Wordless Wednesday

VBAC Restrictions 'Lighten Up"!

In the wake of the NIH conference on VBACs, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) updated their statement regarding VBACs and accessibility to them. This is great news and a step in the right direction.

Here's the main highlight...

"The College guidelines now clearly say that women with two previous low-transverse cesarean incisions, women carrying twins, and women with an unknown type of uterine scar are considered appropriate candidates for a TOLAC" .

Nursing Mothers Group Discussion Topics

SUMMER SCHEDULE *** July & August 2010 *** SUMMER SCHEDULE
Nursing Mothers Group Discussion Topics

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE NO MEETINGS BETWEEN THE JULY AND AUGUST DATES LISTED HERE. CALL SHARON AT 602-348-2483 DURING THAT TIME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.


Wednesday Mornings: 10 AM – Noon
PLEASE PARK ON 37TH AVENUE; CROSS INTO THE PARKING LOT
ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF THE CLINIC

Join us in the Breastfeeding Support Center. Babies and toddlers always welcome. Bring your questions and concerns –
In addition to the discussion topic, we’ll explore answers that work for YOU. This is informal and fun!




July 7 Growing Independence
Babies grow from dependence on mom and other caregivers toward independence. Share your baby’s journey and how you have nurtured their success.

July 14 Making Time for Mom
How do you recharge your batteries so that you can be the kind of mom you want to be? Share what works for you AND get some new ideas to try.


SUMMER BREAK IS HERE!


August 11 Breastfeeding in Public
Breastfeeding is portable, clean, and so very convenient. What things helped you be more comfortable breastfeeding away from home?

August 18 Recipe Exchange
Bring a recipe or an idea to share that reflects a positive change you’ve made in your family’s eating habits.

August 25 Extended Family and the Breastfed Baby
Help your extended family interact with baby when they can’t feed him or her. There is LOTS of fun to have!

Guest post: Children and Chiropractic Care

This is the first in a series of posts about chiropractic care by Dr. Ashley. I had no idea that there were so many benefits to chiropractic care!



"Why would I take my child to a chiropractor? His back doesn't hurt. "
-Many parents see the importance of taking their children in for check-ups of
their child's teeth, hearing, eyes, ears, nose, and throat but never considered
the importance of a check-up of their children's spine.


A spinal check up may be one of the most important things you can do for
your child. Why? The birth process alone puts tremendous stress on the newborn
spine that could lead to many health problems. The normal jumping, falling,
running, bumping, flipping of childhood can cause vertebral subluxations, with
serious health consequences if uncorrected. With a healthy spine, a child's body
can better deal with sore throats, ear infections, stomach aches, fevers, and
the many other problems that can be present during childhood.


Emotionally Healthy Children:
Doctors and parents have observed often dramatic improvements in the
physical, emotional, and neurological health of children following chiropractic
care. This includes children with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, anxiety,
concentration problems, dyslexia, discipline problems, low IQ, and low grades.

Ear Infections:

In many cases ear infections are observed to disappear after spinal adjustments,
saving children from antibiotics and ear-tube surgery. There are many problems
with antibiotic use in children including but not limited to allergic reactions,
GI upset, antibiotic resistance and destruction of the guts intestinal flora
leading to yeast proliferation. Tubes often do not create lasting cures with
infections commonly returning within two months and the tubes can affect hearing
loss later.



*Keeping your child's spine free from vertebral subluxation will boost their
natural defenses against disease and illness.

If your child has any of these conditions make sure his or her spine is healthy:

· Fever
· Colic
· Croup
· Learning Disorders
· Poor posture
· Nervousness
· Constipation
· Bed Wetting
· Weakness or fatigue
· Allergies
· Sinus Trouble
· Stomach Ache
· Loss of hearing
· Ear infections
· Arthritis
· Numbness
· Irritability
· Headaches
· Neck Aches
· Back Aches
· Sore throat
· Eye problems
· Cough
· Skin Disorders
· Asthma
· Wheezing
· Scoliosis or curvature
· Neurologic Conditions
· Bronchitis
· Frequent Colds
· Muscular Dystrophy
· Cerebral Palsy
· Poor Concentration
· Arm and Hand pain
· Painful joints
· Hip, leg, and foot pain
· Shoulder Pain
· Clumsiness
· A foot turned in or out
· One leg shorter
· Unusual Behavior
· And many others......



