Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Is internal podalic version a lost art?
Is internal podalic version a lost art? Optimum mode of delivery in transverse lie. Chauhan AR, Singhal TT, Raut VS - J Postgrad Med
Internal Podalic Version (IPV) is an ancient procedure and was extensively practised by Hippocrates, who recommended cephalic version for all presentations other than the head.[1] Aetius, Celsus and others at different times pointed out the fallacies of the Hippocratic teaching and the advantages of podalic version. Supported by Galen, IPV continued to be in favour till the sixteenth century. IPV had a revival that was initiated by Ambroise Pare (1510-90).[2] Pare was the first to describe clearly and to point out the possibilities and the advantages of podalic version. About a hundred years later, an alteration in the technique of the operation was suggested by Portal – the bringing down of one leg instead of both, as was the custom up till then.[2]
In modern obstetrics, caesarean section is the method of choice for the delivery of babies in transverse lie, and IPV is performed less frequently. While this is true in most cases, does IPV still have a role to play in modern obstetrics, or is it indeed a lost art?
There has been a drastic decrease in the number of IPVs performed on babies with transverse lie in the past decade. Hence, this study was carried to evaluate the changing trend in the mode of delivery of transverse lie, maternal and neonatal outcomes with respect to the mode of delivery and whether IPV has a role to play in the management of second twin.
Internal Podalic Version (IPV) is an ancient procedure and was extensively practised by Hippocrates, who recommended cephalic version for all presentations other than the head.[1] Aetius, Celsus and others at different times pointed out the fallacies of the Hippocratic teaching and the advantages of podalic version. Supported by Galen, IPV continued to be in favour till the sixteenth century. IPV had a revival that was initiated by Ambroise Pare (1510-90).[2] Pare was the first to describe clearly and to point out the possibilities and the advantages of podalic version. About a hundred years later, an alteration in the technique of the operation was suggested by Portal – the bringing down of one leg instead of both, as was the custom up till then.[2]
In modern obstetrics, caesarean section is the method of choice for the delivery of babies in transverse lie, and IPV is performed less frequently. While this is true in most cases, does IPV still have a role to play in modern obstetrics, or is it indeed a lost art?
There has been a drastic decrease in the number of IPVs performed on babies with transverse lie in the past decade. Hence, this study was carried to evaluate the changing trend in the mode of delivery of transverse lie, maternal and neonatal outcomes with respect to the mode of delivery and whether IPV has a role to play in the management of second twin.
Hand Presentation / Prolapsed Hand: UK Midwifery Archives
Hand Presentation / Prolapsed Hand: UK Midwifery Archives
A rare and potentially disastrous complication, managed successfully at a home birth.
"The waters broke and the arm dangled out. I didn't pull on the arm but tried to locate a cephalic pp (presenting part) without success. What to do? I went through the options and and decided to treat as a cord prolapse and got the woman to turn on all fours. This wasn't straightforward as she has a disability. Yet she did get there and then it flashed into my mind after a short prayer to locate the lower limb if possible and do an internal podalic version. This was done between contractions and then with legs and body dangling with the next push a gentle breech extraction was performed of a 2.3kgs baby boy."
A rare and potentially disastrous complication, managed successfully at a home birth.
"The waters broke and the arm dangled out. I didn't pull on the arm but tried to locate a cephalic pp (presenting part) without success. What to do? I went through the options and and decided to treat as a cord prolapse and got the woman to turn on all fours. This wasn't straightforward as she has a disability. Yet she did get there and then it flashed into my mind after a short prayer to locate the lower limb if possible and do an internal podalic version. This was done between contractions and then with legs and body dangling with the next push a gentle breech extraction was performed of a 2.3kgs baby boy."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Laboring to save home births | csmonitor.com
Laboring to save home births | csmonitor.com: "Midwife Diane Goslin’s farmhouse office bustles with activity this summer morning. Horse drawn buggies line the driveway, while pregnant women line the waiting room inside – their hair tucked into bonnets, their dark dresses covered by black aprons.
A mother expecting her 11th child arrives with her daughter, who is expecting her first. Women do mending as toddlers scoot around their ankles. Childhood friends reunite, chattering in Pennsylvania Dutch. Sisters shriek with laughter at the unexpected sight of their expectant aunt."...
The world of medicine, for Goslin, is no enemy. Raised in an extended family of doctors, and the mother of a physician as well, she became interested in home birth, she explains, when a hospital-acquired infection she sustained at the birth of her oldest child left her infertile.
In the Amish farmhouses of this rolling hill country, Goslin is considered family. For some women, she’s delivered a dozen babies. And, in Goslin’s own time of need, this community rallied to help – a departure for the reticent Amish who generally refuse to be photographed or be quoted by name. But on behalf of their midwife, they protested at the state capitol, staged benefits and teas, and filed an amicus brief.
