Comparing Apples to Oranges

Imagine my surprise when reading this article about French health care, I read this quote: Infant mortality rates are often cited as a reason socialized medicine and single-payer systems are better than what we have here. But according to Dr. Linda Halderman, a policy adviser in the California State Senate, these comparisons are bogus. Official [...]

Blossoming into an Unconventional Mom

Remember the TV show “Blossom”? [To be honest, I don't think I ever watched a whole show, although I do remember bits and pieces of it. Shhh -- don't tell anyone! ] Well, Mayim Bialik is now all grown up, has earned a doctorate, and is the mother of two young children. She’s an advocate [...]

ACOG looking for home birth complications

Here’s the email I received: Tell ACOG your birth story! ACOG has a new database to collect anonymous data on “unsuccessful home births.” Let’s flood the database with entries on SUCCESSFUL home births! It will take less than five minutes, but having even 25 people do it will send a loud and clear message and [...]

She did it! — What a birth story!

You’ve got to read Heather’s birth story, on The Unnecesarean. Wow.

What not to say to someone who has experienced a pregnancy loss

So far, I have not had a miscarriage or stillbirth, so I [thankfully] don’t have any personal experience with this. But I’ve heard some doozies of what other people have said to women who have lost babies. I’m sure others can add to this list: “It was meant to be.” Yeah, okay, even if so [...]

Reducing Infant Mortality

Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video in WordPress, so you’ll just have to click here to watch this free 15-minute video on reducing infant mortality. The thing that struck me the most was the woman with the “MD, JD” after her name that taught at UCLA, saying something about there being the midwifery model of [...]

What Not to Say Blog Carnival

Rebirth Nurse’s blog carnival is up — go check out all the posts! In addition to all the “what not to say to a pregnant [laboring, postpartum] woman” quotes on the posts, make sure you read the comments for more gems. Also, the next blog carnival is… The next carnival will be on September 6. [...]

Variety is the Spice of Life

There is a tendency for people to assume that just because X was good for them, then it’s what is best for everyone. So, I thought I’d do a little exercise in which I list all the different ways I can think of that make us different: Skin color — ranging from very light to [...]

How do they know?

Animals — how do they know when something is going on? I’ve heard of dogs that can sense when a child is going to have an epileptic seizure. I’ve heard that they’re training dogs to smell cancer and blood sugar. It’ll be neat to see what else they will be able to find for animals [...]

Galactogogues

What the heck are galactogogues? Substances that increase your milk supply. [I didn't know either -- it sounds almost like something to do with outer space, doesn't it?] This blog post by a lactation consultant discusses different drugs, herbs, and foods that can help increase your milk supply. I bookmarked it for future reference. It’s [...]