teresajuan0: January 2012

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Announcing Your Pregnancy on Valentine's Day

Valentines Day Baby

It's almost Valentine's Day and you may be waiting to find out if you're pregnant. Have you considered waiting for this special date to share your big news? Lots of women choose to make pregnancy announcements on special occasions. In fact, we have a few stories to share of Valentine's Day pregnancy announcements. If you get a big fat positive (BFP) on your pregnancy test consider doing something special!

Valentine's Day Pregnancy Announcements

_{Photo iStockPhoto}

Source: http://pregnancy.about.com/b/2012/01/31/announcing-your-pregnancy-on-valentines-day.htm

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‘Fancy Nancy’ Back on Stage

Last year, Evergreen City Ballet’s performances of Fancy Nancy, Bonjour Butterfly sold out. It’s not so hard to see why. How many little girls do you know who love Fancy Nancy, would be thrilled to get dressed up in all their fanciest clothes, and would enjoy seeing pretty ballerinas dancing around like butterflies on stage? Lots? Yep. Me, too.

Fancy Nancy, the ballet, is a narrated performance that begins with the first Fancy Nancy book, and then follows the story of Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly, culminating in a dance of the butterflies from the final scene where Nancy visits a butterfly garden.

This is the third year of “family performances” for Evergreen City Ballet, a dance company and school based in Renton.

“I know how incredible the whole book series is amongst little girls, so I felt good about putting it on stage,” said Evergreen City Ballet’s artistic director, Kevin Kaiser. “I never thought we would have gone into the Bellevue Meydenbauer and have sold out every single show … I was pleasantly surprised.”

This year, Evergreen City Ballet has scheduled additional performances in Bellevue, Renton and Auburn. If you make one of the shows at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, you and your little fancy one will get to meet the illustrator of the books, Robin Preiss Glasser, a former ballerina who took up the illustrator’s pen and brush after a recurring back injury forced her to retire.

The program also includes Dancing to Disney, a ballet set to such Disney classics as “Give a Little Whistle,” “Bibbity Bobbity Boo” and “Heigh-Ho” as well as variations from The Sleeping Beauty, which features more sophisticated pointe work. Altogether, the performances run a little over an hour.

The production of Fancy Nancy was a natural for Evergreen City Ballet. Kaiser, Glasser and the choreographer of the ballet, Mary LeGere, who also selected the music, all danced together professionally at Pennsylvania Ballet in the 1970s.

“We go way back,” Glasser said. “It’s really, really fun to see where we’ve all landed now that we’re … well, I won’t say we’re grown up yet, but we’re getting there.”

While Glasser went to New York to study art, Kaiser came back to his home state of Washington to dance with Pacific Northwest Ballet for 15 years.

Glasser, who was not involved in choreographing or staging the ballet, says, “All I did was show up, cry, and sign books afterwards.”

That’s pretty much what she’ll be doing again on Feb. 18 and 19 at the Meydenbauer Center.

“My favorite thing is that all the little girls that come to the show, come in their very fancy, Fancy Nancy best,” Glasser said. “Every possible accessory they have in their house – they’re wearing it all.”

Ruth Schubert and her 6-year-old daughter will be at the Bellevue show wearing all of their fanciest accessories - ALL of them.

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Source: http://www.seattleschild.com/article/fancy-nancy-back-on-stage

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School Lunches Get Healthier, But Pizza is Still A Vegetable

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by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director/CEO, Healthy Child Healthy World

Last week Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rachael Ray announced new nutrition standards for school lunches, the first major change in school meals in over 15 years.

The program allots an additional six cents per school lunch—the first real increase in 30 years. The new standards call for more whole grains and produce, as well as less sodium and fat, and are the first to be enacted as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign, which was signed into law last year by President Obama. It will affect the nearly 32 million kids who participate in subsidized school lunch programs each day—many of whom get half their daily calories from these meals.

What’s different? Milk goes low- or no-fat, portion sizes shrink to limit calories, and fresh fruits and vegetables are offered every day, among other recommendations echoed in the Eat Healthy section of our 5 Easy Steps.

What’s not? Potatoes are unlimited—although now the majority will be baked, rather than fried—and tomato sauce still makes pizza a vegetable. “It was a bit unfortunate that some groups had powerful friends in Congress and basically tried…create some confusion with these standards,” Vilsack said in a virtual press conference that I attended. “Our response was to set up minimum requirements. You have to have a minimum level of dark green vegetables, you've got to have a minimum level of red or orange or yellow vegetables.”

“OK, so congress left pizza a vegetable,” Ray said. “But we are changing the game today. That [lunch] tray is going to have leafy greens and colorful fruit on it. If one of the other vegetables happens to be pizza or French fries in some schools that day, it doesn’t negate the fact that on the tray there…will include vegetables and fruits.” (For more specifics, check out WebMD’s excellent breakdown of the new standards.)

Regarding organics, Secretary Vilsack said they encourage organics but will leave the decision about integrating to the individual school districts. But he responded to my question about Genetically Engineered foods by saying they would leave this up to “consumer choice.”

