Pregnancy

Yes, we're expecting another baby --read more

Any day now I am to be birthing partner to my DSIL. Her husband will be there too, but she wanted some female company, and since I've had one of my own and live in the same city, I fitted the bill!--read more

I have three girls and I'm wondering if there are any tips about how to have a boy next go around. Just for fun.

I appreciated the authors tips and suggestions for buying organic-especially the use of nontoxic cleaning materials which is very important for me as a stay at home mom. Just recently, a friend shared information with me about a local CSA which we plan to join next season.--read more

Hey! We're on the Mother Talk blog tour this time around! I got a chance to read the new book The Complete Organic Pregnancy (scroll down to the bottom for a chance to win a copy) and ask the authors, Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu (should have asked if she was any relation but I bet she gets that a lot), three questions. And here they are:

LS: My readership is inclined to be mostly sympathetic to "organic living," but at some point they often have to draw the line in terms of practicality, most often financial practicality. What is the minimum a mama should do?

DD&AZ: In the book we encourage pregnant moms to transition to a more organic lifestyle. Only they know what is practical for them. We're eager to have them be as organic as they can be but any organic step is a step in the right direction – 20 percent or 100 percent. The initial transition phase, which is really as much of a mental shift as anything, might take a little work. But once you're living organically, the issue of is it practical or not doesn't really come up. It just is. Sure, every once in a while the store might be out of organic milk or recycled toilet paper, so you substitute, or you go back the next day when the stock is replenished. But that's the same for any conventional item as well. All of this is to say we think living organically is as practical as any kind of living. As for the minimum a mama should do, we have a list of steps we keep coming back to because we think they're worth taking to protect the baby during the childbearing year. They're not necessarily in order of importance.

1. Buy non-toxic cleaning products because basically everything conventional is bad for a growing baby and for you. This will help reduce your indoor air pollution considerably. (You can make your own cleaning products for a fraction of the cost with a combination of liquid soap, baking soda, water and white vinegar.) [TNH has tons of articles on just this.--L]

2. Eat an organic, whole foods diet. This refers to eating food as close to the form it comes out of the earth as possible (think potatoes, not potato chips!).

3. Have your house and water tested for lead, particularly if your house was built before 1987. Drink your water out of glass, not plastic, whenever possible.

4. Read the ingredients in your beauty products. Can you pronounce, let alone recognize, what's listed? Our government doesn't (yet) regulate cosmetics as organic which means any producer can claim to be organic. Choose products with fewer and more natural ingredients. We have specific brand suggestions in the book.

5. Don't renovate while pregnant. If you need to make basic changes, especially where the pregnant mother or baby will be sleeping, use zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, and nontoxic wood and glue.

LS: And how much DO finances factor into having an organic pregnancy? Is it possible to do it on a budget?

DD&AZ: Yes! With regard to food, we can't argue that organic beef is cheaper than regular beef. It isn't. Neither are organic beets. But the organic beef and beets (or whatever you're buying organic) didn't involve feeding sludge, antibiotics, hormones or grain to an animal meant to eat grass, or spraying pesticides and herbicides into the world, both of which are priceless. It also didn't involve a farmer having to breathe those pesticides and herbicides which will effect his/her health and the health of his/her family.

That said, here are a few cheaper ways of going organic:

1. Join a local CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. Members support a farm by purchasing "shares" of the harvest, and pay the farmers before the growing season begins so that they have money to farm the land. In return they get a wide variety of vegetables (and sometimes fruit and even meat) during growing season (which depends on where you live). Members also share the risk of things like bad weather and crop damage. For more information, checkout www.localharvest.org .

2. See if any of your local health food stores sell organic grains, nuts, and cereal in bulk versions. They often do. Bulk is always less expensive.

3. Switch to a whole foods diet. This means eating food as close to how it comes out of the earth as possible (think potatoes, not potato chips). Eating whole foods means avoiding processed, packaged foods. These are more expensive than you think. Do a shop avoiding chips, cookies, frozen meals and the like and then check out your grocery bill. You'll save money and, when filling up on whole foods instead, gain nutrients needed for your pregnancy. Really.

4. Make your own nontoxic cleaning products with some combination of liquid soap, vinegar, baking powder, and water. This is arguably cheaper than buying brand name cleaners.

5. Cast iron pans are a lot cheaper than nonstick ones, which are toxic.

6. When setting up your nursery, ask around to friends and family to try to get hand me down clothes, furniture and other essentials. Recycling is always inexpensive. (Just don't take any old mattress; it is likely to contain chemical flame retardants and be wrapped in vinyl, a known carcinogen. We urge you to invest in an organic crib mattress instead.)

7. Buy less stuff. Maternity clothes aren't very useful for long, neither are infant onesies. Wear regular clothes if you can while pregnant (tight is the fashion over a cute bump these days anyway). A baby doesn't actually need very much besides a boob and a diaper.

LS: At one point in the book you describe the best attitude to be one of "defensive living." As crazy as some of us get when we're pregnant, is this really a good posture? Mamas blame themselves so much already for practically everything; does this add potential for yet another layer of blame we can drape over ourselves?

