Epidural recall NOW INCLUDES those for childbirth

As of Friday, the recall didn't include those used in child birth, just those used in injection epidurals for pain relief, but now the recall has expanded and includes those used in childbirth.

In fact ALL products made by New England Compounding Center are being recalled...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 6, 2012 – New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc. d/b/a New England Compounding Center (NECC) today announced a recall of all products currently in circulation that were compounded at and distributed from its facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution due to the potential risk of contamination, and in cooperation with an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy. The FDA had previously issued guidance for medical professionals that all products distributed by NECC should be retained and secured. While there is no indication at this time of any contamination in other NECC products, this recall is being taken as a precautionary measure. Products from NECC can be identified by markings that indicate New England Compounding Center by name or by its acronym (NECC), and/or the company logo that can be accessed here  . A complete list of all products subject to this recall can be accessed here.

NECC is notifying its customers of this recall by fax. Clinics, hospitals and healthcare providers that have product which is being recalled should stop using the product immediately, retain and secure the product, and follow instructions contained in the fax notice.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of any product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

• Online: www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm
• Regular Mail: use postage-paid, pre-addressed Form FDA 3500 available at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm. Mail to address on the pre-addressed form.
• Fax: 1-800-FDA-0178

This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Improving Birth on Labor Day

Empowered, vaginal birth when the doctors
recommended a cesarean for the birth of their daughter

I remember when I was 5 years old, learning about labor day. I knew school started around then and since my mom was pregnant at the time, I thought it meant she'd have the baby then. I was obviously wrong about that second part. But, that play on words can help bring more awareness to the fact that in the US, we have the 2nd WORST newborn death rate in the "modern" world AND Amnesty International condemns US death rates of women in childbirth. To make matters worse, African Americans and Native Americans are disproportionally at risk.

Birth is important - I mean it is how we come earth-side so to speak, yet with this very important  moment in time, families are often left powerless, unable to make decisions, not given all the information they need to make a good decision.

If we are spending:

 $98 billion: The total amount spent in the US each year on hospital bills related to childbirth.  The average health care provider fees for maternal care are twice as high as any other country. (AmnestyUSA.org)

then why with 4 million births in the US each year do we see that

49: The number of countries that have lower maternal mortality ratios than the US.  Women in the US are more likely to die of pregnancy related complications than in 49 other countries, including nearly all European countries, Canada and several countries in Asia and the Middle East.

Do you want to change this? Make a statement on Labor Day. Find, support or organize an event through ImprovingBirth.org. This is part of Empowered Birth Awareness week. Per the website, this is NOT a protest. The Purpose – The National Rally for Change is to encourage and insist that all maternal healthcare providers practice evidence-based care. On average it takes 20 years for proven research to become practice. For the sake of mothers and babies everywhere, we can’t wait 20 years. The long-term effects of unnecessary inductions and cesareans are just starting to be realized. This matters for all people. This is not a protest, but a public outreach event located where the vast majority of the population gives birth.

Waterbirth in the Keweenaw, now an option

Yay! While they're a VBAC ban location, perhaps they'll have fewer cesareans in the first place because Aspirus Keweenaw hospital now has birth tubs and allows water births
If you want water birth for your birth, check to see if your hospital (or have your low-risk baby at home with a provider you feel confident in and trust) or birth center has this option. If they don't, Water Birth International will actually help YOU as an individual work with the hospital to see if it can happen.

Waterbirth, when a mother chooses this option, can be a great way to avoid an epistiotomy, according to this Swiss study. The same study found waterbirth to have the least amount of blood loss by the mother and fewer painkillers used (the water helps decrease the level of pain mama is feeling during labor). Further, Apgar scores were highest for waterbirth babies, and no cases of babies aspirating the water or having other complications.

Think about your birth plan early on - it really can shape your early parenting experience.

Yay to Miranda Kerr - birth without drugs, birth without fear

Courtesy Creative Commons

Did you see this People.com article? Miranda Kerr, supermodel, saw online videos of babies born naturally and it affected her enough to decide that for her family, natural birth was the way to go!

This is how media works people! "We" are media - we can affect the perception out there that birth is scary - it isn't!

Now I will be the first to admit - with baby #1, I believed that if I said no to an epidural it would be enough, but I didn't have support or knowledge enough to know that by not questioning my induction in the first place I had set myself up and ended up with an unnecessary cesarean. Baby #2, I was able to VBAC but fear still took over for a bit and after a long, long labor requested an epidural.