I didn’t get a chance to ask him how we can have a choice, given the fact that GEs are not required to be identified on labels—yet are now in 80% of processed foods.

Or to ask if he was aware that 93% of Americans now say they want GE foods to be labeled. (Are you one of them? Sign the Just Label It petition today!)

Sigh. I guess we have to start somewhere. And these new standards are definitely better for our kids.

Hopefully that pizza will have a whole-wheat crust.

P.S. Congratulations from all of us at Healthy Child Healthy World to Mr. Wells’ 4th grade class at the Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts for changing Universal Pictures' mind about eliminating green content from “The Lorax” movie. As our founder Nancy Chuda wrote last week, when the kids saw the trailer, they realized that the environmental themes--which, as any parent who's read this story at bedtime knows, are the bedrock of the story--were largely missing. To restore the original meaning to the film, Mr. Wells’ class put together a video and petitioned Universal to add more environmental messaging to their website. And this week, after more than 57,000 people signed their petition, the Universal webpage was updated to reflect the students' requests. Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not." We're inspired by these kids, who cared enough to make it better. A lot.

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Rwanda: Country On Course to Reduce Infant Deaths, But Huge Task Ahead

One of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to reduce child mortality by ensuring that the number of children who die under the age of five is reduced by two-third, come 2015. So, how much progress has Rwanda made?

According to a report by the Ministry of Health, in 2000 the infant mortality rate was of 107 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the under-five mortality rate was of 196 per 1,000 live births - an indication that most deaths occurred during the first year of life.

"In Rwanda the main causes of child deaths have proven to be diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia," says Dr Anniseth Nzabonimpa, coordinator of the family planning, HIV, maternal and child integration unit in the Health Ministry.

Therefore, the ministry has been putting in place strategies to prevent them.

Efforts have focused on immunization of children. "In recent years, new vaccines like the pneumococcal vaccine were introduced. New ones will continue to be introduced as they become available," said Nzabonimpa.

According to the 2010 demographic and health survey, 90% of the children aged 12-23 months were vaccinated - a significant increase from 75% and 80% of 2005 and 2008 respectively.

Other strategies are provision of clean water and good sanitary conditions. "We give to the families 'Sur'eau', a product used to purify the water they drink and urge them to increase measures of hygiene in their homes," said Dr Ferdinand Bikorimana, of the maternal and child health department in the health ministry. "The community health workers are instrumental in the campaign as they are constantly on the ground. So we provided them with whatever is needed to help the community attain the above."

To fight against malaria, a leading cause of death among children, mosquito nets have been distributed to the community.

Neonatology services, which specifically take care of all newborn babies with problems, have also been introduced and there is a plan to have them in every hospital. "In general, the care that a newborn baby receives determines if he dies or lives," explained Nzabonimpa.

New methods like the kangaroo mother care, used to keep new born babies warm, have been introduced and encouraged. "A mother's health, especially when pregnant, is key to the health of the new born, which is why antenatal care is important," explained Bikorimana. Parents are taught how to take care of their baby's health, nutrition and hygiene. As it is easier to teach younger people, this is also taught to the youth. "It's better to know how to handle a situation before it rises," Bikorimana added.

The percentage of babies delivered by health professionals has increased from 52% in the 2007-08 to 69% in 2010. The proportion of babies delivered at a health facility increased substantially during the same period, from 45% in 2007-08 to 69% in 2010.

To make health care for children easier for parents, the Ministry of Health is implementing an integration of different services. "If a mother comes to get immunization for the child, we want to also have a general checkup for the child and give him/her the treatment needed," explained Nzabonimpa. If possible, the mother will also be treated. "Some of them have to travel a long distance to get to the hospital, so it will be easing their burden."

With all these strategies and programs, the country has managed to reduce child mortality rates recording an infant mortality rate of 50 per 1.000 live births and under-five mortality rate of 76 per 1,000 live births in 2010.

Considering all the improvements made against both malaria and pneumococcal disease, and the efforts to take better care of new born babies and under five children, Rwanda is on track to meet the 2015 target of reducing the mortality rates to 28 for infants and 50 for under-five children.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201201302106.html

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Monday, 30 January 2012

Mom of Iowa's Biggest Baby Makes Childbirth Look Easy

asher At birth, full-term babies born in the U.S. tip the scales, on average, at around 7 pounds, 8 ounces, which of course doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of mothers giving birth to babies both smaller and larger. My healthy babies both weighed around 6 pounds (give or take a few ounces) when they made their debut -- though they didn't stay that small for long!

And bigger? Well, a woman in Iowa has just given birth to a baby boy that CNN reports might just be the largest infant ever to have been born "naturally" in the state. How big was the baby, Asher Stewardson? He weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 12 ounces, and measured 23 1/2 inches long! And get this, Asher's amazing mother delivered him vaginally, after six hours of pushing and with no drugs (nope, no epidural, no nothin').