An Amish mother expecting her sixth child recalls how Goslin strapped her birthing supplies on a toboggan and walked uphill to her farm when the road was impassible one winter. "I didn't even think to be worried. I figured she'd get here. She always does."
A mother expecting her 11th child arrives with her daughter, who is expecting her first. Women do mending as toddlers scoot around their ankles. Childhood friends reunite, chattering in Pennsylvania Dutch. Sisters shriek with laughter at the unexpected sight of their expectant aunt."...
The world of medicine, for Goslin, is no enemy. Raised in an extended family of doctors, and the mother of a physician as well, she became interested in home birth, she explains, when a hospital-acquired infection she sustained at the birth of her oldest child left her infertile.
Seven years later and about to begin medical school herself, Goslin learned that -- in spite of her diagnosis -- she was pregnant and decided against medical school."I wanted to raise my miracle baby myself," she says. She delivered with a midwife and, believing that such care shouldn't be solely a counter cultural option, began to apprentice with a midwife...
In the Amish farmhouses of this rolling hill country, Goslin is considered family. For some women, she’s delivered a dozen babies. And, in Goslin’s own time of need, this community rallied to help – a departure for the reticent Amish who generally refuse to be photographed or be quoted by name. But on behalf of their midwife, they protested at the state capitol, staged benefits and teas, and filed an amicus brief.
An Amish mother expecting her sixth child recalls how Goslin strapped her birthing supplies on a toboggan and walked uphill to her farm when the road was impassible one winter. "I didn't even think to be worried. I figured she'd get here. She always does."
Friday, November 07, 2008
Hospital sends wrong baby home
FOXNews.com - It's a Girl... No Wait, Hospital Sends Mom Home With Boy Instead - : "A woman who gave birth to a baby girl had the shock of her life when she went home from the hospital and changed the baby's diaper for the first time — and discovered nurses had given her a boy instead."
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Patient undergoing C-section dies - The Boston Globe
Patient undergoing C-section dies - The Boston Globe:
"The mother died Friday, and the baby experienced complications but appears to be improving, Dr. Kenneth Sands, the hospital's senior vice president of healthcare quality, said in a brief statement.
The risk of death from a caesarean section is estimated at fewer than 1 in 2,500, according to information on the hospital's website.
That is significantly more than the roughly 1-in-10,000 risk of death during a vaginal birth.
CAREY GOLDBERG
� Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company."
"The mother died Friday, and the baby experienced complications but appears to be improving, Dr. Kenneth Sands, the hospital's senior vice president of healthcare quality, said in a brief statement.
The risk of death from a caesarean section is estimated at fewer than 1 in 2,500, according to information on the hospital's website.
That is significantly more than the roughly 1-in-10,000 risk of death during a vaginal birth.
CAREY GOLDBERG
� Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company."
Cesarean Section Quadruples The Risk Of Maternal Death
Cesarean section qudruples the risk o f maternal death
"CESAREAN SECTION QUADRUPLES THE RISK OF MATERNAL DEATH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2003
Contact: Rae Davies, Executive Director Phone: (888) 282-CIMS Fax: (904) 285-2120 E-mail: info@motherfriendly.org
The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services views with alarm a recent study showing that U.S. women having cesarean sections are four times more likely to die compared with women having vaginal births.1 Investigators reported a maternal death rate of 36 per 100,000 cesarean operations versus 9 per 100,000 vaginal births. This is the difference attributable to the surgery itself, not any complications that might have led to the need for surgery. Based on calculations of what constitutes a reasonable cesarean rate versus the actual U.S. cesarean rate,* 135 women die every year as a result of having surgery they did not need.
Moreover, the difference in mortality rates between cesarean section and vaginal birth is almost certainly larger than it appears. Investigators only considered deaths occurring up to 1 year after delivery. Some surgically-related deaths—scar tissue causing a twisted bowel, for example—may occur after the 1-year cut-off.
In a press release entitled “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Cesarean Delivery,” the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offered the theory that cesarean section benefits mothers by protecting against pelvic floor prolapse as a counterbalance to the fact that it was associated with an increased maternal death rate.2 The research, however, does not support this theory. While some studies do report a short-term benefit with cesarean section for a few women,3 none find long-term differences in symptoms resulting from pelvic floor weakness or injury to maternal tissues.3-7 Other studies report considerable percentages of women with urinary or bowel problems in the early weeks and months after cesarean surgery.8-9
The finding that cesarean section offers no long-term advantages holds true even without taking into account that many features of standard obstetric management cause or contribute to weakness or damage, and the use of these features could be greatly reduced or eliminated. These include episiotomy, fundal pressure (pushing down on the woman’s belly to expel the baby), vacuum extraction, forceps delivery, and how and in what positions women are directed to push.10 Indeed, the ACOG press release acknowledges that vaginal instrumental delivery produces the worst results. Epidural analgesia also contributes indirectly by increasing the need for vaginal instrumental delivery and episiotomy.11-12 Had women birthing vaginally received optimal care, the incidence of pelvic floor laxity and genital injury would likely have been much smaller.