Ashley Chiropractic

480-259-0064

3006 S Rural Rd

Tempe 85282


www.ashley-chiropractic.com

Book Review: The Doctor and the Diva

I received a complimentary copy of the book "The Doctor and the Diva" by Adrienne McDonnell with a request for a review on the blog. So I read it and here's the review...

The novel stems from real-life events occuring in the authors' ancestors. The doctor, Ravell, is an up and coming obstetrician who also discreetly specializes in fertility. The diva, Erika von Kessler is an opera singer who is torn between her passion for singing and that of motherhood. The story spans the globe from Boston to Trinidad to Italy in the early 1900's. It is a story about morals, passion, and achieving dreams, sometimes at all costs.

I am often leery of historical fiction as I find it tedious and boring when authors get bogged down in historical detail. However, I found this book to be light, easy-to-read, but yet with enough detail to set the 'scene'. The plot inspires the reader to ask themself how far they might be willing to go to obtain their desires. Whether it's Dr Ravell's moral lapse in violating his sworn oath as a physician. Or a mother who leaves her son behind to pursue her own desires.

Thumbs up - I recommend this book - makes excellent reading by the poolside!

You can go to the author's website here and Penguin Books here.

Guest Post: Informative, empowering, and maybe even life-changing: How Bradley Method classes can help you prepare for birth and beyond

Jenny David is a local Bradley instructor who I have had the pleasure of getting to know on Facebook and at birth circles. I have found her thoughts and ideas to be unbiased, informative, and just downright wise :) She was more than happy to supply me with a post on this particular method when I asked - Thanks Jenny!

Allison and her husband Dave were looking for something different. They knew they wanted to prepare for a natural, unmedicated birth, but had no idea where to start. Their health care provider offered them information on the childbirth classes offered by the hospital where they would be birthing, but upon investigating further, they feared the hospital class would not prepare them for the birth experience they were hoping for.

“I read about The Bradley Method, and it sounded like exactly what we were looking for. So we found a local instructor, and we spent one evening a week the entire third trimester of the pregnancy in our Bradley class, and it was the best choice we ever made.”

Allison and Dave are not alone. While The Bradley Method is not as well known as some other childbirth methods, since its inception in the early 1970s, over 200,000 women and their partners have prepared for birth using the Bradley Method. For many of these women Bradley classes are not only informative, but empowering and can even be life changing. It’s not for everyone, but for many women and their partners, the Bradley Method is a great choice. Here’s why:

First of all, it’s important to know that the Bradley Method is unambiguous in its message that birth is a natural process and that for most low risk women and babies, the healthiest choice is usually to give birth without the use of drugs or interventions. Our bodies have innate wisdom, and are perfectly designed to give birth; however many of us are not yet in touch with our instinctive birthing selves. Many women who hoped for an unmedicated birth find that, when the time comes, they feel pressured to induce labor, or they are not able to cope with the intensity of labor and end up using the very interventions they were trying to avoid. It’s something many women, including Allison, have heard over and over.

“So many of my friends went into their pregnancies with the attitude that, because it’s a natural process, and women have been doing it for millions of years, they figure they’d just see how it goes. And most of them ended up with inductions, epidurals, and even c-sections. I thought there had to be a better way.”

And there are better ways. One is to increase our comfort in the natural process by understanding it thoroughly.