I'll just give you a minute to take that in …

Back? Yeah, I know, but you can uncross your legs now: The birth story of baby Asher has a totally happy ending. He's healthy (and cute as a button!), and his mom, Kendall Stewardson, is doing great, too.

It's also kind of a good reminder for the rest of us. Assuming Kendall wanted a natural birth and had some idea that her baby was going to be on the large side (Asher's older brother was 12 pounds at birth, though doctors thought, based on ultrasounds, Asher might be somewhat smaller), she got to follow through on her "birth plan," triumphing in a situation that to some people might have seemed nearly impossible.

Isn't it amazing how strong we women can be and how amazing the human body is? Congrats to the Stewardson family on their big, bouncy bundle of joy!

Can you imagine giving birth to a baby as big as Asher vaginally and without drugs?

Image via newsnet5.com/Flickr

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cafemom/thestir/pregnancy/~3/z-VX9DimSDg/mom_of_enormous_baby_makes

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The Internet Makes Pregnancy Much Scarier Than It Is

pregnant at computer When it comes to pregnancy, the Internet can be a vast source of helpful knowledge, but it can also be a tricky terrain laden with landmines of myths, misinformation, and anxiety-inducing anecdotes that will just cause you to freak out for no reason. That's why it's concerning that almost 20 percent of pregnant women use the Internet as their primary source of information about their pregnancy.

That doesn't mean 20 percent surf the web here and there, but a small study from the University of Cartuja in Spain rather found that this large percentage of women get MOST of their information from the web. Knowing what's out there, that's kind of scary.

Mostly because what's out there can be terrifying. From miscarriage symptoms to obsess over to lists of foods and drinks that will permanently damage your baby to fear, it seems all the advice out there is one big warning of something bad that can (and in your mind, will) happen. Some of it is good advice, but much of it is just too much information, and without a doctor's help to sift through it all, it can be overwhelming.

Almost all expecting parents turn to the web at some point. The study says 97.7 percent get a least some of their pregnancy information from it, and it's not surprising. How can you not when that computer is sitting right there and your every thought is consumed with the well being of your baby?

I had a love/hate relationship with my laptop during pregnancy. Some of the time, I found reassurance, and let out a big sigh of relief. Like the time I looked in the mirror, saw my tongue, and freaked the hell out. I was about five months pregnant and my tongue looked bizarre -- it had a weird pattern on it and looked like parts had been worn away. I'd never seen anything like it and was sure it wasn't good.

Since racing to my computer was quicker, I quickly Googled, "weird tongue markings, pregnant," and found pictures and other women who had the same thing, which fortunately was no big deal. I diagnosed myself with Geographic Tongue and was able to at least sleep at night without imagining I was dying from some weird disease until my doctor confirmed my diagnosis at my next visit.

In that case, it was good. But in many other cases, it just caused me to worry when my pregnancy wasn't exactly textbook, or I read about some rare disease, or some study made me suddenly fear that something I'd done had forever damaged my child. Times when I compared kick counts with other women on the web and came up short, or become obsessed with little telltale signs of miscarriage certainly caused me much undue stress and lost nights of sleep.

In the end, I think the Internet in moderation is a fabulous supplement to medical care when you're pregnant. Doctors do miss things, and I firmly believe we have to be our own strongest advocates when it comes to our health. But we also have to know when to take things with a grain of salt, put some amount of trust in the medical professionals we have chosen, and know when to just step away from the computer.

Of course, once that child actually arrives and you start raising him or her, there's a whole new world of surfing and subsequent worrying to come.

How much do you rely on the Internet for information about your pregnancy? Do you find it reassuring or fear-inducing? Have you ever been misled about something pregnancy-related by the Internet?

Image via sapiensolutions/Flickr

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cafemom/thestir/pregnancy/~3/VhsJkTqH4Bw/the_internet_makes_pregnancy_much

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Gloves Come Off in GE Food Fight

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by Rachel Sarnoff, Executive Director & C.E.O, Healthy Child Healthy World

When is a salmon not a salmon? It sounds ridiculous, but that’s one of the most important issues in the food world, where the gloves are off in the fight about genetically engineered foods.

Genetically engineered or modified foods—known as GE foods or GMOs—have been unnaturally altered at the molecular level. The DNA from different sources or even different species are combined together to create a new set of genes that are thought to confer an advantage, such as more rapid growth or resistance to cold.

And, according to Healthy Child board member and food activist Robyn O’Brien, who appears in this video, some GE foods are designed to release insecticides inside the plant and to withstand increasing doses of pesticides. That’s right, insecticides and pesticides linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, birth defects, reproductive disorders, kidney and liver damage, according to Dr. Phil Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who also serves on our Honorary Board.

Produced by the Just Label It coalition, of which Healthy Child Healthy World is a proud partner, the video reflects American’s growing concern about GE ingredients, which are in 80 percent of conventionally processed foods, according to the Washington Post, yet aren’t required to be labeled in the U.S.—unlike Russia, Brazil, Australia, China, Japan, and 15 countries in the European Union.