CIMS contends that reducing the use of injurious practices would do far more to improve maternal health and well-being than substituting major abdominal surgery. Increased risk of maternal death is but one of the many hazards of cesarean section. (See CIMS fact sheet, The Risks of Cesarean Delivery to Mother and Baby.)
*The 2002 cesarean rate was 26%. This means that about one million of the 4 million U.S. women giving birth every year have cesarean sections.13 The World Health Organization recommends no more than a 10% to 15% cesarean rate.14 If the U.S. cesarean rate were halved, 500,000 fewer women annually would have had cesarean sections. The death rate among them would have been 9 per 100,000 (45 women) rather than 36 per 100,000 (180 women) – a difference of 135 lives. {the present cesarean rate in the US is 33.1%}"
"CESAREAN SECTION QUADRUPLES THE RISK OF MATERNAL DEATH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2003
Contact: Rae Davies, Executive Director Phone: (888) 282-CIMS Fax: (904) 285-2120 E-mail: info@motherfriendly.org
The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services views with alarm a recent study showing that U.S. women having cesarean sections are four times more likely to die compared with women having vaginal births.1 Investigators reported a maternal death rate of 36 per 100,000 cesarean operations versus 9 per 100,000 vaginal births. This is the difference attributable to the surgery itself, not any complications that might have led to the need for surgery. Based on calculations of what constitutes a reasonable cesarean rate versus the actual U.S. cesarean rate,* 135 women die every year as a result of having surgery they did not need.
Moreover, the difference in mortality rates between cesarean section and vaginal birth is almost certainly larger than it appears. Investigators only considered deaths occurring up to 1 year after delivery. Some surgically-related deaths—scar tissue causing a twisted bowel, for example—may occur after the 1-year cut-off.
In a press release entitled “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Cesarean Delivery,” the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offered the theory that cesarean section benefits mothers by protecting against pelvic floor prolapse as a counterbalance to the fact that it was associated with an increased maternal death rate.2 The research, however, does not support this theory. While some studies do report a short-term benefit with cesarean section for a few women,3 none find long-term differences in symptoms resulting from pelvic floor weakness or injury to maternal tissues.3-7 Other studies report considerable percentages of women with urinary or bowel problems in the early weeks and months after cesarean surgery.8-9
The finding that cesarean section offers no long-term advantages holds true even without taking into account that many features of standard obstetric management cause or contribute to weakness or damage, and the use of these features could be greatly reduced or eliminated. These include episiotomy, fundal pressure (pushing down on the woman’s belly to expel the baby), vacuum extraction, forceps delivery, and how and in what positions women are directed to push.10 Indeed, the ACOG press release acknowledges that vaginal instrumental delivery produces the worst results. Epidural analgesia also contributes indirectly by increasing the need for vaginal instrumental delivery and episiotomy.11-12 Had women birthing vaginally received optimal care, the incidence of pelvic floor laxity and genital injury would likely have been much smaller.
CIMS contends that reducing the use of injurious practices would do far more to improve maternal health and well-being than substituting major abdominal surgery. Increased risk of maternal death is but one of the many hazards of cesarean section. (See CIMS fact sheet, The Risks of Cesarean Delivery to Mother and Baby.)
*The 2002 cesarean rate was 26%. This means that about one million of the 4 million U.S. women giving birth every year have cesarean sections.13 The World Health Organization recommends no more than a 10% to 15% cesarean rate.14 If the U.S. cesarean rate were halved, 500,000 fewer women annually would have had cesarean sections. The death rate among them would have been 9 per 100,000 (45 women) rather than 36 per 100,000 (180 women) – a difference of 135 lives. {the present cesarean rate in the US is 33.1%}"
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Brewer Diet Registry USA
Registry II: "A List of Pro-Brewer Doulas, Midwives, Physicians, and Teachers"
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Birthing Options - Traditional Midwifery Care
Birthing Options - Traditional Midwifery Care: "They told me babies
should not be held;
It would spoil them
and make them cry.
I wished to do what is
best for them.
And the years went
swiftly by.
Now empty are
my yearning arms:
No more that
thrill sublime.
If I had my babies
back again,
I'd hold them all the time."
should not be held;
It would spoil them
and make them cry.
I wished to do what is
best for them.
And the years went
swiftly by.
Now empty are
my yearning arms:
No more that
thrill sublime.
If I had my babies
back again,
I'd hold them all the time."
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Maybe Pregnant mammas CAN eat Canned Fish!
