Skip that Newborn Vitamin K Shot

"The purpose of this shot is to assist the newborn with blood clotting capabilities in order to prevent the very rare and slow problem of bleeding into the brain in the weeks after birth (risk in about one in every 10,000 live births). The shot also is a supposed safeguard in case your car is involved in a car wreck on the way home from the hospital or birthing center with newborn in tow. Even a mild injury to a newborn could be life threatening if blood clotting capability is not adequate."

"Midwifery Digest, Vol 2 #3, September 1992 estimated that the chance of your child developing leukemia from the vitamin K shot is about one in 500! This means that the risk of developing leukemia from the vitamin K shot is much higher than the risk of bleeding on the brain which the vitamin K shot is supposed to prevent!"

"How about this for an alternative – eat lots of leafy greens in the weeks before your due date (I drank a cup or two of nettle tea every day in the final weeks which is loaded with vitamin K1) to make sure your blood is high in vitamin K and of course, this will transfer to your baby as well. Make sure you breastfeed your child as the probiotics in breastmilk will seed your baby’s digestive tract with the right type of good bacteria which will produce naturally occurring vitamin K immediately after birth."

Newborn Deliveries Are Scheduled Too Early, According to Hospital Watchdog Group

This is not to say that once a woman reaches 39 weeks gestation there are no longer any risks to "elective" delivery. I wholeheartedly believe that our bodies and babies know that they are doing and just as we put our trust in the natural process of labor and birth as being the safest for Mother and baby, so should we put our trust in the timing of labor to begin on it's own for the safety of Mom and baby.

"Every hospital should publicly report on their rate and actively prevent the practice, and every woman planning to give birth should demand the information,"

What You Need to Know about Induction of Labor

"No medication can deliver complete pain relief without risks," - Dr. William Sears

Toothpaste chemical 'that can leave unborn babies brain damaged' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1334533/Toothpaste-chemical-lea

"A chemical in toothpastes and soaps has been linked with brain damage to babies in the womb."

Click on the title link to read the entire article.

The Pregnant Patient's Bill Of Rights

Click on the title above to read the full article.

"American parents are becoming increasingly aware that well-intentioned health professionals do not always have scientific data to support common American obstetrical practices, and that many of these practices are carried out primarily because they are part of medical and hospital tradition."

""In the last forty years many artificial practices have been introduced which have changed childbirth from a physiological event to a very complicated medical procedure in which all kinds of drugs are used and procedures carried out, sometimes unnecessarily, and many of them potentially damaging for the baby and even for the mother"."

"It is the obstetric patient and her baby, not the health professional, who must sustain any trauma or injury resulting from the use of a drug or obstetric procedure. The observation of the rights listed above will not only permit the obstetric patient to participate in the decisions involving her and her baby's health care, but will help to protect the health professional and the hospital against litigation arising from resentment or misunderstanding on the part of the mother"

Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) Protocol For Labor Among GBS Positive Women

"No matter where you plan to birth, (home, birthing center, hospital) if you elect to test for GBS and the results are positive, you also have options other than automatic antibiotics."

Avoiding the first c-section: 5 essential questions to ask your care provider ASAP!

Excerpt from the article:

"It is critical that we look at what can be done to decrease the primary c-section rate (the first cesarean for a woman), because once the first c-section is done, it becomes increasingly difficult for many women to find support for a subsequent vaginal birth."

Home Birth: “Brave” Has Nothing To Do With It

The writer of this article is very strongly supportive of the safety of home birth, as am I. However please do not let her enthusiasm offend you if you have had a hospital birth or are currently planning one. The biggest thing I want you to take note of is the scientific evidence that she cites in the body of the article.

Making Cytotec (misoprostol) fit their agenda

In this article, Marsden Wagner, a perinatologist, neonatalogist and perinatal epidemiologist from California who is an outspoken supporter of midwifery, showed us that ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) is the only organization out of a list of 10 that, despite its risks to pregnant women and their unborn babies, recommends using Cytotec (misoprostol) for labor inductions.

Here is an excerpt from the FDA’s 2002 statement (PDF):

A major adverse effect of the obstetrical use of Cytotec is hyperstimulation of the uterus which may progress to uterine tetany [uterus contracts and doesn't let go] with marked impairment of uteroplacental blood flow, uterine rupture (requiring surgical repair, hysterectomy, and/or salpingo-oophorectomy [removal of the ovaries and Fallopian tubes]), or amniotic fluid embolism [maternal and infant mortality is very high from this]. Pelvic pain, retained placenta, severe genital bleeding, shock, fetal bradycardia [profound slowing of the fetal heart], and fetal and maternal death have been reported.

