The placenta, the organ responsible for for nourishing your baby and regulating maternal-fetal interactions, may be a contributing factor in a child’s autism diagnosis. “There is increasing evidence implicating the placenta in autism risk. For example, abnormal inclusions of trophoblasts, the cells that comprise the placenta, are found more frequently in placentas from mothers of […]
birth
How Mother Nature Makes Your Baby A Brainiac
New research from Yale has identified that vaginal birth prompts the secretion of a special protein that promotes the development of the baby’s hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning, memory, and stress response. This protein is also a key component of breastmilk, possibly explaining the link between early nurturing from the mother […]
Midwives Come Together, Make Joint Statement
The three U.S. midwifery organizations, MANA, ACNM, and NACPM, recently came together to make a joint statement regarding the support of normal, physiological childbirth. In 1996, The WHO called for the elimination of all unnecessary interventions in childbirth, yet as you know, some of these interventions are being overused in our maternity health system, often […]
What’s A Few Weeks?
Many pregnant women, antsy due to the aches and discomforts of late pregnancy, wish they would just go into labor when they hit the 37-week mark. Chances are, they aren’t sleeping well, they are going to the bathroom every time they sneeze, and they may have the discomforts of sciatic or back pain. It’s understandable; […]
Where Is Your Placenta Buried?
There was a very interesting slideshow, titled Vanishing Voices, in this month’s National Geographic. According to the magazine, as many as half of the languages spoken in the world today will be forgotten and disappear in the next 100 years. So much cultural identity and significance is rooted within language. It’s not only how we […]
Heating Placenta To Revive Unresponsive Babies
It is believed in Ayurvedic medicine that if a baby is born appearing lifeless, the placenta can be warmed to restore life in the child. The practice of warming an attached (unclamped and uncut) placenta in hot water or by massage is thought to restore the jeeva, or life force, that is stored in the […]