Powerful New Salvo In The Fish Wars: "This important study, set for publication next week in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is just the latest sign that activist groups like Oceana, the Environmental Working Group, and the Sea Turtle Restoration Project are dead wrong about the supposed health threat from trace levels of mercury in fish.
The research team, led by Harvard’s Dr. Emily Oken, wrote:
The research team, led by Harvard’s Dr. Emily Oken, wrote:
“The 28 mothers (8 percent) who reported eating canned tuna at least twice weekly had children with higher scores … compared with the 130 mothers (38 percent) who reported never eating tuna fish” while pregnant."“We next examined maternal fish intake and mercury levels simultaneously … Children whose mothers consumed more than two weekly fish servings and whose mercury levels were in the top decile also had somewhat higher scores, whereas children of mothers who consumed up to two weekly servings of fish and had mercury levels in the top decile had somewhat lower scores.” [emphasis added]
Translation: Among mothers with the highest mercury levels, those who ate the most fish (more than two servings per week) had children who performed above average on cognitive tests. High-mercury moms who ate less fish were the ones whose kids appear to be at a disadvantage. The key appears to be tuna. The most maligned fish in the sea, it turns out, is actually a comparatively low-mercury choice. We found as much in our 2006 fish-testing reports (see page 7 here, and page 10 here).
“Science doesn’t lie. Pregnant women who frequently eat canned tuna are having brainier children than those who don’t. Green groups have been demonizing tuna for years. Now it looks like they’ve been causing the very harm they sought to prevent.”
Birth Trauma Myths
Joyous Birth - The Australian Homebirth Network:
MYTH 4: Just concentrate on your healthy baby, and get over it, can also be: You’ll forget all about it as soon as you see your baby.
FACT: If you are raped, being given a present at the end of it doesn’t wipe out the rape. It may give you very ambivalent feelings about the gift but it doesn’t somehow cure you of the trauma and to suggest that women are so facile and stupid is offensive indeed. What this usually means is that the person speaking is uncomfortable with the pain they see visible in the woman and wish she would stop making them feel that way.Facing off a Butcher | The Daily Telegraph
Facing off a Butcher | The Daily Telegraph: "RALLIES are being held around Australia today by women fighting for justice against former doctor Graeme Reeves, dubbed the Butcher of Bega.
Women, including victims, will protest outside Parliament House over the health system's inaction on Reeves, who allegedly mutilated and sexually abused hundreds.
And more nurses who worked with the doctor are breaking their silence."
Women, including victims, will protest outside Parliament House over the health system's inaction on Reeves, who allegedly mutilated and sexually abused hundreds.
And more nurses who worked with the doctor are breaking their silence."
Women have taken their rage to Facebook, setting up a club site called "Hang the Butcher of Bega".
The site has spread the message about today's rallies, organised by the Joyous Birth Network. It has 86 members.
The Many Faces of MRSA: Community-Acquired Infection Knows No Bounds
Annals of Emergency Medicine:
A Breeding Ground?
Jevons’ finding ushered in several decades in which methicillin-resistant staph became a feared nosocomial pathogen. It sparked ferocious outbreaks in critical care units: In 1980, in just one example, a burn patient transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle transmitted MRSA to 34 other patients in 15 months despite the staff’s best efforts at infection control, and 17 of the patients died.3 That outbreak also signaled how formidably resistant the hospital strain of staph would become: the original patient’s isolate was resistant to quinolones, clindamycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim, and gentamicin in addition to the beta-lactams.
The new prevalence of CA-MRSA poses additional challenges for ED staff. Hospital-acquired-MRSA became endemic in hospitals through simple failures in infection control; several studies in the past decade have demonstrated that EDs’ record of hand-washing is poor.34, 35, 36 The risks of poor hygiene in an ED are likely to be exacerbated not only by ED stress and crowding, but also by MRSA’s known ability to remain viable on hospital surfaces—in one study, for more than 12 days.37
And if EDs become amplifiers of CA-MRSA, it may not only be patients who are at risk. Last year, a Garland, TX firefighter and emergency medical technician died of invasive MRSA,38 and a Troy, NY firefighter/EMT was temporarily disabled by extensive soft tissue infection.39 In 2005, this journal carried a report of an emergency medicine resident with recurrent MRSA infection that might have been occupationally acquired.40
CA-MRSA “is here to stay,” Moran said, who hopes to repeat the EmergencyID Net study this year to see whether prevalence continues to increase or has plateaued. “It has become the new normal. There is something about these strains that gives them a survival advantage, and I don’t think we will see that go away.”
What happens when an infant gets a staph infection in the hospital that is resistant to drugs?
A Breeding Ground?