Babies and moms deserve to birth in a healthy, loving environment. Let the babies be! Continue to post your stories of natural birth online. Show the videos of your baby coming into the world in a loving and drug-free manner!

If you're pregnant, consider hiring a doula and/or using the Bradley Method (Phoenix area, here's a great recommended classes) or another supportive birth method.

Math teacher adds up the birthing options (Guest post)

"You are risking your baby.” 

 “I would never do that, what if something goes wrong?”

 “You are so brave.”

These are a few of the phrases I heard when I told people I was planning a homebirth.  Interestingly enough, I had previously uttered pretty much the same things before I had children.  I believe I said that I wanted to be in the hospital just in case something went wrong, so I understand that sentiment.  We see in the media the mad frenzy of excruciating pain that is labour.  It is reinforced regularly about how dangerous it is and how our Doctors are trained to make sure we don’t die (as most of us would, it seems) and that our babies will live as well.  So what changed my mind?

I can’t say that it was a sudden epiphany, that one day I woke up and said, “I shall now have a homebirth.”  It was more a series of experiences – either my own or ones that had been related to me; and research to see just how the safety compares.  For example, before I had my third, in my group of close friends between all of us, there were 13 children; 7 were born via C-section; 4 were inductions, two were spontaneous labour and even they had interventions (epidurals or Demerol).  So wait a second, NONE of us had bodies capable of giving birth without help?  If hospitals didn’t exist ALL of us would have died in child birth?  How did the human race survive to make over 6 billion people then?  Something didn’t add up (and as a math teacher with a degree in Astrophysics, I know when things should add up).

This is where the research came in.

I discovered several interesting facts, but two really stuck with me:

- In low risk pregnancies, the chances of serious complications are similar to that of giving birth in hospital, but the chances of having interventions are significantly lower.   1

- Exposing the baby to the natural flora in which he will be living is aids in getting his digestive system going and further, as I breastfeed, I already have antibodies to pass onto him for the microorganisms in my household (not to say my house isn’t spotless though); this will help to keep him healthier longer.  2

Further, my own hospital birth experiences lead me to want to make a change.  My first was fairly typical for a hospital birth: I started labour at home, went to the hospital, ended up lying down in bed with an epidural and a blood pressure monitor going off every 15 minutes; not being allowed to eat even though I was hungry and about to embark on a very physically demanding activity.  My OB-GYN wasn’t with me much until the actual pushing part and then I had to be told when I was contracting as the epidural cut off that information to my brain.  My overall labour was about 12 hours with 55 minutes of pushing.

Large baby on the way

My second labour, on the other hand, was an induction on my due date because my baby was going to be “huge” from my supposed gestational diabetes (I say supposed as I gained about 19 lbs for the pregnancy, but the sugar water test came back positive therefore I must have had it, right?).  Anyhow, they used the cervical ripening gel, which I later found out contains pig semen, yummy.  My OB-GYN went in to break my water for me … that hurt enough that I was scooching up the bed to get away.  She was saying sorry, but it still hurt!  Anyhow this caused my contractions to come fast and furious.  One would end and the next would begin.  I begged for the epidural.  I got it and the relief was fantastic.  The problem was it also stopped the contractions, so they gave me the Pitocin drip.  That brought them back.  

Eventually, I told them that I felt like I needed to pee and they said that was odd, I should feel like pooping when I was ready to give birth.  They checked and I was fully dilated, so the nurses asked me to do a test push.  I did and the result was that the baby move back into the uterus!  At this point they told me he was anterior breech (sunny side up instead of over easy).  The Dr came in and said that she would leave me there for a while to see if the contractions would flip him or labour would be much harder.  Later, I found out that he never would have flipped unless I got on all fours to give him the room to do it and gravity to help.  I stayed there wanting to push, for two hours, ignoring the urge.  Then the nurses came in and saw that every contraction led to a rapid decal in the fetal monitor heartbeat.  Things happened fast then.  They got my OB-GYN in and a bunch of equipment.  She said that we had to get the baby out right away.  

Vacuum extraction birth

The vacuum came out and so did Logan … in four minutes.  She pulled hard enough that the vacuum tube actually separated from the suction pad three times and she went flying backwards.  Once Logan came out, they checked to see if he was okay – he was; meanwhile I was stitched.   I asked how badly I had torn that she was there so long and she said that she had done an episiotomy to get him out and that she hadn’t counted the stitches, but they were in three layers.  Further they weighed him and my huge baby was 7 lbs 3 oz.  The pain of healing from the episiotomy isn’t something I would wish on my enemies (well, maybe my worst enemy, but no-one else).

