posted May 21, 2006 08:31 PM         

red raspberry leaf tea

Supreme Tonic for Pregnancy
Red raspberry has been called the "herb supreme" for pregnancy. A wonderful tonic that helps to prepare the uterus for birth, relaxing and relieving cramps, it is so effective that many women actually report pain-free or virtually pain-free labors thanks to red raspberry leaf tea.

Red raspberry is rich in iron and calcium (which pregnant women need more of), potassium, and vitamins B, C, and E. It has been shown to help with morning sickness and postpartum depression, to prevent bleeding at birth and hemorrhaging, to return the uterus to normal more quickly after birth, and to encourage breast milk. British scientists have recently identified an active ingredient and confirmed raspberry leaf's use as a pregnancy tonic. It is safe and without side effects. Red raspberry leaves are usually infused as a tea and consumed three times a day.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/herbal-allies.html

posted May 21, 2006 08:59 PM         

The Mother Magazine
my favorite

The Compleat Mother
i had a subscription to this during my babe's tenure in me ~ poetry for the soul.

Mothering
all good mama and babe stuff

great forums:

The Earthy Birthy Thought Swap
these are the most serious, hard-core mamas you'll find anywhere!

Mothering Magazine Forum

Veg Family
for veggie and vegan mothers...this is serious veggie very good health stuff.

posted May 21, 2006 10:04 PM         

Gwynweth Paltrow's planning a home waterbirth...

Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly planning to give birth to her second baby underwater.

The pregnant star and Coldplay star husband Chris Martin are said to have splashed out on birthing pools for their homes in London and New York.

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth - who is due to give birth in May - is said to have planned an underwater delivery when having daughter, Apple, but changed her mind at the last minute.

A friend is quoted in Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: "It's something Gwyneth really wanted to do for her first birth but she didn't feel confident enough.

"This time she's more than ready for an underwater birth - she's done loads of research. It will be very special and spiritual."

Last year, Gwyneth spoke about how much she loved being a mum - and said having Apple was like winning the lottery.
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/79582004.htm

posted May 22, 2006 12:03 AM         

You are my new best friend. Anyone who can give me ideas for natural pain relief deserves props!

posted May 22, 2006 12:37 PM         

thank you kim.

posted May 22, 2006 01:11 PM         

Childbirth Without Fear: The Original Approach to Natural Childbirth
by Grantly Dick-Read

(there's also a new version co-authored with Michel Odent)

How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor
by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

and

The Continuum Concept
by Jean Leidloff

"I don't know whether the world can be saved by a book, but if it could be, this might just be the book."
-John Holt, Author/Educator

published in English, Danish, German, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, and Serbo-Croatian...

website, with discussion forum ~

The Continuum Network

posted May 22, 2006 05:36 PM         

Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants
by Dana Ullman, M.P.H.

Unlike antibiotics and other such medicine, homoeopathic pills do not hamper digestion; does not lower resistance power; does not produce allergy and does not harm even if taken for long-term. Homoeopathy pills being sweet in taste, is accepted with pleasure by children. They are never bitter, cause no nauseative feeling and kids do not make fuss while taking homoeopathic medicines. It is so easy to take that even one day old neonates can be administered treatment without forcefully inducing in them, saving them from lot of weeping, crying and inconvenience. Homoeopathic therapy is superior to traditional treatment of administering medicine through injections.

No injectables are required while you are on homoeopathy. Even a comatose child may be administered homoeopathic medicines without injections, that is the beauty of this science. To name some eminently children disorders, where homoeopathy works very well : Infant’s colic, Fever, Teething problems, Vomiting, Dysentery, Nephrotic Syndrome (Kidney disease), Growth related problems, Convulsions (Epilepsy), Infantile Eczema, Jaundice, Brain infections (Meningitis), Fungal infections, Warts, Hair-Loss (Alopecia), Growing pains, Poor concentration, Arthritis in children, Psoriasis, Leucoderma (white spots), Pimples, and Thyroid problems to name a few. Homoeopathy can be proclaimed to be definitely effective, for various emotional disorders occurring commonly in the new generation children of this 20th century. Various psychosomatic disorders such as Bed-wetting, Headaches, and Gastritis respond to homoeopathy. http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/c-homeo.htm

this book has remedies for everything, from grief, to growing pains...all for well baby care.

posted May 23, 2006 09:40 AM         

I've also checked out the forums. I love a good forum. What's better than real life information from woman who have already done a few laps around the track? Harpyr mentioned the Mothering Magazine forum in the old vaccine thread and I've been hooked ever since. The Mother Magazine looks just lovely. Earthy Birthy? Phew! I'm humbled. That's all I can say.