Jevons’ finding ushered in several decades in which methicillin-resistant staph became a feared nosocomial pathogen. It sparked ferocious outbreaks in critical care units: In 1980, in just one example, a burn patient transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle transmitted MRSA to 34 other patients in 15 months despite the staff’s best efforts at infection control, and 17 of the patients died.3 That outbreak also signaled how formidably resistant the hospital strain of staph would become: the original patient’s isolate was resistant to quinolones, clindamycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim, and gentamicin in addition to the beta-lactams.
The new prevalence of CA-MRSA poses additional challenges for ED staff. Hospital-acquired-MRSA became endemic in hospitals through simple failures in infection control; several studies in the past decade have demonstrated that EDs’ record of hand-washing is poor.34, 35, 36 The risks of poor hygiene in an ED are likely to be exacerbated not only by ED stress and crowding, but also by MRSA’s known ability to remain viable on hospital surfaces—in one study, for more than 12 days.37
And if EDs become amplifiers of CA-MRSA, it may not only be patients who are at risk. Last year, a Garland, TX firefighter and emergency medical technician died of invasive MRSA,38 and a Troy, NY firefighter/EMT was temporarily disabled by extensive soft tissue infection.39 In 2005, this journal carried a report of an emergency medicine resident with recurrent MRSA infection that might have been occupationally acquired.40
CA-MRSA “is here to stay,” Moran said, who hopes to repeat the EmergencyID Net study this year to see whether prevalence continues to increase or has plateaued. “It has become the new normal. There is something about these strains that gives them a survival advantage, and I don’t think we will see that go away.”
What happens when an infant gets a staph infection in the hospital that is resistant to drugs?
Women in labour turned away by maternity units | Society | The Guardian
Women in labour turned away by maternity units | Society | The Guardian: "Women in labour are being refused entry to overstretched maternity units and told to give birth elsewhere, NHS hospitals admitted yesterday in response to an application under the Freedom of Information Act. They disclosed that maternity wards in almost 10% of trusts closed their doors to new admissions on at least 10 days last year. One trust in North Yorkshire closed 39 times between October and January because it did not have enough staff to provide a safe service.
The NHS encourages mothers planning a hospital delivery to make a booking early in pregnancy and get to know about the facilities during regular check-ups with a midwife. Most mothers discuss a birth plan with a consultant obstetrician, including choice of pain relief.
These preparations are made on the assumption that the hospital will have enough capacity to deal with unpredictable peaks in demand when women go into labour. But information disclosed to the Conservative party under the FoI Act showed 42% of trusts could not get through last year without turning women away at least once."
The NHS encourages mothers planning a hospital delivery to make a booking early in pregnancy and get to know about the facilities during regular check-ups with a midwife. Most mothers discuss a birth plan with a consultant obstetrician, including choice of pain relief.
These preparations are made on the assumption that the hospital will have enough capacity to deal with unpredictable peaks in demand when women go into labour. But information disclosed to the Conservative party under the FoI Act showed 42% of trusts could not get through last year without turning women away at least once."
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
SARAH -Wife of Abraham
Ultimate Example of True Femininity 1 Peter 3:1-6
The ultimate example of true femininity.
The ultimate example of true femininity.
1Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
6Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Bearing Children
Bearing Children:
"'Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.'
(Psalm 127:3-5)."
"'Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.'
(Psalm 127:3-5)."
Thursday, March 20, 2008
ICAN-online : ICAN
ICAN-online : ICAN: "The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) email list is an online support group for anyone wishing to discuss birth and cesarean issues. Topics of discussion frequently include how to avoid an unnecessary cesarean, preparing for VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), healing and grieving from a difficult or traumatic previous birth, how to find a caregiver who is supportive of vaginal birth and VBAC, informed consent, childbirth education, the role of doulas and midwives, birth stories, etc. The list is made up primarily of mothers, in addition to some doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, and occasionally fathers. You can choose to receive all messages posted to the group as individual emails, or grouped together in digests. When you join the list, please offer an introduction to the group, perhaps through telling your birth stories or explaining your interest in ICAN. We look forward to chatting with you!"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Byron J. Richards -- Big Brother Eyeing Expectant Mothers
Branding Pregnancy as Mental Illness
By Byron J. Richards, CCN
March 13, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
The Mothers Act is pending legislation that will indoctrinate hundreds of thousands of mothers into taking dangerous psych drugs. It is a great example of how the Big Pharma lobby controls Congress to the detriment of health, as well as needlessly and dramatically inflating the costs of our health care system for everyone. Like any piece of legislation it purports to address a troubling issue – in this case the mood distress of mothers following birth known as postpartum depression. It is true that 10% - 15% of women need some assistance in dealing with this topic – but the majority of them sure don’t need it from Big Pharma. That is the Big Lie.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Dennis Quaid and Wife Find Twins nearly killed by Hosptial(VIDEO)
Dennis Quaid reccounts his newborn twins' drug overdose
Quaid states, "We all have this inherent thing that we trust doctor and nurses, that they know what they're doing. But the mistake occurred right under our noses...
