As if you needed another reason to breastfeed...

The BBC is reporting a review of research done in Toronto which found that breastfeeding newborns helps relieve pain from a needle prick used to screen their blood for disease. Breastfed babies appeared to experience less pain than those who were swaddled, given a pacifier or a placebo.

I'm tellin ya, that mama-juice is miraculous stuff!

Let's Hear it for the Brits!

Good article on the BBC website about Mums demanding more support in breastfeeding.

Oh The Times, They Are a Changin...

Or at least, one might hope.

But, when the Wall Street Journal reports on such mundance concerns as childbirth, pregnancy and delivery, folks take notice. Kaiser Permanente did a nice summary.

As a result, hospital groups are limiting the use of the hormone oxytocin, which often is used to induce labor or increase the frequency of contractions, because it can cause uterine ruptures, fetal distress and infant death when used in excessive doses. In addition, many hospital groups are adopting policies that restrict the use of forceps and vacuums, which can help move infants through the birth canal but also can lead to injuries, such as bone fractures and nerve damage. The new policies are "already changing the experience" of delivery in many hospitals, making it more difficult to schedule deliveries "on a convenient day" for the ob-gyn or pregnant woman and preventing the administration of oxytocin to speed up a long and potentially painful labor, the Journal reports.

Very interesting.

Morning Sickness is Nature's Way?

The BBC has done an article on the University of Liverpool analysis of 56 previous studies in 21 countries on morning sickness, which appears in the Royal Society's Biological Journal.

Family Resists C-section

Fascinating story - check it out!

Inductions have a tendency to fail...

From the Sacramento Bee, which has a seriously annoying registration process.

Dr. Bruce Flamm, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, said while Main's study doesn't settle the debate over C-section rates, it does offer guidance on how to reduce the number of unnecessary ones.

"Be cautious with inductions, because they have a tendency to fail," Flamm said. "And we ought to be careful about admitting patients to labor and delivery if they are not really in labor."

Emphasis mine.

"Failure" probably means a c-section.

VBAC is ok

Well, if ACOG says it's ok, then it's gotta be true!

They're so behind the times...

Midwives Have Had it Rough...

Midwives have had it rough in the past... Being accused of witchcraft and all sorts of heinousness.

Oh where, oh where have the midwives gone?

Oh where, oh where can they be?

Here's a nicely written, only slightly snide article by a chiropractor from California. Reminds me to call my chiropractor and make an appointment.

Enjoy!

Breastfeed or Else

How's that for an article title in the New York Times? That's pretty bold... Check it out!

Forever Pregnant

The Forever Pregnant article on the Washington Post sure has freaked out the feminist community.

I can see why.

New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.

Pre-pregnant, huh? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about making sure that you're doing the prenatal vitamins and all that once you've decided that you're going to try and conceive a baby. The establishment's counterargument to that is "because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed."

So, for crying out loud, why aren't we working to get better access to contraception that does work to people instead of making sure that we're all on prenatal vitamins!?!?!