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Monday, December 14, 2009

One in Three Women Infertile After Caesarean: Even More are Too Traumatized to Give Birth Again | Suite101.com

 

Jul 11, 2009 Joanna Karpasea-Jones

Various research shows that as many as one in three women suffer infertility after having caesarean sections that are hyped as routine.

A study in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has found that almost half of all women who have a caesarean section birth for their first child, don't have any more children. Of these, one in five have chosen not to have more children because they are too traumatized by the surgery and one in three are physically unable to because of caesarean-caused infertility problems.

The rate of post-traumatic stress disorder was six times higher than in first time mothers who had given birth vaginally…

One in Three Women Infertile After Caesarean: Even More are Too Traumatized to Give Birth Again | Suite101.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

ICAN eNews

1 December 2009 
ICAN eNews
Volume 54

In the news

Worries Surround Canada's rising C-section rate

Article discusses the risks of cesareans and why they are increasing across Canada. One of the major side effects cited is placenta accreta and "obstetricians across Canada say one of the most feared complications of pregnancy is increasing as a direct consequence of the nation's rising caesarean-section rate." ICAN-Canada's President Claudia Villeneuve is quoted in this article! Read Full Article.

U.S. Scores a 'D' On Preterm Birth Report Card

The March of Dimes has released its rating on premature birth rates and the United States received a 'D.' Early inductions and cesareans are listed among the reasons for the nation's premature birth rate. Read Full Article.

To see a listing of how each state ranks, please visit the March of Dimes website.

Babies Born "A Little" too Early Face Serious Health Problems

Lamaze International reports on the importance of the last few weeks of pregnancy. President of Lamaze International Sharon Dalrymple observes that "Women can play a key part in driving down avoidable prematurity...It may sound oversimplified, but saying no to any induction or cesarean that doesn’t have an urgent and compelling medical reason behind it is a good way to protect your baby from being born too early.”
Read Full Article.

In the research

Oxytocin as a "High Alert Medication": A Multilayered Challenge to the Status Quo

Judith P. Rooks, CNM comments on an article published in January of 2009 on the risks of oxytocin use in obstetrics. She adds to this previous study on the use of oxytocin by emphasizing the "risk of harm from cesarean sections" and discusses the connection between epidurals and the natural production of oxytocin.  Read More.

Barriers to the Use of Hydrotherapy in Labor

A survey for nurses was developed to assess why hydrotherapy is not used more frequently in labor pain management. The results of the survey indicate that the "culture of birthing" at a nurses' institution influences perceptions on hydrotherapy. More specifically, institutions with higher rates of epidurals, cesareans, and physician attended births tend to have nurses with more barriers to hydrotherapy.   Read More.

Adaptation, postpartum concerns, and learning needs in the first two weeks after caesarean birth

A survey indicates that although there is a "trend toward normalisation" of cesareans and few postpartum concerns were expressed, mothers still report problems adapting emotionally and physically. This is especially true among primiparas mothers and those with unplanned cesareans.  Read More.

From the women of ICAN

Two maternity "gurus" on cesareans and "fairytale births"

ICAN blogger sums up what Sheila Kitzinger and Ina May Gaskin have recently said in interviews about modern childbirth expectations, outcomes, and cesareans. On cesareans, Ina May Gaskin remarks, "Now we have the ridiculous situation in which an entire generation of women of childbearing age have been trained to believe that major surgery (the cesarean) isn’t painful or potentially harmful." Read the full summary.

Interview with Lindsey Meehleis: My Journey to VBAC

Lindsey Meehleis shares with ICAN about her VBAC video, the feedback she's received from it, and how ICAN's support helped her heal after her first child's birth. Lindsey's advice to women seeking a VBAC "is to educate themselves and surround themselves with positive people who believe in them. Women must cultivate their own inner strength to be true advocates for themselves." Read the interview.

ICAN Calendars are Here!

Filled with photos of those touched by ICAN, the calendar is a beautiful daily reminder of ICAN's mission. Order yours now.

Get active!

Mother-Sized Activism: the Story of Myshell & Hannibal

ICAN's Krista Cornish-Scott shares the story of Myshell who is planning an HBAC after finding no support for a VBAC from her physician a month before her due date. She now needs to plan and fund an HBAC. Read Myshell's story and make a difference.

