. Yeah, they’re going to think you’re an asshole (because you are behaving like one). The reply I often hear is, “well I’m not talking about those women”.

Yet even if a person is ‘uninformed’ or ‘lazy’ as some so eloquently put it, saying so is insulting, stereotyping, arrogant, and it’s likely to make a person shut down rather than listen to you. Sharing anecdotal info about how you were once uninformed, and found great success in researching the benefits of breastfeeding, is a much more effective way to get your point across (while not being an asshole or pointing the finger).

“I’m not making you feel guilty, you make yourself feel guilty.”
There is no debate some mothers who formula feed feel guilty. Some feel a sense of failure. Knowing this, in a conversation about formula or breastfeeding you’ve got to tread carefully, with respect, sensitivity and tact.

I didn’t harbor guilt or failure when I formula fed, but I understand others do. There are experiences (such as not being able to produce enough milk) where I can’t even pretend to know what it’s like, and to pretend I do would be insulting to those that have been through it. I will say I hope mothers are able to one day realize that at any moment they are only ever doing the best they possibly can with the resources they have (be they health, info, finances etc). I hope they can be proud of all they have accomplished, and are able to let go of inadequacies others point out.

So how can we effectively help?
Based on studies about why women don't breastfeed, we need to offer specific info about…

Normal infant weight gain, checking whether baby is getting enough milk, the reasons why baby may be unsettled other than being hungry.
The importance of demand feeding, dangers of schedule feeding, the fact that newborns do need to feed often, the dangers of sabotaging breastmilk supply by supplementing babies diet with formula, and effective ways to build supply.
Recommended age to wean and the benefits of breastfeeding into toddlerhood.
Common medical problems associated with breastfeeding difficulty, prevention, and treatment.
Breastfeeding in public, women’s rights to breastfeed in public, how to deal with rude commentors, specialized nursing clothing and covers women can wear if they wish.
How to deal with unsupportive family and friends, how to include them in caring for baby without negatively affective breastfeeding relationship, how to accept their opinions or advice about breastfeeding while keeping the advice of lactation consultants paramount.
The specific benefits of breastfeeding, provide studies to back up the benefits, and explain in detail the mechanisms by which breastfeeding is beneficial.
The necessity for lactation consultants, the stats showing how much more successful women who have professional support are. Provide local contact details, websites and prices.
The reality of what breastfeeding will be like, problems they may encounter, prevention & treatment, dealing with sore nipples, disturbed sleep, and incorporating travel, social life and work in with breastfeeding.

Watch how you word your comments, do say….

Realistic, detailed comments with a specific context.
Anecdotal stories of your own.
Reliable stats and studies with links.
Comments that respect others possible feelings of failure or guilt.

I know it’s hard, but when you’re in a discussion don’t engage with angry commentors who are just out for a fight – don’t take the bait! (You’ll have to remind me.) If you do, your once revered comments may not get taken seriously anymore.

For a little more reading...

Top 10 Things Breastfeeding Advocates Should Stop Saying
http://justwestofcrunchy.com/2011/05/27/top-10-things-breastfeeding-advocates-should-stop-saying/

Top 10 Things Breastfeeding Advocates SHOULD Say
http://justwestofcrunchy.com/2011/05/28/to-10-things-breastfeeding-advocates-should-say/

Thanks for Throwing Fuel on the Breastfeeding/Formula Feeding Fire
http://www.phdinparenting.com/2011/08/14/thanks-for-throwing-fuel-on-the-breastfeedingformula-fire/

Sources:

Why mothers don’t breastfeed
http://drjanephilpott.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/why-mothers-dont-breastfeed/

Why primiparous mothers do not breastfeed in the United States: a national survey
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2003.tb00501.x/abstract

Breastfeeding: Everyone's doing it!

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:34:00 +0000

I love seeing photo's of other animals breastfeeding, giving birth, or looking after their babies. Makes me realise how rooted in nature we are. Here's a collection of some my fav breastfeeding pics (and a few babywearing pics):

My OB Said What? Commentary

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:36:00 +0000

www.theunnecesarean.com

The website “My OB Said What?” gives you a very raw look at how bad the birthing industry can get. The site is filled with appalling quotes that obstetricians, midwives, nurses and other medical staff have said to their patients (along with the occasional good quote). Below is a collection of those quotes, along with the reasons why the comments are so bad, and what should have been said and done instead.

“If a baby hasn’t engaged by 37 weeks, we need to do a cesarean section.” – OB to mother.

What’s wrong with this comment…

Firstly, 37 weeks is far too early to consider a cesarean. “Full term” is when a fetus reaches the approximate gestational age of 40 weeks. If the fetus and mother are doing well at 37 weeks, there is no reason to interfere and the pregnancy should be left to unfold at its own pace.

While many medical staff technically consider ‘full term’ to be between 37 – 42 weeks, current research shows this is a dangerous assumption – infants born between 36 – 38 weeks triple their risk of mortality compared to infants born at 39 – 42 weeks.27 Infants born before 36 weeks face even greater risks. These risks decrease with each additional week of pregnancy.1 Post term pregnancies (beyond 42 weeks) can also be left to unfold at their own pace provided there are no complications, and regular checks for complications are performed.2

Risks to late preterm infants (36-38 weeks) include 27...

3 fold increased risk infant mortality
4.6 fold increased risk neonatal mortality
28 fold increased risk admission to intensive care unit
5.5 fold increased risk intravenous ﬂuids
4 fold increased risk mechanical ventilation
7 fold increased risk respiratory distress
3 fold increased risk of infection
10 fold increased risk temperature instability
42% increased risk jaundice
60 fold increased risk apnea
4.5 fold increased risk difficulties with feeding
3 fold increased risk hypoglycemia

3 fold increased risk of hospital readmission

As for the doctor wanting to do a cesarean…Cesareans carry substantial increased risks for both mother and baby, and should only ever be done when absolutely medically necessary.9 Because of the increased risks, some hospitals have banned elective cesareans.10 Cesarean risks include...

3 fold increased risk neonatal death 24
2 fold increased risk preterm delivery between 32-36 weeks 26
8 fold increased risk neonatal pneumothorax (collapsed lung) 19
4.3 fold increased risk neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) 21
5 fold increased risk neonatal persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH) 21
87% increased risk neonatal transfer to neonatal intensive care unit 23
2 fold increased risk neonatal pulmonary disorders 23
4.3 fold increased risk neonatal intracranial hemorrhage 23
30% increased risk later development of asthma 25

2 fold increased risk maternal death 21
4 fold increased risk maternal deep vein thrombosis 25
5 fold increased risk cardiac arrest 28
2 fold increased risk acute renal failure 28
5 fold increased risk wound hematoma 28
2 fold increased risk in-hospital wound disruption 28
2 fold increased risk of uterine infection 21
3 fold increased risk major puerperal infection 28
2 fold increased risk anesthetic complications 28
20% increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage 21
2 fold increased risk hemorrhage requiring hysterectomy 28
3 fold increased risk hysterectomy 28
2 fold increased risk of appendicitis 21
50% increased risk of gallbladder disease 21
50% increased risk of urinary tract conditions 21
40% increased risk of pelvic injury (disruption of perineal would, pelvic hematoma, thrombosed hemorrhoids, fistual of gential tract, and absecess of rectal region) 21
30% increased risk of surgical would complications 21
30% increased risk of poor mental health 21
2 fold risk maternal rehospitalization (for reasons such as infection, gallbladder disease, surgical wound complications, cardiopulmonary conditions, thromboembolic conditions, and appendicitis) 21, 29
2 fold increased risk failure to breastfeed 25
2 fold increased risk major post partum pain 25
27 fold increased risk uterine rupture in future cesarean 25
57 fold increased risk uterine rupture in future vaginal birth 25
4 fold increased risk placenta accrete in future pregnancy 25 (the placenta attaches itself too deeply into the wall of the uterus significantly, increasing risk of hemorrhage during its removal)
3 fold increased risk placenta previa in future pregnancy 25 (the placenta is attached to the uterine wall close to or covering the cervix, it is a leading cause of vaginal hemorrhage)

There are also many other risks, click here for more details.

If the doctor in question had indeed performed a cesarean on this mother at 37 weeks gestation, he/she would have been needlessly putting the mother and infant at significantly increased risks.

Regardless of the doctors intentions, every woman has the legal right to accept or refuse a cesarean, or any medical procedure, drug, treatment or test. And after a woman makes her decision, she has the right to change her mind.11

“I might have to cut you.” – OB to a mother who had made it clear she preferred to tear, moments before making a second degree episiotomy.

What’s wrong with this comment…

An episiotomy is a surgical cut in the perineum as the baby is born in order to increase the opening of the vagina. Routine episiotomy is proven to offer no benefit and is no longer advisable, it increases the need for stitching, causes pain, extended healing time, increased bowel incontinence, and increased pain during intercourse.3, 4

Obviously the doctor in question was not aware of current research and recommendations to abandon the practice of episiotomies. Regardless, he/she should not have cut this mother, he should have honored her request to not be cut. Again, every woman has the legal right to refuse an episiotomy, or any procedure, drug, treatment or test.11

Steps the doctor could have taken to maintain the integrity of the mothers perineum include giving the mother a perineal massage and using a caster oil heat pack held on the perineum during pushing.14

“Let’s break your water and get an IV going to speed things up.” – OB to mother who had made great progress until asked to get out of the tub and flat on her back on the bed.

What’s wrong with this comment…

Firstly, laboring in water can effectively reduce the need for obstetric intervention (amniotomy, oxytocin, epidural, or operative delivery).8 Had this mother not been forced to leave the water, the need for obstetric intervention may have never been ‘needed’.

Secondly, the ‘supine’ position (lying flat on back) is considered one of the most ineffective positions in which to give labor. When compared to an upright position, the supine position is associated with longer pushing time, more fetal distress, more pain, and more injury to the perineum (a 3 fold risk of perineal tears, and a 2 fold risk of severe tears).5, 6, 7

Every woman has the legal right to labor in any position she wishes. Every woman also has the legal right to freedom of movement during labor, unrestricted by wires, tubes or other apparatus. And again every woman has the legal right to refuse to get out the water, having her waters broken, having an IV, or any procedure, drug, treatment or test.11

“So what, do women who give birth naturally get a trophy or walk around with gold stars on their foreheads?” – L&D nurse to mother during transition.

What’s wrong with this comment…

The cavalier and unsupportive attitude of the medical staff in question undermines the fact that epidurals carry a myriad of substantial risks to both mother and baby, these include...

88% increased risk of being dissatisfied with birth 31
56% increased risk of not having a spontaneous vaginal birth 30
4-10 fold increased risk of malposition of baby 12
3 fold increased risk of pitocin 30 (see above for risks associated with induction)
74 fold increased risk maternal hypotension 30
5.6 fold increased risk of maternal fever 30 5 (see below for risks associated with maternal fever)
5 fold increased risk of needing a forceps / vacuum delivery 12 (see below for risks associated with forceps / vacuum delivery)
6-19 fold increased risk of cesarean 12 (see above for risks associated with cesarean delivery)
2-5 fold increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage 30
35% increased risk of 3rd and 4th degree perineal lacerations 30
2 fold increased risk of not breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum 13

3 fold increased risk of fetal heart rate deceleration 12

6 fold increased risk of fetal heart rate acceleration 12

75% increased risk of jaundice 30

3.5 fold increased risk of neonatal infection 30

Infants whose mothers had a fever while giving birth face increased risks, these include…

3 fold increased risk of having 1 minute Apgars scores less than 7 30

10 fold increased risk of being hypotonic after delivery 30

4 fold increased risk of requiring bag and mask resuscitation 30

6 fold increased risk of needing oxygen in nursery 30

When both forceps and vacuum are used the risks substantially increase, these include...

11 fold increased risk perineal tear 12

4 fold increased risk neonatal seizures 12

8 fold increased risk neonatal intercranial bleeding 12

13 fold increased risk neonatal facial nerve damage 12

Risks of induction include...
2 fold risk of hemorrhage 33
2 fold increased risk of cesarean 32
The following adverse reactions have been reported in the mother:
Anaphylactic reaction Premature ventricular contractions, Postpartum hemorrhage Pelvic hematoma, Cardiac arrhythmia Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Fatal afibrinogenemia Hypertensive episodes, Nausea Rupture of the uterus, Vomiting, Excessive dosage or hypersensitivity to the drug may result in uterine hypertonicity, spasm, tetanic contraction, or rupture of the uterus. The possibility of increased blood loss and afibrinogenemia should be kept in mind when administering the drug. Severe water intoxication with convulsions and coma has occurred, associated with a slow oxytocin infusion over a 24-hour period. Maternal death due to oxytocin-induced water intoxication has been reported.34
The following adverse reactions have been reported in the fetus or neonate:
Bradycardia Low Apgar scores at five minutes, Premature ventricular contractions and other arrhythmias Neonatal jaundice, Permanent CNS or brain damage Neonatal retinal hemorrhage, Fetal death. Neonatal seizures have been reported with the use of Pitocin.34

Instead of patronizing these laboring mothers, medical staff should have taken every measure possible to facilitate natural birth and avoid an epidural. My guess is the medical staff simply weren’t sufficiently trained to facilitate a natural birth, nor were they aware of the risks associated with an epidural and the interventions that often follow. Otherwise, the medical staff did know, but they simply didn’t care.