There may be an increased risk of uterine tachysystole [contractions coming too fast], uterine rupture, meconium passage, meconium staining of amniotic fluid, and Cesarean delivery due to uterine hyperstimulation with the use of higher doses of Cytotec; including the manufactured 100 mcg tablet. The risk of uterine rupture increases with advancing gestational ages and with prior uterine surgery, including Cesarean delivery. Grand multiparity [usually defined as more than four births] also appears to be a risk factor for uterine rupture.

Dr. Wagner had this to say about the reasoning behind ACOG's outnumbered stand on the continued use of Cytotec for labor inductions;

"How can ACOG possibly be willing to stand alone in opposition to the best scientific opinion in the world? Because so many of ACOG's members already use Cytotec induction off-label for its incredible convenience, the organization needs to support its members by recommending this practice."

Henci Goer , award-winning medical writer, internationally known speaker and the author of The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth., hit the nail on the head when she described it as "a rationale that amounts to “but all the kids are doing it.”"

So then the next question becomes, "why are all the kids doing it?" Why is it that so many obstetricians are using Cytotec for something the drug was not created for and that has the potential to cause SO many serious problems for their pregnant patients, concerning who they swore to first and foremost "do no harm"? I will once again turn to Henci Goer,

"Why, then, are obstetricians so enamored of misoprostol? The answer is summed up by this obstetrician enthusiast:

The best part about it is that you can block-schedule your nurses so that you have enough on hand. . . [I]f we start our inductions at 7 a.m., we know that we’re going to have X number of patients in labor being admitted by 4 p.m. That’s helped our hospital tremendously, . . . [Cytotec is] a great agent. It works very, very efficiently. . . . And it’s ungodly inexpensive: 27 cents per tablet.

In other words, Cytotec’s real benefits are convenience for obstetricians and helping the hospital’s bottom line. For women and babies, though, it’s a roll of the dice. Most times things go fine, but sometimes the dice come up snake eyes."

So, I guess the real question comes down to this. Are you willing to let a doctor, who very well could be more concerned with his bottom line than the ultimate health and safety of you and your unborn baby, roll the Cytotec dice for you? Are you feeling lucky?

Cytotec Induction and Off-Label Use

This article is a little bit long, but contains some excellent information and explanations of why the "off-label" use of Cytotec is so incredibly dangerous, yet continues to be so lightly used during pregnancy.

Excerpt from the article;

"Without adequate testing of Cytotec (misoprostol) for labor induction, obstetricians simply began to use it on their birthing women. They were taking advantage of a huge loophole in our drug regulatory system. Once a drug is approved by the FDA for a specific medical indication and put on the market, there is absolutely nothing to prevent any doctor from using that drug for any indication, in any dose, for any patient he or she chooses. Since the label of the drug contains the indications approved by the FDA, this is called "off-label" use of a drug."

Why Is VBAC a Vital Option?

Excerpt from the article;

"Unless the restrictions for permitting VBAC labor are revised, I believe we will gradually see the few remaining physicians who offer VBAC cease to offer this option; not because they don’t care, but because hospitals, insurance providers, and ACOG guidelines are making it too stressful, both financially and personally, for VBAC-friendly providers."

I am really not sure what the average obstetric consumer can do to affect any changes in these areas other than #1 do everything you can to avoid that first c-section in the first place so that you are not faced later on with all these VBAC hindrances or #2 if you are faced with a VBAC situation, find an excelent home birth midwife with lots of VBAC experience.

“Birth Management” Often Leads to Unnecessary Interventions | Induction

Excerpt from article,

75% of all induced labors are not for medical reasons, and research has proven that there are higher cesarean section rates for induced patients.

Drugs During Pregnancy

Drugs During Pregnancy

Swine Flu Alert

"U.S. health authorities have made pregnant women one of the highest priority groups for getting the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, but is it actually safe for pregnant women and their babies?"

Excerpt from the article

Pregnancy and the H1N1 Flu virus

Excerpt from article -

The package insert from CSL Limited for its Influenza A (H1N1) Monovalent Vaccine states:

"Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine or AFLURIA. It is also not known whether these vaccines can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman, or can affect reproduction capacity. Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed."

Dr. Bill Sears shares his thoughts about the vaccine on his Web site, "Here is where we are flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak. The product inserts make it VERY clear that the 'swine' flu versions of these vaccines have NOT undergone any testing to demonstrate whether or not they are safe and whether or not they even work. They are relying on the fact that they are so similar to the regular flu shots that they should work just as well."(2)