A poll conducted by ABCNews last June found 93 percent of people think the government should require labels on genetically modified foods, and 52 percent believe genetically modified foods are unsafe. States are also taking up the cause: Fourteen states have introduced legislation requiring labels on genetically engineered foods. But, in a setback, last week the California Assembly failed to pass legislation to label genetically engineered fish.

More than a half million people have signed the Just Label It petition to date—nearly three times more signatures than have ever been sent to the FDA on any topic. The labeling movement has so much traction that Gary Hirshberg, the visionary CEO of Stonyfield Farms, recently stepped down to focus on labeling advocacy work.

Oh, and about that salmon—which kicked off the hubbub in the first place. Makers of genetically modified salmon are currently seeking US FDA approval to sell their fish as salmon. If approved, the new salmon, dubbed “Frankenfish” by opponents, would become the first genetically engineered animal to enter the market.

We have a right to know what is in our food. We have a right to make informed choices and decisions about the kinds of food we feed our families. Without a label, we simply can’t exercise these rights.

And a fish might no longer be just a fish.

Photo courtesy Marcel030NL / CC BY 2.0

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Tanzania: Child Spacing Saves Lives

By Sosthenes Paulo Mwita, 28 January 2012

opinion

IN the past child spacing was virtually unheard of. So, some women in rural tribal settings mothered up to thirteen children without qualms. My own parents raised 12 children. I came third in the line-up. I know an elderly woman who lives in Dar es Salaam who mothered 15 children.

However, as years roll on societal norms change. Urban residents tend to admire and import overseas cultures. In America, Europe and Asia urban families limit the number of children to two. In China the figure is one or none. But I know an American family that raised 14 children.

Nevertheless, there is no significant parenting difference among rural settings around the world. Some families in the rural world tend to favour large numbers of children. While studying in Russia in the mid-eighties I visited several rural families that had more than ten children each. And while on a brief working stint in the US in the early nineties I had an Indiana friend who came thirteenth in a family that was blessed with 14 children.

These days, however, it is no longer fashionable to maintain huge families -- the soaring cost of living militating against it. Today, I discuss the advantages of child spacing in relation to the health of children and their mothers. Every year some 515,000 women die from problems linked to pregnancy and childbirth in this country. Many of the deaths occur as a result of haphazard family planning. It is of paramount importance to delay the first pregnancy until a girl is at least 18 years old.

At this age the pregnancy and delivery are likely to be safer and may reduce the risk of the baby being born underweight. I have seen mothers aged 13 years in this country. This is outrageous! I must stress here that a girl is not physically ready to begin bearing children until she is 18 years of age. Childbirth is more likely to be difficult and dangerous for an adolescent than for an adult. Babies born to very young mothers are much more likely to die in the first year of life. Paediatricians determine that the younger the mother, the greater the risk to herself and her baby.

Unfortunately, not many women know the risks involved in childbearing. Young women and their families should be given information about the risks of early pregnancy and how to avoid them. It is also imperative for me to mention here that after the age of 35, the health risks of pregnancy and childbirth begin to increase again. If a woman is over the age of 35 and has had four or more pregnancies, another pregnancy is a serious risk to her own health and that of the foetus. Of course, this fact is arguable.

We have seen women aged over 50 bearing children. The truth is that pregnancy is possible so long as menopause (the ceasing of menstruation) has not ensued yet. In most women menopause occurs between the ages of 45 and 50, but anomalies are possible. Parents should know that the risk of death for young children increases by nearly 50 per cent if the space between births is less than two years. One of the greatest threats to the health and growth of a child under the age of two years is the birth of a new baby.

This is, indeed, catastrophic. Breast-feeding for the older child stops too soon and the pregnant mother now has less time to prepare the special food her young child needs. She may even fail to give the child the care and attention he or she needs. So the child remains neglected or even abandoned. As a result, children born less than two years apart usually do not develop properly -- physically or mentally. A woman's body needs two years to recover fully from pregnancy and childbirth.

The risk to the mother's health is therefore greater if births come too close together. The mother needs time to get her health, nutritional status and energy back before she becomes pregnant again. If a woman becomes pregnant before she is fully recovered from a previous pregnancy, there is a higher chance that her new baby will be born too early and weigh much less. Babies born underweight are less likely to grow well and are more likely to become ill.

In fact, according to paediatricians, they are four times more likely to die in the first year of life than babies of normal weight. A woman's body can easily become exhausted by repeated pregnancies. After four pregnancies, especially if there has been less than two years between births, she faces an increased risk of serious health problems such as anaemia (thin blood) and haemorrhage (heavy loss of blood). A baby is at greater risk of dying if the mother has had four or more pregnancies. At this juncture, it would be remiss on my part not to repeat here that it is no longer fashionable to raise large families.

Parents should not treat themselves as baby factories. It is not easy any more to raise large families in the light of the continually rising cost of living. It is also expensive to offer many children good quality education and medication. Higher education and good medication are expensive. It is also difficult to observe children's basic rights fully when the family is large. Children have basic rights that must be respected and fulfilled. Parents should also know that baby-boys and baby-girls have similar physical, mental, emotional, nutritional and social needs. Both have the same capacity for learning.