One of the most effective methods of managing labor pain is to have a doula (professional birth supporter) in attendance at the birth, the effects include 15…

50% reduction in the cesarean rate
25% shorter childbirth
60% reduction in epidural requests
40% reduction in oxytocin use
30% reduction in analgesia use
40% reduction in forceps delivery

Other techniques that help facilitate natural birth include having a safe, private room to birth, water birth, supportive companions, abdominal breathing, vocalization, visualization, affirmation, self-hypnosis, repetitive movement, standing up, experimenting with different positions, massage, perineal massage, acupressure and hot or cold packs.14 Click here for more details.

“If you hadn’t declined vaginal exams we would have known the baby was breech.” – OB to mother who had declined vaginal exams at her prenatal appointments.

What’s wrong with this comment…

This doctor should have palpated (felt) the mothers abdomen at regular intervals throughout pregnancy to determine whether the baby was breech. This is the most common method of examination, and studies show that it is 70% effective. If there was any doubt of the baby’s position, the doctor should have ordered an ultrasound. And this should have been done well before the onset of labor.16

Vaginal exams are not recommended to determine whether a baby is in the breech position, there is no need to perform a vaginal exam. I could find little evidence to show that a vaginal exam could possibly ever determine whether a baby was breech. All that can be felt by a vaginal exam is the condition of the cervix.17

Further, vaginal exams carry an increased risk of infection, a perfectly sterile vaginal exam is impossible – as soon as a sterile glove hits the air it’s exposed to bacteria. Further, when a finger is inserted into the vagina, bacteria is pushed up towards the cervix, increasing the risk of infection. The more vaginal exams, the higher the risk of infection.18 Having a vaginal exam at the beginning of labor increases the risk of neonatal infection 2.5 fold. 17 Infants born with an infection face a 4 fold risk of mortality.

Other risks caused by vaginal exams include prematurely stimulating the cervix into labor, and premature rupture of membranes (PROM).17

The main reason maternity carers ask to perform a vaginal exam is to determine the condition of the cervix, for instance how many centimeters the cervix has dilated. However vaginal exams are not necessary, and it can be very discouraging for women in labor to hear a labor assistant announce ‘you are not progressing fast enough’. Provided there are no complications, a labor should be left to unfold at its own pace.17

Again every woman has the legal right to refuse a vaginal exam, or any procedure, drug, treatment or test.11

These are just a couple of quotes from "My OB Said What", I'll be writing a commentary on more in the future.

Sources:

1. Study Gives New View of 'Full-Term' Pregnancy
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20110523/study-gives-new-view-of-full-term-pregnancy

2. Postterm with favorable cervix: is induction necessary?
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211502002439

3. Studies Show Homebirth Is Safe, Episiotomy Is Harmful
http://childbirth.amuchbetterway.com/studies-show-homebirth-is-safe/

4. Episiotomy and How to Avoid It
http://midwifeinfo.com/articles/episiotomy-and-how-to-avoid-it

5. Randomised controlled trial on modified squatting position of delivery.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12319813

6. Postpartum Outcomes in Supine Delivery by Physicians vs Nonsupine Delivery by Midwives
http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/content/full/106/4/199

7. Supine position compared to other positions during the second stage of labor: a meta-analytic review.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15376403

8. Randomised controlled trial of labouring in water compared with standard of augmentation for management of dystocia in first stage of labour
http://www.bmj.com/content/328/7435/314.full

9. Elective cesarean sections are too risky, WHO study says
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=elective-cesarean-sections-are-too-2010-01-11

10. Banner Hospitals banning elective C-sections, induced labor for pregnant women
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/banner-health-banning-elective-%22convenient%22-c-sections-and-induced-labor-for-pregnant-women

11. The rights of childbearing women
http://www.childbirthconnection.org/pdfs/rights_childbearing_women.pdf

12. Epidural Effects on Labor - Defined
http://naturalmamanz.blogspot.com/2011/05/epidural-effects-on-labor-defined.html

13. Epidural 'threat' to mother-baby bond
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1536542/Epidural-threat-to-mother-baby-bond.html

14. Natural Pain Relief During Childbirth
http://naturalmamanz.blogspot.com/2011/02/natural-pain-relief-during-childbirth.html

15. Doula Statistics
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/stats.html

16. Exam can fail to detect breech birth
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=9995

17. The Dangers of Vaginal Exams
http://www.natural-pregnancy-mentor.com/vaginal-exams.html

18. Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease: A Public Health Perspective
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr4507.pdf

19. The Influence of Timing of Elective Cesarean Section on Risk of Neonatal Pneumothorax
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347606011851

20. Prevention of iatrogenic neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: elective repeat cesarean section and spontaneous labor.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7081331

21. Position Statement: Elective Cesarean Sections Riskier than Vaginal Birth
http://www.ican-online.org/vbac/postion-statement-elective-cesareans-riskier-than-vaginal-birth

22. Cesarean Fact Sheet
http://www.ican-online.org/pregnancy/cesarean-fact-sheet

23. Planned cesarean versus planned vaginal delivery at term: Comparison of newborn infant outcomes
http://www.daraluznetwork.com/documents/csectionrisks4newborns.pdf

24. Infant and Neonatal Mortality for Primary Cesarean and Vaginal Births to Women with ‘‘No Indicated Risk,’’ United States, 1998–2001 Birth Cohorts
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.pbh.gov.br/smsa/bhpelopartonormal/estudos_cientificos/arquivos/cesariana_eletiva_x_parto_birth_2006.pdf

25. Risks Associated With Cesarean Delivery
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/512946_4

26. Impact of cesarean section on intermediate and late preterm births: United States, 2000-2003.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19278380

27. Late Preterm Infants, Early Term Infants, and Timing of Elective Deliveries
http://www2.cfpc.ca/local/user/files/%7BFC626F94-49DC-4B25-B586-7D3C87679DDB%7D/Late%20term.pdf

28. Maternal mortality and severe morbidity associated with low-risk planned cesarean delivery versus planned vaginal delivery at term
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/176/4/455.full

29. Association Between Method of Delivery and Maternal Rehospitalization

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/283/18/2411

30. Side Effects of Epidurals: Research Data
http://transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/foreducators/ceinfo/Side%20Effects%202.htm

31. Maternal satisfaction and pain control in women electing natural childbirth
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11561269

32. Elective induction of labor as a risk factor for cesarean delivery among low-risk women at term
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10831992?dopt=Abstract

33. Oxytocin exposure during labor among women with postpartum hemorrhage secondary to uterine atony
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0002-9378/PIIS0002937810010264.main-abr.pdf?jid=ymob

34. Pitocin Side Effects
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/pitocin-side-effects.html

Studies Confirm Homebirth Safer for Normal Births

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Photography by Sandi Heinrich

Over the recent decades many studies have confirmed the safety of home birth. However the results are strict in their findings - home birth is only recommended when accompanied by a certified midwife, or certified nurse midwife, and the risk of complication is low.

Here I present the results of large, comprehensive study comparing home births with registered midwives, versus hospital births with a physician, in British Columbia. The study group included nearly 13,000 births.

Planned home births attended by a registered midwife were associated with 45% less perinatal death compared to planned hospital birth with a physician. There were also significantly reduced rates of obstetric interventions and other adverse perinatal outcomes compared with planned hospital births attended by a physician:

Augmentation of labour = 53% less
Narcotic analgesia, intramuscular or intravenous = 88% less
Epidural analgesia = 72% less
Assisted vaginal delivery = 78% less
Cesarean delivery = 35% less
Episiotomy = 81% less
Third- or fourth-degree perineal tear = 66% less
Postpartum hemorrhage = 43% less
Infection = 74% less
Pyrexia = 77% less

Perinatal death = 45% less
Apgar score < 7 at 1 min = 26% less
Apgar score < 7 at 5 min = 1% less
Meconium aspiration = 55% less
Asphyxia at birth = 30% less
Birth trauma = 67% less
Resuscitation at birth = 44% less
Birth weight < 2500 g = 5% less
Seizures = 34% less
Oxygen therapy > 24 h = 62% less
Assisted ventilation > 24 h = 32% less
Admission to hospital after home birth or readmission if hospital birth = 39% more

What I found odd about this study was that the results were heavily adjusted to bring down the risks associated with physcian attended births, but the characteristics and confounding factors for each of the groups were identical! Here were the actual results of home births attended by midwives before they were adjusted:

Perinatal mortality = 2 fold less
Electronic fetal monitoring = 6 fold less
External tocometer = 6 fold less
Fetal scalp electrode = 5 fold less
Augmentation of labour = 2 fold less
Amniotomy = 2 fold less
Oxytocin = 3 fold less
Nitrous oxide = 8 fold less
Epidural = 4 fold less
Narcotic = 8 fold less
Spontaneous vaginal = 19% more
Assisted vaginal = 5 fold less
Cesarean = 52% less
Cesarean among nulliparous women = 67% less
Cesarean among multiparous women = 13% less

Either way, home birth with a certified midwife is shown to be as safe, if not safer than hospital birth with a physican. The added bonus is significantly less unnecessary medical intervention.

The full text study is available here:
Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2742137/

There are also many other large studies confirming these findings:

Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529 688 low-risk planned home and hospital births
http://www.internationalmidwives.org/Portals/5/Home%20Birth%20-%20Netherlands%20-%202009%20BJOG.pdf

“This study shows that planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women, provided the maternity care system facilitates this choice through the availability of well trained midwives and through a good transportation and referral system.”

Outcomes of planned home births versus planned hospital births after regulation of midwifery in British Columbia
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/166/3/315.full

“There was no increased maternal or neonatal risk associated with planned home birth under the care of a regulated midwife. The rates of some adverse outcomes were too low for us to draw statistical comparisons, and ongoing evaluation of home birth is warranted.”

Home versus hospital deliveries: follow up study of matched pairs for procedures and outcome. Zurich Study Team
http://www.ajog.org/medline/record/ivp_09598138_313_1313

“During delivery the home birth group needed significantly less medication and fewer interventions.”

“Healthy low risk women who wish to deliver at home have no increased risk either to themselves or to their babies.”

Outcome of planned home and planned hospital births in low risk pregnancies: prospective study in midwifery practices in the Netherlands
http://www.bmj.com/content/313/7068/1309.abstract

“There was no relation between the planned place of birth and perinatal outcome in primiparous women when controlling for a favourable or less favourable background. In multiparous women, perinatal outcome was significantly better for planned home births than for planned hospital births, with or without control for background variables.”

“The outcome of planned home births is at least as good as that of planned hospital births in women at low risk receiving midwifery care in the Netherlands.”

Home or hospital birth: A prospective study of midwifery care in the Netherlands
http://nvl002.nivel.nl/postprint/PPpp1096.pdf

“Our study has shown that for women at low risk of obstetric complications, the outcome of planned home births is at least as good as the outcome of planned hospital births for ﬁrst time mothers, while for other mothers the outcome of planned home births is signiﬁcantly better.”

“To maintain conﬁdence in home birth and reduce the fear of unplanned transfer to hospital, leading to an increased choice for hospital birth, it is essential that certain conditions are met. One of these is a well functioning selection system to ensure that only those women who are really at low risk are offered the opportunity and are encouraged to give birth at home.”

Home versus hospital deliveries: follow up study of matched pairs for procedures and outcome
http://www.bmj.com/content/313/7068/1313.full

“Healthy low risk women who wish to deliver at home have no increased risk either to themselves or to their babies. There are no obvious disadvantages of home delivery for mother or child when the mother opts for home delivery.”

“Interventions (induction, caesarean section, medication, forceps, or vacuum extraction) may be considerably less frequent in women who originally opt for home delivery:”

Hypertention = 60% less
Preterm birth = 40% less
Breech presentation = 33% less
Induction = 18%
Cesarean = 45%
Analgesics = 16%
Medication during expulsion period = 34%
Forceps or vacuum = 41%
Episiotomy with perineal lesion = 9%
Perineal lesion = 3 fold
Perineal and vaginal lesion = 25%
Intact perineum = 6 fold more

Though these results favour midwives, again these results are heavily adjusted to bring down the risks associated with hospital births with a physician. Below are the real, unadjusted results that compare specifically matched pairs of birthing mothers (if these were matching pairs why did they need adjusting?) There is a huge discrepancy, for instance a 500% increased occurrence of induction in physician led hospital births, has been brought down to just 18%. I don’t see how a reduction of 482% can be justified in a group of specifically matched pairs of birthing mothers:

Induction of labour = 5 fold less
Caesarean section = 2 fold less
Analgesics = 3 fold less
Medication during expulsion period = 5 fold less
Forceps or vacuum extraction = 2 fold less
Episiotomy without perineal lesion = 3 fold less
Perineal and vaginal lesion = 4 fold less
Intact perineum = 4 fold more

Outcomes associated with planned home and planned hospital births in low-risk women attended by midwives in Ontario, Canada, 2003-2006: a retrospective cohort study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19747264

“Midwives who were integrated into the health care system with good access to emergency services, consultation, and transfer of care provided care resulting in favorable outcomes for women planning both home or hospital births.”