DD&AZ: If you're looking to protect your growing baby, your kids, and yourself from the ridiculous amount of chemicals in the world, defensive living is the way to go. We're not saying it is a great posture, nor is it a layer we're creating. It's just a fact of life. There are over 82,000 man-made chemicals floating around our increasingly polluted world, and the effects of only a fraction of them are tested and understood. The burden of these chemicals on a grown, adult body is disturbing -- just imagine their negative repercussions on the fragile system of a still-developing fetus. There are many aspects of our daily lives we don't have control over, so it makes sense to both of us to make good, organic choices where we can, to minimize this burden on our babies and ourselves. In the book we have 27 diaries on many topics pertaining to what it means to have an organic pregnancy, one of our mom-writers, Florence Williams, writes that being forced to live defensively makes her "furious. As mothers, as consumers, as pregnant women trying our hardest to nurture a little being with ten toes and a high IQ and a decent shot in a complicated world, we were inadvertently siphoning them neurotoxins, carcinogens, and who knows what else (and, believe me, we know very little). None of these products or foodstuffs came with warning labels or ingredient lists." Her fury makes sense to us. And so does erring on the side of caution when it comes to those toes.

I'm going to post an actual review of the book on its page here in a bit; I wanted to get this up first. Thanks to Deirdre and Alexandra for answering questions!

OH HEY ALMOST FORGOT! BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY! Comment on this blog entry with the notation you want to be in the book giveaway and I'll put your name in a hat for two copies of this book! Post by 10/2 and we'll pick two names on 10/3.

I announced on the Flybabies thread that, at my Tuesday midwife appointment, the baby was indeed shown to have a heartbeat. I am now about 12 1/2 weeks along. And Lynn, my prediction came true-- now that I am in the second trimester and have less nausea to distract me, I do notice the burning from the Lovenox shots much more.--read more

Came across this website today on which women post pictures of their pregant and post-pregnant bodies.

www.shapeofamother.blogspot.com/

Interesting antidote to the 'back to perfect body in two weeks' myth that seems to be in the media so much at the moment.--read more

Hi, everybody! I am a new member. I was so excited to find this website. I am a new homemaker and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and have no models. Thank goodness for this site!
I am writing because my husband and I are thinking about getting pregnant again and I wanted to know if any of you have any experience with VBAC.--read more

As far as we can tell everything went like clockwork at the hospital today. Got home around 1 o'clock this afternoon, no post op problems.

The L&D nurses at Providence are the kindest, best people. Turns out I had the same nurse today as I had almost two years ago for the first D&C, lovely woman. They were all so appropriately sympathetic and sensitive. Can't express enough how much that meant to me--having the right words at the right time when grieving is a balm to the soul. God Bless nurses everywhere. Gotta send them a card.--read more

Six months ago today, we learned that our daughter had died at about six months' gestation. Three days later she was born. The ultrasound tech had pronounced her "perfect," the month before, and she was. Perfect and beautiful. Her ashes are still at our house. We have tried to find out if FIL wants them buried in their local cemetery, but he is noncommittal; but we are still concerned that if we bury them in my family's cemetery instead, he will be hurt.--read more

I popped over to check on Susannah today, hadn't "seen" her in awhile and this was posted:

"I think something may be happening here. More later (possibly much later)"

Apparently her due date was yesterday, so keep her in your thoughts and check out her blog.--read more

Imagine a world where a vaccine can prevent cerebral palsy. It might happen. Australian researchers say virus exposure in the womb, rather than medical malpractice, is to blame in most cases of CP:

[A] study of 443 Australian children with cerebral palsy and 883 babies without the condition has found that exposure to viruses before and directly after birth can trigger the disorder, which can affect movement, sight, hearing, perception and learning.

Alastair Maclennan, leader of the South Australian Cerebral Palsy Research Group, which published the work in the British Medical Journal, said the findings proved that cases of cerebral palsy should not be dealt with by courts.

"Judgments are made in total ignorance," he said. "(Cerebral palsy) is very rarely due to birth asphyxia."

The most likely culprits according to the study were herpes group B viruses, including the chicken pox.

This has huge ramifications for obstetrics, for the health of babies, for the medical malpractice insurance industry, and obviously, for malpractice lawyers. Here's hoping it's something we can fix--I'm betting we can.

Categories: malpractice, medicine, insurance, pregnancy, cerebral, palsy, virus, asphyxia

A British study says that pregnant women could reduce osteoporosis for their children later in life if they get enough vitamin D:

[C]hildren whose mothers lacked Vitamin D during pregnancy grow up to have weaker bones. A lack of Vitamin D is common in women of child-bearing age. ... "These findings provide evidence that maternal Vitamin D status during pregnancy influences the bone growth of the offspring," [Professor Cyrus] Cooper said.

So, what do you do? Pregnant or no, you should make sure you get plenty of sunlight. If you live in northern and/or gloomy climes, in the winter you should strongly consider cod liver oil. I take a teaspoon of Carlson's lemon flavor every day whether I like it or not, and every chance I get I make the girls take it too.