The nurse didn't bother to look at the dosage on the bottle. There were 10 units that our kids were supposed to get and they got 10,000 which basically turned their blood to the consistency of water.
Complete inability to clot. They were basically bleeding out.
But the hosptial never called the Quaids and they didn't know anything until they went to the hospital room early the next morning and went to the twins' room.
"Blood splattered about six feet and landed on the wall. There was blood everywhere."
"Two massive, overdoses, a thousand times what they should have over an 8 hour period, that we know of."
Quaid states, "We all have this inherent thing that we trust doctor and nurses, that they know what they're doing. But the mistake occurred right under our noses...
The nurse didn't bother to look at the dosage on the bottle. There were 10 units that our kids were supposed to get and they got 10,000 which basically turned their blood to the consistency of water.
Complete inability to clot. They were basically bleeding out.
But the hosptial never called the Quaids and they didn't know anything until they went to the hospital room early the next morning and went to the twins' room.
"Blood splattered about six feet and landed on the wall. There was blood everywhere."
"Two massive, overdoses, a thousand times what they should have over an 8 hour period, that we know of."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Trust Birth Initiative -- Become a Facilitator
The Trust Birth Initiative -- Become a Facilitator: "I have spent a lot of time thinking about the meaning of the trust part of TRUST BIRTH. Trust cannot be defined apart from faith. Because I have faith that we are made to give birth and were designed by someone much smarter than we are, I can trust that birth was meant to work. My own trust in birth is very much a part of who I am, my faith in God, and what I believe about trust and truth and purpose. Joining the Trust Birth Initiative may have no spiritual connotation for you, but I had an epiphany that brought it all into clear focus for me.
As you may already know, I am working on a book entitled Coming Home to Birth. In addition to many of your stories, I will tell my own story of how I went from being a naive, uneducated compliant patient one moment, whose only preparation had been to read Having A Baby Can Be A Scream, by Joan Rivers ——— to being a bold, determined, and very vocal woman who threatened physical harm to my obstetrician if he came close to me with anything sharper than a piece of paper. That change did not happen over months or days or weeks but within a minute. Here is the epiphany: That did not come from me, but from within me. It was already there. We are born trusting. We have to be taught not to. Trust is part of the package. We are obviously designed to give birth. We must have been born to TRUST BIRTH. We have been taught to ignore what we already know. We have been taught that birth is scary and must be left to the experts. We have been taught a pack of lies." - Carla Hartley
As you may already know, I am working on a book entitled Coming Home to Birth. In addition to many of your stories, I will tell my own story of how I went from being a naive, uneducated compliant patient one moment, whose only preparation had been to read Having A Baby Can Be A Scream, by Joan Rivers ——— to being a bold, determined, and very vocal woman who threatened physical harm to my obstetrician if he came close to me with anything sharper than a piece of paper. That change did not happen over months or days or weeks but within a minute. Here is the epiphany: That did not come from me, but from within me. It was already there. We are born trusting. We have to be taught not to. Trust is part of the package. We are obviously designed to give birth. We must have been born to TRUST BIRTH. We have been taught to ignore what we already know. We have been taught that birth is scary and must be left to the experts. We have been taught a pack of lies." - Carla Hartley
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Welcome to Birthing the Easy Way
Welcome to Birthing the Easy Way
Fresh back from Carla Hartley's Trust Birth Confernece, Birthfriend said "Sheila’s book, Birthing the Easy Way is one I highly recommend to clients who are sitting on the fence about homebirth."
Fresh back from Carla Hartley's Trust Birth Confernece, Birthfriend said "Sheila’s book, Birthing the Easy Way is one I highly recommend to clients who are sitting on the fence about homebirth."
Carla Hartley, a hero in the birth community - Birthfriend’s place to ponder
Carla Hartley, a hero in the birth community - Birthfriend’s place to ponder
And for Carla: The chance to finally meet you in person after only getting to know you through email and the phone was unforgettable. I will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifices you and your family have made. History will prove you are truly a woman for our time.
And for Carla: The chance to finally meet you in person after only getting to know you through email and the phone was unforgettable. I will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifices you and your family have made. History will prove you are truly a woman for our time.
A report from one attendee of the Trust Birth Conference
I’m Back from the Trust Birth Conference!: "I got to see the midwife Gail Hart declare “don’t ask for licensing from the state! Forget the State!” (I paraphrase, MAN I wish I could remember exactly what she said, it rocked!)"
Thank you for the report Hathor, most esp. on Gail Hart. That sounds like a midwife to look into...
Thank you for the report Hathor, most esp. on Gail Hart. That sounds like a midwife to look into...