I relayed his birth to others and I realized that it didn’t have to be that way.  He wasn’t ready.  If he had been left alone and I had done some of the baby turning activities I read about later, then maybe he would have flipped and none of it would have happened.  I then read more about homebirths, but as we were done having kids I reconciled myself with not getting the chance.  It seems that fate, and one New Year’s Eve celebration had different ideas.

A change is made

As soon as I found out I was pregnant I contacted the local midwifery organization.  I met with them and was immediately put at ease.  They were so professional and caring; I knew I had made the right decision.  When I mentioned that I wanted a home water-birth, they practically jumped up and down with glee.  They told me which pool to get (I got it on sale for $20 at Canadian Tire), and though I was a bundle of nerves; after all this was the first labour I was going to feel; I felt ready.  I went into labour, at exactly 37 weeks – what an impatient boy!  After twelve hours of labour I gave birth at home to a 7 lb 4 oz boy in one push.  The biggest difference I can say was that I was in charge.  No-one told me when I was going to push, I told them.  Actually I am fairly certain I growled unintelligibly, but they got the point.  It was so serene, so much more peaceful, the lighting was quiet, people weren’t walking in and out of the room, there weren’t monitors beeping everywhere and I ate and drank when I felt like it!  

I guess what I am trying to say is that it felt exactly right and I am grateful I had the opportunity to give birth the way I was designed to.

Alison Kennedy

Hon B. Sc.; B. Ed. 

1. http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7505/1416?variant=full-text

2. http://www.mothering.com/community/t/194386/beneficial-bacteria-yet-another-reason-to-homebirth

Viveka's birth story (as written in the pre-birthy me)

Preface: I purposely am NOT reading this before I post it. I logged into myspace to find some photos for another post I'm planning and found this area called "blog" - I remembered blogging through my labor with Viveka via my old Helio... so... here it is. Watch the comments for my comments 4+ years later on the topic. Feel free to comment as well.

----------------------------------- Written Feb 2008 - 4 days after she was born ---------------------------

At 8 pm they inserted the cervix softener and I sat back and relaxed. Dh was there the entire time and we watched some tv and "hung out." The next morning, I was hungry but of course no food. I was hooked up to an IV the entire time for fluids since we needed to try to maintain levels. At 8 am, we started pitocin to start contractions. This was in hopes that my cervix would take some action since I really wasn't making much progress.
At eleven am the doctor came and broke my water. I was a whole one cm; 50% effaced. Soon, it helped progress some it seemed - the contractions were mild. I tried the birthing ball and such ball but was as i was in pain by mid afternoon, I opted for sterol (I think that's what it was called). Since I wasn't progressing I was hoping that if I was able to bear the pain better, we would progress more quickly. Many times I was asked if I wanted an epidural but I decided against it and DH supported that. Neither of us wanted a lethargic baby. Soon, the contractions got stronger and VERYYY painful. With the medication, I able to get some rest - the pain meds were in after about 5 hours of my water being broke.

After 2 hrs they checked again- gosh darn won't u knowm i was ONLY 1.5 cm. I took more sterol as contractions were kickin my butt. After 2 more hrs they checked again ,and inserted internal contraction sensor to verify how big they were since I once again was 1.5 cm.

now wouldn't you know my contractions were actually off the chart. w

I was extremely upset by then - all this pain and NO progress! So went for epidural at 6:30 pm. At that time I immediately progressed to 4 cm, most likely because I was able to relax some. I was surprised by watching how huge the contractions were but I felt nothing. I had wanted to be able to push, but I had to be realistic.

After two hours they checked me and while I was about 80 percent efaced, I still was a "small" 4. I spoke with the doctor and we decided to give it another two hours. After about an hour and a half, baby's heart rate was starting to drop at times. We spoke again and at 11 pm opted for a c section. Had I not had the epidural I would have had a spinal, so in a way I am glad that I did get the epidural.

Right after I got off the phone with the doctors I started vomitting water. They cleaned me up some and rolled me off to the c section room just down the hall. The entire time I was shaking and kept thinking oh my what if I don't survive. I kept concentrating on my breathing. While there was a sheet up, I could see some reflection of what was going on through the light above me. I stopped watching after I saw them remove something red from me (who know what organ that was). DH said it smelled like a meat shop!