“All measures of serious maternal morbidity were lower in the planned home birth group as were rates for all interventions including cesarean section.”

Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: Large prospective study in North America
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC558373/?tool=pubmed

“Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention, but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States”:

Electronic Fetal Monitoring = 9 fold less
Induction = 2 fold less
Episiotomy = 16 fold less
Forceps = 2.2 fold less
Vacuum = 9 fold less
Cesarean = 5 fold less

Outcomes of 11,788 planned home births attended by certified nurse-midwives. A retrospective descriptive study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8568573

“This study supports previous research indicating that planned home birth with qualified care providers can be a safe alternative for healthy lower risk women.”

“Most nurse-midwives in this study used standard risk-assessment criteria, only delivered low-risk women at home, and were prepared with emergency equipment necessary for immediate neonatal resuscitation or maternal emergencies.”

It should be reiterated that the homebirths included in these studies involve certified midwives or certified nurse midwives, and the births have to meet a low-risk criteria to be deemed suitable for home birth. Below is typical of what is required.

Eligibility requirements for home birth
Mandated by the College of Midwives of British Columbia

Absence of significant pre-existing disease, including heart disease, hypertensive chronic renal disease or type 1 diabetes
Absence of significant disease arising during pregnancy, including pregnancy-induced hypertension with proteinuria (> 0.3 g/L by urine dipstick), antepartum hemorrhage after 20 weeks’ gestation, gestational diabetes requiring insulin, active genital herpes, placenta previa or placental abruption
Singleton fetus
Cephalic presentation
Gestational age greater than 36 and less than 41 completed weeks of pregnancy
Mother has had no more than 1 previous cesarean section
Labour is spontaneous or induced on an outpatient basis
Mother has not been transferred to the delivery hospital from a referring hospital

Other important factors included:

Well trained midwives
A good transportation and referral system
Midwives are prepared with emergency equipment necessary for immediate neonatal resuscitation or maternal emergencies

So what's your opinion on home birth, have you had one, would you consider having one, are you planning one? Do you agree a midwife is always needed?

Risks of Formula Feeding

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:36:00 +0000

The rate of illness in formula fed infants is much higher than breastfed infants, especially the rate of infection. Breastmilk contains immunological properties that protect a breastfed infant from infection. Without this protection, a formula fed infant stands to have an abnormally high rate of illness throughout infancy. Below is a compilation of results from studies on the risks formula fed infants face.

I often get mothers saying, "Well I formula fed my infant and she's isn't sick all the time", and, "I know a mother that exclusively breastfeeds her child and he's sick all the time". Figures like the ones below aren't saying that EVERY child that formula feeds will get sick, nor that every breastfed infant will be protected from illness, just that there is a much higher percentage of formula fed infants who do suffer these illnesses, compared to breastfed infants.

Almost all of the figures below have been adjusted for confounding factors, and are for developed countries such as the US and NZ, not developing countries such as Afghanistan or Chile.

Formula fed infants are…

5 times more likely to have more than 1 illness. 8
*compared to infants exclusively breastfed for 5 months.

16 times more likely to have 3 or more illnesses. 8
*compared to infants exclusively breastfed for 5 months.

5 times more likely to need hospitalization. 19
*compared to breast-fed babies for the first 6 months of life.

6 times more likely to be hospitalized due to infection. 19
*compared to breast-fed babies for the first 6 months of life.

5 times more likely to have gastrointestinal illness. 10
*when compared to infants exclusively breastfed for the first 13 weeks of life.
*any infection of the digestive tract caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.

4 times more likely to have necrotising enterocolitis. 14
*compared to preterm infants who received donor human milk.
*necrotising enterocolitis is a condition where portions of the bowel undergo tissue death, it has a death rate of 20-30%.

4 times more likely to have diarrhoeal disease. 27
*compared to infants breastfed for 6 months or more.

4 times more likely to be hospitalized for lower respiratory tract diseases. 16
* compared to infants breastfeed for 4 or more months
* lower respiratory tract diseases include bronchiolitis, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, empyema, and infections due to specific agents (eg, respiratory syncytial virus).

4 times more likely to have pneumococcal disease. 26
*compared to breastfed infants.
*pneumococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can present as pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, middle ear infection, and sinusitis.

3 times more likely to have ear infections. 11
* compared to infants exclusively breastfed for six months.

2 times more likely to have conjunctivitis. 11
* compared to exclusively breastfed for six months.

85% more likely to have urinary tract infections. 11
* compared to exclusively breastfed for six months.

7 times more likely to have thrush. 11
* compared to infants exclusively breastfed for six months.

93% more likely to have from type 1 diabetes. 22
*compared to breastfed infants.

60% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. 24
*compared to breastfed infants.

80% more likely to develop a wheeze during the first 3 years of life. 7
*compared to breastfed infants.

63% more likely to develop asthma during their first 8 years of life. 4
*compared to children breastfed for more than 4 months.

60% more likely to have visible dermatitis. 25
*compared to infants breastfed for the first three months of life.

40% more likely to have allergic dermatitis. 25
*compared to infants breastfed for the first three months of life.

52% more likely to have from coeliac disease. 18
*compared to infants who were breastfed when gluten containing foods were introduced to their diet.

30% more likely to have acute myeloid leukemia. 24
*compared with infants breastfed more than 6 months.

10% - 30% more likely to become obese later in life. 24
*compared to breastfed infants.

2 times more likely to die from SIDS. 21, 24, 28
* compared to breastfed infants

30% more at risk of mortality in the US. 24
*compared to infants ever having been breastfed.

Note: I haven't included the risks to the mother of not breastfeeding, which involve increased risk of different cancers and osteoporsis. But I'll definitely include those figures at a later date.

Sources:

1.Relation between infant feeding and infections during the first six months of life.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7844664

2.Breastfeeding and Asthma in Young Children
Dell S, To T. . Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 155: 1261-1265, 2001

3.Maternal asthma, infant feeding, and the risk for asthma in childhood.
Oddy WH, Peat JK, de Klerk NH. J. Allergy Clin Immunol. 110: 65-67, 2002

4.Breast-feeding in relation to asthma, lung function, and sensitization in young schoolchildren
http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)00203-4/abstract#

5.Breast-Feeding Lowers the Frequency and Duration of Acute Respiratory Infection and Diarrhea in Infants under Six Months of Age
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/127/3/436.full.pdf+html

6.Breastfeeding and the risk of hospitalization for respiratory disease in infancy.
Bachrach VRG, Schwarz E, Bachrach LR. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 157: 237-243, 2003

7.Prospective study of breast-feeding in relation to wheeze, atopy, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)
http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(08)00618-0/abstract

8. Episodes of illness in breast-fed and bottle-fed infants in Jerusalem.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6469558

9.Prolonged and Exclusive Breastfeeding Reduces the Risk of Infectious Diseases in Infancy
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/1/e18.full.html

10.Protective effect of breast feeding against infection – full text
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1661904/pdf/bmj00160-0017.pdf

11.Protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding against infections during infancy: a prospective study
http://www2.cfpc.ca/local/user/files/%7B5BB531F4-3A35-4BDD-819D-011D3614CA69%7D/Arch%20Dis%20Child-2010-Ladomenou-adc.2009.169912.pdf – full text

12.Risk factors for severe acute lower respiratory tract infection in under-ﬁve children.
Broor S, Pandey RM, Ghosh M, Maitreyi RS, Lodha R, Singhal T, Kabra SK. Indian Pediatr 38: 1361-1369, 2001

13.Breast milk and neonatal necrotising enterocolitis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1979363
*compared to exclusively breast-fed preterm infants.
Formula fed preterm infants born at more than 30 weeks gestation who were exclusively formula fed were 20 times more likely to have necrotizing enterocolitis, compared to infants born at more than 30 weeks gestation who were exclusively breast fed. 13
With the fall in the use of breast milk in British neonatal units, exclusive formula feeding could account for an estimated 500 extra cases of necrotising enterocolitis each year. About 100 of these infants would die. 13

14.Donor human milk versus formula for preventing necrotising enterocolitis in preterm infants: systematic review
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1756003/pdf/v088p00F11.pdf

15.Neonatal necrotising enterocolitis
http://bpsu.inopsu.com/publications/reports/nnec.html

16.Breastfeeding and the Risk of Hospitalization for Respiratory Disease in Infancy – GOOD!
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/157/3/237.pdf – full text

Because respiratory disease is the leading cause of hospitalization in young children—and each such hospitalization in infancy costs on average $3500, with more than 250000 such admissions in 1996—clearly there are large financial implications to this report.
From this study, we estimate that for every 26 women who exclusively breastfeed for 4 months, one LRTD hospitalization might be avoided. Likewise, since early severe respiratory illness is a recognized risk factor for asthma, 67,68 breastfeeding may be important to the prevention of asthma, with its significant health costs. 9,46,69,70

17.A Longitudinal Analysis of Infant Morbidity and the Extent of Breastfeeding in the United States
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/99/6/e5.full

18.Effects of breast feeding on risk of coeliac disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Akobeng A K et al. Arch Dis Child 91: 39-43, 2006
Continued breastfeeding limits the actual amounts of gluten received. Breastfeeding protects against intestinal infections - infections can increase the permeability of the infant’s gut and therefore allow the passage of gluten into the lamina propria. Breastmilk IgA may reduce the immune response to ingested gluten, or immune modulation may occur through speciﬁc T-cell suppressive effects.
*compared to infants who were breastfed when gluten containing foods were introduced to their diet.

19.Infant feeding and Hospitalization during the first six months of life – full text
http://jpma.org.pk/PdfDownload/1261.pdf

19.Differences in morbidity between breast-fed and formula-fed infants.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7751991

20.Breastfeeding and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8282468

21.The role of breastfeeding in sudden infant death syndrome. – meta-analysis, good!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11138219&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed. Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

22.Absence of breast-feeding is associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes: a case-control study in a population with rapidly increasing incidence.
Malcove H et al. Eur J Pediatr 165: 114-119, 2005

23.Breastfeeding as prophylaxis against atopic disease: prospective follow-up study until 17 years old. Saarinen UM, Kajosarri M. Lancet 346: 1065-1069, 1995
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7564787

24.The Risks of Not Breastfeeding for Mothers and Infants – good!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812877/

25. Risk factors for atopic dermatitis in infants at high risk of allergy: The PIAMA study.
Kerkhof M, Koopman LP, van Strien RT, et al. Clin Exp Allergy 33: 1336-1341, 2003
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14519137

26.Risk Factors for Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Children: A Population-based Case–Control Study in North America
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/103/3/e28.full

27.How protective is breast feeding against diarrhoeal disease in infants in 1990s England? A case‐control study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2065954/

28.Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK38333/#B106859

Epidural Effects on Labor - Defined

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sat, 07 May 2011 00:15:00 +0000

This chart goes into detail about some, but not all of the effects an epidural has on labor. After researching, in my opinion, if you can avoid an epidural during labor, please do. I haven't listed it here, but cesareans carry their own risks, and you are much more likely to have a cesarean if you have an epidural. For more info on the risks or cesareans, click here.

Please click on the below flowchart to enlarge:

Exactly what is Attachment Parenting?

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:45:00 +0000

I’ve often been asked, “So what IS attachment parenting”. After long winded explanations, for ME, it boiled down to this:

“In a practical sense AP is unconditionally nurturing your child’s cues for nourishment, touch and interaction.”

You do not force your child to:

Drink formula (if possible)
Feed at scheduled times
Cry-it-out (controlled-crying)
Sleep on their own
Sit in a stroller or capsule
Be separated from you for extended periods
Be spanked
Be independent from you

You allow your child to:

Breastfeed (if possible)
Feed whenever they need to (on demand)
Sleep with you (co-sleep)
Be carried in a babycarrier (baby-wear)
Stay with you throughout the day and night
Be taught with gentle discipline
Be dependent on you when they need to

Why go to all this effort to nurture your child?
During the first 3 years of life a child’s brain is almost entirely hardwired (80%). Experiences during this period of massive brain growth will shape the child’s personality for the rest of their life. Severe neglect or abuse will cause mental retardation. More info here.

Why focus on having a strong attachment with your child?
Babies who have strong attachments to their mothers are more empathetic, confident, sociable, relaxed, happy and intelligent – and these effects will last a lifetime. The relationship a baby forms with the mother, will be the basis for all other subsequent relationships in the baby’s life. More info here.

This is why AP strives to form strong, trusting, loving bonds between mother and child. AP provides mum and baby a lifestyle with the least amount of stress possible – no schedules or spanking, and lots of love and cuddles. Baby’s brain is able to flourish in a loving environment during the critical period of growth.

What’s wrong with controlled crying?
Infants who experience chronic stress – like that experienced in ‘controlled crying’ – are 10 times more likely to have ADHD, poor school performance, poor fine motor development, antisocial behaviour, increased aggression, impulsivity, emotional unattachment, and violence later in life. More info here.

I’m hesitant to call controlled crying neglect or abuse, because I know most parents who use this practice deeply care for their children and believe whole heartedly it is safe to do. But it doesn’t detract from the brain damage an infant suffers, and is left with for the remainder of their life.