Seeking "Failure to Progress" Triumph Stories

Dear women of ICAN, we want to hear YOUR story!
We are looking for women who were diagnosed with "Failure to Progress" (FTP) as a reason for your cesarean, and who subsequently had:

  • A fast birth, contrary to a care provider saying something akin to "your body just will NEVER dilate past X cm"
  • OR had another long labor, going past the time or dilation "stall" of the previous "FTP" but then kept going and had your VBAC, showing that all that was needed was patience for a body that liked to go slow.  

If you have a story that falls into the above categories, please email to youtube@ican-online.org the following things:
1) a very short summary of the two births, including any pertinent quotes like:

"doc said my body just wouldn't dilate past a 4..." or

"I gave up because after 24 hours at 5 cm I was told I'd never progress..."  and then the next birth "another 24 hours at 5 cm but then I went from 5 cm to 10 in 20 minutes!"  or similar stories. 

If you did anything DIFFERENT (changed care provider, didn't have dilated checked, hired a doula, read X book, became an ICAN lifetime subscriber, etc) please tell us that too.
2)  TWO pictures from each birth.  It would be great to have one "labor" and one "birth" pic from each.
3)  Your name, contact phone number or email.  We will send you a release form to sign once we receive your submission and we may have some follow-up questions about your story.
Be part of ICAN's next education project... a video all about women who overcame a diagnosis of "Failure to Progress".
Remember to use the email address youtube@ican-online.org.

Upcoming Events

Online Support Meeting

Get support live online on Wednesday, December 9th at 10:00 pm EST. This meeting's topic is "Dealing with the Family." Register for this event.

Copyright 2009 International Cesarean Awareness Network

Monday, November 30, 2009

Save Birth Choices Bulletin

Save Birth Choices Bulletin

Posted by Anna Russell

Dear All,
Last week the Greens were successful in referring the Medicare related legislation to the Senate to review. This means there is a senate inquiry looking at the offending amendments that require midwives to work collaboratively with Doctors. This is good news.
The challenge is that the submissions to the inquiry are due by 11 December (Friday week). To make the most of this inquiry, we need as many people as are able to write a short submission to the inquiry to show that these amendments are not acceptable.
Below are links to relevant information:
Maternity Coalitions brief on what has happened, what to write and the process to follow
http://savehomebirth.com.au/news/?p=701
Maternity Coalitions brief on what collaborative arrangements will mean for families and midwives
http://savehomebirth.com.au/news/?p=706
Please spend the 5-10 minutes to send off a submission. Every submission counts at this point.
Thank you in advance,
Save Birth Choices

My EmpowHer Conditions Digest

Women's Health Online

Pregnancy

video:
VIDEO: Nurse Sheehan - What Is Postpartum Depression?

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:58pm
0 comments  32 reads

herstoryvideo:
VIDEO - HERSTORY: Kelley Shares When She Began Feeling Normal After Childbirth

Posted by Kelley Howard - Nov 29, 2009 - 11:35am
0 comments  28 reads

herstoryvideo:
VIDEO - HERSTORY: Kelley Shares Her Pregnancy Experience

Posted by Kelley Howard - Nov 29, 2009 - 11:24am
0 comments  28 reads

herstoryvideo:
VIDEO - HERSTORY: Carole Shares What Triggered Her PPD Symptoms

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:39pm
0 comments  25 reads

  Postpartum Depression

video:
VIDEO: Nurse Sheehan - What Is Postpartum Depression?

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:58pm
0 comments  32 reads

herstoryvideo:
VIDEO - HERSTORY: Carole Shares What Triggered Her PPD Symptoms

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:39pm
0 comments  25 reads

video:
VIDEO: Nurse Sheehan - How Common Is Postpartum Depression?

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:33pm
0 comments  20 reads

video:
VIDEO: Nurse Sheehan - What Motives You To Advocate For Women With PPD?

Posted by Carole Sheehan - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:51pm
0 comments  19 reads

Friday, November 27, 2009

The silver lining beyond blues - Local News - News - General - Moonee Valley Community News

 

BY CAMERON TAIT

24 Nov, 2009 09:25 AM

FOLLOWING the birth of her first child Allegra two years ago, Jessica Rowe felt an overwhelming sense of anguish.

