Postpartum Depression Hits Dads, Too

Postpartum Depression Hits Dads, Too

Allergies & Exclusive Breastfeeding Past Six Months

Here's more infomation on studies that have shown that delaying the introduction of solid foods might be connected to an increased risk of allergies.

Breastfeeding and HIV-Positive Moms

South African health officials say HIV Positive Moms Can Breastfeed Too:

According to a study done by University of KwaZulu-Natal paediatrics professor, Anna Coutsoudis, it is safe for HIV positive mothers to breastfeed their children for up to six months, as long as they don't combine this with infant formula.

Mixed feeding introduces allergens and contaminants into the baby's gut, which could cause inflammation and thus make it easier for the HI virus to pass from mother to child, she explains.

An estimated 3.83 million South Aficans are HIV+; 55 percent of those infected are women. Prevalence is highest among women aged 15 to 49 (i.e. women of childbearing age) with an overall rate of 20 percent. (link)

Incidence of Epidural Hematoma, Infection, and Neurologic Injury in Obstetric Patients

From Waking Up Costs, a study in the journal Anesthesiology attempts "to quantify some of the less common risks of having an epidural during labor: epidural hematoma, infection, and neurologic injury." He writes:

It contains an interesting tidbit others might find interesting, too. There are 4 million births in the United States each year and 2.4 million involve epidural analgesia. Wow. That's three fifth of all live birth get an epidural! (And some call nights, it seems every single one does...)

Birthing study backs kneeling position

MSNBC, of all things, reports on a Swedish study, Birthing study backs kneeling position:

First-time pregnant women who give birth in a kneeling position experience less pain than those who deliver in a seated position, researchers in Sweden report.

However, the duration of the active phase of labor (the time spent pushing) is similar with the two approaches, according to the study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

That was the position I chose for Andrew's birth, by the way. Intense, but effective.

Solid Foods and Allergies

Feeding solid foods to infants before 6 months of age can increase the risk of allergies

Smoking in Pregnancy

Children of women who smoke during pregnancy can develop hearing problems.

Waterbirth Photo

I'm just sticking this photo up on my blog because I want to get it online somewhere for reasons that do not concern you.

And it's a great photo. Someday I will write Andrew's birth story, with photos to go along with it. Someday

You may think that the boys are looking at their baby brother, but actually DS5 is reading the writting on the side of the tub to DS3.

Is Breastfeeding Safe With Pierced Nipples?

Apparently there is some debate.

Can't they just remove the jewelry while breastfeeding? I am completely ignorant of such matters.

Pump Mom

Pump Mom, a blog devoted to moms who pump. With sidebar links to other pumping bloggers.

The Shape of a Mother II

A little bit slicker though.

Ezzo Week 2006!

It's Ezzo Week 2006 over at Tulip Girl.

Yahoo! Answers

This is really, really awful.

Like I didn't have enough to do already besides sit in front of the computer and answer the world's problems questions.

The Shape of a Mother

This is interesting:

Becoming a mother changes everything in your world - including your body. Here we share images of our bodies during and after pregnancy so we can see what real women look like.

Benefits of Breastfeeding Apparently Extend to Bed-wetting

Even I, who think that Breastmilk is the wonderdrug, think that this one is a little bizarre:

"There is biological plausibility in inferring that breast-feeding protects against bed-wetting and our results show a strong statistical association" although not enough to prove a direct cause-effect, the study said.

Breastfeeding a Baby with Cancer

The flip side, I guess, to being pregnant and having cancer, is Breastfeeding a Baby with Cancer, from the mother of a 13-month old girl who was diagnosed at 7 months. Very touching, and informative:

At the hospital, which is a Children's Hospital, I tried to find someone who could talk to me about it, specifically, were there certain things I could eat that would help, or certain things I should avoid? The sum total of advice I received can be summarized in this quote from one doctor:

"Sure, you can go ahead and breastfeed."

Found this link from BlogHer which linked to me.

Treating Pregnant Women With Cancer

The New York Times writes about New Notions on Pregnant Women With Cancer

Pleasure in Childbirth

From the UK Times Online, Delightful Deliveries:

More women, it seems, get turned on by birth than you’d think. When Ina May Gaskin, a US midwife, conducted a poll of 151 women, 32 reported having at least one orgasmic birth.

It almost sounds too good to be true: a touchy-feely labour followed by an earth-shattering orgasm at the moment of birth. Unfortunately, this is very far removed from most women’s description of childbirth.

One big hitch is that, as with any sexual activity, the amount of pleasure gained is closely related to the degree of relaxation, trust and safety that a woman feels. Most women anticipate with dread the “birth ordeal”, a state of mind that will make muscles contract and adrenalin levels rise before labour even begins. And then, most women can feel sexy only in intimate surroundings, in front of people they know well. Hospitals and doctors don’t really do the trick.

“Adrenalin inhibits sex drive and labour contractions,” Prescott says. “You become tense and are more prone to feeling pain. It’s why women can have trouble with labour and birth at hospital.” Part of the problem it seems is the way that sexuality in childbirth has been denied.

Breastfeeding Icon Contest

Mothering Magazine is sponsoring a contest to create an international symbol for breastfeeding.

(Hat Tip - Giving Birth With Confidence)

Whatever it ends up being, I'm sure LiveJournal won't like it.

Mom's Age At Birth

Key to long life may be mom's age at birth

The chances of living to the ripe old age of 100 -- and beyond -- nearly double for a child born to a woman before her 25th birthday, Drs. Leonid Gavrilov and Natalia Gavrilova reported. The father's age is less important to longevity, according to their research.

