Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Someone give this lady a UN post, already!
From NYMag:
Gisele thinks breastfeeding should be mandatory
The genetically blessed Gisele told Harper's Bazaar it was breast-feeding that helped her maintain her super-hot post-baby figure.
After some backlash for the previous comments, this was posted on Gisele's blog:
Since Gisele became mother, the Top model has been outspoken when expressing her feelings about motherhood and life. In a recent interview for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK, Gisele talked about the importance of breastfeeding in the first months of a child’s life. Now, Gisele writes first-hand on the impact caused by the comment.
My intention in making a comment about the importance of breastfeeding has nothing to do with the law. It comes from my passion and beliefs about children. Becoming a new mom has brought a lot of questions, I feel like I am in a constant search for answers on what might be the best for my child. It’s unfortunate that in an interview sometimes things can seem so black and white. I am sure if I would just be sitting talking about my experiences with other mothers, we would just be sharing opinions. I understand that everyone has their own experience and opinions and I am not here to judge. I believe that bringing a life into this world is the single most important thing a person can undertake and it can also be the most challenging. I think as mothers we are all just trying our best.
Gisele thinks breastfeeding should be mandatory
The genetically blessed Gisele told Harper's Bazaar it was breast-feeding that helped her maintain her super-hot post-baby figure.
"Some people [in the United States] think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?' I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months."Although she claimed her eight-hour labor “didn’t hurt in the slightest,” Gisele prepared herself for the event by meditating and adhering to a strict exercise plan.
“You want to go into the most intense physical experience of your life unprepared? That doesn't make any sense to me. I was ready and I thought OK, let's get to work'. I wasn't expecting someone else to get the baby out of me … I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week.'Ah, so that’s how she did it! Approach your pregnancy with a drill-sergeant-like focus, and you, too, can model swimwear six weeks after giving birth.
After some backlash for the previous comments, this was posted on Gisele's blog:
Since Gisele became mother, the Top model has been outspoken when expressing her feelings about motherhood and life. In a recent interview for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK, Gisele talked about the importance of breastfeeding in the first months of a child’s life. Now, Gisele writes first-hand on the impact caused by the comment.
My intention in making a comment about the importance of breastfeeding has nothing to do with the law. It comes from my passion and beliefs about children. Becoming a new mom has brought a lot of questions, I feel like I am in a constant search for answers on what might be the best for my child. It’s unfortunate that in an interview sometimes things can seem so black and white. I am sure if I would just be sitting talking about my experiences with other mothers, we would just be sharing opinions. I understand that everyone has their own experience and opinions and I am not here to judge. I believe that bringing a life into this world is the single most important thing a person can undertake and it can also be the most challenging. I think as mothers we are all just trying our best.
One more reason not to induce
Babies born six weeks prematurely are 40 times as likely as full-term infants to suffer respiratory distress syndrome, a new study reports.
Ten percent of the premature infants experienced the syndrome, the study found, compared with less than half of 1 percent of full-term babies.
In respiratory distress syndrome, the tiny air sacs of the infant’s lungs do not fully open because of a lack of surface lubricant, making breathing difficult. It is one of the most common complications of late preterm deliveries, defined as those that take place after 34 weeks and before 37 weeks of gestation.
The risk of respiratory problems decreased with each additional week of pregnancy, the researchers also found.
Babies born after 36 weeks were only nine times as likely as full-term babies to develop the syndrome, while those born at 37 weeks were at three times the risk. The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last week, is one of the largest and most current to examine respiratory problems associated with late preterm births.
“The pulmonary system is the last system to develop in the fetus,” said Dr. Judith U. Hibbard of the University of Illinois and the paper’s lead author. “Obstetricians need to make every effort not to deliver a baby until 39 weeks unless there is a good medical reason.”
New research on even more benefits of breastfeeding
New article up from the New York Times detailing the latest research in the benefits of breastfeeding.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis are studying the individual components of breastmilk to determine their specific functions. They have found that the sugars in human milk contain a specific microbe that helps line the intestinal walls of an infant and help ward off disease.
This particular strain of bacterium, a subspecies of Bifidobacterium longum, protects infants from others strains of bacteria that would make an infant ill. Humans do not naturally process the sugars, which make up about 21% of breastmilk, but the bacteria is specially designed to do just that.