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
ICAN-online : ICAN
ICAN-online : ICAN
The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) email list is an online support group for anyone wishing to discuss birth and cesarean issues. Topics of discussion frequently include how to avoid an unnecessary cesarean, preparing for VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), healing and grieving from a difficult or traumatic previous birth, how to find a caregiver who is supportive of vaginal birth and VBAC, informed consent, childbirth education, the role of doulas and midwives, birth stories, etc. The list is made up primarily of mothers, in addition to some doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, and occasionally fathers. You can choose to receive all messages posted to the group as individual emails, or grouped together in digests. When you join the list, please offer an introduction to the group, perhaps through telling your birth stories or explaining your interest in ICAN. We look forward to chatting with you!
The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) email list is an online support group for anyone wishing to discuss birth and cesarean issues. Topics of discussion frequently include how to avoid an unnecessary cesarean, preparing for VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), healing and grieving from a difficult or traumatic previous birth, how to find a caregiver who is supportive of vaginal birth and VBAC, informed consent, childbirth education, the role of doulas and midwives, birth stories, etc. The list is made up primarily of mothers, in addition to some doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, and occasionally fathers. You can choose to receive all messages posted to the group as individual emails, or grouped together in digests. When you join the list, please offer an introduction to the group, perhaps through telling your birth stories or explaining your interest in ICAN. We look forward to chatting with you!
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Things that make you go "hmmm..."
The Sentinel Online : State: "The board's proposal would define 'midwife' as someone licensed to practice in collaboration with a doctor licensed by the medical board."
Thank you medical god.
Thank you medical god.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Another very sad hospital birth -wedding picture included
Mother to be left unattended dies in hospital after c-section- leaves motherless child| News | This is London: "Medical staff were warned about her condition and a family friend even told a midwife to keep an eye on her in the bath.
But the estate agent was left unattended for 45 minutes and was discovered only when the friend returned from picking up her belongings, an inquest in Nottingham heard.
Coroner Dr Nigel Chapman said he was able only to record an open verdict because of uncertainty over how Mrs Maddi died."
In other words, no one was "with" this mother in labour.
But the estate agent was left unattended for 45 minutes and was discovered only when the friend returned from picking up her belongings, an inquest in Nottingham heard.
Coroner Dr Nigel Chapman said he was able only to record an open verdict because of uncertainty over how Mrs Maddi died."
But when he came back an hour later Mrs Maddi was still in the bathroom with the door locked.
She did not respond to knocking so midwives opened the door and found her submerged under water and not breathing.
Doctors resuscitated her and delivered her baby Jayden but Mrs Maddi later died.
Hospital officials have since admitted there were no official guidelines on whether pregnant women should be left to bathe on their own - but there was the assumption among the midwives on duty that Mrs Maddi would not be left alone during her bath.
The hearing was told Mrs Maddi had written to the hospital saying she was under stress because her mother had died and had warned them the fainting attacks were increasing.
Hospital management have promised to introduce guidelines about the supervision of patients to avoid a repeat of the tragedy.
Mr Maddi, 29, a warehouse worker, has instructed solicitors to take legal action against the hospital trust.
He said after the hearing: "I hope they keep to their word and make the changes, that is all I want now. My son will never know his mother.
"My son might not even have been alive if Paul hadn't come back when he did. I just hope that something-good will come out of losing my wife."
Mr Guthrie added: "The word observation means to watch but obviously Lorraine wasn't watched.
In other words, no one was "with" this mother in labour.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Mothercraft Consulting LLC
The following are notes I took from Janelle's posts at a Virginia birth support group. Janelle is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and stays busy with Mothercraft Consulting LLC
"The only reason I attend birth at home is because it is medically safer." -- Mayer Eisenstein, MD
"Home birth is not noninterventional. they intervene to protect the mother from obstetricians, the baby from pediatricians, and to protect both from the hospital. I regard that as interventionist."
(Hmmmm. Maybe I'm a lot more interventionist than I thought . . . )
(speaking of a homebirth practice) "They don't endanger mothers and babies with dangerous drugs, tests and surgeries. Your chances of death, disability, mental retardation, epilepsy, convulsions and sudden infant death syndrome are far greater in the hospital than at home. IF OBSTETRICIANS ARE GIVING DRUGS TO WOMEN IN LABOR, DOING EPISIOTOMIES, AND HAVE A HIGH RATE OF CESAREAN SECTIONS, THEN THEY ARE NO GOOD" (emphasis mine)
I love it. And I love this book: "The Home Birth Advantage: A Time-honored Tradition for the New Millennium" by Mayer Eisenstein, MD
"The midwife considers the miracle of childbirth as normal, and leaves it alone unless there's trouble. The obstetrician normally sees childbirth as trouble: if he leaves it alone, it's a miracle"
The Home Birth Advantage
"You are a birth helper: you are assisting at someone else's birth. Do good without show or fuss … If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped, yet still free and in charge. When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say, "We did it ourselves". - Dao De Jing, 500 B.C.