What’s wrong with spanking?
Physical punishment is consistently related to poor mental health including: depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, relationship problems, increased levels of aggression, anti-social behaviour, raised thresholds for defining an act as violent, and perpetration of violence as an adult, including abuse of one’s family members. More info here.

Why carry baby all the time?
Touch is also a crucial element during baby’s first three years of life, it is literally a trigger that turns on mental and physical growth. Lack of touch will cause mental and physical growth retardation. A mother’s presence near the baby alone does not have much effect on growth, and nor does trying to shovel excessive amounts of food into baby’s mouth - it is when the baby perceives warm, physical touch that growth is triggered.

Babies who experience a high level of loving touch gain weight faster, sleep better, are more alert, relaxed, and begin developmental milestones like crawling and walking earlier. Touch de-stresses baby and helps build a strong attachment between mum and baby. More info here.

Why breastfeed?
Human breastmilk is specifically designed to nourish and protect human babies. Breast milk passes on a myriad of antibodies the mother has accumulated over her lifetime (no vaccine can claim that). This symbiotic immunity is put to use everyday – when a mother kisses her child she ingests the germs present on babies skin, creates antibodies to it, then passes the antibodies on to baby through her breastmilk. Perfect! All the more reason to breastfeed and smother our babies in kisses. Breastmilk provides the perfect skin-to-skin contact that is so essential to babies’ mental and physical development. More info here.

Why feed on demand?
Babies’ breastfed on demand receive more milk than babies fed on schedule. It’s important to recognise a newborns stomach capacity is only about 60-80ml (from the third day onwards, before that it’s much smaller), or a size of a large chicken egg. Babies fed on demand also obviously cry much less, and the attachment between mum and baby is enhanced as mum responds lovingly to baby’s cues. More info here.

What’s wrong with formula?
Formula-fed babies tend to spit up more, be constipated more, have more gas, be more colicky and have more intestinal illnesses. Formula fed babies are 5 time more likely to need hospitalization before the age of one. More info here.

AP is normal
Attachment Parenting is not a new thing, AP style parenting was the norm for our ancestors, and is still the norm in many non-westernized countries. Other cultures instinctively still understand that infants need to be loved, nurtured, cherished and enjoyed – they don’t need to be ignored, controlled and punished. AP is normal, it’s natural, it’s logical, it’s healthy. More info here.

No matter the reason why our culture veered away from the AP style of parenting, the fact remains we have sacrificed our mental wellbeing because of it. And because of that, even forming close attachments with our own children can be daunting territory for many parents. Many parents were raised with an unattached style of parenting, or their lives are devoid of any strong attachment. For these parents, developing an attachment with their child may be more challenging.

For any parent, it’s a major lifestyle transition to change from being a completely independent human being, to spending the majority of your time caring for your dependent wee one.

Some parents struggle with the concept of control – they don’t want to be controlled by their baby, and they don’t want to raise a spoiled child. Learning to trust your baby can be a big step for some, especially when parenting methods and medical professionals publicize that babies cries for nourishment, touch or interaction are manipulative and not to be taken seriously.

But a child wanting nourishment, touch or interaction is not selfish, greedy, or intentionally trying to control your life. Their cues for these basic needs are instinctive survival mechanisms that ensure a child will develop normally and healthy. These instincts have been developed over millennia – our hunter-gatherer ancestors constantly held babies and nursed them as frequently as four times per hour, and many hunter-gatherer style cultures still do today. And as we know, unconditionally nurturing your child’s cues for nourishment, touch and interaction does the very opposite of creating a manipulative child – it produces trusting, caring, compassionate, empathetic and intelligent little human beings.

The trick with forming attachment, is that even if it seems foreign to you in the beginning, the more experiences you and your child have together, the stronger the attachment between you both grows, and the easier, more enjoyable, motivating, and loving the relationship becomes.

Sources:

Cue Feeding: Wisdom and Science
Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC, Santa Maria, California
Jan Barger, MA, RC, IBCLC, Wheaton, Illinois

Science Says: Excessive Crying Could Be Harmful To Babies
www.AskDrSears.com

Nature, Nurture and Early Brain Development
Sara Gable, State Extension Specialist, Human Development
Melissa Hunting, Undergraduate Intern

General Brain Development
zerotothree.org

Against Corporal Punishment – Moving Toward Constructive Child Discipline
nok.net

How to Prevent VIOLENT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR in the Next Generation
Jordan Riak

Corporal punishment of adolescents by parents:
a risk factor in the epidemiology of depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, child abuse, and wife beating
Murray A. Straus, Glenda Kaufman Kantor

The Experience of Touch: Research Points to a Critical Role
Daniel Goleman

How Important Is Physical Contact with Your Infant?
Katherine Harmon

The science of attachment parenting
Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.

How Breastfeeding Transfers Immunity To Babies
Brigham Young University

Common Infant & Childhood Illness - Prevention & Treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:44:00 +0000

By nature, infants and young children are far more prone to congestion, infections and digestive problems. Not only are their immune systems immature, but many of their organs and tissues are also immature, tiny and therefore prone to clogging and infection. Below is a list of natural prevention and treatment measures for infants and young children:

Breastmilk – the #1 prevention & treatment!
Breast milk passes on a myriad of antibodies the mother has accumulated over her lifetime (what vaccine can claim that!). In this way breastmilk naturally protects infants from many common illnesses. This symbiotic immunity is put to use everyday – when a mother kisses her child she ingests the germs present on babies skin, creates antibodies to it, then passes the antibodies on to bub through her breastmilk. Perfect! All the more reason to breastfeed and smother our babies in kisses.

Infants who aren’t breastfed are:
4 times more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
8 times more likely to suffer from Necrotizing Enterocolitis (severe intestinal inflammatory disorder).
2.5 times more likely to suffer from Diarrhea.
2-4 times more likely to suffer from Respiratory Illness.
2 times more likely to suffer from Cancer.
4 times more likely to suffer from Respiratory Distress and Infections.
3 times more likely to suffer from Meningitis.
14 times more likely to be hospitalized in their first year.

Nutritents that boost yours & baby’s immunity

Vitamin D – Vitamin D is one of the best known immune boosters, for example in studies high dose vitamin D is shown to be more effective at treating and preventing influenza than the influenza vaccine.
Because there is less sunshine during winter, our bodies produce less vitamin D, which in turn lowers immunity (hence we get sick more often during winter).

Vitamin C – Good sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, tropical fruits like papayas, kiwis, and mangoes, and other fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, kale, strawberries, blueberries, yellow bell peppers and tomatoes. I personally have started giving our 3 boys (all under 6) 1000mg vitamin C each day in pill form, and the results are amazing, they are NEVER sick!

Zinc – Good sources of zinc are poultry, beans, cheese, yogurt and whole grain bread.

Vitamin A – Good sources of vitamin A include brightly coloured fruits and veggies such as carrots, apricots, papaya, mango, peaches, sweet potato, squash and pumpkin.

Garlic – Can be easily incorporated into baby’s dishes.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) – Avocados are a great source of essential fatty acids (EFAs).

Blueberries – Are a powerful immune booster and studies have shown that they are the best source of antioxidants of all fruits.

Turmeric – This spice has a rich, yellow colour. Don’t worry, turmeric is not a ‘hot’ spice and is rather tasteless, so it’s easily added to baby’s food without baby noticing.

Foods to eliminate

Eliminate sugar – Sugar severely inhibits the immune system and increases mucus production. Natural, healthier alternatives to sugar include Agave and Stevia.

Eliminate other mucus producing foods – Foods most frequently associated with excess mucus production include: wheat, dairy products, sugar, eggs, refined carbohydrates, salt, pepper, sodas, strong spices and junk foods.

The mechanism by which these foods produce excess mucus is that they irritate and inflame the digestive organs. As a consequence excess mucus is produced, often followed by headaches, postnasal drip, sinus inflammation, digestive disorders, recurrent colds and ear infections.

Other basic measures

Wash hands frequently but avoid ‘antibacterial’ soap – When antibacterial soap dilutes with water it creates the perfect environment for bacteria to build resistance, eventually rendering the antibacterial agent useless to a super resistant strain of bacteria. No thanks!

Avoid second-hand smoke – Lowers immunity, aggravates colds, and damages lungs.

Avoid allergy triggers – Triggers include certain foods, pollen, dust, mold, animal dander, smoke, fumes, or other environmental toxins. Anything that irritates or inflames the mucus membranes (nose, mouth, esophagus, lungs, stomach, intestines, penis, vagina and anus) will stimulate excess mucus secretion.

Home air filters rid the air of allergy triggers, and are a great investment especially in your little ones room. Studies show many air filters have an almost 100% efficiency rating at capturing airborne irritants.

Avoid contact with sick people, obviously – And wash hands after exposure.

Keep moving – Exercise is great for increasing the production of antibodies.

Natural antibiotics

Bacteria contains the genetic material to mutate and overcome synthetic antibiotics. However this is not the case with natural antibiotics! Hence many have been used for hundreds of years to fight infection:

High dose vitamin C – Intravenous vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has been used to treat viruses, serious bacterial infections, and even toxins such as snakebites since the 1930’s. Intravenous vitamin C is also effectively used to treat swine flu, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and AIDS.

At home high dose vitamin C powder can be added to your child’s juice bottle, or administered in a concentrated liquid via syringe.

Garlic – Studies show garlic is as effective, and sometimes more effective, than traditional antibiotics.

Note: Cooking diminishes most of garlic’s beneficial qualities, it must be ingested raw. Garlic juice may be a more palatable option.

Grapefruit seed extract – Citricidal is the natural antibiotic made from grapefruit seed extract. It is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound. It is effective against bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections. Studies show it is much more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach against Candida albicans (thrush), Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus faecium and E. coli.

Olive leaf extract – A well known anti-microbial agent, treats bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections. It is often used to treat the flu, colds, sinusitis, herpes, psoriasis and allergies.

Oregano oil – Studies show oregano oil is as effective as traditional antibiotics.

Blessed thistle – Has a very long history as an effective treatment for infection (among many other things), specifically it was used to treat fever, small pox and the plague.

Wild Indigo – A powerful natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory herb. It’s often taken to treat a sore throat, swollen glands, tonsillitis, bronchitis and mouth sores.

Colloidal silver – Bacteria have an enzyme system that is disrupted by the presence of silver ions, causing the organism to die. Colloidal silver was commonly used pre 1940’s to treat bacterial infections, and today is used in water filters for its anti-bacterial effect. Colloidal silver destroys both good and bad bacteria, so probiotics need to be taken when the infection has cleared.

Manuka honey – A powerful antibacterial agent used to treat bacterial and fungal infections. It is often used to treat sore throats, stomach ulcers, acne, cuts, sores, burns and other wounds. In particular, it is the only substance available that can treat MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), an antibiotic-resistant bacterium responsible for causing Staph infections. Like other natural antibiotics, manuka cannot be overcome by mutating bacteria, like synthetic antibiotics unfortunately do.

Note: Only some manuka honey is antibacterial. Look for the UMF rating on the packaging, which indicates the antibacterial strength of the manuka, and indicates that it has been tested and proven to have sufficient antibacterial levels. This site provides some great information, and shows you examples of approved medical grade manuka honey: http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk

Treatment for Cough & Congestion

Vapour rub – Studies show vapour rub is still a very effective method of reducing coughing and improving sleep. Vapour rubs are typically made from camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil in a petroleum base.

Don’t use store-bought cough remedies – Studies show most cough syrups are ineffective! Simple, logical methods aimed at boosting immunity and clearing mucus are shown to be most effective.

Create a steam room – Let the shower run hot and fill the bathroom with steam. Sit in the bathroom with baby for as long as you need. This will help loosen baby's congestion. After you're done, you may need to wipe baby's nose, or use a bulb syringe to gently suction mucus from baby's nose.

Saline (salt and water) nose drops – The saline will thin and loosen thick or dry nasal secretions and make them easier to blow or suction out. Saline drops can also be used for ear infections.

Suction baby's nose – Keep baby's nasal passages clear with a rubber-bulb syringe. Squeeze the bulb to expel the air. Then insert the tip of the bulb into baby's nostril, release pressure and allow it to suck the mucus out of baby's nose. Remove the syringe, expel contents, and repeat as often as needed. Clean the bulb syringe with soap and water. The bulb syringe can also be used to suction baby’s ears if needed.

Keep baby's head elevated – This makes it easier to cough and promotes nasal / ear drainage. Carry baby upright in a wrap, sling, or carry pack whenever possible. When sleeping in bed, place a pillow under the head of baby’s mattress to help elevate the head.

Use a humidifier in baby's room at night to keep the air moist – This will help prevent baby’s secretions from drying out and clogging. Note: Care must be taken to check bedding for mold.

Give baby plenty of fluids – This will help thin secretions and prevent dehydration.

Lemon and manuka honey drink – This is recommended for children over one year: 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts honey mixed in a small amount of warm water. Manuka honey is a natural immune booster with anti-bacterial properties. When buying manuka honey, look for the UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) – the higher the value, the more potent the honey.

Note: A word of caution, honey is not meant to be given to children under one as it can create a condition called botulism.

Warm bath and gentle body massage – This can help soothe and relax an achy little body, while increasing circulation.