They have also found that harmful bacteria will bind to the sugars in breastmilk and will then be flushed out of the baby's system as waste.
“Everything in milk costs the mother — she is literally dissolving her own tissues to make it,” said Dr. Bruce German, “Finding that [milk] selectively stimulates the growth of specific bacteria, which are in turn protective of the infant, let us see the genius of the strategy — mothers are recruiting another life-form to baby-sit their baby.”
The research also suggests what breastfeeding advocates have been striving toward for decades, that mother's milk could be extremely beneficial to premature babies. They also suggest it may be good for the elderly.
Dr. David Mills noted that each component of breastmilk may hold biological significance, updating the previous notion that some elements just pass through with no effect. His quote finishes the article: “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed.”
Researchers at the University of California, Davis are studying the individual components of breastmilk to determine their specific functions. They have found that the sugars in human milk contain a specific microbe that helps line the intestinal walls of an infant and help ward off disease.
This particular strain of bacterium, a subspecies of Bifidobacterium longum, protects infants from others strains of bacteria that would make an infant ill. Humans do not naturally process the sugars, which make up about 21% of breastmilk, but the bacteria is specially designed to do just that.
They have also found that harmful bacteria will bind to the sugars in breastmilk and will then be flushed out of the baby's system as waste.
“Everything in milk costs the mother — she is literally dissolving her own tissues to make it,” said Dr. Bruce German, “Finding that [milk] selectively stimulates the growth of specific bacteria, which are in turn protective of the infant, let us see the genius of the strategy — mothers are recruiting another life-form to baby-sit their baby.”
The research also suggests what breastfeeding advocates have been striving toward for decades, that mother's milk could be extremely beneficial to premature babies. They also suggest it may be good for the elderly.
Dr. David Mills noted that each component of breastmilk may hold biological significance, updating the previous notion that some elements just pass through with no effect. His quote finishes the article: “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed.”
Lessons from a Reservation Hospital
I found an article on this amazing hospital from this past March on the Pushed Birth blog. The Tuba City hospital is small and impoverished, yet it has significantly better birth outcomes than the majority of maternity wards in the U.S. It's cesarean rate is 13.7%, less than half that of the national average and in line with the WHO recommended rate. It also has offered women the option of having a VBAC for decades and with excellent outcomes.
"Tuba City ...with about 500 births a year, could probably teach the rest of the country a few things about obstetrical care. But matching its success would require sweeping, fundamental changes in medical practice, like allowing midwives to handle more deliveries and removing the profit motive for performing surgery," the Times writes.
Doctors and midwives have salaried pay, stripping the incentive to cram more patients in and perform more unnecessary and costly procedures. The hospital receives its insurance coverage from the federal government and as such is more likely to opt for less expensive, and less invasive techniques. At least in terms of birth, those simple and inexpensive methods--massage, words of encouragement, staying at the woman's side for the entirety of labor, encouraging a woman to move, having a tub available in birthing rooms--return significantly better outcomes for the majority of women.
Read the full Times article here.
"Tuba City ...with about 500 births a year, could probably teach the rest of the country a few things about obstetrical care. But matching its success would require sweeping, fundamental changes in medical practice, like allowing midwives to handle more deliveries and removing the profit motive for performing surgery," the Times writes.
Doctors and midwives have salaried pay, stripping the incentive to cram more patients in and perform more unnecessary and costly procedures. The hospital receives its insurance coverage from the federal government and as such is more likely to opt for less expensive, and less invasive techniques. At least in terms of birth, those simple and inexpensive methods--massage, words of encouragement, staying at the woman's side for the entirety of labor, encouraging a woman to move, having a tub available in birthing rooms--return significantly better outcomes for the majority of women.
"Birth is a joyous affair here, and the entire family — from children to great-grandparents — often go to the delivery room... Linda Higgins, the head of midwifery at Tuba City, said: 'All of a sudden Mom is surrounded by women, and they’re all helping her and touching her.'
As a result, many young women have already seen children born by the time they become pregnant, and birth seems natural to them, not frightening."