And both have the same needs for affection, attention and approval. Some communities think baby-girls are inferior. It is also imperative to mention here that physical punishment or displays of violence can impair the child's development. Children who are punished in anger are more likely to become violent themselves. Clear explanation about what to do and firm rules about what not to do should suffice. I am often disappointed by the cruelty some parents display on their children. Too much scolding and lashes of the cane impair children's development. Some ruthless mothers even nip their young infants in anger for crying.

This is arrant injustice. Children cry to express their feelings. Older children need encouragement and should be praised and even rewarded for good behaviour. This is an effective way of grooming children into achieving their full potential. Behavioral problems during adulthood often stem from bad upbringing. I wish everyone good parenting.

Copyright © 2012 Tanzania Daily News. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201201300840.html

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Sunday, 29 January 2012

It’s a Girl!

This in today from the Seattle Aquarium:

SEATTLE—The Seattle Aquarium announced today that the sea otter pup born Jan. 14 at the Aquarium is a female. While the sex of a newborn animal might seem to be one of the first things the staff learns, giving the pup time to bond with its mother and the thickness of otter fur makes it hard to determine immediately.

“We’re delighted to know that the latest otter to be born in our care is a female,” said Traci Belting, curator of mammals and birds. “If the pup were a male, once it grew up it would need to be transferred so as not to cause conflicts with the father otter, Adaa. Now we know she can stay right here with her mother, Aniak, and her grandmother, Lootas.”

The pup now weighs just shy of five pounds, which is on target for 11 days old. Otters typically weigh between three and four pounds at birth.

At this stage, the pup is unnamed. The Aquarium will announce plans to invite the public to vote on possible names in the weeks ahead.

Additional facts about otter pups:

They nurse exclusively for about one month.
They begin to shed their fluffy pup fur at about six weeks; by 10 weeks, the coat will look more like that of an adult.
Their fluffy fur keeps the pup buoyant, so pups don’t attempt diving until after six weeks.
They begin to become proficient at opening shellfish—either by biting or pounding shells together on their chests—at about three months old.

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Source: http://www.seattleschild.com/article/its-a-girl

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If Eating a Placenta Grosses You Out, There's a Pill for That

capsule When I was pregnant with each of my two children, I remember being really confused about whether to bank my baby's cord blood or not. Nowadays, it seems women have another decision to make about their baby's placenta, as well: whether or not to eat it.

Apparently there's a booming business to be made in prepping newborn babies' afterbirth for their mothers' consumption. Sure, some women prefer the placenta cooked up and eaten according to gourmet recipes. Others like to have it turned into dried jerky. Still others swear by placenta smoothies. But increasingly, it seems, moms are availing themselves of a growing number of encapsulation services, which steam, slice, dehydrate, and grind the placenta into a powder, and then turn it into capsules for the mom (or dad, or anyone, I guess) to pop. "My customers don’t have to handle it or smell or taste it at all," one midwife who makes placenta capsules boasted to the Daily Mail.

Why would anyone do this, you ask?

Taking their cue from animals in nature (which often eat the placenta following birth, though it's unclear precisely why), placenta-eating enthusiasts -- those who practice placentophagy -- believe that consuming the afterbirth both enhances breast milk production for the mother and reduces her risk for developing postpartum depression. Many others, however, dispute those claims, contending that there's really no clear, proven health benefit to eating the placenta.

(One commenter responding to a New York magazine article about the phenomenon a few months ago called it "the ultimate locavore dining experience." Ha!)

Personally, I don't mean to judge -- if you want to eat your baby's placenta, go right ahead -- but the whole idea makes me feel pretty ill. (Admittedly, I'm pretty grossed out by organ meat from other animals, too.) I can see that eating the placenta in capsule form would alleviate some of this squeamishness, but not all of it. I suppose there's no harm, but something about it still doesn't sit quite right with me.

Would you ever consider eating your baby's placenta or do you find the concept flat-out nauseating?

Image via Brooks Elliott/Flickr

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cafemom/thestir/pregnancy/~3/zOhbp10iQ_U/if_eating_a_placenta_grosses

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Home Birth on the Rise

Historically speaking, home birth was were the vast majority of babies were born prior to the 1900s. As recently as the 19040s, home birth comprised 44% of the births in the United States. This number had dropped to about 1% by 1969. This is were the number stayed for many years. In a recent look at the data, the CDC found that the number of home births has been on the rise in recent years, since about 2004 - by about 29%.

While the absolute number is still low, 29,650 births in 2009, this increase is notable. About 1 in 90 births to non-hispanic white women are home births. There are also more women who are over 35, married and low risk giving birth at home. They feel that this means that women are being screened to accept only low risk women in the home birth setting.

Of the home births only 5% were attended by physicians, 33% were listed as other, this could be mother, father, friend, emergency medical personnel, etc. This leaves 62% of home births being attended by midwives. (19% certified nurse midwives and 43% other midwives (including certified professional midwives, direct entry midwives, etc.) This compares to 92% of births in a hospital being attended by physicians, with about 7% attended by midwives.