My original thought was a water birth. Unfortunately, there aren't any mid-wives certified in my state to do one. I did find an alternative birthing center located in one of my local hospitals. Just two calm and peaceful rooms tucked away beneath the ground floor away from all the hustle and bustle. I think it will do.

I've run into How to Raise a Healthy Child and it's on my list of books to read. I'm finishing up When a Child is Born by Wilhem Zur Linden right now. Childbirth Without Fear sure sounds nice! A mid-wife suggested I check into the Bradley Method. I'm looking around for a class now.

I had a quick look at the Continuum Concept site...

quote:

---

having caregivers immediately respond to his signals (squirming, crying, etc.), without judgment, displeasure, or invalidation of his needs, yet showing no undue concern nor making him the constant center of attention;

---

That's a fine line, but I sense an essential one.

posted May 23, 2006 11:15 AM         

Hypnosis for a special delivery

The woman in the video is calm and composed. She is lying on a bed in a hospital room, her eyes wide open, her face alert but serene. Her husband is gently massaging her arm, running his fingertips lightly up and down. Aside from some deep breathing, the room is completely silent. The light is dim.

And then, suddenly, her baby's head emerges. Then the shoulders, torso and finally two tiny legs and feet. The baby, too, is calm and quiet and has a healthy red glow. A midwife holds him up proudly for the mother and father to see.

The serenity on the women's face and in the room is the opposite of the screaming, crying, red-faced mother shown in just about every television and movie birth ever seen. It is also quite contrary to the experience most women have of giving birth.

The woman, one of several shown in the video, is giving birth using a method known as HypnoBirthing. Unlike techniques like Lamaze and the Bradley method, HypnoBirthing uses deep relaxation and visualization techniques to alleviate the pain and fear that women have about childbirth.

Marie Mongan, 71, the mother of HypnoBirthing, used similar techniques when she had her children in the 1950s and 1960s in Rochester, N.H. Sixteen years ago, she wrote her method down to help her daughter Maura through childbirth. Since then, she has trained over 2,000 practitioners, from hypnotists and doulas, to physicians and obstetricians. And the popularity of HypnoBirthing is growing steadily as women hear about it from friends, see it in action and experience its benefits.

"Everybody has an ugly birth story, a fear that is programmed into them," said Dr. Trudy Beers, a licensed hypnotherapist and practitioner of HypnoBirthing in New York.

Kelley Faulkner, 25, mother of 2-year-old Simon, agreed. "It became very clear to me after taking HypnoBirthing that I needed a lot of deprogramming. I had been exposed to negative influences in birthing, and I needed to release fears."

Faulkner, from Holliston, Mass., was so pleased with her experience that she gave up her job in financial services. "I had a beautiful one hour and 45 minute birth that inspired me to become a doula and HypnoBirthing instructor."

Women who have used the HypnoBirthing method say they have shorter and often pain-free labor and quick recovery periods. Mongan and others who practice the method frequently mention the work of Dr. Grantley Dick-Reed, who wrote the book "Childhood Without Fear" in 1944. Dick-Reed studied midwives and discovered that women who were relaxed during labor had less pain and avoided the effects of the physiological effects of the fight-flight syndrome, in which the body tenses in fear.

Julia Manetovic, 43, who used HypnoBirthing to deliver her 3-month-old, Alexandra, said she would do it again. "The best thing is the way they teach you to control your mind, how to relax and endure -- I don't want to call it pain, but very strong discomfort. It is just incredible."

Dr. Loren Campbell Sr. is a family practitioner at Wyoming County Community Hospital in Warsaw, N.Y., who has been "doing births" for 21 years. He explained that once the body is stimulated to respond because of fear, stress hormones are released that restrict blood flow and tighten the muscles of the uterus, which causes pain. If a woman is relaxed, the muscles in the uterus will work in harmony the way they were meant to.