Vapour rub inhalation – Obviously this is recommended for older children, as a bowl of hot water is a burning hazard. This will help loosen mucus. Add a teaspoon of vapour rub to a bowl of steaming water. Have the child lean over the steam with a towel covering the head, breathing in the inhalation.

Specifically for ear infections…

Hygroscopic anhydrous glycerin – This product helps reduce pressure in the middle ear and promotes fluid drainage. It is available at pharmacies.

Apply heat – Place a warm water bottle or compress over the ear to relieve pain, improve circulation and help release blockages.

Ear candling – This is a method used to draw wax out of the ears, to relieve the feeling of fullness in the ear. Care must be taken not to burn the area around the ear or cause additional pain.

Do not feed baby lying down – Bottle fed babies are often left lying down in a crib or on their backs. Feeding an infant on its back can lead to regurgitation into the middle ear. If the head is resting too low, the milk can back up into the ears and provide a breeding ground for bacteria, causing infection.
It’s advised to feed baby yourself, with baby sitting in an upright position. After feeding thoroughly burp baby, and keep baby in an upright position for at least half an hour after feeding.

Magnesium – Magnesium plays a significant role in the proper functioning of the inner ear. Good sources of magnesium are green vegetables such as spinach, black beans, peas, nuts, seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium.

Natural ear drops – Recommended drops include garlic oil, onion water, mullein oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil and chamomile oil.

Note: If you are concerned that the ear drum has ruptured, it’s recommended you do not drop the ear drop liquid directly into the ear canal. Instead warm a piece of cloth with warm water, drop the ear drops onto the center of the cloth, then insert the cloth just inside the ear canal. To keep the cloth in place, wrap a scarf or bandage around baby’s head.

Digestive disturbances

Check and treat for thrush – Thrush bacteria in baby’s gut releases gas as it feeds on the sugar baby ingests. Besides gas, it causes diarrhea, constipation, rectal itching, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastric acid reflux disease (GERD) and food sensitivities.

Thrush is very common in baby’s and their mother’s, and both mum and babe should be checked and treated at the same time to get rid of the bacteria for good, and avoid continually passing the bacteria back and forth. See below for info on treating thrush.

Thrush

Grapefruit Seed Extract – Recommended as the first line of defense against thrush. It is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound. It is effective against bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections. Studies show it is much more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach against Candida albicans (thrush), Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus faecium and E. coli. If used diligently, it typically will clear up thrush in a couple of days.

Cider Vinegar – Fantastic for any type of thrush and improvement is seen in a couple of days. It can be applied to the nipples undiluted, but it’s recommended to dilute it for use on baby’s delicate skin.

Gentian Violet – For nipple and oral thrush, use a q-tip to paint entire nipple twice a day until baby’s mouth and mum’s nipples are improved. Baby will ingest the gentian violet when he sucks on the coated nipples. Repaint nipples after feedings. You can also swab the interior of baby’s mouth with a gentian violet soaked q-tip aswell. Note: Gentian violet stains clothing, use rubbing alcohol to remove stains.

Eliminate Sugar – Thrush bacteria thrives on the sugar baby ingests.

Probiotics – These are beneficial, live bacteria that populate the gut so there’s no room for the bad bacteria, like the one that causes thrush. One of the easiest ways to feed baby probiotics is to sprinkle a probiotic supplement through plain yoghurt. Natural sources of probiotics are yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, kim chi (similar to sauerkraut) and brewer's yeast.
Another option is to brew your own breastmilk yoghurt using a live culture. Here’s a recipe!: http://www.food.com/recipe/breastmilk-yoghurt-for-babies-52832

Further treatment for gas

Feed baby breastmilk – Formula-fed babies tend to spit up more, be constipated more, have more gas, be more colicky and have more intestinal illnesses.

Maintain a good latch – Make sure baby has a nice tight seal around your nipple. Listen for clicky sounds as baby feeds, this often indicates bub’s latch is allowing air in each time he swallows, which is another common way gas builds up in bubby’s tum.

Avoid bottlefeeding – Babies almost always swallow more air when drinking from a bottle rather than mum’s nipple. When using bottles, use slow-flow teats, feed baby in an upright position (no lying down), make sure baby has a good seal on the teat, and tilt bottle up so baby never accidentally swallows air.

Burp, burp and burp some more – Burp baby before, during and after feeding.

Keep baby upright after feed – The easiest way to do this is to ‘wear’ baby in a back / front pack, sling, or wrap.

Don’t let baby cry – When baby’s cry they swallow air, so crying is often the cause of gas, rather than the result of gas. No ‘cry-it-out’ please!

Massage – Use gentle, circular motions on baby’s stomach and back. This helps to relieve gas, increases blood circulation and relaxes muscles. Cycling baby's legs is also helpful.

Warmth – Whether it’s a warm bottle, warm bath, warm wheat bag or hot water bottle over baby’s tum, warmth will relax and ease the intestines, letting the baby pass gas more easily.

Herbal tea infusions – Great herbs include fennel, catnip, ginger, chamomile, and peppermint. Note: Remember that herbal teas are not substitutes for regular meals.

Avoid infant medicine containing simethicone – Studies show simethicone is no more effective than taking nothing at all!

Constipation

Feed baby breastmilk – Breastmilk is a natural laxative.

Foods that make you go – Food suitable for babies are prunes, plums, peaches, pears, peas, apricots, spinach, ground oatmeal, millet and brown rice.

Fresh fruit juice – Use the above fruits. Note: Do not substitute these juices for normal feeds.

Foods to eliminate – Meat, dairy, rice cereal, white bread, pasta, corn, potatoes, carrots, bananas and applesauce.

Flax oil – Add a teaspoon of flax oil to baby’s meal. Flax oil is a natural laxative and a source of omega-3 fats.

Magnesia – Add magnesia to the baby's meals.

Massage – Use gentle, circular motions on baby’s stomach and back. This helps to relieve gas, increases blood circulation and relaxes muscles. Cycling baby's legs is also helpful.

Warmth – Whether it’s a warm bottle, warm bath, warm wheat bag or hot water bottle over baby’s tum, warmth will relax and ease the intestines, letting the baby pass stools more easily.

Smaller and more regular feedings

The cruder option – Squirting a little olive oil or rubbing a little vasoline inside baby’s anus helps get things moving too.

Fever

Wait it out – Fever’s are part of the body’s natural defense mechanism to fight infection by creating an inhospitable environment for viruses and bacteria (body temperature above 100 degrees F), and by accelerating the production of disease-fighting white blood corpuscles. Provided fevers stay within an acceptable temperature range, fevers should be left to unfold at their own pace.

Monitor closely – Try to keep the fever below 103 degrees F. If the fever can’t be kept lower than 103 degrees F, it’s advised to seek medical help. If the fever lasts more than 3 days it’s also advised to seek medical help.

Keep baby hydrated – Fevers by nature induce sweating hence dehydration is always a risk. If baby is newborn, a sunken fontanelle indicates possible dehydration. Also check for dry lips, lack of urine in nappy, and strong smelling urine. Babies need to have around 8 wet nappies per 24 hours. Breastmilk is ofcourse always the best hydration, usually small, regular feedings work best. Even if you have to use a dropper, every spoonful counts.

Don’t force food – Naturally appetite is suppressed when you have a fever, it’s better to focus on getting small, regular amounts of liquid into bub.

Herbal teas – Elderflower is known as one of the best remedies to reduce fever. Besides treating fever it's also an effective treatment for allergies, infection and congestion. It's often available as an extract, syrup or loose tea. Other herbs include angostura bitters, gentian, catnip, yarrow flowers, belladonna, pulsatilla, and peppermint.

Paracetamol (also called Aacetaminophen) – Should be used to be treat fever only as a last resort, if herbs cannot be obtained. In a recent study it was found that 90% of the children who were given paracetamol before the age of 15 months were three times more likely to have allergies, and two times more likely to have asthma at six years of age, as compared to those who didn't have paracetamol.

Avoid sugar – Sugar severely inhibits the immune system. Stick to breastmilk or natural fruit juices.

I know there’s many other infant and childhood illnesses of concern, but for now I hope this information on the common illnesses will be of some benefit.

Sources:
Ask Dr. Sears: Immune System Boosters
Best Foods to Boost Baby’s Immune System
10 Ways to Boost Immune Health
Benefits of Vitamin C
BOOSTING CHILDREN’S IMMUNITY THE NATURAL WAY
Garlic as an Antibiotic
Mother Nature’s Natural Germ Fighters
Natural Antibiotics
Pneumonia & Bronchitis - Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics
Natural Antibiotics that Fight Infection
Manuka Honey - Nature's Antibiotic Wound Healer
Is Manuka Honey a Good Alternative to Antibiotics?
Most Potent Natural Antibiotics
Preventing Colds, Flus, and Infections
Common cold in babies
Common Cold in Babies
Preventing Illness in Newborns
All Natural Ways To Treat Your Baby's Cold
Olfactory mucosa
Air Filter Test
Vapor rub still an effective cold remedy for children
Ear Infection
Ear Infection Pain Relief
How to Aspirate an Ear Infection
Ear Infections
Magnesium Rich Foods
Home Remedies for Ear Infections
Pediatric Fever: Treatment & Medication
The Importance of Fever
Thrush, Identification and Treatment
Q&A: Preventing Thrush
Yeast and Thrush
What Foods Contain Probiotic
Could yeast be disturbing your digestion?
Breastmilk Yoghurt for Babies
My baby is gassy. Is this caused by something in my diet?
Dairy and other Food Sensitivities in Breastfed Babies
Infant Gas Remedies
Baby Constipation At-Home Cures
Newborn Constipation Remedies
Foods That Cause Constipation
Dr. Sears: Guide to the Top 7 Infant Illnesses

The effects of early and late paracetamol exposure on asthma and atopy
Elder

Is our school system really that bad?

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:16:00 +0000

I came across this quote on the net, I found it interesting, so I reposted it:

6 Lessons of Public Schooling:
1. You will be put where you belong, and you will stay there.
2. No work is worth finishing unless an authority figure says so.
3. You will surrender your will to a preexisting order.
4. Only the authority knows what’s valuable to learn, not you.
5. Your self-respect should depend on an outsider's arbitrary measure of your worth.
6. You are being watched so you better behave.
- John Taylor Gatto

My god the responses to it were heated! There were very staunch supporters of school commenting, as well as home schooling parents staunchly supporting their dislike of school and reasons for not taking part in it.

My response was that the whole point of school is to learn the basics of life – reading, writing, adding and subtracting. But on a larger, fundamental level, we learn how to function in a society, or rather in a job, as per the 6 lessons above. It’s a very broad statement and it’s not always true, but it certainly can be.

I got told by a commenter if I didn’t like it I should go live on a hippy commune. To be honest it sounded like a great idea! But it had nothing to do with the quote, or education.

Why bring up this quote at all other than to point out the crappy aspects of school? Can school exist without it? Of course it can. The concept of Child Led Learning (often called Unschooling) is the antithesis of the above quote. The principle of unschooling is that humans are born learners. We learn best when given the freedom to learn what, when, and how we want. Any type of coerced learning inhibits the desire to learn.

I think the masters say it best:

"You cannot teach a person anything, you can only help him find it within himself." - Galileo

"Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." – Plato

"It is... nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreak and ruin. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty." - Albert Einstein

This is plain old common sense. To educate someone they’ve got to want to learn, and to want to learn they’ve got to be inspired.

This is how I learnt to play the piano. I was taught the very basics of learning to read notes by my grandmother. She passed onto me an old, mint condition, record from my great aunt by the composer Grieg. It was one of the few valuable things I owned as a child, and I played it over and over, fell in love with classical music because of it. I saved up the money to buy the sheet music from the local music store, and note by note taught myself to play it. This was grade 8 (the hardest) piano music. Every day after school I’d race upstairs to the piano and practice. And eventually I played it, just like I heard on the record.

That is child led learning. That’s allowing a child the freedom to pursue their interests. And when they do, they excel, and fast. No nagging, no reprimanding, berating or punishment needed.

Inspiring kids is what education’s all about; finding out what inspires them, and providing them the means and support to explore where ever that inspiration takes them. If my mother had have cottoned on to child led learning she might have provided me with more classical records, but I’m just thankful she had a piano there for us.

Right now my son Alex is 5. He loves taking things apart, he’d unscrew every electronic device in the house if he could. But instead we give him old, broken computers and toys to take apart at his own discretion. He has a giant box of bits he’s unscrewed, but they are HIS bits, and he puts them back together in whatever way he likes. And when he wants he’ll ask for help and we’ll show him where pieces fit together (my partner is an electrician). We couldn’t teach him better or faster. At his own discretion he’s learning the very basics of how electronics are put together. He’s focused, he’s having a ball, and he’s confidently progressing forward in his own education without any coercion or structure from anyone else. Yes, we are born wanting to learn.

There’s different levels of Child Led Learning. A nice compromise for many parents is Montessori education which is based in part on Child Led Learning, though still is structured, and involves the same subjects you’ll find in regular schooling. It has also been practiced for over 100 years. Because it’s been around so long, numerous studies have been complied, and point to many advantages in learning achievement and student well being.