While she put on a brave face, the television presenter's dark and sometimes obsessive thoughts started to spiral out of control.

Strange things crossed her mind such as how easy it would be to hurt her baby, even though she knew she would never do it.

"It's normal to feel anxious as a new parent, but this went beyond the realms," she said.

"My heart was racing and it felt as though I was always having panic attacks and I was always nervous and on edge - it was frightening and terribly upsetting.

"These thoughts kept coming back which was very distressing and even though I tried to push them away, I realised it wasn't right.

"I thought with more sleep I would be all right, but I would just lie in bed wide awake and I knew I had to do something."

After six weeks of hell, Ms Rowe told her husband, former 60 Minutes reporter Peter Overton, she wasn't coping and needed help.

"It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," she said.

"This was supposed to be the happiest time of my life and I should have been filled with joy at finally becoming a mother, but I wasn't happy."

The next day, Ms Rowe made an urgent visit to her obstetrician and was referred to a psychiatrist where she poured her heart out and was diagnosed with postnatal depression…

The silver lining beyond blues - Local News - News - General - Moonee Valley Community News

The Citizen: Horror hospital probe

 

ÜGEN VOS

JOHANNESBURG - The North West Legislature voted unanimously to investigate the “traumatic treatment” of Faiza Booysen at a Klerksdorp hospital.

Booysen’s son, Lemeel, was decapitated and his arms were torn off during childbirth, after the hospital induced labour. The hospital says this is because Lemeel was already dead, and had begun decomposing inside his mother’s womb.

Booysen believes her baby was still alive when she went into labour, and says hospital staff told her to “push, because the baby is getting tired”.

She claims medical staff sat on her stomach to aid the birth process, while others pulled at the baby.

A caesarean section had been scheduled for November 18, but normal birth was brought on when staff “discovered the baby was already dead”.

The hospital earlier told Beeld that natural birth is the preferred delivery method in cases where the foetus dies in the womb – as this supposedly spares the mother the trauma of surgery.

Lemeel’s head and arms were later stitched back onto his body to give the dead foetus “the dignity it deserves”, and so the family could “bury a complete body”.

The family were never offered any counselling, despite the Democratic Alliance (DA) formally requesting the North West Health Department to ensure this…

The Citizen: Horror hospital probe

Managing Your Emotions

By Matthew Tull, PhD, About.com Guide to PTSD

If you have PTSD, you may find that you often experience very strong emotions, and as a result, managing your emotions may be hard to do. You are not alone. Many people with PTSD experience difficulties regulating their emotions. For example, it has been found that PTSD is linked with difficulties accepting emotions, low emotional awareness, and being unable to control impulsive behaviors when distressed. Fortunately, there are things you can do to better manage your emotions. Try out some of the coping strategies listed in this article.

Managing Your Emotions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Professionals Laud DMS's Friedman, Schnurr

 

The International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) recently honored Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) faculty members Matthew J. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., and Paula P. Schnurr, Ph.D., for their work as co-founders of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Friedman, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology & toxicology and executive director of the national center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in White River Junction, Vt., received the society's Public Advocacy Award for outstanding and fundamental contributions to advancing social understanding of trauma.
The ISTSS honored Schnurr, a research professor of psychiatry and the center's deputy executive director, with its Robert S. Laufer Award for outstanding scientific achievement. The society presented the awards during its recent annual conference in Atlanta.
In 2008, Schnurr had won a Health Breakthrough Award from the Ladies Home Journal for leading the VA's first psychotherapy trial of prolonged exposure focusing exclusively on female veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Professionals Laud DMS's Friedman, Schnurr

PND - RFPs - Welcome Back Awards Program Extends Deadline to Nominate Those Dedicated to the Depression Community

 

The deadline to submit nominations for this year's Welcome Back Awards, a national awards program that honors outstanding individuals in the depression community, has been extended by a month, with nominations now due by December 16, 2009. The Welcome Back Awards is a program established by Eli Lilly and Company to recognize outstanding achievements in the fight against depression and the stigma often associated with the illness.