I puked again during the surgery but dear Viveka was born at 11:45 pm. DH looked so afraid as he held her. I was still shaking and they gave me some medication via injection to help stop the shaking and of course kept putting warm blankets on me. DH brought her over to me and I gave her a kiss - her eyes were open and she was so beautiful. She was a 9/9 on the apgar score... I asked DH to hold her close and they went off to prepare her. They gave her the Vitamin K injection and also the eye medicine while I was getting sewn up. It took almost an hour to sew me up because my uterus had to be massaged since I had been contracting so hard for so long.

After all was done I vomitted again, but was happy to be brought over to my room. DH was there, the blood cord people were called and her blood cord was sent off for processing... They brought the baby in and she fed. We didn't get a good latch but after a little meneuvering it all worked out.

We spent a few more nights at the hospital and came home Tuesday aftenoon.

She lost a little weight in the hospital but she's definitely a joy to have home. I am recoving okay but in some additional pain because I've chosen against pain meds. The first day and a half I didn't opt for any but day two and three both I took 1 percoset. I took them immediatley after breastfeeding because I'm a bit hesitant. I've been taking motrin the last day - I figure at least there is such thing as baby motrin...

I'm still amazed they let me take her home :) She's such a joy!

Sorry for the novella about our Viveka.

And to end Cesarean Awareness Month - doctor against medical advice, faces CPS

I've posted how my son's birth (VBAC, vaginal birth after cesarean) was both liberating and trying. I had to sign a paper indicating I understand I was going against medical advice (where the nurse went ahead and told me, in labor, that my baby could die, but failed to tell me the same risks when I requested an epidural, go figure) when I decided against staying in bed and being constantly monitored.

Could you imagine being a DOCTOR who had to go against medical advice (whose? I mean, that person is a medical doctor as well, right?). In this scenario, a mom wanted a homebirth after cesarean, legal in many states, also in AZ if you have an MD, DO or ND with you, but otherwise currently not with a homebirth midwife), but had to transfer due to other issues. In transferring to a hospital, that mom gave up many rights. And now, she and her husband are at odds with the hospital that he WORKS at and had been chief of staff, for a decision many families make, and we also made. That decision was to not use the vitamin K shot at birth. Like us, the doctor researched and determined that oral vitamin K would be better, since the shot has about 20,000 times the amount needed, assuming there is trauma in the birth, and may increase the risk of getting leukemia, among other issues.. It was something our pediatrician allowed and agreed to and neither I or my husband are medical doctors. CPS was called on this doctor for a decision he and his wife made in health for his family. If he had done the "unethical" thing of transferring care of his wife/son to him, he could have discharged them without issue. But, he went with not treating his family and got this bunch of crap put on him.

Happy Cesarean Awareness Month!

Disclaimer: Cesareans can be life saving, but there's a difference between a stat and emergency cesarean. Don't freak know the facts.

So what's with placenta eating

As I recently posted, I did eat my placenta. I did find that it was a pick me up on days when I felt a bit down. Due to cost concerns, I ate my placenta in a smoothie and honestly I could not taste it. I used Trader Joes' mixed berries (frozen, in a bag), mixed with some bananas and a chunk or two of placenta.

Honestly, I couldn't taste it and because it was blended in my very low-tech not top of the line blender... if you were to (safely) do the same, I doubt you'd notice taste or texture.

Some of my friends have had theirs dehydrated, ground and placed into gel capsules to take like any other pill. Others have had chocolate made, while I have heard of people cooking it and making a "dinner" out of it.

Really, if you're reading this and are pregnant, at least consider it if you have a history of depression or worried about the baby blues. Even if you aren't quite sure... honestly what do you have to lose? Sure, you can likely check the NIH archives for research on this topic and I'm sure you won't find much, if anything. After all, unless we start marketing placentas like foreskin to drug (in foreskin case, mostly cosmetic) manufacturers, there likely will not be money to research the benefits of placenta consumption. So if you're worried about energy levels or depression, perhaps this may help you out, maybe it won't... You may never know!

Yes I ate my placenta

Yes, I ate my placenta. No, I do not judge you for not eating yours. Placenta eating is a traditional way of preventing the baby blues and also probably the only organ a vegan can eat.

Here's the facts. Mammals eat their placentas. Whether or not you consider yourself different than or not an animal, we care for our young, so from 2nd grade science class, I'd say we're mammals. Whether kitties do it to prevent other animals from knowing there are newbies around, or because they know instinctively it is good for them, is not up for debate here. I'm merely posting this for awareness.