While they tried to look briefly at why women were choosing home birth, let's face it, birth certificate data doesn't ask you why you chose where you gave birth. The reasons most moms choose home birth are varied and complex. Some reasons that mothers give for choosing home birth include:

Believe it's safer for mom and baby (tied to no over use of technology)
Lower intervention and cesarean rates
Preferred the care of midwives
Wanted to be in own environment
About 1/3 the cost of a hospital birth

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that when decided on a home birth a mother should make sure that she is a good candidate for home birth (e.g. low risk), that she should choose a doctor or midwife who is qualified and has ready "access to consultation" and the ability to transport to a hospital in a timely manner should the need arise.

Do you know someone who has had a home birth?

This mother is snuggling with her newborn baby at a home water birth.

Related:

_Sources

_{American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee Opinion: Planned Home Birth. Number 476. February 2011.}

_{MacDorman MF, Mathews TJ, Declercq E. Home births in the United States, 1990- 2009. NCHS data brief, no 84. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.}

_{Photo iStockPhoto}

Source: http://pregnancy.about.com/b/2012/01/26/home-birth-on-the-rise-2.htm

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Hmm, We Wonder How Anna Wintour Feels About Her Main Squeeze Roger Federer Putting His Daughters in Birkenstocks?

See those adorable little girls in the pic above? They’re Roger Federer’s twin daughters, Myla and Charlene. They’ve definitely got their dad’s good looks, but what about his fashion sense?

It’s no secret that Roger is the apple of Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s eye, so we wonder what she’d think of his daughter’s wearing Birki’s Kids sandals? Not exactly something you’d find in an issue of Vogue, but you have to admit those girls look pretty chic in all white.

If you’re already thinking a season ahead, here’s where you can score the exact same kicks–for 40% off!

Shop cute Lelli Kelly shoes in our buying guides.

Sign up for our newsletter to get even more finds delivered right to your inbox.

Click here to email Jeanine, the author of this post.

Next Post: Psst! Can We Talk About All The Adorable Shoes On Sale at Piperlime Right Now?! »

Source: http://www.momfinds.com/2012/hmm-we-wonder-how-anna-wintour-feels-about-her-main-squeeze-roger-federer-putting-his-daughters-in-birkenstocks/

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It’s a Girl!

This in today from the Seattle Aquarium:

The pup now weighs just shy of five pounds, which is on target for 11 days old. Otters typically weigh between three and four pounds at birth.

At this stage, the pup is unnamed. The Aquarium will announce plans to invite the public to vote on possible names in the weeks ahead.

Additional facts about otter pups:

They nurse exclusively for about one month.
They begin to shed their fluffy pup fur at about six weeks; by 10 weeks, the coat will look more like that of an adult.
Their fluffy fur keeps the pup buoyant, so pups don’t attempt diving until after six weeks.
They begin to become proficient at opening shellfish—either by biting or pounding shells together on their chests—at about three months old.

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Source: http://www.seattleschild.com/article/its-a-girl

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Saturday, 28 January 2012

Hmm, We Wonder How Anna Wintour Feels About Her Main Squeeze Roger Federer Putting His Daughters in Birkenstocks?

See those adorable little girls in the pic above? They’re Roger Federer’s twin daughters, Myla and Charlene. They’ve definitely got their dad’s good looks, but what about his fashion sense?

If you’re already thinking a season ahead, here’s where you can score the exact same kicks–for 40% off!

Shop cute Lelli Kelly shoes in our buying guides.

Sign up for our newsletter to get even more finds delivered right to your inbox.

Click here to email Jeanine, the author of this post.

Next Post: Psst! Can We Talk About All The Adorable Shoes On Sale at Piperlime Right Now?! »

Source: http://www.momfinds.com/2012/hmm-we-wonder-how-anna-wintour-feels-about-her-main-squeeze-roger-federer-putting-his-daughters-in-birkenstocks/

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Reduce, Reuse & Repurpose!

Blog

by Lori Alper, Founder of Groovy Green Livin'

The saying goes: “One person’s trash may be another person’s treasure.” We live in a use-and-toss society where most of the time we don’t give a second thought to using an item once and then tossing it. If we stopped before tossing we might realize that some of those items that seem ripe for the trash can be repurposed into something completely different for our own use. That trash could become our own treasure.

Why repurpose or reuse?

Repurposing something is different than recycling. Recycling is the process by which old goods are re-manufactured, allowing them to be turned into new products. Reusing or repurposing is taking a product that’s already in existence and lengthening its life by using it for something new.

Reusing can help keep our earth healthy and green.

Reusing something keeps it out of an overflowing landfill.
Reusing conserves natural resources.
When you reuse a product you consume less. This will ultimately save you money over time.
Reusing a product reduces your health risks. In most cases, an item already in circulation has off-gassed its harmful VOCs (that “new” smell).