Categories: nutrition, pregnancy, osteoporosis, vitamin_d

A new study out today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology says a weak electrical current inhibits uterine contractions. But don't go sticking your fingers in any sockets; so far it's only been tested in rats and rabbits:

They found that this therapy cut intrauterine pressure by 80 percent and dramatically delayed the birth of rat pups, particularly when given directly. In rabbits, electrical inhibition reduced intrauterine pressure by 48 percent.

"This study supports the hypothesis that a weak electrical current can inhibit preterm and term uterine contractions," the authors state. "Whether electrical inhibition will be as effective in the human in the prevention of preterm birth remains to be seen."

If it does this is good news for women with chronic pre-term labor issues. Bedrest, as I can attest, blows.

Categories: pregnancy, labor, preterm, birth, electricity, study, medical

Nicotine patches, gum and so on may harm developing fetuses:

The authors observed a "relative prevalence rate ratio" or RPR, of 1.1 for all congenital malformations among smokers. The RPR for cleft lip or malformations of the digestive system or circulatory system ranged between 1.2 and 1.5.

Among nonsmokers who used nicotine substitutes during the first 12 weeks, the RPR for birth defects was higher -- 1.61 -- compared with nonsmokers who did not use nicotine substitutes. The RPR for musculoskeletal type malformations was 2.63.

To explain these discrepancies, the researchers offer that nicotine substitutes may be absorbed by a different route and reach higher peak doses of nicotine compared with tobacco smoke.

Even though their study failed to find increased malformation risk among smokers, the researchers say that "there is sufficient evidence for a harmful, overall fetotoxic effect of smoking to warn pregnant women not to smoke at all during pregnancy."

I don't think that's too controversial any more, but the news about nicotine replacements potentially being worse than smoking, well, I just hope women get off nicotine altogether before they start havin' babies. I know too many women who use cigarettes as a way to keep their weight down. Folks, be "fat." (Usually we're talking 10-20 lbs here, not hundreds.) It's better to be fat than smoke. Categories: smoking, nicotine, pregnancy, baby, fetus, health, women

I'm not going to put it all down here, but it is on my blog:
http://www.xanga.com/farmerswife?nextdate=11%2F21%2F2005&cal=1

And all I'm gonna say is that the epidural is the most WONDERFUL thing in the world! The entire labor and delivery was absolutly painFREE, and that's pretty hard to do pushing out a 9+pound baby!! LOL!--read more

Get pregnant through assisted means in Indiana when you're not married, go to jail. Yes, friends, it's the "Unauthorized Reproduction Act"! It would require every Indiana woman trying to get pregnant through assisted means--like in vitro fertilization or sperm donation--to go to the state and get a "gestation certificate." And you have to prove you're married when you get it.--read more

Thought I would start a new thread for this topic, since it is the first day of fall!!! (not that you can tell here, 95 degrees out there!!)

Ok, so I'm 33 weeks along, only 48 days left to go. I think the baby has dropped. Not that it means anything with me, but I can breath easier, but pee 10x more often. LOL!--read more

This is going to be long and sad, and if anyone doesn't want to read it, my feelings will not be hurt. It probably would be hard for a lot of people to read especially if they are pregnant, so I'm only posting it for the benefit of anyone who does want to know more details. I'm actually copying and pasting some of this from another site where I post regularly, just FYI. --read more

I've got a silly question. But one every pregnant woman wonders. Mainly directed at Lauralynn.

When did you find out you were having twins? Is it possible for the dr. to miss it on the first ultrasound (done at 6 weeks)? What symptoms did you have different from having just a singleton?--read more

Remember we used to have one of these threads going a couple years ago for our expecting TNHers? Thought I would get one going again!!

Fill us in on your due dates, dr. appts, progress, etc.

I'll start.--read more

at the Aaron house because Mommy is back on the job. This week I had another ultrasound and everything is still looking good. The twins now measure a bit over 4 lbs each. So when I saw my OB on Friday, she put me on modified bedrest, but it allows me to do most things. She doesn't want me out of the house for more than four hours a day and just don't overdo things. It was much more liberal than I was anticipating, so I am thrilled. Today I went grocery shopping and did a little cleaning and made dinner. It's not much, but it felt soooo good. I actually can't do much more than that because my back starts to kill me, but that will just keep me from overdoing things. I just can't get over how good it feels to do the simplest things. So now I need to pop over to the clearing clutter thread on Monday cause we sure need some of that around here. --read more

Today I am 27 weeks pregnant with the twins and we just had another ultrasound. Everything looks really good. My cervix is still long and closed on the ultrasound which is really good news considering that at 21 weeks it felt a bit open to my OB. Both babies look healthy. They are both head down now, which is also nice since before the girl, who is lower down, was always in a breech position. Hopefully they will stay head down and we will be able to attempt a vaginal delivery. Isaac is now roughly 2lbs. 11oz. and Tabitha is 2lbs. 9oz. No wonder I feel like I can't breathe all the time. --read more

This coming week would have been my due date if I hadn't miscarried last fall. I thought I'd "gotten over it" until last week when I realized that I'd have been close to my due date by now if things had worked out.--read more