Birth Matters Virginia

International Breech Conference

The International Breech Conference is a forum where birth professionals and parents alike can share their knowledge and experience with breech birth, creating a community which can work together towards breech delivery practices and protocols which respect the individual needs of each family and each birth. 

This year's conference will be held in Ottawa, Canada on October 15 and 16.  For more information, click here. 

VHI Releases Virginia Obstetrics Report

Virginia Health Information released the latest gathering of date for Virginia OB hospital and providers detailing primary and repeat cesarean rates, episiotomy rates, length of hospital stay, and average hospital charge.  It's an easy to read table format and data for individual providers is also available.  Check your birthplace, your provider, and compare with others here.

Breastmilk - Donate or Receive!

If you are struggling to maintain or establish a good milk supply after a mastectomy, are unable to solely breastfeed because of a congenital abnormality or other similar issue, MilkShare can help!

If you are a breastfeeding mother who makes more than enough and you would like to help a family in need, MilkShare can help!

MilkShare is not a Milk Bank. They are an informational resource to help you learn about milk donation and to connect families who can help each other.  They offer information about how to build a more ample breastmilk supply, returning to work and breastfeeding, induction of lactation after adoption, and other tips to help breastfeeding mothers.  For donors, they offer helpful tips on storing and shipping breastmilk, as well as finding recipients you are truly comfortable with. 

Check out MilkShare!

Reducing Infant Mortality

Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.

Breastfeeding Reduces Risk of Cancer For Some Mothers

A new study indicates that breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer by 59% for mothers with a family history of the cancer.  The study indicates that whether the mother breastfed for 3 months or 3 years did not diminish or increase the protective effect.

Read the full article from ABC HealthBeat here.

No More Formula Samples for 200 Hospitals!

Starting in August, 200 hospitals across the U.S. will be replacing their formula-filled goodie bags and samples with the country’s first breastfeeding support promotional discharge bag.

From GrowingBaby:

The “Healthy Baby Bounty Bag” contains product samples, coupons, and information that support and encourage breastfeeding without a packet of formula and without conflicting and contradictory messages about breastfeeding. Hospitals including UCLA Medical Center, Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and Exeter Hospital are among the first to distribute Healthy Baby Bounty Bags to new moms.

The samples are as follows:

• Disposable Nursing Pads
• Milk Storage Bags
• Latch on Tips card
• Mothers Milk Tea
• Diaper Wipes
• Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment
• Boogie Wipes Anti Viral Tissues
• Sani Hands- Hand Sanitzer
• Sear Portrait Studio Coupon
• Free Gift Card for the mother that gifts can be redeemed on-line. Everyone gets a gift. Prizes include a $5,000 savings bond, free breast pumps nursing pillows and more.

Coupon Book that includes coupons from the following companies

• Lansinoh – Gel Pads
• Lansinoh- Breast Pads
• Lansinoh- Pumps
• Lansinoh- HPA Lanolin Breast Cream
• Lansinoh – Breastmilk Storage Bags
• Bravado Designs Breastfeeding Bras
• Mother’s Milk Organic Tea to promote lacation
• My Brest Friend Nursing Pillows
• Bebe Au Lait Nursing Covers
• Aquaphor Diaper Cream, Shampoo and Healing Ointment
• Sear Portrait Studios Portraits
• Seventh Generation Diapers
• Seventh Generation Wipes
• Seventh Generation Natural Cleaning Products
• Seventh Generation Feminine Care Products
• Boogie Wipes Anti Viral Tissues
• Sani Hands Hand Sanitizer
• Ergo Baby: Ergonomically correct baby carriers
• Baby Stay Asleep: Infant positioning System to help with reflux
• Belly Bar Nutrition Products for Mothers
• Milkscreen Human Milk Banking Association of North America

The coupons themselves add up to over $100.00 in savings.

Visit www.cottonwood-kids.com/gift for all the details. 

ICAN Fundraiser

Help support the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN)!  It's quick and easy!  Spread the word to help ICAN help women, babies, and families everywhere!

Raise Money for ICAN!

 

$1.50

Now you can help raise money for ICAN without buying or selling anything! Instead of writing a check, you can raise money by writing online reviews of local businesses you already use on insiderpages.com. Each review you write earns up to

 

$1.50. If you post the 2nd - 4th review of a business, Insider Pages will donate up to $0.50! Reviews of chain stores or chain restaurants do not count towards our Fundraiser.

Dates:

08/08/09 - 08/29/09.

How to Participate:

1.

Sign up at http://www.insiderpages.com/fundraisers/International-Cesarean-Awareness-Network

2.

Write reviews of any local businesses or services that you have used within the last 2 years. Just writing 20-30 reviews is a great step towards reaching our goal of $9,000.00

Check out this list of businesses to help you get started:

Health & Fitness Home & Garden

- Doctor - Plumber

- Dentist - Electrician

- Pediatrician - Contractor

- Gym - Cleaning Service

Financial Services Beauty & Spa

- Accountant - Day Spa

- Tax Attorney - Hair Salon

- Bank - Nail Salon

- Mortgage Company - Dermatologist

Child Care Pets & Animals

- Preschool - Animal Hospital

- Day Care - Pet Sitter

- Summer Camp - Groomer

- Tutor - Pet Store

3.

Recruit friends and family to participate. Just direct them to our fundraising page here.  Anybody over 18 can write reviews and help us reach our goal.

Questions?

Contact the Insider Pages Fundraiser team at [email protected] Remember to put "International Cesarean Awareness Network" in the subject of the email.

We've got 3 weeks to raise as much as we can. Let's get started!!!!

Thanks!

Melody T.

Lamaze International: Science and Sensibility

Lamaze International published this article on July 6th.  You can read the full article here.

"There’s a new study out in the current issue of Birth that bolsters the already remarkable body of evidence favoring skin-to-skin care (rather than placing the baby on a warmer or swaddling it) right after birth. Russian researchers exposed mothers and their babies to some skin-to-skin time in the first two hours, and compared their behavior 12 months later to other women and their children who had been clothed or swaddled and held.

At one year, children who had been clothed or swaddled or who hadn’t nursed in the first hour were more likely to exhibit symptoms of dysregulation (irritable, emotionally labile, aggressive, impulsive, or unable to self-regulate). In addition, when researchers observed them at play and performing a structured task, the mothers in this group were more likely to have a flat/constricted affect, lack enthusiasm, or simply seem out of sync with their infants."

At the end of the article, the question is asked, "To my readers who have the opportunity to observe births, what are the practices and procedures you see in the moments and hours after babies are born? How can we prepare women to ask for - and get - truly undisturbed contact with their babies after birth?"

What do you think?

New Jersey Civil Rights Case asks, "Is A Woman in Labor a 'Person'?"

Louise Marie Roth writing for the Huffington Post posted an article on July 21, 2009 posing the mind-boggling question, "Is a woman in labor a 'person'?"

"Yet another ruling is providing legal support for the false belief that obstetricians are infallible and stripping pregnant women of basic civil rights that are then accorded to other individuals. In the case, New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services v. V.M. and B.G., the New Jersey appellate court found that V.M. and B.G. had abused and neglected their child, based on the fact that the mother, V.M., refused to consent to a cesarean section and behaved erratically while in labor. The mother gave birth vaginally without incident, and the baby was "in good medical condition." Then she was never returned to her parents, and the judge in the case approved a plan to terminate their parental rights and give custody of the child to foster parents. What, beyond the obvious, is wrong with this picture?"

You can read the full article here.