Campbell said that when he was first approached about using hypnosis in medicine, he rolled his eyes. Now, he is considering requiring all his expectant mothers to be trained in HypnoBirthing. He has seen his cesarean section rate go from 28 percent to 1 percent. "I can actually predict which woman [will need a C-section] just by observing her commitment to using HypnoBirthing," he said.

The keys to HypnoBirthing are deep relaxation and visualization. Practitioners began by teaching expectant mothers how to release the fears that they have built up about the difficulties of childbirth.

"A deer who is out in the forest is not going to birth a fawn if they're scared," said Jill Chasse, a licensed hypnotherapist in Silver Spring, Md., who uses techniques similar to the Mongan approach with her pregnant patients. "It's a natural reaction; their body is going to hold the baby in, not allow the baby to be born. A lot of people don't realize that people have the same natural reactions that animals have. If there are doctors or a lot of noise, tension in the birth canal, the baby is going to be stuck and the mother will have to have an emergency C-section or a longer labor."

HypnoBirthing practitioners also teach mothers a whole new language to talk about their birth. Instead of pushing, women are encouraged to "bring the baby down." A mucus plug is the uterine seal or birth gel. Contractions are surges.

"Which really is a better way to describe your energy that is coming out in birthing, when the uterus is doing what it does best," said Faulkner. "We're just calling it what it is."

Mongan agrees, pointing out that in HypnoBirthing, women have birth partners or companions, not birth coaches, as in the Bradley method. "We don't feel this is an athletic event," she said.

Women usually take from three to five HypnoBirthing classes taught both one-on-one and in groups. Many practitioners like a group atmosphere because of the energy and the shared experience and advice the women can share with each other, although Chasse prefers one-on-one sessions because she sees them as more therapeutic. "You need to make sure the person is comfortable with it," she said.

Classes cost between $160 and $600, and most practitioners are willing to work out payment plans for mothers. "I feel that people should never be turned away for inability to pay," Faulkner said.

Most insurance companies will not cover the classes. "I would think that they would be the first ones," Mongan said. "Women are up right after birth, they are healthier, their babies are healthier. It is a shame because this is an option that should be available to all women."

At Frisbee Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.H., maternity clinical coordinator Sargit Dillon has trained nurses and physicians in the methods and language of HypnoBirthing. "They love the program and they promote it," she said. "You would be amazed by the physician support and the medical assistants who are actually working alongside the physicians. They've taken the time and interest to look at the tapes and get familiar with the program." Dillon estimated that 60 percent of the women giving birth at the hospital use HypnoBirthing.

posted May 23, 2006 11:55 AM         

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child
by Janet Zand, Robert Rountree, Rachel Walton

Amazon.com
Health-care practitioners are a polarized lot: generally speaking, either they subscribe wholeheartedly to conventional medical treatments, or they eschew them altogether. This can be a great source of frustration to parents, whose natural response to a child's illness is a desire to do everything possible to make that child well. Written by a natural-medicine practitioner, a traditionally licensed doctor, and a pediatric nurse, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child presents an integrated approach to children's health care that allows a parent to do just that. This excellent reference applies a full spectrum of responses to common childhood health problems: conventional medical treatments, dietary guidelines, nutritional supplements, herbal treatments, homeopathy, and acupressure; for each ailment, general recommendations and preventive measures are also offered. The book's authors explain that their approach to health care "considers all treatment possibilities and draws on what works. Sometimes this will be an herb, sometimes an antibiotic, sometimes both." This well-researched, balanced, and clearly written reference belongs on every parent's bookshelf. --Jane Steinberg --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

posted May 23, 2006 03:43 PM         

I love talkin about bebe stuff.

Don't have much time right now so I'll just throw out a book suggestion.
I really enjoyed this book. It helped me overcome alot of fear I had around birth the first time. (aw heck the second time too!)