Many of us are already in the habit of using reusable bags when we head out to the market. This is a fantastic step in the reusable direction. There are many other ways to reuse a product. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Toilet paper rolls for planting seedlings

No need to buy peat pots when you can make your own biodegradable pots out of something you already have in your home — toilet paper rolls. Cut the rolls in half and fold in the bottom of the roll as shown above. Add soil and seeds and you have your very own peat pot.

Wooden clementine box for stuffed animal or doll bed

We go through a lot of clementines in our house and they usually come in a wooden crate to prevent the fruit from being crushed. If you have a few of these crates lying around they can be repurposed into an adorable little stuffed animal or doll bed.

Empty glass jars repurposed for storage

Empty glass jars can be repurposed into storage containers for nails, screws, bolts and other hardware. Different sized jars can also work well for food and spice storage.

What have you repurposed? Check out other ideas from our bloggers:

Andrea Gosselin started using discarded glass jars as "to-go" cups on Tales of Goodness.
Paige Wolf shares with us repurposed products at Hipstyle.com on Spit That Out.
Beth Terry found a use for her old T-shirts by transforming them into a quilt on My Plastic Free Life.
Michelle Marine has a different use for her old tees - cloth handkerchiefs! On Simplify, Live, Love.
Micaela PReston turned her children's old cloth diapers into dusters on Mindful Momma.
Betsy Escandon turns old boxes into upcycled toys on Eco-Novice.

Thank you to our Healthy Child Network for these wonderful articles. Interested in joining our network and submitting your blogs to be featured? Sign-up today!

Photos courtesy Groovy Green Livin

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

Posted by Mike Lieberman on 01/26/2012 at 09:37 AM

I have an entire cupboard filled with old glass jars. I need to figure out more uses for them.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/checblog/~3/LlD2b7kmh2g/

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If Eating a Placenta Grosses You Out, There's a Pill for That

Why would anyone do this, you ask?

(One commenter responding to a New York magazine article about the phenomenon a few months ago called it "the ultimate locavore dining experience." Ha!)

Would you ever consider eating your baby's placenta or do you find the concept flat-out nauseating?

Image via Brooks Elliott/Flickr

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cafemom/thestir/pregnancy/~3/zOhbp10iQ_U/if_eating_a_placenta_grosses

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It’s a Girl!

This in today from the Seattle Aquarium:

The pup now weighs just shy of five pounds, which is on target for 11 days old. Otters typically weigh between three and four pounds at birth.

At this stage, the pup is unnamed. The Aquarium will announce plans to invite the public to vote on possible names in the weeks ahead.

Additional facts about otter pups:

They nurse exclusively for about one month.
They begin to shed their fluffy pup fur at about six weeks; by 10 weeks, the coat will look more like that of an adult.
Their fluffy fur keeps the pup buoyant, so pups don’t attempt diving until after six weeks.
They begin to become proficient at opening shellfish—either by biting or pounding shells together on their chests—at about three months old.

(0) Comment(s)

Source: http://www.seattleschild.com/article/its-a-girl

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Friday, 27 January 2012

Web Coolness - Special Valentines, getting organized, and hugs from the internet

Here are some things we've liked reading around the web this week. We hope you will too.

We're digging these Valentine's garden recipes, like these colorful plantable paper hearts.

Had it with hearts already? Kristen has rounded up some pretty arrow jewelry that we'd love to get from a special someone.

We're happy to read about the new federal standards for school lunches.

Find More: Baubles & Bags, Getting crafty, Link Roundups, Media

Source: http://www.coolmompicks.com/2012/01/special_valentines_organization_and_more.php

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Web Coolness - Special Valentines, getting organized, and hugs from the internet

Here are some things we've liked reading around the web this week. We hope you will too.

We're digging these Valentine's garden recipes, like these colorful plantable paper hearts.

Had it with hearts already? Kristen has rounded up some pretty arrow jewelry that we'd love to get from a special someone.

We're happy to read about the new federal standards for school lunches.

Find More: Baubles & Bags, Getting crafty, Link Roundups, Media

Source: http://www.coolmompicks.com/2012/01/special_valentines_organization_and_more.php

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Africa: Response to Bill Gates' Annual Letter from Merlin's Head of Health: Dr. Samson Agbo

Merlin (Washington, DC)

27 January 2012

document

This week Microsoft multimillionaire-turned philanthropist Bill Gates issued his annual review of the work of the Gates Foundation. Merlin's Head of Health, Dr Samson Agbo, responds to it...

Bill Gates' annual letter is always an inspiring read and today's was no exception. As an international health charity, Merlin is thrilled at the positive impact the Gates Foundation has had - not just on those whose lives are saved or enhanced, but on decisions-made and donations given.

The Foundation - like Merlin - exists to improve global health by working hard and thoughtfully to bring about lasting change.

As an entrepreneur, it is natural that Bill Gates has an eye to innovation; especially around how science can produce sustainable agriculture.

But we were also encouraged to see that his annual review mentions the fundamental human right - a woman's choice of when she has children. This is an issue very close to Merlin's heart.

