Preparing for baby #3

My last baby was delivered vaginally with no pain medication. Although my opinion is that pain medicine should be avoided if possible (due to risks to mom and baby), I must admit apprehension about doing it naturally again. I was good till about 9 cm. But going from 9-10....owwwww. Not fun. Not looking forward to that part again.

On the up side, I had barely any pain pushing out my 9 lb 9 oz baby, I will gladly do the pushing part again!!

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine sponsored podcasts!!!

I'm so excited to have found this. Lots of wonderful analysis of breastfeeding research. It's super easy to keep up to date with the research through these podcasts.

Podcast: Co-hosts Anne Eglash, MD and Karen Bodnar's, MD discuss two recent studies on breastfeeding with the addition of formula. Learn more in the latest Breastfeeding Medicine Podcast.

The Human Cost of Cheap Clothes and Cheap Food

Recently it has been found that there are unsafe levels of arsenic in our rice. Arsenic is a known carcinogen.  Nearly 300 workers died recently in a Pakistani textile factory fire due to unsafe working conditions.  The factory in Pakistan was manufacturing clothing for Americans.  Americans demand cheap goods while ignoring the cost to human life.  At what point will Americans finally decide that enough is enough and demand goods and services that are not made simply to be cheap, but made to be sustainable and good for us?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/12/160995406/pakistan-factory-fires-kill-more-than-300

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/arsenic-rice-report-finds-worrisome-levels/story?id=17267872#.UGsn4e1myec

Tongue Tie the Undiagnosed Bane of Breastfeeding 05/20 by ProgressiveParenting | Blog Talk Radio

Tongue Tie the Undiagnosed Bane of Breastfeeding 05/20 by ProgressiveParenting | Blog Talk Radio

Not sure how long this will be available but this interview answers a lot of questions for me.  My daughter nursed until she was 23 months old.  She was never easy to nurse.  I always had to support my breast and assist with her latch.  Although breastfeeding her was challenging at times, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of it and my daughter asking for it when she was a toddler nursing.

In this interview with Jennifer Tow, BFA, IBCLC,  she discusses how tongue-tie is sometimes linked to a baby's slow weight gain, difficulty nursing, reflux, problems taking a bottle, early weaning, and speech problems later on.  She also speaks about how tongue-tie revisions should be minimally invasive and that it's important to find the right ENT to do them. Surprisingly, not all ENTs are even aware of the various types of tongue ties nor how to correct them in a simple way (i.e. - no stitches, using laser for the surgery.)

Fascinating and informative!

Favorite soaps and toothpastes for mama and baby

My favorite natural bar soap for grown-ups is Tom's of Maine Daily Moisture beauty bar.  It smells wonderful yet not with a strong perfume scent.  It is very moisturizing to my naturally dry skin and my husband loves it as well

The best natural toothpaste for the grown-ups that I've found is once again a Tom's brand - Tom's of Maine Whole Care Toothpaste with Flouride, spearmint flavor.

Finding toothpaste for my toddler has been tricky.  She is picky about the flavor and does not like any of the Tom's or Burt's Bees brands. She, however loves both of the following: Kiss My Face brand toothpaste with flouride (Berry Smart flavor) AND Kid's Spry brand Tooth Gel (Original flavor).  I don't use the flouride kids toothpaste daily since she gets plenty of flouride in her drinking water.  However, since I am prone to cavities I prefer giving her a pea sized amount of the flouride toothpaste about every other day.

Our favorite baby/kid's bath shampoo and soap is California Baby Calming Shampoo & Bodywash with French Lavender scent.  It smells better than the unscented California Baby soaps but is still very gentle on my daughter's skin and works wonderfully.

Deciding where to deliver my baby

I am in limbo.  Do I deliver with a Certified Nurse Midwife at a big hospital or do I attempt a natural birth in a birth center with a Certified Professional Midwife.  The hospital is 30 minutes by interstate highway, the birth center is 40 minutes by interstate highway.

I do not want to have the baby in the big hospital downtown but I prefer to have the baby in a hospital setting.  So, now I'm considering changing practices to a smaller hospital, further away that also has Nurse Midwives.  (My local hospital that is 15 minutes away has no Nurse Midwives that deliver there.)

I visited the birth center last week for a consultation and loved it but my concerns are the distance (not even the same state!) and of course, that I do not have safety net of full emergency services immediately if something goes bad.  Everything I've read has reassured me that statistically, a birth out of a hospital free of medical intervention is much safer than a hospital birth that is full of interventions.  That being said I still worry.  Maybe after my consult with the new Nurse Midwife that delivers at the smaller hospital, I'll have a better idea of what I should do.  The clock is ticking, now that I'm nearly 22 weeks along!

At least I have a supportive husband that is all for having the baby at the birth center that is in the next state :)

Link to another mama's blog about her wonderful experience at the birth center that ended in a transfer to the hosptial, CMC-Pineville, due to labor slowing down. Great pictures.

Why I believe it is safer to have a vaginal birth than a repeat c-section...

Research consistently reassures me that VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) is safer than a repeated cesarean.  Common sense tells me that natural is better than surgical birth. Unfortunately, VBAC is not the accepted medial norm at this time (at least not where I live in North Carolina.)  Many women who have had a c-section once are urged by their doctor to schedule a repeat c-section for baby #2.  The problem is that with each subsequent pregnancy, c-sections become riskier and riskier.  To me, the risk associated with this major abdominal surgery for death does not seem worth it.  There is some research that if mom goes into labor and attempts to have a VBAC but ends up with emergency c-section, her risk is higher than scheduling the c-section before labor (2).  But, the most recent literature that I've seen shows that overall, going for the VBAC is safer than the scheduled repeated c-section (1). Click the links below to find more information on this topic.

1. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2007 Feb 13; 176(4) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/176/4/455

2. American Journal of Obstetric Gynecology. 2001 Jun; 184(7):1365-71 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11408854

3. International Cesarean Awareness Network http://ican-online.org/

Here are some excerpts from the article "Maternal Mortality Rates Rising in California" published March 4, 2010 on the website for ABC Worldnews with Diane Sawyer at http://abcnews.go.com/WN/changing-life-preventing-maternal-mortality/story?id=9914009

     "According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. ranks behind more than 40 other countries when it comes to maternal death rates, with 11 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies when measured in 2005. More women die in the U.S. after giving birth than die in countries including Poland, Croatia, Italy and Canada, to name a few."

    "Doctors say it's hard to pinpoint exactly why the numbers are rising. Experts have cited the growing number of obese mothers as a big factor -- 20 percent of all pregnant women in the U.S. are now obese at the start of their pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These women are more likely to have underlying health conditions, including diabetes or asthma, which can lead to pregnancy-related complications.

     "The popularity of scheduled C-sections has also been cited by public health experts as a possible cause for rising maternal mortality rates. The latest data from the CDC shows that 31 percent of the mothers now choose to have C-sections, up 50 percent since 1996. Studies have repeatedly shown a higher rate of mortality in mothers who have a C-section delivery, especially those who have multiple C-sections.

'If the risks of a Cesarean birth are small, they're magnified greatly when you add many more Cesarean births each year," said Main, adding that "not that many women actually choose to have an elective C-section at the beginning, but it's easy to fall into a pattern of care that ends up resulting in a C-section.'

And, finally, a beautiful You-tube video about one mom's experience with a c-section then successful vaginal birth after cesarean:

http://ican-online.org/