We can learn a lot from this small hospital, both in practice and in the perception of birth in our society. With the change in ACOG statements about the safety of VBACs, the recognition that our cesarean rate has shown no signs of decreasing to the detriment of mothers and babies, and the recent push for legislative reform covering more birthing options, there is hope the methods of the Tuba City hospital are echoed in hospitals across the country.Read the full Times article here.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Victory for midwives: The Midwifery Modernization Act passed
WAY TO GO NEW YORK!
The Midwifery Modernization Act passed unanimously in the New York State Congress and received Gov. Patterson's signature.
The bill was quickly pushed through the New York State Assembly following the recent near demise of midwifery and homebirth in New York City. The previous piece of legislation concerning midwifery required certified midwives to have the written practice agreements (WPA) with an obstetrician in order to practice in the state. In New York City, the only OBs willing to enter into this agreement were to be found at St. Vincent's Hospital, which shut its doors this past March.
The Midwifery Modernization Act removes the need for a WPA, allowing midwives to practice independently as primary care providers. It recognizes them as the qualified care providers they are and not just as second rate specialists for a fringe movement.
Under the new law, midwives may continue to refer women to obstetricians, gynecologist, or physicians when necessary, but this is on a as-needed basis--just the same as your regular physician refers you to any other specialist. This is the standard of care in countries where midwifery care is the norm for pregnancy and birth related matters and has a record of being a safe and cost-effective means of care. In fact, under this model, countries such as The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway have better maternal and fetal outcomes than the United States where only 1% of births are attended by midwives.
This is also a victory for mothers in New York who now have more options in deciding where and with whom to give birth, an option that should be available to all women without political barriers.
The Midwifery Modernization Act passed unanimously in the New York State Congress and received Gov. Patterson's signature.
The bill was quickly pushed through the New York State Assembly following the recent near demise of midwifery and homebirth in New York City. The previous piece of legislation concerning midwifery required certified midwives to have the written practice agreements (WPA) with an obstetrician in order to practice in the state. In New York City, the only OBs willing to enter into this agreement were to be found at St. Vincent's Hospital, which shut its doors this past March.
The Midwifery Modernization Act removes the need for a WPA, allowing midwives to practice independently as primary care providers. It recognizes them as the qualified care providers they are and not just as second rate specialists for a fringe movement.
Under the new law, midwives may continue to refer women to obstetricians, gynecologist, or physicians when necessary, but this is on a as-needed basis--just the same as your regular physician refers you to any other specialist. This is the standard of care in countries where midwifery care is the norm for pregnancy and birth related matters and has a record of being a safe and cost-effective means of care. In fact, under this model, countries such as The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway have better maternal and fetal outcomes than the United States where only 1% of births are attended by midwives.
This is also a victory for mothers in New York who now have more options in deciding where and with whom to give birth, an option that should be available to all women without political barriers.
New Examiner Article Up: Top 5 reasons NOT to induce
The following are some common occurrences associated with labors that are medically induced--through drugs such as Pitocin, Cytotec (or Misoprostol), and/or the artificial rupturing of the membranes (AROM)--as well as a number of common misconceptions. They do not happen 100% of the time, and there may be several medical indicators which suggest induction is the best option for the health of mother and baby. However, the rates of inductions in the U.S. have skyrocketed while our infant mortality rates not improved and maternal mortality rates have actually increased.
This article is not meant to scare any woman out of having an induction, or to judge anyone for having chosen to have one. Instead, this article is meant to be informative, and to urge women to educate themselves on the benefits and risks of non-medically indicated inductions in addition to other options and alternatives in childbirth. If your primary care provider is urging you to induce, make sure to ask him or her what indicators for needing an induction are present and what your options are. Make sure to inform yourself the risks and benefits of induction from more than one reliable source before making a decision. The following may be a useful place to start...
Read the rest of the article here.
This article is not meant to scare any woman out of having an induction, or to judge anyone for having chosen to have one. Instead, this article is meant to be informative, and to urge women to educate themselves on the benefits and risks of non-medically indicated inductions in addition to other options and alternatives in childbirth. If your primary care provider is urging you to induce, make sure to ask him or her what indicators for needing an induction are present and what your options are. Make sure to inform yourself the risks and benefits of induction from more than one reliable source before making a decision. The following may be a useful place to start...
Read the rest of the article here.
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