The Kenyan woman who Melinda Gates met summed this up aptly by telling her: "I want to bring every good thing to one child before I have another."

Merlin wants that too. And we want women to be spared the risk of preventable death in labour, the trauma of stillbirths, the complications from unsafe abortions and the poor health and fatigue from years of frequent pregnancies. Stronger, healthier women are vital in helping vulnerable communities withstand crises. We can't prevent populations in fragile states being hit by disease outbreaks, natural disasters and conflicts, but having a female population in good health will at least increase their resilience to them.

Bill's letter cites some jaw-dropping figures for population forecasts. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Merlin has been working since 1997, the population is expected to rise 120% by 2050. Compare this to the Europe and the USA where the rate is 25%.

In a country beset by poor access to health services; a chronic shortage of health workers, high maternal death rates and shocking infant mortality, Merlin's work on family planning is needed more than ever.

It is great news that this life-saving issue is mentioned in the same breath as new vaccines, pest-resistant crops and education.

Merlin is a leading charity specializing in world health. Merlin provides medical expertise in the world's toughest places, saving lives in emergencies and staying for as long as it takes to rebuild health services. Our core mission is to build health systems which can cope with needs now and in the future.

For further information please contact: Theresa Rhodes, Executive Director, theresa.rhodes@merlinusa.org, 202-449-6399

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Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201201271560.html

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Kristin Cavallari Reveals #1 Way to Hide a Pregnancy

With news this weekend that Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler are expecting a baby, the world rejoiced. That is until some remembered that just a few weeks prior, she'd been Tweeting about all of the margaritas she was slamming back with Mexican food in Chicago. Then some gasped in horror about the harm she could have inflicted on her unborn child.

Everyone can relax though, because it was just one big pregnant ploy on Kristin's part to throw people off so she could announce the news on her own terms. Yesterday, she tweeted: "I tweeted that I had margaritas a few weeks ago to throw ppl off cuz I had gotten a couple tweets about my pregnancy. I didn't really drink!"

Tricky, tricky, and one of the oldest tricks in the book to try and deter nosy people who love nothing better than sniffing out a baby bump. There's nothing better than pretending to drink alcohol to throw them off track. I've known women to do everything from secretly filling their glass with non-alcoholic beer to just pretending to take sips of a drink and pouring it out when no one is looking. It's pretty surefire ammunition against any speculation.

If you don't drink in the first place, however, that won't work. Here are some other things you can do if you want to keep your pregnancy news to yourself:

The Big Purse Move

Celebrities are great at using this move in pictures. Grab a big bag and casually keep it in front of your budding baby bump while standing.

Rock New Fashion

Develop a sudden affinity for A-line dresses or shirts with empire waists. These can take you a long way in a pregnancy with no one the wiser.

Find an Alternative Restroom

If you have morning sickness (or all day sickness), get familiar with the restrooms on other floors of your building. You may also have to feign food poisoning or the flu if caught.

Talk About Doing Something Extreme

Drop plans for horse riding, rock climbing, or some other extreme sport you want to do that pregnant women aren't supposed to do in the near future into your conversation.

Go Into Hiding

If you are really adamant about no one finding out about your pregnancy before you're ready to tell them, then avoid people and situations like the plague. Somehow it seems no matter what you do, there are people who just have a sense about these things.

Did you try to hide your pregnancy in the beginning? What techniques did you employ?

Image via nick step/Flickr

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cafemom/thestir/pregnancy/~3/CIQz7hEQfPM/kristin_cavallari_reveals_1_way

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Tanzania: Post-Natal Mother, Infant Deaths Increasing

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

Anne Robi

26 January 2012

THE Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has stepped up long-term strategies to reduce maternal and infant deaths in the country.

The exercise to be conducted by experts from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) has been funded by the American Agency for International Development (USAID).

Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, MUHAS Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Eligious Lyamuya said that the plan also aims at achieving the millennium development goals on reproductive health.

"Apart from implementing government's efforts in the fight against maternal and infant deaths, the plan also aims at achieving Millennium Development Goals," he stressed.

Prof Lyamuya who was speaking during a workshop on Dissemination of Findings from the Morogoro Evaluation Project on Health Productive, said that the plan will focus on complications to mothers and children after delivery. Echoing Prof Lyamuya, the Coordinator of the Evaluation Project, Mr Chrisostom Lipinga said that maternal and infant mortality is alarmingly increasing due to lack of awareness.

Basing on the findings, Mr Lipinga said that 75 per cent of maternal deaths occur within one-month after delivery. "Most mothers die within a month after delivery following unnecessary complications that occur after delivery, this is due to lack of awareness in communities," he noted.

On the other hand, Mr Lipinga said that 60 per of infant deaths occur within a month after delivery. He attributed the trend to ignorance. "Some of the mothers do not go for medical check up whenever a complication occurs, this is where most mothers and children die," he said, adding that HIV positive mothers do not go for medical check-up after delivery and thus increasing the problem. He noted that the project would be implemented throughout the country.

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Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201201260335.html

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