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 […]
birth
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 […]
Preeclampsia Explained By Battle Between Uterus & Placenta
A battle that brews in the mother’s womb between the father’s biological goal to produce the biggest, healthiest baby possible vs. the mother’s need to live through delivery might help explain preeclampsia, an often deadly disease of pregnancy. The fetus must be big enough to thrive, yet small enough to pass through the birth canal. […]
Blood Test Detects Genetic Defects During Pregnancy
If a couple chooses to test for genetic defects in their unborn baby, they must go through a series of invasive procedures that can be potentially risky to the fetus and the mother. Amniocentesis, which typically tests for Down’s Syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and spina bifida at around 20-weeks of pregnancy, tests the amniotic fluid around […]
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 […]