What I really liked about this study (linked below) was that Montessori kids had a more positive, relaxed attitude at school. Instead of being in a constant power struggle with their teacher, they were given (a certain amount of) control over what they wanted to study, which in turn made school more enjoyable, more like a collaboration between student and teacher.

The public school teachers I speak to themselves can't stand their curriculum, and desperately want more flexibility and smaller classrooms. In NZ at least our curriculum is slowly incorporating more child led learning techniques, and I have no doubt as more studies arise on the benefits of child led learning, we'll see more and more incorporation into the public curriculum.

In the mean time, whatever method of education you choose for your child, remember the desire to learn comes from inspiration, and having the freedom and resources to follow that inspiration. Try to coerce, manipulate, shame or scare a child, and inspiration (and learning) is quickly snuffed out.

And while you might choose traditional schooling for your child, at home you can still help your child to lead their own learning, by inspiring, encouraging and supporting their interests.

For more information on Montessori Education:

THE INTERNATIONAL MONTESSORI INDEX

Sources:
Evaluating Montessori Education
Angeline Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest

Breastfeeding in Public Info Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 05:51:00 +0000

I've always wanted a stash of breastfeeding info cards I can whip out and give to nay sayers or those in need of a little education when I'm out and about breastfeeding. I couldn't find any cards online that were specifically for NZ, so I've made ones that are possibly usable across many countries.

Please feel free to print and use at your own discretion. Just right click and save. You can make single or double sided cards. They are approximately 2" x 3.5" - the standard size of a business card. Enjoy and pass along!

Side 1 deals with the legal side of breastfeeding in public

Side 2 shows some of the (abundant) benefits of breastfeeding

(I wish I could fit more on there!)

Here are some larger versions, so you can shrink to whater size you like (click to enlarge):

My Birth Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:03:00 +0000

Chris and I 'rooming in' in our
hospital room after birth

For my last three pregnancy's I didn't write a birth plan. They went well, but they could have been better. So in the event I'm ever pregnant again, I'm now prepared!

Birth Preferences

Relaxed environment.
Provided baby is not in distress, only myself, my partner, and midwife are to be in the room.
Closed door.
Dimmed lights.
Warm room temperature.
Classical music available (brought by me along with CD player).
Electrolyte drink available throughout labor (brought by me).
I’ll wear a birth gown of my own.
My partner will be taking photo’s throughout the labor.
If it’s medically necessary to have other medical staff present at the birth, there is to be no students, interns, residents or non-essential personnel present at any time.

Provided the baby is not in distress, maintain a high level of privacy throughout birth.
At times, especially towards the end of the labor, I may:
Want only my partner in the room.
Want no one else in the room.
Want to be alone in the toilet.
In these situations please respect my privacy and only enter the room if I ask you to, or if there is an emergency.

Avoid pain medication.
Do not offer me pain medication.
Do not ask me to rate my pain.

Employ natural pain relief measures.
If I am in distress, please remind me to focus on relaxing with my contractions.
Otherwise, please do not talk to me or ask me questions during contractions.
My partner will apply heat packs, massage and acupressure where needed.
My partner will apply nipple, clitoral, and perennial stimulation / massage (in private) when needed.

Provided the baby is not in distress, avoid any other interventions.
No vaginal exams.
No internal / continuous fetal monitoring. Check baby’s heartbeat using a handheld Doppler.
No pitocin (also called syntocinon). My partner will employ nipple stimulation to induce contractions if needed.
Allow placenta to come out on it’s own, wait indefinitely.
Do not inform me of my progress or lack of progress in dilation. I do not want to know.
No stretching of the cervix.
No artificial rupturing of amniotic membrane. Allow amniotic membrane to break on it’s own.
No directed pushing. Leave me to push at my own discretion.
No episiotomy. My partner will apply perineal caster oil massage and heat pack.
If any medical procedure is necessary, you will first get my informed consent, which includes discussing with me the reasons for it, and all possible side effects of it.

I will remain upright whenever possible throughout birth.
Please encourage me to:
Walk, dance, rock or sway between contractions.
Sit on birth ball and beanbag when needed.
Try to squat during contractions, and hold onto partner or a firm structure for support.

If baby is posterior please try these measures.
Apply diaphragmatic release.
Use lift and turn technique.
Change position - get on hands and knees, head down, bottom raised, and sway hips side to side or rock pelvis back and forth.
Partner will apply counter pressure on my back, apply back massage, or heat pack.

If baby is breech please try these measures.
External cephalic version.
Change position - get on hands and knees, head down, bottom raised, and sway hips side to side or rock pelvis back and forth.

Newborn care.
Baby’s head is not to be pulled as it is crowning. Myself or my partner will cradle the head gently.
Myself or my partner will catch the baby.
My partner will announce the sex of the baby.
Immediately after birth, place nappy on baby, then place baby on my bare abdomen. Cover with a warm blanket. Leave there indefinitely. There is to be no separation of myself and baby unless expressly permitted.
My partner and I will clean baby and rub the vernix into baby’s skin.
Evaluation of baby will be done on my abdomen.
Delay cord clamping until cord has stopped pulsating. My partner will cut and tie the cord.
Placenta will be saved and given to my partner to take home for encapsulation.
After the birth my partner will be staying with baby and I in the hospital for as long as we need.
I would like our older children to be able to visit baby and I in the hospital at any time unless I am asleep.

Avoid any unnecessary newborn procedures.
Baby will not be receiving eye drops.
Baby will not be receiving vitamin K injection.
Baby will not be supplemented with formula.
Baby will not be using a pacifier.
Baby will not be given a bath.
*Vaccinations are not routinely administered to newborns in NZ, though if they were I would be choosing not vaccinate my newborn either.

If you're wondering why I chose the above preferences, here's some links with useful information about a number of birth preferences mentioned above:

Why choose not to have coached pushing?
Pushing During Labor: Coached Pushing vs Physiologic Pushing
by ANDREA CROSSMAN, RN, BS, BA

Why choose to keep upright during labor instead of lying down?
Get off your back: references
by Stand and Deliver Blog

Why choose not to be induced with pitocin?
The Truth About Pitocin
by Elaine Stillerman, LMT

Why choose not to have an epidural?
Epidural Labor Side Effects
by Kim James
Side Effects of Epidurals: Research Data
by Janelle Durham
Protecting the mother-child bond
by Cherie Raymond

Why choose not to have interventions?
Labor and Birth Interventions
by Natural Birth and Baby Care Website
Cascade of Intervention in Childbirth
by Childbirth Connection Website

Here's some other birth plans to give you more ideas:
These are naturally focused, minimal intervention hospital birth plans.
Birth Plan 1
Birth Plan 2
Birth Plan 3
Birth Plan 4

Here is an automated birth plan creator I also found useful:
http://www.birthplan.com/create-birth-plan/

Epidural Effects on Labor

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:06:00 +0000

I came across a blog post about epidurals, with an angry statement directed at natural birthing mothers:

“Please. You did not have a better childbirth experience than I did. We each had our own unique experience. Thankfully, we both have our child here in this world, we both love our child ad infinitum. The only thing different about our labors? Mine hurt less.”

I wouldn't be surprised if this opinion was a widespread, thinking an epidural is better than having a natural birth. The effect of epidurals and natural birth have been studied for decades, accounted for in statistics, and the facts are clear - epidurals put you and your child at significantly increased risk of birth related complications and injury.

There are so many negative side effects it is overwhelming. I'll be doing a more detailed chart with links, stats and the myriad of other complications and injuries associated with epidurals. But for now here's a flowchart detailing the basic effects of an epidural.

Natural Pain Relief During Childbirth

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:18:00 +0000

The key player in pain relief and even pleasure during birth is the hormone oxytocin. It diminishes pain, triggers pleasurable sensations and increases feelings of empathy. As the level of pain increases, as does oxytocin, allowing the body to experience both intense pain and intense pleasure at the same time. However, oxytocin is only released when a woman feels relaxed and safe. It is secreted in spurts and not continuously, and levels decrease over time unless you retrigger its release with stimulation. Anything that causes tenseness, anxiety, stress or fear can easily inhibit its release – turning a potentially pleasurable experience, into a horrifically painful one.

Pain relief is centered around getting the oxytocin flowing - creating a safe, relaxed, comfortable and stress free birth experience. Below is a list of factors that can greatly contribute to creating a pain free birth experience:

Confident, Supportive Midwife and Companions
Remember this is YOUR birth. It's an instinctive inclination to be in a private, secluded, safe location. A calm relaxed atmosphere is integral to birth pain management. Whether it be your partner, mother, sister, or best friend, choose companions who will create a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. For instance a woman who has naturally given birth herself may provide much needed empathy and wisdom, while your partner may bring a sense of familiarity, security and safety.

For professional support, a doula is a trained birth support person, providing practical support and ensuring your birth choices are respected. The benefits of having a professional doula attend your birth are well documented:

50% reduction in the cesarean rate
25% shorter childbirth
60% reduction in epidural requests
40% reduction in oxytocin use
30% reduction in analgesia use
40% reduction in forceps delivery

For more information about the role and benefits of a doula click here.

Abdominal Breathing

Abdominal breathing focuses your mind and increases oxygen and energy flow to muscles. It involves slow, repetitive, deep breathing using the full extent of your lung capacity. Completely forget the “hee hee hee” breathing you see in movies, it’s not relaxing. Anytime you feel your breath shortening, return your focus to deep, slow, long breaths.

Vocalisation

Completely allow yourself to vocalise when you feel the urge. Let out deep, low moans, with your mouth gently open, like the deep growl of a tigress. Ina May Gaskin calls it the "sphincter law" - if your jaw and mouth are relaxed so is your bottom. Grit your teeth and tighten your mouth and your bottom gets tense. Try it.

Movement
Rhythmic Movement
Helps you focus and relax. You could try slow dancing, belly dancing, or simply swaying back and forth. Even if you prefer to sit you could still rock back and forth if you crave movement.

Walking

If you feel the urge to walk, then walk, around the room, through the house, or even outside. When a contraction comes brace yourself on something like a tree, a low table, or hold onto somebody - put your arms around their neck and let them support your weight.

Birth Balls
Provide excellent support to your pregnant body while allowing you to move relatively freely while sitting on them. You can also drape across them while you're on your knees or squatting.

Photo by Benjac

Positions

Do not lie on your back

Lying on your back causes more painful contractions, less effective contractions, longer labour, reduced blood flow to your baby, and narrower passage through the pelvis for baby to pass through.

Below is a very informative and eye-opening clip about the risks of lying on your back in relation to newborn birth injuries. A must watch...

Squatting

Squatting opens the passage through the pelvis for baby to pass through, helps prevent perineal tears, allows you to be more in control of pushing, and helps you focus on pushing with the right muscles. A squat bar on a hospital bed, a birth stool, or a handle or counter can be used to hold onto for support while squatting.

A Birth Stool can be used to sit on
or to hold onto or lean on while squatting

Hands and Knees

For mothers who are experiencing back pain during childbirth, a hands and knees position can help to relieve some of the back pressure. It also uses gravity to help encourage the baby to turn to an easier position.

Photo's by BINSI Labor and Birth Apparel

Water birth

A warm bath improves blood flow, reducing pulse rate, helping you relax, and improves the effectiveness of contractions. It also reduces the effect of gravity on the back and buttocks, minimizing pain. Do not worry if baby is delivered in the water - baby can quickly be lifted out, and will still be drawing oxygen from the umbilical cord (it's spent the last nine months immersed in fluid anyway).

AquaBorn Eco Birth Pool

Visualization

Visualization is an excellent tool to help focus and gain control over your body. I found myself doing this automatically when giving birth and it worked very well. It involves imagining a particular scene in vivid detail. A few examples would be...

Imagine the walls of the cervix opening with ease and comfort, with no limit to their ability to open to whatever size needed.

Imagine the space inside your cervix getting larger and larger, opening to unimaginable proportions!

With every contraction imagine baby edging further and further down the wide open birth canal.

Imagine baby sliding down and out of the birth canal like a slippery, fun waterslide.

Positive Birth Affirmation
Positive birth affirmations are the basis of the popular HypnoBirthing technique. By repeating positive birth affirmations we're able to turn negative perceptions about birth into positive ones - which has a profound affect when it comes to your ability to relax and manage pain. Here are some great examples from The Baby Dust Diaries...

"Birth is an easy and natural occurrence for which my body has been perfectly designed."

"My pelvis releases and opens as have those of countless women before me."

“My body knows how to have this baby just as my body knew how to grow this baby”

"I surrender my birthing over to my body."

“The strength of my uterine contractions is a sign of my feminine strength.”

"Good strong contractions help my baby come into the world."

"I greet each contraction with openness and expansion."

"I allow my body’s natural anesthesia to flow through my body."

"The power of birth strengthens me."

"I am now willing to experience all my feelings."

"This day, hour, and minute is sacred and blessed."

Affirmations are most effective when practiced in a meditative state, regularly throughout pregnancy, so they’re well entrenched by the time the big day comes.

Massage
Massage during childbirth reduces pain, alleviates tension and anxiety, stimulates contractions, improves the flexibility of muscles, facilitates blood flow, circulation and fluid drainage, helps revitalize the mind and body, and offers a sense of emotional support. The areas of the body likely to need massage during childbirth include the back, buttocks, inner thighs, legs, feet, stomach and hands.

