35 Reasons to Have a Homebirth...

Here are some of my favorites...

13. Home birth is just more fun!
22. You can cut the umbilical cord when you are good and ready. The speed at which they want to snip our newborn’s lifeline is unbelievable.
32. Nobody comes in, wakes you up, and checks your vitals every half hour at home.
34. Having a home birth is different. Different is cool.

Read more and feel free to leave your reason(s) in the comments!

Childbirth: Can the US Improve?

Once reserved for cases in which the life of the baby or mother was in danger, the cesarean is now routine. The most common operation in the U.S., it is performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965.

With that surge has come an explosion in medical bills, an increase in complications -- and a reconsideration of the cesarean as a sometimes unnecessary risk.

It is a big reason childbirth often is held up in healthcare reform debates as an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good.

Read more...

Why todays parents are saying no to circumcision

We are the only country that routinely circumcises our infants at birth for non religious reasons. This is not the norm in other countries. In fact when speaking with a European friend of mine who was expecting a boy, she said she would not only not circumcise her son, but that she would never stand for it. When you live in a culture that does not routinely circumcise, the question becomes why would you.

Read more...

Free Local Family Wellness Fair 5/16/09

And if you come, you could stop by and see yours truly!!

We have had several late vendor additions to the list below, so it's going to be a great day with lots of entertainment and information for the whole family. Please join us and tell all your friends and family to do the same!

Free Local Family Wellness Fair on 5/16/09

The Delaware County, PA chapter of the Holistic Moms Network, in conjunction with Ohm Chiropractic Center , is sponsoring a Wellness Fair on Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 11am to 4pm at Ohm Chiropractic located at 327 N. Middletown Road, Media, PA 19063. Free lectures start at 11am and fair festivities start at noon.

This family-friendly event is open to the public and free! Come early and bring your entire family to enjoy the lovely spring day and the scheduled outdoor activities. There will be an assortment of BBQ and vegan food available, live music throughout the day, raffles and more!

There will be free: massages, small reiki sessions, spinal check ups, reflexology sessions, adult yoga class and several fun children’s activities. Some of the vendors will represent a variety of products: essential oil bath and beauty products, handmade candles, handmade scarves, Ergo baby carriers, Juice Plus whole food supplements, handmade jewelry, Shaklee cleaning products and Selene Whole Food Co-op. There will also be several well-known area birth services, local non-profit organizations and other wellness practitioners with informational booths. Scheduled lectures include vaccine choice, homeopathy for moms and kids and traditional Chinese medicine for children.

For more information, please contact Heather Busovsky.

Ricki Lake and The Doctors

I was going to make a post about the TV show The Doctors and their take on birth and Ricki Lake, but then I saw Jill's post, and I figured I'd just let her do it. Go read!

Do You Doula?

A video about the role of doulas in childbirth... pretty good!

Delayed Cord Clamping

Great video about the benefits of delayed cord clamping!

Mom's Group 5/13

Come to Amy's house and meet other moms on the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings start at 11am and end at 2pm. Bring lunch or something to share. Children are always welcome!

Where:
52 Marshall Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342

When:
Wednesday, May 13th 11am to 2pm

Widespread use of labor induction potentially harmful

The investigators found support only for inducing labor at or beyond 41 completed weeks of gestation and under some conditions when a woman's membranes break before labor. However, there is not good evidence for inducing labor in many other situations, including when the fetus is believed to be large or to have restricted growth, or when a woman is pregnant with twins, has insulin-dependent diabetes, or has low levels of amniotic fluid.

Read more...

Cesareans outnumber Vaginal Births in S Florida

Last year, for the first time, more babies in Miami-Dade County were born by cesarean section than were born vaginally, according to state records, and Broward's not far behind, with a rate of 43.7 percent -- both far above the national average.

At Kendall Regional Medical Center in Southwest Miami-Dade, seven out of 10 babies were delivered by C-section, a rate that University of Miami obstetrician Gene Burkett called ``just astounding.''

Locally and nationally, the cesarean rate has been creeping up annually for years. In 2007, the U.S. rate reached 31.8 percent, according to the National Center for Health Statistics -- an increase of more than 50 percent over the past decade.

Read more...