Five Months Old

What you see here is the first ever published photo of The Mommy Blawger. The wee boy is being worn in my new sling.

The big new thing is that Andrew has learned that rattles make noise when you shake them up and down. And hands and feet make noise when you bang them against a flat surface. So this last week has been all about shaking things.

Also grabbing things. I can't hold him in my lap when I blog, because he will pull papers off the desk with his vise-like grip and proceed to "taste" them (at this age, everything goes directly into the mouth, which is why I have established a moratorium on legos on the living room floor). At Friday's chiropractic appointment, my husband was holding the wee one in the waiting room when he reached out for a plant that was on top of the water cooler. The pot hit the ground, leaving Andrew holding the plant. Sitting him on your lap while eating is dangerous because he will reach for you plate. But not the food yet. Which brings me to...

Starting solids. A little bit of a dilemma. For a while, the AAP recommended starting solids between 4 and 6 months (not that I necessarily rely on their advice anyway) . But a year or two ago, the AAP and several other organizations began recommending that solids be delayed until six months, since studies have show it reduces the risk of developing allergies and allergy-related conditions such as eczema. Some even suggest exclusive breastfeeding for a year or more. However, the authors of a recent study say that not introducing wheat into the baby's diet before six months actually increases the risk of wheat allergies. I think the jury's still out on this one, and it may be years before we have the whole picture. I started both the older boys on rice cereal at 5 months; DS5 was ready for it then; DS3 was not, so we put it away for a while longer. I think that they will get interested in food when they are developmentally ready for it. We start foods very slowly, and with two, three, or more kids you don't have time to sit there for an hour and feed them cereal. You pretty much just wait until they can eat finger foods and let them feed themselves. So DH thinks we should wait a bit, and I'm pretty much in agreement. The only rub is, while our grocery store has a wide variety of jarred organic baby food, it has no organic whole-grain cereal. Which will necessitate a trip to Central Market. Or Walmart (gulp!).

Last week I put away the bassinet and got out the pack 'n play. He's over in the corner of the bedroom now, instead of right by the bed. Sometimes it feels like too far away. I can't wake up in the middle of the night and check to see if he's breathing without getting out of bed. You would think that after three babies, that feeling would go away, but it doesn't. I'm quite a bit more laid back now that when I had the first baby. But not entirely. He sleeps next to me for the second half of the night, though. I sleep better if I can fall asleep by myself with plenty of room. Plus, with his pre-crawling behavior (rolling over and scootching around) it's not so safe for him to be in our bed by himself. At least until he learns not to fall off, which is a good six to eight months away, as I recall. And he's going to be crawling before we know it.

Brain-dead woman gives birth, then dies - Yahoo! News

Brain-dead woman gives birth, then dies

Or, more accurately, was taken off life support.

Happy Baby Blawg-o-versary!

It has been one year since I first announced the expectation of the wee one. I hope that having his own blog will make up for the fact that we didn't send out birth announcements :) Third child, what can I say?

My actual first post to this blog - an "under construction" message - was, ironically, posted within 48 hours or so of the wee one's actual date of conception, as far as such things can be determined.

Mom Solicits Doula Services On Ebay

Hmm... Might be a good marketing technique for a Doula wanting to make a name for herself?

eBay: I'm pregnant! Would You Like To Be My Labor Coach?

A Routine Epidural Turns Deadly

A very touching story about a woman who died from and epidural-related hospital-acquired infection. Lawsuit pending.

A related link: Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths

Many Approaches Taken to Childbirth

From the (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle, a neat story on choices in childbirth, with this quote:

Diane Simcox, a long-time labor and delivery nurse at St. Elizabeth and a self-described advocate of epidurals, said pain management options have improved over the years.

"You don’t get a gold star for going through the pain," Simcox said.

Martin, whose three children were born with the help of a midwife, and all without pain medication, disagrees.

"I have my own gold star," she said. "I am so proud of myself."

Her husband, Tim Martin, is proud, too.

"I'm a sissy — if I were a woman, I'd probably never have kids," he said. "But whenever you tell someone you just had a baby, one of the first questions they ask is, did she get the epidural? If you say no, the next question is, didn't that hurt? And when I say no, there’s a look of respect."

The Mother Magazine

Hey, I didn't realize that The Mother Magazine was online. It's pretty radical, but quite interesting.

Breech Birth

Link to photos and a description of "A planned homebirth of a footling breech baby with a midwife", for those who are interested in such things.

Four Months Old

Andrew is four months old ... and I still haven't written his birth story.

He grows and grows. He wears size 3 diapers. He can roll easily from back to front and, on more than one occasion, from front to back (we even caught it on tape the 1st time he did it!). He can almost - but not quite - sit up. Needs a bit of proping and falls over, but he loves to play upright. When he is on his tummy, he tries to kick his legs back and forth, as if he wants to crawl. He is getting rough skin on his elbows, and wearing little blisters on his toes.

Craddle cap is all gone. So is most of the hair. Not only did he loose hair in the front, like his brothers, but, unlike his brothers, lost it on the sides and in the back. So he has a swirl of hair on top and a fringe at the back of his neck, and the rest is peach fuzz. It feels funny against my lips when I kiss his head. He looks a bit like Yul Brenner in "The Ten Commandments".

He smiles a lot. He laughs a little bit, mostly silently, not outloud so much. He chews on his hands and has started to "discover" his feet. He will have a "conversation" and will coo back and forth with Mommy. He is lots of fun.

Operation Special Delivery

A really nice article on Doulas and Operation Special Delivery: Age-old practice reborn as doula