A laboring woman’s back in particular can get extremely sore, and a good rub can make a world of difference. The back pain can be more intense than the contractions - this has been named 'back labor', and occurs in 25% of births. Usually the back pain is caused by baby being in the 'occput posterior position', in which baby's back is pushing against mum's spine. If your back is sore during childbirth, make sure you speak up, don't grin and bear it! It may mean you're experiencing 'back labor' and you need to change position onto your hands and knees to ease pressure on your spine, and receive a good back rub.


Normal Position	Occiput Posterior Position

Aside from using hands for massage, a rolling pin, or other massage tool can be useful, and of course a little massage oil or lotion. Below is a list of essential oils recommended for birth that when blended with a carrier oil make an excellent massage oil:

Geranium - Great for the circulation and helps breathing.

Jasmine - Warm and fragrant and has anti-spasmodic and analgesic properties. It is also very beneficial in a compress on the lower abdomen to help expel the placenta.

Lavender - Antiseptic and excellent for aching backs and limbs. It is recommended in a bath during the early stages and is wonderful for the healing of vaginal tears or episiotomy scars.

Neroli - Helps combat any fear or apprehension.

Rose - A very feminine oil and is a uterine tonic which helps to regulate labour.

Ylang Ylang - Very calming and helps lower the blood pressure.

Clary sage - Can be used as it is a sedative, with analgesic properties.

Reflexology and Accupressure
Reflexology and accupressure both involve the application of pressure, to points on the feet or hands (reflexology) and the rest of the body (accupressure), which effectively correspond to various organs and systems in the body. Massaging and applying pressure to the following pressure points during childbirth effectively lessens pain:

Between the puffy pads under the big toe and next toe

Just below the centre of the ball of the foot

All along the inner ball of the foot

Upper buttocks between dimples

Side buttocks

Center shoulder

Between thumb and forefinger

Along the middle crease of the palm

Either side of the archilles

Upper buttocks

Side buttocks

Between thumb
and forefinger

Graphics by Debra Betts

An excellent site referenceing these points in more detail, along with pictures and video is available here.You should also be careful not to apply too much pressure, or you’ll cause more pain than good.

Arnica
Arnica reduces fatigue, bruising, and trauma; it controls bleeding, prevents hemorrhaging, and minimizes the strain on soft tissues. After childbirth, it eases afterpains, assists in the contraction of the uterus and relieves retention of urine after long childbirth.
During childbirth it's recommended to take 200c potency Arnica every 3 hours, and continue this dosage throughout the day after delivery. From the second day onwards you can use the 30c potency every 3 hours.
A Wet Dose can be made by mixing the arnica with spring water.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E prepares the cervix and perenium for stretching, encourages skin healing and reduces scarring after injury. It is recommended to take 800 units of Vitamin E every 3 hours during childbirth.

Hot or Cold Application

Cloth nappies, and a bucket of steaming hot or icey cold water

Wheat or rice packs frozen or heated

Hotwater bottles

Hot showers

It can be useful to focus the hot or cold on your back (especially when experiencing 'back labor') or lower abdomen. It can also be useful to have a washable pouch to place a hot or cold pack in, which has an elastic belt with velcro fastenings to wrap it around your abdomen and hold it in place.

Perineal Castor Oil Pack
Caster oil helps relieve prenatal pain, makes perineal tissues supple, helps prevent perineal tearing, and has healing and restorative properties. A heat pack increases blood flow to the area, relieves pain, and improves circulation. To make a caster oil pack...

Use only cold pressed castor oil.

Soak a soft cloth in the oil, wring it out, and put it on your perineum.

Place a heat pack on the cloth – make sure the heat pack has a waterproof cover or the caster oil will soak in and stain it.

Leave it as long as needed.

Perineal Massage
Perineal massage lubricates the tissue making it softer, more supple, and more flexibile. It also familiarizes you with the stretching sensations of birth, helping you learn to keep your perineal area relaxed, thus preventing tears.

Here are some excellent step-by-step instructions by Birthing Naturally…

Perineal massage is usually done by the mother herself, or her partner. It can be done for up to 10 minutes a day during the last four weeks of pregnancy.

Wash hands thoroughly. Ensure there are no sharp or long nails that may scratch the mother.

Locate the perineum, directly below the vagina. It is the skin between the vagina and the anus. Apply some cold pressed and pure oil (such as olive oil) to this skin.

Place the thumbs at the base of the vagina, allowing them the slide inside the vagina (to about the first joint) moving some oil with them.

Using gentle but firm pressure, move the thumbs from the base of the vagina up the side walls as if you were making a "U".

Return the thumbs to the base of the vagina, and repeat procedure.

As the mother becomes more comfortable with the stretch, you may increase the amount you stretch the skin.

Sources:
Perineal Massage by BirthingNaturally.net
Avoiding Tears and Episiotomies by Rachel Silber
Labor Massage by NativeRemedies.com
Doula Statistics by ChildBirth.org
Point location Videos by Debra Betts
Positive Birth Affirmations by Baby Dust Diaries
Hypnobirthing Secrets by MyNaturalChildbirth.org
Natural pain relief during labor by BabyPartner.com
Arnica after birth by ABCHomeopathy.com
Unassisted Birth Tips by Pregnancy-and-giving-birth.com

Answering Pro-Vaccination Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:59:00 +0000

Recently I got into an online discussion about vaccines (which prompted me to write this post). Two people in particular where adamant vaccines were 100% safe, and that anyone who disagreed was an ignorant quack. They went on to quote what they called “facts” (that were flat out untrue) but they were adamant they were right.

I presented many valid points and studies but they were ignored, and instead I got this response:

‎There is no comparison between the scientific method and a bunch of yahoos who publish stuff over the internet.

But I was quoting REAL, scientific studies. It made me realise the vaccine debate has been drawn away from facts - instead pitting people against hated stereotypes to gain a following. I’m not a hippy, I’m not easily sucked in, I like facts, logic, and clear, unbiased stats. So I said to her:

It's not a matter of anti-vax versus pro-vax, it's a matter of decifering common sense and accurate stats from a myriad of bull shit.

But it fell on deaf ears. On and on the discussion went, back and forth, until I had to leave for a family outing - feeling mentally drained and wondering whether anything I’d said made any difference at all.

The draining discussion did present a gift though, it showed me what questions many pro-vax parents have about vaccines, that NEED to be addressed publicly. Below are statements taken from our conversation and answers to them:

“Thimerosal has not been used in childhood vaccines for 10 years.”
Thimerosal (contains 50% mercury) HAS indeed been used in vaccines since the 1930’s right through to today, and I’m sure will continue to until there is a law prohibiting it. Ten years ago there was a major enquiry into the effect thimerosal had on young children. As a result major health organizations issued a joint statement recommending it’s removal as soon as possible (excerpt from the CDC website):

The Public Health Service (including the FDA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics issued two Joint Statements, urging vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as soon as possible (CDC 1999) and (CDC 2000).

Despite the above statement, no recall of the vaccines containing mercury was ever issued and companies continued to sell lots already manufactured with expiration dates as late as 2007. It is plausible then that vaccines containing large amounts of thermerosal were still being administered to children as recently as 2007. The removal of thimerosal in vaccines has been more of a gradual phasing out, than a sudden halt.

While most vaccines manufactured today have abided by the above recommendation to reduce or eliminate thimerosal, six different types of vaccines in the U.S still contain it, and some are part of the current childhood vaccine schedule:
(Table excerpts from the CDC and Vaccine Safety websites)

Vaccine	Trade Name	Manufacturer	Thimerosal Concentration	Mercury
Influenza	Afluria	CSL Limited	0 (single dose) 0.01% (multidose)	0/0.5 mL (single dose) 24.5 µg/0.5 mL (multidose)
	Fluzone⁶	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	0.01%	25 µg/0.5 mL dose
	Fluvirin	Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Ltd	0.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
	FluLaval	ID Biomedical Corporation of Quebec	0.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
Japanese Encephalitis⁷	JE-VAX	Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University	0.007%	35 µg/1.0mL dose 17.5 µg/0.5 mL dose
Meningococcal	Menomune A, C, AC and A/C/Y/W-135	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	0.01% (multidose) 0 (single dose)	25 µg/0.5 dose 0
DTwP	All Products		.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
DT	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids Adsorbed USP	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
Tetanus Toxoid	Tetanus Toxoid Adsorbed USP	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
	Tetanus Toxoid Adsorbed Adult Use	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose
	Booster	Sanofi Pasteur, Inc	.01%	25 µg/0.5 ml dose

Is the amount of mercury in currently manufactured vaccines safe? The safety guidelines set out by the CDC state:

A person must not recieve more than 0.1mcg of mercury, per kg of body weight per day.

An average 6kg 6 month old infant must not exceed 0.6mcg in a single day. Yet as seen in the table above, many vaccinations shots contain 42 times this amount. What compounds the problem is that in other documents the CDC recommends children receive up to 9 vaccination shots at one doctors visit. It’s entirely possible that a child will receive the DTwP and Influenza both at the same doctors visit, where the child will recieve 50 mcg at once, exceeding the mercury toxicity threshold 83 times.

Many of these shots also need up to 5 repeated shots every couple of months, so the child will continue to receive toxic doses of mercury at regular intervals throughout the year. Whether a person will display symptoms of mercury toxicity depends on the person’s individual physical ability to process it – some people can not process mercury at all and will react severely and immediately, others will take days, weeks or years.

Any amount of mercury is toxic and is extremely difficult to remove from the body without chelation therapy. Symptoms of toxicity depend on the amount injected and the person’s ability to process it – but it will cause toxicity make no mistake, it may just be more gradual in some. So no, the amount of mercury in the above current vaccines is not safe.

"There has been no fall in the rate of Autism since thimerosal’s removal from vaccines."
The removal of thimerosal from vaccines has been a gradual phasing out, not a sudden halt. And it is still in 6 different types of vaccines, in no way has it been entirely “removed”. Vaccine caused autism would match a gradual decline seen in statistics below.

The below graph shows the prevalence of autism in the U.S and outlying areas in the year 2009. Many statistics like this repeadly show children born between the years 1998-2003 make up the majority of those diagnosed with autism, with a decline in those born more recently. (Click for a larger view)

Source: www.thoughtfulhouse.org Data: www.ideadata.org and www.cdc.gov/nchs/

This graph shows some important details:
• Older children with autism are continuing to be identified.
• It takes from 2 to 7 years or longer for older children who have autism to be identified.
• Children under three years of age lag in being diagnosed.
• Prevalence for each birth year will continue to rise until all persons in that birth year are identified.

The problem is current charts often show a continued increase in overall autism rates, which on the surface is misleading. It makes it seem as if each year the number of babies born with autism is sky rocketing. When in fact it is the older children who are only now being diagnosed with autism who are making up the bulk of the current statistics.

My question is what happened to children born between 1998-2003 that triggered a massive increase in autism cases?

“All evidence that mercury causes autism has been refuted.”
In a report authored by the CDC in June 2000 it was concluded exposure to more than 62.5 micrograms of mercury within the first three months of life significantly increased a child's risk of developing autism. Specifically, the study found a 2.48 times increased risk of autism.

Exposure evaluated at 3 months of age found increasing risks of 'neurological developmental disorders' with increasing cumulative exposure to thimerosal.

These disorders included developmental disorders, specific delays, developmental speech disorder, autism, stuttering and attention deficit disorder.

This analysis suggests that in our study population, the risk of ticks, ADD, language and speech delays, and developmental delays in general maybe increased by exposure to mercury from thimersoal containing vaccines during the first six months of life.

As a consequence of this study major health organizations issued a joint statement recommending the removal of thimerosal as soon as possible. And while many vaccine manufacturers complied, as shown in the above table many still contain amounts that if taken together at the single doctors visit would be far too close for comfort to the 62.5 mcg of mercury mentioned in the CDC’s study.

But even if mercury containing vaccines are not taken together, the amount would still be damaging, maybe half as bad, and I’m sorry I don’t want ANY ‘neurological development disorder’ affecting my child for the sake of a vaccine – it is not a viable tradeoff.

