When Research is Flawed

On the heels of my next-to-last post, I thought this link was apropos. It is a list of critiques of studies that purport to show one thing when serious flaws actually show something else. Henci Goer has also written The Assault on Normal Birth and “Spin Doctoring” the Research.
I wish I could remember where I [...]

Seth’s birth story

Today is my younger son’s 2nd birthday. I’ve been thinking about posting my birth stories for a while, so here goes…
Even though my state allows non-nurse midwives, the closest one I could find was well over an hour away, so when it seemed like I was heading into labor on Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, [...]

Welcome Dr. Amy Readers!

I just noticed that Dr. Amy linked to my blog recently. Pull up a chair and make yourself at home! Thanks for your interest!

Too much or not enough?

I’ve got a small garden and a black thumb. Since last year I killed most of my plants by not watering them enough, I was determined this year not to neglect them. So I’ve been watering them frequently. The plants didn’t seem to be making the transition very well, so I thought I wasn’t watering [...]

Gestational Diabetes Guidelines — Revised

I declined the glucose tolerance test both times I was pregnant. This was my reasoning — if I were to develop true diabetes, there are signs and symptoms of that happening, and I figured my risk of getting diabetes was low. The likelihood of my needing insulin or medication was even lower, so likely all [...]

What you eat may determine your baby’s sex

Here’s the link to the original story I read. Basically, women who consumed a higher-calorie and/or more nutritious diet around the time of conception increased their chances of having a boy; women who skipped breakfast or cut calories increased their chances of having a girl. Interesting.
Then I read a blog that completely blasted the study’s [...]

Teaching Normal Birth Interactively

This is such a cool resource! In an article appearing in the Journal of Perinatal Education, the authors show several ways that childbirth educators can teach their clients some of the hows and whys of normal birth.
My thanks to At Your Cervix for posting the link on her blog!

Birth videos woman ecstatic hospital

Yet another “search term” that appeared on my blog, which pretty much sums up this video. (I’m linking to it, instead of embedding it, because some people may be uncomfortable with this much female exposure even during birth. And since it would show up on tag-surfing, some kids might see too much.) But, if you’ve [...]

Birth Rape, revisited

Previously, I wrote about “birth rape” and mentioned an article in the UK. Recently, I commented on a med student’s blog, in which the author discusses this from his/her perspective. It’s an interesting read, and it’s always good to get other people’s perspective on it; but the reason I’m linking to it now is for [...]

Paint

I’ve been doing a lot of painting lately — we bought our house about a year and a half ago, and are in the process of repainting it to our tastes. I’ve got the downstairs just about done, and am about to start painting the upstairs hall.
On every can of paint that I’ve seen is [...]