I did not eat the placenta from my daughter's birth. I had heard of it and thought . But two years later the story was different. I had a bit of the baby blues after my daughter's birth. I had read that many new moms have it worse the second time around. I had a friend who had a baby just a few months before I was due with #2 and she mentioned placentophagy and that even her husband had a "sip" - so I decided to look more into this forbidden topic. (For those wondering, no my husband did not consume any of my placenta). 

So here are some basics:
1) You need to plan in advance if you're having an out of home birth. Talk to your birth provider of your plans and have it cleared with them. If they give you a bunch of hassle, chances are they aren't listening to what you (the consumer, no pun intended), are saying, and you may want to find an alternative provider.

2) Determine how you want to consume it (raw, tincture, cooked, dehydrated, pill-form)

3) Determine how you'll get it home (unless you birth at home, of course)

4) Determine who will prepare it (you or someone whose been trained) - many states restrict the ability for it to be prepared outside of your home

5) Determine if you'll save some for menopause

6) Determine if you want to plant it

For us, we let our midwife know and she indicated it wouldn't be a problem at the hospital we had chosen. We were told to bring a cooler and that after the placenta was delivered, they'd check it for clots and other potential issues and if all went well, they'd double bag it as a biohazard and we could place it in our cooler with ice. It really was THAT simple.

My husband brought it home mid-day when he picked up my daughter from our friend's house and I rinsed it later that evening (we were lucky to be discharged from the hospital within 12 hours of my son's birth) and prepared it myself - really just placing it into the containers, as it was hot and I didn't have a dehydrator so using my oven was likely out. Darn Phoenix heat!

So what's IN the placenta? Iron for one. Likely tons of B-6 for energy as well. Both of which are known to help with depression.

Check out the Placenta Liberation Front for more information.

(No, I'm not a doctor, so don't consider this medical advice, Please and Thank you) 




FOUND IT

Many words for Wednesday - cesarean awareness month

Apparently an unbiased VBAC consent form.

I wonder how many first time moms, in their excitement to meet their baby are talked into a cesarean, or scared into one by indicating that baby was in distress, and later talk about their emergency cesarean.

How many later find out that their cesarean was unnecessary.

Almost every time I hear a woman say she had to have an "emergency" cesarean, I wonder. Was it emergency or STAT?


A third of babies in the US are now born via surgery. Many women believe, once a cesarean, always a cesarean.

Many doctors believe the same.

Even with the facts and information that women should be given a trial of labor option for a VBAC. However, are physicians even being trained to prevent original cesareans? Why are more "low risk" women having cesareans?

Why are women being cut up so often?

Why are women told they don't have to be "strong" and give birth naturally? Why can't women be empowered?

Why is America's maternal health rates so low?

If more healthy babies is not the outcome of more cesareans, why are we having so many cesareans? Is it just money?

How I wish I had a home birth or even a doula my first time around.

How happy I am that I had the birth experience with my daughter, so I could grow so much, and successfully have a VBAC, 51 weeks ago, with the birth of my son.

A few links of interest:
http://www.vbacfacts.com

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db35.pdf
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20110415/high-c-section-rates-arent-linked-to-healthier-babies
Privacy Information

Birth Story of our Son

Let me preface this by saying that I am 4'11 on a good day. Before the birth of my first child, I wore a 5.5 shoe. For those reading and "into" the birth scene, you'll understand why I made those first comments.

38 weeks and counting

I am blessed to have friends who know that birth can be trusted.
I am happy to know that I have the option of how this baby is born.
I am empowered by the women who have succecssfully VBACd, and especially those who have HBACd and even more thankful to know that UBAC is not unheard of.
Unfortunately I live in a society that is inundated with untruths that have become fact for most. But I've been enlightened. I know that with every scare tactic is a statistic. I know that every statistic can be skewed. I know that by letting go of medicalization and instead trusting my body and listening to it will get us to the place we need to with this new baby.
I know that V's birth was the way it was so that I could be empowered and help educate others. I know that not everyone cares, and that is how it is, but for some, the education is what they need so that they can trust their bodies as well. So that they can experience birth so that they can understand that
birth.matters

Forming a bond, before birth

With my first pregnancy, I read everything that was happening that day, week, month with in my body. I read about birth. I wanted to form an attachment from birth, so I wanted to have a natural birth. I wanted to experience labor, I wanted to breastfeed early on. I did form an attachment, but it wasn't immediate. I was on an operating table. I didn't have a natural birth. I was talked into an epidural. I was talked into internal monitoring. I was worn out and I agreed to a cesarean. One that was unnecessary.