Studies have continued to examine whether there is a link between vaccines or mercury and vaccines, and the link is very clear:

A thorough review of medical literature and U.S. government data indicates (i) that many and perhaps most cases of idiopathic autism, in which an extended period of developmental normalcy is followed by an emergence of symptoms, are induced by early exposure to mercury; (ii) that this type of autism represents a unique form of mercury poisoning (HgP); (iii) that excessive mercury exposure from thimerosal in vaccine injections is an etiological mechanism for causing the traits of autism; (iv) that certain genetic and non-genetic factors establish a predisposition whereby thimerosal's adverse effects occur only in some children; and (v) that vaccinal mercury in thimerosal is causing a heretofore unrecognized mercurial syndrome. 7

The overwhelming evidence from the peer-reviewed scientific and medical literature favours acceptance that mercury exposure is capable of causing some Autism Spectrum Disorders, particularly in children who are biochemically and/or genomically susceptible to mercury intoxication. A review of treatments suggests that Autism Spectrum Disorder patients who undergo protocols to reduce mercury and/or its effects show significant clinical improvements in some cases. 4

The children with Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Had elevated levels of androgens.
Excreted significant amounts of mercury post chelation challenge.
Had biochemical evidence of decreased function in their glutathione pathways.
Had no known significant mercury exposure except from Thimerosal-containing vaccines/Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations.
Had alternate causes for their regressive Autism Spectrum Disorders ruled out.
Had a significant dose-response relationship between the severity of the regressive Autism Spectrum Disorder and the total mercury dose children received from Thimerosal-containing vaccines/Rho (D)-immune globulin preparations.
Were exposed to significant amounts of mercury from Thimerosal-containing biologic/vaccine preparations during their fetal/infant developmental periods, and subsequently, between 12 and 24 mo of age.
Were previously normally developing children prior to mercury exposure.
Suffered mercury toxic encephalopathies (brain injury) that manifested with clinical symptoms consistent with regressive Autism Spectrum Disorders. 5

Boys aged 3 to 17 years (born before 1999 with a vaccination record) who received the ﬁrst dose of hepatitis B vaccine during the ﬁrst month of life were 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism, than boys either vaccinated later or not at all.1

The higher the proportion of children receiving recommended vaccinations, the higher was the prevalence of Autism or Speech or Language Impairment. A 1% increase in vaccination was associated with an additional 680 children having Autism or Speech or Language Impairment. Aluminum, which is found in at least 20 U.S. childhood vaccines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010), is not only a neurotoxin, but also an immunosuppressant that may allow measles-containing vaccines to create cytokines that damage the brain.Enhanced exposure to aluminum via vaccines may be associated with an increase in the prevalence of neurological disorders such as autism, especially if an aluminum-containing vaccine is administered along with a measlescontaining vaccine. 2

Children with severe Autism Spectrum Disorder had biomarkers consistent with mercury toxicity such as signiﬁcantly increased mercury intoxication-associated urinary porphyrins (pentacarboxyporphyrin, precoproporphyrin, and coproporphyrin); signiﬁcantly decreased plasma levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), cysteine, and sulfate; signiﬁcantly increased plasma oxidized glutathione (GSSG). This study concluded mercury intoxication is signiﬁcantly associated with autistic symptoms.3

Boys who were vaccinated with the Hep B triple series vaccine were 9 times more likely to need early intervention or special education services, than boys who were not vaccinated with the Hep B vaccine. 6
*Note: The Hep B triple series vaccine contained thimerosal at the time this data was collected

“The anti-vaccination movement twist facts”
To that I replied, “ALL studies and publications twist facts. Yes that's right, every single study is funded by someone, and each person has their own personal point of view, their own bias.” Again this was brushed off.

It’s an illusion that because a study was conducted by a “scientist” the contents of are of pure truth. We can never be sure a study was accurately conducted, but often it’s all we have to go on. And the stats themselves can be interpreted literally any way you like, the way in which it’s delivered to you will sway you in whatever direction the commentator wants you to go.

For an example of the integrity of today’s scientific studies, there was a recent study, ‘Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years’ published in The New England Journal of Medicine on September 27, 2007 that was touted as a ‘Weight of Evidence Against Thimerosal Causing Neuropsychological Deficits’ by many medical publications. But by looking just little closer major flaws in the study became self evident:

- The study specifically eliminated any children with autism or a neurological condition. Children who had had encephalitis and meningitis were also eliminated. This literally makes the study null and void. And I’m quite dumbfounded every time I read it. They removed any child that would conflict with the outcome they wanted: to show thimersoal does not cause neuropsychological deficits. What a novel way to deal with the problem, just remove the evidence and continue as it you’re conducting a valid study. If the study were conducted honestly these would have been the children they were specifically looking for, they were what the whole study was supposed to be about.

- The authors went on to eliminate 70% of the study participants. The authors themselves also acknowledge that selection bias might have been a factor in the findings. It really sounds more like it was an audition to find the healthiest children, than a valid, randomized group of study subjects.

- The primary concern about thimerosal, that it causes autism, was not addressed or included in the study. The study noted that autism itself - the condition most often connected with thimerosal - was not considered.

- The authors of the study had major conflicts of interest.

Dr. Offit
Serves on the scientific advisory board of Merck (major vaccine manufacturer). Holds a patent on the RotaTeq vaccine produced by Merck.

Dr. Thompson
The lead investigator, is a former employee of Merck.

Dr. Marcy
Has received consulting fees from Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, and MedImmune.

Dr. Jackson
Received grant money from Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis. He received lecture fees from Sanofi Pasteur and consulting fees from Wyeth and Abbott. Currently, he is a consultant to the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Dr. Lieu
Is a consultant to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunication Practices.

Dr. Black
Receives consulting fees from MedImmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Merck, and grant support from MedImmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis, Merck, and Novartis.
Dr. Davis - Receives consulting fees from Merck and grant support from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.

As you can see you've got to be very careful which studies you tout as evidence.

Below is a large excerpt from Immunization Awareness Society Inc website, with some rather damning info regarding the integrity of scientific studies:

Conflict of Interest
The burgeoning problem of conflict of interest was discussed in a paper in a 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association:

The vast majority of doctors involved in establishing national guidelines on disease treatment have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry that could potentially sway their recommendations and inappropriately influence thousands of other physicians… 38% of respondents said they had served as employees or consultants for pharmaceutical companies and 58% had received financial support for medical research. In addition, 59% had links with drug companies whose medications were considered in the particular guidelines they authored… 19% said they thought their co-authors’ recommendations were swayed by their relationships and 7% said they thought their own relationships influenced recommendations.1

On the same topic a Lancet editorial asks just how tainted by commercial conflicts has medicine become? The author concluded that the answer was heavily tainted, and damagingly so.2

A paper published in the British Medical Journal in 2003 found that:

Research sponsored by the drug industry was more likely to produce results favouring the product made by the company sponsoring the research than studies funded by other sources. The results apply across a wide range of disease states, drugs, and drug classes, over at least two decades and regardless of the type of research being assessed.3

In another paper, published in the journal Psychological Medicine in 2006, Researchers found that in studies on psychiatric drugs favorable outcomes were significantly more common in studies sponsored by the drug manufacturer (78%) than in studies without industry sponsorship (48%) or sponsored by a competitor (28%).

Another study into bias in reported research on psychiatry drugs in 2007 “confirmed previous findings that industry-funded studies are less likely to report negative findings.” The authors went on to say that their “novel finding is that this effect appears to be largely or exclusively due to the presence of a company employee among the authorship.”4

These are just three of many, many papers on conflict of interest within the pharmaceutical industry and the reporting of drug trial results. Such conflict of interest is so widespread and has become such a significant problem that is has begun to be addressed by the major peer-reviewed medical journals. Many medical journals have initiated stricter ethics codes for publishing research funded by pharmaceutical or medical device-makers, including many journals that have instituted zero-tolerance policies for study authors with financial ties to drug companies.

However, this doesn’t avoid the problem of many studies that produce negative results never being published at all. Added to this is the use of spin to convince readers of a more favorable result.

In a 2009 report, Dr Isabelle Boutron said that more than 40% of studies with negative findings were “spun” and even in trials with favorable outcomes, 49% of phrases considered to be positive “spin” weren’t accompanied by any mention of a statistically significant result.

The researchers defined spin as an attempt to “convince the reader that the treatment is important” even though the trial had nonsignificant findings.5

Another problem can be the mismatch between what is reported in the media from a study, or even between an abstract and the rest of the paper. If possible don’t just rely on reading an abstract as they can mislead and conclusions drawn may not match the actual results of research.

For example, in a 1998 study of the efficacy of the hepatitis B vaccine in Gambia, the researchers found that, 14 years after administration of the vaccine 37.4% of participants in the study in had been infected, and of the uninfected, 36% had undetectable levels of antibodies.6 In total, 61% of the adolescents and young adults had no immunity to hepatitis B only 14 years following vaccination. Incomprehensibly, the authors concluded in the paper and the abstract of the paper that vaccine efficacy was remarkably well maintained. Only by reading the full paper was it clear that the vaccine had a very low efficacy. No refusal to publish here, just conclusions that are diametrically opposed to the facts.

References:
1. Choudhry, N.K., Stelfox, H.T., Detsky, A.S., 2002: Relationships Between Authors of Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Pharmaceutical Industry, JAMA, 287: 612-617.
2. No Author Listed, 2002: Just how tainted has medicine become? Editorial The Lancet, 359, 9313.
3. Lexchin, J., Bero, L., Djulbegovic, B. and Clark, O., 2003: Pharmaceutical industry sponsorship and research outcome and quality: systematic review British Medical Journal, 326:1167-1170
4. Tungaraza, T, and Poole, R., 2007: Influence of drug company authorship and sponsorship on drug trial outcomes, The British Journal of Psychiatry (2007) 191: 82-83.
5. Boutron I, et al, 2009: Spin’ in reports of randomized controlled trials with nonstatistically significant primary outcomes, International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication.
6. Whittle, H., Jaffar, S., Wansbrough, M. Mendy, M., Dumpis, U., Collinson, A., Hall, A., 2002: Observational study of vaccine efficacy 14 years after trial of hepatitis B vaccination in Gambian children, BMJ, 325: 569.

I hope this info has answered some of the questions that linger around in vaccination debates. I know there's plenty more questions, so I'll continue researching.

Sources:
Child Vaccination – Mercury
Cherie Raymond
Changes in the California Caseload An Update: June 1987 – June 2007
Andrew T. Cavagnaro, Ph.D.
Autism - Statistics, Incidence, Prevalence, Rates
by Thoughtfulhouse.org
Critique of CDC's Thimerosal Study
by Thoughtfulhouse.org
Risk of neurological and renal impairment associated with thimerosal containing vaccines
Thomas Verstraeten and others
Dissecting a Thimerosal Study
Heidi Stevenson
Changes In The California Caseload:An Update: 1999 Through 2002
by CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
Autism Survey
by Generation Rescue
Cal-Oregon Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Survey
by Generation Rescue
1. HEPATITIS B VACCINATION OF MALE NEONATES AND AUTISM DIAGNOSIS,
NHIS 1997–2002
2. A positive association found between Autism prevalence and childhood vaccination uptake across the U.S. population
3. Biomarkers of environmental toxicity and susceptibility in autism
4. A comprehensive review of mercury provoked autism
5. A Case Series of Children with Apparent Mercury Toxic Encephalopathies Manifesting with Clinical Symptoms of Regressive Autistic Disorders
6. HEPATITIS B TRIPLE SERIES VACCINE AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY IN US CHILDREN AGED 1‐9 YEARS
7. Autism: A Unique Type of Mercury Poisoning

Yo Mama, you ain't all that

noreply@blogger.com (Natural Mama NZ) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:21:00 +0000

I remember when I only had one child. Ahh those were the days. I was determined to give my son an optimum childhood, with every advantage possible. I studied hard and implemented all sorts of parenting techniques. And I felt PROUD. Watching him progress and succeed through the months with my guidance, it confirmed: I was doing a good job.

Five years on I’ve had two more beautiful little boys, but I no longer hold the same pride in my parental intelligence I once did. You see, with my two subsequent children, I didn’t use the same “superior parenting techniques” I did with my first. And yet they turned out just the same. In many ways more relaxed and happy than my first. Which kind of debunked my whole “my fantastic parenting techniques have produced a perfect child” belief.
And as the years go by it’s been reiterated daily – my children’s innate instincts, physical nature, and environment has more influence over my children than I will ever have.

Think about it, who raised you, who instilled you with beliefs, habits and thought patterns. Think of the hundreds of people you’ve encountered in your life who have made a difference – they ALL have. You rely on the world around you, nature, your government, community, businesses, organizations, schools, tradesmen, family, friends, chance encounters …. the list is endless. A culmination of all of it has produced the good fortune you enjoy today, and that you proudly proclaim as your own doing.

It irritates me when I hear mothers boast about their amazingly perfect children, that they produced with their superior intelligence. Really? So who gave birth to you, raised you, what world provided you with the comforts you have today? You have been given so much, yet instead of being humble, thankful, and maybe even passing on that good fortune, you insist on taunting others with it. You might even make other parents feel they are to blame that they don’t have the good fortune you do.

You know those fantastic, pure, holy morals, beliefs and opinions you have, who gave those to you – life, that’s who. No you didn’t form them on your own, it was your experiences through life that gave you wisdom. And by the same token, it was life experiences that gave others a much harsher blow, though gave them the gift of wisdom in other areas you may never know.

Whether we like to hear it or not, we’re all a product of our environment. So while we proudly sit here, comparing how well behaved our children are compared to someone else’s bratty little monsters, just maybe we could think about how we could provide other mothers with the good fortune that got us where we are today? You know your conscience wants you to. If you don’t act on your conscience you’ll end up concocting reasons the unfortunate mother and her children are to blame for their own predicament and why you shouldn’t bother helping them at all. And then you’ll just end up a bitter, nasty, judgmental mummy who’s secretly guilt ridden on the inside.

So what’s it going to be? Next time you encounter a mother defending the crappiest of parenting techniques what are you going to do? Will you hop on your throne of moral, self-righteous superiority and lecture every last ounce of integrity out of her? Or will you dare to accept her for who she is, and share your friendship and good fortune with her?