An independent panel of national mental health experts will select honorees in five categories: lifetime achievement, for an individual whose perseverance has helped him or her overcome clinical depression and resume a fulfilling life; destigmatization, for an individual whose noteworthy public efforts have helped promote the understanding of depression and reduce the shame and guilt associated with the illness; community service, for an individual whose outstanding work has created and improved community programs that foster a supportive, caring environment for those suffering from depression; primary care, for a health care professional — psychologist, physician, social worker, or nurse — whose unique approach to identifying particular needs in depression diagnosis and treatment serves as an example to others; and psychiatry, for a psychiatrist who transcends the profession through community work, innovative clinical programs, teaching, new research, outstanding work with patients, or who makes a significant impact on the community or other medical disciplines.

Winners will share a total of $55,000, to be donated to the nonprofit organizations of their choice.

Anyone except Lilly employees may apply or be nominated for a Welcome Back Award.

Complete program guidelines and nomination forms are available at the Lilly Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Primary Subject: Health
Geographic Funding Area: National

PND - RFPs - Welcome Back Awards Program Extends Deadline to Nominate Those Dedicated to the Depression Community

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

North Carolina Friends of Midwives - A Day with Ina May Gaskin

 

Join us Saturday, December 5, 2009 for a day with Ina May! Choose from two exciting educational opportunities:

An Afternoon Workshop
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Duke University East Campus
East Duke BLDG 204B

Ina May will speak about:

  • Managing Shoulder Dystocia
  • Normalizing Breech Birth

Registration is $75

An Evening Lecture
7:00 pm
Duke University East Campus
White Lecture Hall - 1308 Campus Drive

Ina May will speak about:

  • Reducing Infant Mortality Rates in North Carolina
  • Safe Motherhood Across Ethnic Lines
  • Safe Motherhood Quilt on Display
  • Free CEUs Available

Registration is $20 at the door or $15 in advance.

All funds benefit N.C. Midwives. Please consider at extra donation to support the legislative effort to license Certified Professional Midwives in North Carolina.

Share this event with friends. Print fliers HERE.

Sponsored by Duke University Women's Center, The Big Push for Midwives, NC Friends of Midwives, NC Midwives Alliance, PreciousArrows.com

Contact Marnie Cooper Priest for more information. marniecooperpriest@gmail.com or 919.740.7396

REGISTRATION

If you want to pay by check, click HERE for a printable registration form and then send it and check payable to NCMA (NC Midwives Alliance) to:

A Day with Ina May Gaskin
c/o Kate Katahdin
1824 Rustica Drive
Durham, NC 27713
(919) 598-9619
katekatahdin@yahoo.com

North Carolina Friends of Midwives - A Day with Ina May Gaskin

Know Your Birth Options

Roseville-Pregnancy Information Night

DETAILS:

WHEN: Thursday ~ December 3rd

TIME: 5pm-8pm

WHERE: Maidu Community Center

              1550 Maidu Dr. Roseville, CA 95661

              Arts & Crafts Room

COST: *FREE to Expectant or New Parents

RSVP by going to:

Map It

**Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the event, all further proceeds will be donated to "Operation Special Delivery"**

Doulas in action

Doulas in action

Benefactor

  • Operation Special Delivery
    Operation Special Delivery (or OSD), provides trained volunteer doulas for pregnant women whose husbands or partners have been severely injured or who have lost their lives due to the current war on terror, or who will be deployed at the time that th

GOAL

This is a centralized public event to inform the pregnant community about different views and the many options they have surrounding their pregnancy & birth.  There is NOT an underlying agenda to promote any specific birth option, this event is to get the information out into our community so expectant parents can make educated descisions regarding pregnancy & birth.