Bradley classes are comprehensive childbirth education, covering nutrition, exercise, anatomy and physiology of labor & birth, how to make informed choices about care, support and comfort measures for labor, breastfeeding, and postpartum care. Perhaps most importantly, women and their partners learn to use deep relaxation to reduce the fear and tension that can lead to unmanageable pain, and to help make the sensations of birthing more bearable. As with any hard work, the right tools can make labor go more smoothly. Bradley couples have many tools at their disposal.

Dr. Robert Bradley, the founder of the Bradley Method, likened giving birth to an athletic event and advocated a training regimen of sorts. For this reason, Bradley classes are 12 weeks in length. This time frame allows women to increase their fitness through excellent nutrition, conditioning exercises, and to practice a variety of deliberate relaxation techniques. The third trimester of pregnancy is spent preparing physically, mentally, and emotionally for the entire experience of giving birth.

Throughout the class emphasis is placed on empowering the birth partner with those tools to use throughout the pregnancy and birth, allowing them to take an active role in supporting the birthing woman through the birth process. Many couples find that taking a Bradley class together strengthens their relationship, fostering closeness and communication in a completely new way.

Allison remembers, “We started to look forward to our Sunday evening class as a chance to just focus on us as a couple, and on what we wanted for our baby’s birth. It was kind of like a date night, with the added benefit of really helping us to concentrate on the task at hand. When it was over, we sort of missed it!”

Of course, even though the Bradley Method was originally called “Husband Coached Childbirth,“ there’s no requirement that couples are married, that they are opposite gender, or even that they are a couple. All that is necessary is that a dedicated, caring birth partner is present to support the birthing woman. In Bradley classes, it’s not unusual for women to attend with their mom, sister, best friend or doula.

While birth is usually a safe and uneventful process, complications and unexpected situations can arise. Some of these possibilities are discussed in class, and couples are encouraged to develop a birth plan that facilitates communication with their care providers, enabling them to be active partners in all their care decisions. It was this process of taking ownership of her birth plan that Allison found to be empowering.

“It had never occurred to me before that I would have to ask so many questions. I guess I just assumed my doctor would tell me everything I needed to know. Once I started going to Bradley class, a whole world of possibilities opened up. I ended up having fantastic conversations with my doctor based on what I learned in class, and in turn I just felt so much more confident in my relationship with her and in myself. It felt good to know I had choices and that my opinions mattered.”

Allison and Dave, like all new parents, consider their baby boy’s birth to be a peak experience in their lives. “It wasn’t easy, and there were certainly moments of doubt, but throughout the whole labor and birth, I never felt afraid. I did experience pain, and I had a long labor, but Dave was always there, anticipating my every need and I know his amazing coaching was a direct result of what we learned in Bradley class. I birthed my son in exactly the way I wanted to, and it has made me feel like I can do anything. I am changed forever. And in a good way.”

There are several Bradley Method instructors in the metro Phoenix area. Class locations and schedules vary by instructor. You can get more information on the Bradley Method, (including a listing of local instructors) by going to Bradley Birth.

Jenny David is a Bradley Method instructor, birth doula, and freelance writer in the east valley. Visit her website at Valley Childbirth. She’s also on Facebook! Look for Valley Childbirth Support Services.

Don't Put That in Your Mouth!

A new study was released earlier this month addressing too much weight gain during pregnancy. The study, done in Britain, addresses women who gain too much in the first trimester, and/or throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. I sometimes am asked why weight is so important during pregnancy, or a mom makes a flippant remark about losing it all with breastfeeding. There can be ramifications to inadequate weight gain as well as gaining too much.



It seems there are some links between risk factors in the offspring when momma gains too much weight. Having been there and done that x3, I certainly was guilty of gaining too much (40, 30, 25 pounds). I wish someone had told me why less weight gain was important. I wonder if providers sometimes avoid the weight issue altogether. Perhaps like taking a sexual history, it can make one uncomfortable to delve into a private personal area. Maybe providers are afraid of offending women. But the reality is that we do not do justice by the women we provide care for by avoiding this topic.



The subject matter requires more research before changes in weight gain guidelines are changed. If you would like to see the abstract, click here.