"The only reason I attend birth at home is because it is medically safer." -- Mayer Eisenstein, MD
"Home birth is not noninterventional. they intervene to protect the mother from obstetricians, the baby from pediatricians, and to protect both from the hospital. I regard that as interventionist."
(Hmmmm. Maybe I'm a lot more interventionist than I thought . . . )
(speaking of a homebirth practice) "They don't endanger mothers and babies with dangerous drugs, tests and surgeries. Your chances of death, disability, mental retardation, epilepsy, convulsions and sudden infant death syndrome are far greater in the hospital than at home. IF OBSTETRICIANS ARE GIVING DRUGS TO WOMEN IN LABOR, DOING EPISIOTOMIES, AND HAVE A HIGH RATE OF CESAREAN SECTIONS, THEN THEY ARE NO GOOD" (emphasis mine)
I love it. And I love this book: "The Home Birth Advantage: A Time-honored Tradition for the New Millennium" by Mayer Eisenstein, MD
"The midwife considers the miracle of childbirth as normal, and leaves it alone unless there's trouble. The obstetrician normally sees childbirth as trouble: if he leaves it alone, it's a miracle"
The Home Birth Advantage
"You are a birth helper: you are assisting at someone else's birth. Do good without show or fuss … If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped, yet still free and in charge. When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say, "We did it ourselves". - Dao De Jing, 500 B.C.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Prior Successful VBAC Linked to Low Risk for Complications Later
Prior Successful VBAC Linked to Low Risk for Complications Later: "February 8, 2008 — Women with previous successful attempts at vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) are at low risk for maternal and neonatal complications during subsequent VBAC attempts, according to the results of a study reported in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology."
Sunday, January 27, 2008
VeriChip Corporation - Infant "Protection"
VeriChip Corporation - Infant Protection: "The number of total switching incidents is as high as 20,000 per year in the U.S.
- Journal of Healthcare Protection Management"
Instead of this statisic being the foundation of a pro-
"tagging" your infant argument to sell the people on how "good" RFID/National ID, Big Brother "so that we can protect you" etc. etc. is...parents should consider returning to the ancient and safe custom of birth at home.
- Journal of Healthcare Protection Management"
Instead of this statisic being the foundation of a pro-
"tagging" your infant argument to sell the people on how "good" RFID/National ID, Big Brother "so that we can protect you" etc. etc. is...parents should consider returning to the ancient and safe custom of birth at home.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Five Standards for Safe Childbearing - Awesome quote!
Five Standards for Safe Childbearing - Google Book Search
"It is a comment on our times that we, who want childbirth to again become an intimate family affair, filled with the security of one's home and the love and tenderness of one's family, are considered radicals." Doris Haire
"It is a comment on our times that we, who want childbirth to again become an intimate family affair, filled with the security of one's home and the love and tenderness of one's family, are considered radicals." Doris Haire
Excerpts from the 5 Standards of Safe Childbirth
NAPSAC
by David Stewart, PhD:
...Every study published shows midwives to be safer than doctors. Every study. No exceptions. If your physician disagrees with this, challenge him or her to produce the data that supports otherwise. They won't be able to do it. Such data does not and never did exist. In a nutshell, that is the strength of the case for midwifery. It is unanimous.
by David Stewart, PhD:
...Every study published shows midwives to be safer than doctors. Every study. No exceptions. If your physician disagrees with this, challenge him or her to produce the data that supports otherwise. They won't be able to do it. Such data does not and never did exist. In a nutshell, that is the strength of the case for midwifery. It is unanimous.
...In March of 1996, the Kansas State Supreme Court rules that midwifery is a distinct profession. The high court stated that "even if the midwife does something that could be construed as medical practice, it is not medical practice. It is midwifery. An activity is not incident to the practice of medicine just because it is engaged in by the members of the medical profession."
Dr. Stewart says, "Any practitioner who attends birth with an attitude of respect for individuality, support of nature, promoting health, and the preservations of normality by little or no intervention is, by our definition, a "midwife" even though he or she may hold a degree in medical doctoring."
To get a copy of the new, fully updated 1997 "Five Standards for Safe Childbearing" by David Stewart, Ph.D send $16.95, plus $3.00 shipping to NAPSAC, Rt. 1, Box 646, Marble Hill, MO 63764-9725, USA. (make checks payable to NAPSAC International, in US funds) reprints of the Midwifery article are $4.95 each, plus $1.50 shipping, and the Home Birth Chapter is $3.95, plus $1.50 shipping. *I have no financial or any other interest in NAPSAC, except I like the work the Stewarts do!*
Thursday, January 24, 2008
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