The meeting will follow the structure below:

  • Introductions
  • Know Your Birth Options (presentation)
  • Q&A Panel (childbirth professionals answer your questions!)
  • Meet & Greet (of all the professionals attending including the panel)

Know Your Birth Options

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Midwifery Today E-News 11:24 - Doulas

 

In This Week’s Issue:

E-News 11:24 - Doulas

A message to all members of CIMS GAC Ambassadors

CIMS GAC Ambassadors

High Impact Birth Activists....Together Making Mother-Friendly Care a Reality

 

Please mark your calendar for our December teleconference. Share challenges,
successes, strategies and support. Talk about what's working and what's
not in your efforts to market The Birth Survey or obtain the official
facility level stats. Get your questions answered by project
leadership. This conference call is held monthly on the first Tuesday
of the month from 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST (You no longer need to
register for this ahead of time. We are also only using a conference
call line not the webinar system.)
Dial-in Number: 1-218-936-4700 (Midwest), Participant Access Code 390546

Visit CIMS GAC Ambassadors at: http://grassrootsgrapevine.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Be BOLD in 2010! Attend BOLD Retreat for Birth Workers & Activists!


BOLD New Jersey 08
BOLD Maui 2007

Thinking of being BOLD in 2010? Join us in 2010 for a year of awareness raising, sisterhood and celebration of mother-friendly childbirth!
BOLD events are small (at kitchen tables, yoga studios, living rooms) and large (300-seat theaters!). BOLD Organizers are mothers...and even not mothers. Most BOLD Organizers have never produced a theater event and our Red Tent Organizers often have never done anything like it before. What every organizer has in common is BOLDness - the desire to jump out of their comfort zone to do what's needs to make childbirth mother-friendly. BOLD events do this through performances of Karen Brody's critically-acclaimed play Birth and through storytelling circles called BOLD Red Tents. So far our events have raised over $150,000 for organizations worldwide working hard to make maternity care mother-friendly.
Applications for both performance and red tents are ready now. Click here for new guidelines. For an application email us at performance@boldaction.org.
And attention birth workers and activists! Consider kick-starting BOLD's 5th year the last week in August with BOLD Founder and Playwright Karen Brody who will be leading a BOLD Body and Soul Retreat for Birth Workers and Activists in the Catskill mountains of New York - culminating in the most wild, women-center, joyous performance on childbirth that will knock-your-BOLD-socks-off! Be sure to make plans early to attend - space is limited. Click here to get put on a list for more details when they are available.

Be BOLD with us in 2010!

BOLD New Jersey 08

BOLD is a global arts-based organization inspiring communities to raise awareness and funds to make childbirth mother-friendly.

MAMA Gives Thanks!

Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign


The MAMA Campaign is moving forward with great energy and determination to include Certified Professional Midwives in health care bills this year!  As the country enters the Thanksgiving Week, we want to take a moment to give thanks for the extraordinary strides made in a few short months on Capitol Hill for midwives and mothers.  And we want to express our deepest appreciation to all of you:  our supporters, whose dedication, stamina, generosity, letters and dollars have made this progress possible.
MAMA is thankful for:

  • Amazing grassroots participation from across the country—mothers, fathers, grandparents, midwives and other supporters—for your letters, calls and visits to legislators in support of CPMs
  • Great support from key congress members who have declared the provision for CPMs to be “good policy for women and babies”
  • Senator Cantwell (D-WA), for her provision in the Senate bill that will result in payment of the provider fee for state-licensed CPMs who provide services in licensed birth centers.
  • Washington State midwives, for the data they prepared for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) demonstrating significant improvements in quality and cost savings with CPM care
  • Campaign donations of more than $140,000 that have resulted in the most successful fundraising campaign for midwives and mothers ever!
MAMA Needs Your Help On the Homestretch!
It’s time to “Pound the Table”!  As MAMA continues negotiations to find a Senator to file the CPM provision as an amendment on the Senate floor, this is the time for ALL of us to send a clear message to all our Senators:  Certified Professional Midwives will lower health care costs and improve the health of women and babies.  There is a pregnant-woman sized hole in this legislation, Mrs. or Mr. Senator.  Please fix it!
Find easy letter-writing information and sample letter text hereIf you’ve already written a letter, write again!  Please keep those letters coming!!!
Letter of the Week
Elizabeth Gilmore of New Mexico wrote a personal appeal to her Senator, Jeff Bingaman, asking him to “be our champion” on Capitol Hill:
"I am an enthusiastic constituent in Taos, NM, where you came to the ribbon-cutting of our Birth Center, in 1997…We are currently Medicaid providers in NM but only because our governor insisted.  When he leaves office we may lose this designation because we still are not recognized by Federal Medicaid as providers!"
You too can ask a Senator to be a champion for CPMs!  Click here to write a letter to your Senator.
Who Are MAMA’s donors?
She is a mother of four who has Medicaid, who paid out of pocket for her last two home waterbirths, and gave what she could to MAMA!
He is the father of three homeborn children and a nationally known musician, whose passion for his children’s births moved him to generously donate.
She is a midwife who dreams that someday not so far off she will be able to serve more low income women in her community.
She is the grandmother of five, whose daughter triumphed by having a vaginal birth with a CPM after a Cesarean in the hospital.
He is the best friend of a young couple finding their way through a first, surprise pregnancy with the love and guidance of a midwife.
She is a public health policymaker who recognizes that the status quo does not serve women and babies, and wants to help make a change.
She is a new mother who has been transformed through the experience of her birth, and wants to share it with everyone she knows.
She is me, he is you, they are us, working together to bring about big change with our big and small change. Every dollar counts! MAMA fundraising is on a roll, with only $30,000  needed to keep the campaign on track through December.  Please help us over the finish line!  Donate to MAMA today!