I am now okay with that cesarean. However, I’m not okay with the policies that many doctors and hospitals want to place on me. I’m not okay with the fact that the OB I had switched to had decided it was NECESSARY for me to have an epidural upon admission. Why? In case I had to have a cesarean. Her reason? It would be easier for me? When I said I'd prefer not to have it, she told me of this woman and that who said they couldn't do the VBAC without it. How do they know...? Are they me?

I said I wanted to be able to feel the birth and I thought it would help because isn’t that how a woman knows if she’s rupturing? You don’t SEE the rupture, a woman feels it first and there’s a change in heart rate. Right? If that were to happen, I can have a spinal and undergo a STAT cesarean (different than an emergency cesarean birth). So yes, after I was told that I could not opt out of the epidural (their VBAC knowledge/consent for TOL form had it on there, not as a bullet but buried), I switched to a hospital-based midwife-group. One that is not requiring an epidural. I will be able to head into the hospital and move through labor. I will be able to be in better position for giving birth, rather than flat on my back so the baby's head can crash into my tailbone.

This time around, I’m prepared for the birth. I know facts. I know statistics. I know my body. I know hospital policies. I know that in the state of Arizona I cannot be assisted at home by a homebirth midwife. That’s politics. I can however, choose to go unassisted and make the decision to head into the hospital when and if I feel it is necessary. I will make that decision for me and my child. This has been my bonding with him. I feel as though I may have missed out on knowing the exact day he had eye lashes, but I know that in just a short time, his birth will finish healing me.

… and from there, I will breastfeed early on. I will snuggle him. I will not allow his vernix to be wiped off. I won’t have him separated for me unnecessarily. I won’t have to worry about whether or not my husband knows how to hold him and snuggle with him.

tandem nursing

V will be around 26 month old when new baby arrives. This is a bit of a concern for me because I know the importance of breastfeeding and I know that some babies will wean during pregnancy. V, however, is very much a boob junkie and it will take a lot to get her to stop, so that, at least, lends me some comfort.

I have come across a few people (mostly family) who've said "so I guess this means you need to wean" or "how are you going to nurse BOTH?" - well um, I do have two boobies. V will continue to nurse as long as she needs. I realize that some women do have nipple pain while pregnant, but I plan to work through it. When something is uncomfortable, I hope to have some comfort from the whole "this to shall pass" mentality, though, I'm being honest in saying - I'm not there yet, so we shall see. In the mean time she's still getting her mama's milk and she will as long as she needs it. We have our first OB appointment next week and based on information I've read, OBs aren't educated on the topic, so I won't be taking their advice on weaning, if that is their recommendation. Afterall, nipple stimulation issues regarding pregnancy just are unfounded and it isn't an issue until 3rd trimester, if at all. Most of what I have read is that if you aren't on restriction from sex there's no reason to assume you can't breastfeed.

Here are a few links of interest regarding tandem nursing.

Kelly Mom's resources. Love Kelly Mom!
Article Links from Le Leche League Intl


I have this book on the way (well actually it is waiting for me at Barnes and Noble)
Adventures in Tandem Nursing
Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond
by Hilary Flower

Miss V's having a baby brother or sister!

we're happily surprised to be expecting a little one in early may-ish. V was born via an unnecessarian and i decided about 3 days post partum that i won't face the horrible recovery of surgery unnecessarily again.

unfortunately, in the united states, the assumption is "once a cesarean, always a cesarean" however, that is not true. in fact believing in that false logic is only preventing the US from gaining way on the infant mortality scale. while some hospitals have vbac bans (official and unofficial) there is nothing that prevents a mother from discovering whether or not she's a good "candidate" for VBAC, other than her doctor of course.

looking back, i wish i had just said heck with it and went with a midwife last time. i had considered it when we moved from maryland to arizona mid-pregnancy, but, to be honest, i was afraid and unaware of the real benefits of having a midwife. plus, my insurance didn't like midwives.

so we're about 32-36 weeks away from welcoming a new baby (sticky dust appreciated, thank you) and we have planning to do and plenty of education to be had. i won't be afraid to fire my new OB if need be (we did switch providers after V's birth, though i haven't met her, just her nurse when i had my annual earlier in the year, she came recommended as an OB who likes VBACs (or was it loves?) and her nurse was pretty knowledgeable and while discussing V's birth, she hands down was like and we wonder why you ended up in surgery! i liked her a lot!)