The following picture put out by March of Dimes is a great way of impressing upon mothers to “challenge” their doctors if they are forced to be induced at 37 weeks. Study after study has proven that absent any evident medical problem babies need minimum of 39 weeks or till the time of spontaneous birth [...]
During antenatal checkups mother, her husband and family should be made at ease and made to feel that we as health care providers are here to support her. Typically most care providers hurry through their consultations and do not encourage questions of mothers and fathers. We think this is not good care practice. The Healthy [...]
Following is a very telling excerpt from the book ” Where there is no midwife: Birth and Loss in rural India” by Sara Pinto (c) Berghahn Books…. While their kids run around us on the grass between their house and the fields Pushpadevi and her sister-in-law, women from the untouchable Pasi jati tell me about [...]
So you are pregnant and your doctor has given you a “due date”. As this date approaches you have many questions as to whether you will give birth on the due date or you will do so earlier or later. Most hospitals today do not allow mothers to go past their due date and will [...]
Many of us are aware of Lamaze classes as a series of classes which teach expectant parents important things about good practices in pregnancy, labor, childbirth, breastfeeding, etc. Perhaps the most important aspect of Lamaze education is the knowledge that it gives to would be parents that make them no longer fearful of the whole [...]
As I just wound up another Lamaze Childbirth Educator Workshop, the ever present question of when I was going to teach “Lamaze Breathing” as a part of the workshop’s practical skills kept popping up. Just as in the Workshop, most women and their husbands who come to Healthy Mother Antenatal Lamaze Classes want to learn [...]
Over the past 2 years, I am increasingly hearing the diagnosis “oligohydramnios” or “low amniotic fluid” as one of the biggest reasons for induction and/or C-Section. How do we “diagnose” low amniotic fluid? How much is too little? Do we need repeated Ultrasound Scans to determine the level of fluid? What about traditional hands-on skills [...]
The World Health Organization has always recommended that newborn infants be placed “skin to skin” contact with the mother immediately after the birth. There are numerous benefits to doing this, versus no important negative effects. In the study Puig G, Sguassero Y. Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants: RHL commentary (last [...]
Over the last few days, I have had the pleasure of helping many mothers restart and become confident about breastfeeding. In these consults, as well as on our Healthy Mother Breastfeeding Support Network, two questions keep cropping up: “Can I do it (without supplemental feeding)” and “Will my baby have enough?” The simple answer to [...]