NEW DATE FOR THE MAMA WEBINAR: December 3
MAMA Has Good News to Share!  Join Us for a Webinar on December 3rd to Learn All About It!
Our federal lobbyist, Billy Wynne will join representatives from the Campaign Steering Committee, on Thursday, December 3rd, for an exciting webinar about the MAMA Campaign at 8 pm EST. Please note that this is a new date.  The webinar was previously scheduled for the beginning of Thanksgiving week, but that week was too busy for too many of our supporters so we have postponed the date a week to accommodate our supporters.
The effort to secure federal recognition of CPMs got a big boost – language beneficial to CPMs is included in the Senate health care bill just released on Wednesday, November 18th.   And MAMA is still hard at work to include our amendment to reimburse CPMs in the federal Medicaid program in the final bill that will go to the President to be signed early next year.
You are invited to join us to hear:

  • What this new language in the Senate bill will mean for midwives and mothers across the country
  • About the most successful fundraising campaign for midwifery ever!
  • What the next steps are this year for Federal recognition for CPMs
It is easy to participate in the webinar!  Click here to register and receive easy steps to join us.
And during the webinar MAMA wants to answer your questions:  email a question to info@mamacampaign.org and put “Webinar Question Submission” in the subject line.
MAMA thanks you for all your support.  Happy Thanksgiving!
If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the campaign at info@mamacampaign.org.

The Rockefeller University - Newswire: Acute stress leaves epigenetic marks on the hippocampus

 

In trying to explain psychiatric disorders, genes simply cannot tell the whole story. The real answers are in the interaction of genes and the environment. Post-traumatic stress disorder requires some trauma, for instance, and people, for the most part, aren’t born depressed. Now research has revealed one mechanism by which a stressful experience changes the way that genes are expressed in the rat brain. The discovery of “epigenetic” regulation of genes in the brain is helping change the way scientists think about psychiatric disorders and could open new avenues to treatment.
Richard Hunter, a postdoc in Rockefeller University’s Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, found that a single 30-minute episode of acute stress causes a rapid chemical change in DNA packaging proteins called histones in the rat hippocampus, which is a brain region known to be especially susceptible to the effects of stress in both rodents and humans. The chemical change Hunter examined, called methylation, can either increase or decrease the expression of genes that are packaged by the histones, depending on the location of the methylation. He looked for methylation on three regions of histone H3 that have been shown to actively regulate gene expression. In experiments published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he shows that methylation of one mark, H3K9 trimethyl, roughly doubled in the hippocampus. Methylation of a second mark, H3K27 trimethyl, dropped by about 50 percent in the same area. Changes associated with the third mark were minor.
“The hippocampus is involved in episodic memory, so you would expect it to be sensitive to episodic experiments like this, more so than the motor regions, for instance,” says Hunter, who worked on the project with Rockefeller scientists Bruce S. McEwen and Donald W. Pfaff. “But what is surprising is the magnitude and regional specificity of these patterns.” The sheer size of the change in histone methylation suggests that it is important to the brain’s response to acute stress, although its exact role remains a mystery. The two methyl marks that changed are both thought to repress gene expression usually, but methylation increased in one and decreased in the other.
Hunter also checked for similar changes as a result of chronic stress — exposure to a 30-minute stress each day for 21 days. He did not find a major effect, which could reflect the animals’ adjusting to the stress. However, when he treated the rats with fluoxetine, the generic form of the popular antidepressant Prozac, he reversed some methylation effects associated with chronic stress.
It’s becoming increasingly evident, Hunter says, that the epigenetic changes like the methyl marks he observed and others, such as acetylation and phosphorylation, could play a significant role in the brain’s response to stress and the treatment of stress related diseases, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“There was a thought that the genome project would reveal all in neuropsychiatric disease, but that has proven not to be the case,” he says. “Epigenetics has become much more interesting because it allows us to look at how gene expression is changed by environmental events, explainable in part by histone modifications.”