Birthing from Within-

posted May 23, 2006 07:30 PM         

i was goin to post that one too.

posted May 23, 2006 07:40 PM         

she is such a cool mom...she is, and raised all her children, as fruitarians...

i would love to have an unassisted birth...i 'spose i might feel more confident about it after reading the childbirth without fear book (which i doscovered on the bornfree website...a number of years ago). it is taking full responsiblity for yourself and becoming very intimate with your body and your babe...but who else knows you better than you??

posted May 23, 2006 08:49 PM         

so important...babes development is enhanced in every way by spending lots of time in a sling close to mama's (and daddy's) body.

even a rocking chair couldn't soothe my babe the way walking around with him ensconced in a sling could.

favorite, and best position for a newborn...it's the breathable fabric that makes this one so nice...a beautiful breathe-through cotton weave.

Rebozo

http://www.mamascasa.com/rebozoway/projects/gallery/rwnewborns

What is a rebozo baby carrier?

the simplest, softest, most light weight, easiest to carry with you, and most versatile baby carrier available on the market today.

offers maximum flexibility and freedom for parent and child alike the only baby carrier with a wide variety of comfortable positions for infants and toddlers on front, hip and back; wraps for both cool and warm weather, as well as total adjustability as child grows baby carrier molds to the child's body instead of forcing the child to mold to its predesigned shape.

offers the unique cocoon wrap for newborn in see-through, breath-through, soft, strong cotton, providing optimum-distance eye contact, sheltered carrying and nursing, and correct head and spine support. on-off as easy as 1-2-3. Easy shift to nurse from back wrap; discreet nursing option for all ages and wraps.
no buckles or clasps, no zippers or rings, absolutely NO non-natural materials hold it together or are attached to it.

simplicity and beauty of the shawl make it a perfect complement for all styles of dress, from casual to business to elegant. multiple other uses include pregnant belly binder, baby blanket, beach wrap, table liner, dress or prayer shawl, cool weather wrap for mom (with or without baby)
the only modern baby carrier that has been use-tested for thousands of years all over the world.
http://www.rebozoway.org/

posted May 23, 2006 09:18 PM         

i loved both of these, carried babe in these everywhere, from shopping, stuff around the house, walking puppy...and more...

Baby Trekker

a soft carrier, that is the most comfortable, for mama and babe, of this type...most versatile too, wearable in 5 different positions. very easy to nurse with as well. also adjustable for a wide range of size in wearers.
http://www.babytrekker.com/

Ergo Carrier

this one was the best for carrying babe after he was a bit older...most comfortable for doing activities...also a soft carrier, but most like a back-pack, with a wide waist support. he loved riding in this one too.
http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/

posted May 23, 2006 09:37 PM         

the over the shoulder baby holder has lots of padding and it's very soft and comfortable.

http://www.babyholder.com/

the maya wrap has no shoulder padding, but this makes it very adjustable, and very light weight, and portable. also, the fabric is a beautiful and vibrant weave, made in guatemala. other styles of carriers as well...the pouch is also nice.

posted May 23, 2006 10:16 PM         

if i were familiar with how to carry and esp place my babe in these carriers when he was brand new, our baby wearing experience would be much improved...of course, eventually i did wear him in all of these in a knowledgable fashion...but the learning curve was considerable for us both.

really, a sling, i believe, is the single most important baby accoutrement. here is a good explanation from the otsbh website ~

Wearing a baby promotes physical development.

When a baby rides in a sling attached to his mother, he is in tune with the rhythm of her breathing, the sound of her heartbeat, and the movements his mother makes - walking, bending, and reaching. This stimulation helps him to regulate his own physical responses, and exercises his vestibular system, which controls balance. The sling is in essence a "transitional womb" for the new baby, who has not yet learned to control his bodily functions and movements. Research has shown that premature babies who are touched and held gain weight faster and are healthier than babies who are not1. Mechanical swings and other holding devices do not provide these same benefits.

Babies worn in slings are happier.

Studies have shown that the more babies are held, the less they cry and fuss2. In indigenous cultures where baby-wearing is the norm, babies often cry for only a few minutes a day - in contrast to Western babies, who often cry for hours each day. Crying is exhausting for both the baby and his parents, and may cause long-term damage as the baby’s developing brain is continually flooded with stress hormones.3 Babies who do not need to spend their energy on crying are calmly observing and actively learning about their environment. Baby-wearing is especially useful for colicky or "high need" babies, who are far happier being worn, but placid, content babies and children will also benefit greatly from the warmth and security of being held close.

posted May 24, 2006 12:16 AM         

at first i so fretted over these superficial things for my babe...i felt 'guilty' for not having a nursery, perfectly decorated...high tech stroller systems...etc...

and even though i was conscientious enough to seek out chemically untreated cribs, organic cotton mattresses, and the like, i still, during most of my pregnancy, didn't comprehend the basic reality of what a babe needs. i feel grateful that i discovered this before his arrival. what baby needs most is you. he needs to be in close and constant contact with mama at least for his first year. this means co-sleeping and baby wearing. no crib necessary...

i often came across this question when reading about babies' sleep arrangements ~ we as adults do not even care to sleep alone...we desire the closeness and comfort of our partners...and modern babe-care tries to tell us that our babes shouldn't be allowed to interfere with this ritual...

but, just imagine, baby lived inside the nicest, softest, quietest, most secure space for almost a year, all needs magically met...knowing nothing of separation from his nurturer and life sustainer...then, all of a sudden, not only is he ushered into the harsh brightness of physical reality, oxygen intake, and subsisting on his own...but one of the first thing he encounters is separation from everything he has known...in a cold, impersonal crib. the loneliness new babies endure in this way makes me sob in despair. in fact, i've read several places that the reason there is such a high incidence of SIDS is the sheer loneliness, grief and despair babies suffer when forced to be so separate from their mamas.

i was of course distressed at my lack of disposable income for my baby. but now i see it as a blessing in disguise. i found the funds necessary for a midwife, a birthing tub, a few organic blankets and baby clothes, and a cloth diapering system, which is astronomically inexpensive compared to disposables. and of course a good sling.

and i learned later, that you can purchase good diapers, gently used, in a variety of places...or sew your own. i know a lady who made her own diapers from old t-shirts, and considered these superior to any commercially made. a bathtub is a fine place for giving birth underwater...as long as it's very clean and with well regulated water temperature. you can make an excellent sling from a bedsheet. and babe belongs in bed with you, and nowhere else.

and of course, you provide all the sustenance he needs for the first year, at the very least, in most cultures the ever so essential breastfeeding relationship extends over a number of years. eat inexpensive, locally produced whole foods from a famer's market. that's all you need. also a good pre-natal vit to make up for the health lapses that may have occurred in your pre unoccupied-womb life.

yes, i'd be more than happy to have the opportunity that Gwyneth Paltrow has, to have high tech birthing tubs in different homes on different continents...having the finest organic gourmet veggie food prepared for me so that i might rest and relax and focus on my babe...have a tremendous collection of every exotic style of baby carrier available...etc, etc...

but i 'spose what i'm trying to say, is that, not being able to go out and consume mindlesslly all the 'things' we're raised believing are so important...that we play with as children with our dolls and toys...that we see in television, movies and magazines...not having access to these things led me to discover the real importance of the mama-baby bond. follow the basic universal tenets, and the universe will always support you. our financial situation much improved just a month before baby's birth...as i felt that it would.

it's adults who need the stimulation and status of high tech toys and distractions. babies just need us. they'd rather look in our faces and stare into our eyes, than play mindlessly for hours with a spinning mobile, all alone in a crib or playpen. they'd rather see the world from our perspective, and learn about how to interact with the world from us, than from a tv show.

especially the first few weeks of baby's life...in indigenous cultures, babies and mamas were left alone together for about the first forty days of life...never separated...never exposed to the public or to anyone else's care. i attempted this with some success with my babe. baby needs that security and comfort ~ the proper way to make the transition from amphibian to earthling.

all a baby needs is his parents...their attention, their closeness. even in his tenure in the womb. the focus on him, the spiritual bond among this triad of life creators. baby doesn't care about all the material stuff...the toys, the matching crib sheets and blankets...the most ergonomic stroller...all he wants is you.

a good sling and and mama's milk and lovin' care are the very best things baby will ever have from you. from the time he inhales his first swallow of air...he needs to be in your arms, as much as he is in your heart.