Contact: Brett Norman 212-327-7613
newswire@rockefeller.edu

The Rockefeller University - Newswire: Acute stress leaves epigenetic marks on the hippocampus

News from "The Business of Being Born" and mybestbirth

My Best Birth Newsletter

November has been a great month so far, with a fabulous screening of The Business of Being Born in San Diego last week, and the news that our book Your Best Birth will come out in paperback on April 5th, just in time for the release of our new educational "My Best Birth" DVD.  If you haven’t joined mybestbirth yet – click here to sign up and become part of our community.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Warmest,
Ricki & Abby


Alyson Hannigan & Alexis Denisof
Host Online Discussion This Week

We were delighted to bring you exclusive excerpts from the birth story of actress Alyson Hannigan, star of the "American Pie" movies and currently on the hit sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."  Sponsored by our friends at Milkalicious, these two webisodes feature Alyson and her husband actor Alexis Denisof sharing intimate details of their amazing birth journey for our new DVD.   Click here to ask Alyson and Alexis a question or comment on their story.  Just a reminder that their FULL story will be included on the new "My Best Birth" educational DVD to be released in 2010...


Ricki and Abby in San Diego

(Pictured with Staff of Babies in Bloom)

An Evening with Ricki & Abby, by Barbara Herrera

"I was on my way up to Babies in Bloom in Vista and hit serious traffic. Ambulances, cops and fire trucks crawled through the cars and while sending the people in the accident safe thoughts, I knew I was going to be late to the VIP Event for Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. They were both in town for a showing of "The Business of Being Born." I called Rochelle McLean, the owner of B&B and a local Lactation Consultant, telling her I didn't think I was going to get there before the party was over, so I would probably meet them at the theater. Once we passed the accident, I knew I was going to make it and puzzled at why the GPS said I was still an hour away. It suddenly dawned on me that I had forgotten to set my GPS back for Daylight Savings Time. Sheesh.Click here to read midwife Barbara Herrera's description of the rest of the night...

Babies By the Sea
While in San Diego, Ricki & Abby got to catch up with Dr. Robert Biter OB/GYN, and hear about his new birth center "Babies by the Sea."  Here is an excerpt from Dr. Biter's blog on mybestbirth: "....While I have heralded many births, I still find myself holding my breath at that final push, the exact moment just before a new person enters the room. The wonderment of possibility and the significance of love often overwhelms. This is indeed the very moment where I now find myself in my own life. I stand poised to witness the beginning of an ecologically friendly, socially responsible birthing center in Carlsbad, California. The process leading to this moment has indeed been laborious, filled with the drama of challenging an existing medical model and the transformative power of a group of committed individuals working together to give birth to this place called Babies by the Sea Birthing Center with views of the expansive Pacific Ocean. While the doors will open in May of 2010, the movement has already gained momentum.Click here to read Dr. Biter's full post.

Abby’s Expecting, Chapter 2...
Filmmaker Abby Epstein was unexpectedly
featured in her own documentary while shooting The Business of Being Born.   This time she’s hoping for fewer surprises as she plans for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with baby #2 in January.  Click here to read Abby’s second blog entry as we follow her journey to VBAC.

Ricki to Attend CIMS Forum in Austin
Each year, the CIMS Forum attracts expert faculty from prestigious universities and the nation’s leading childbirth advocacy organizations who present the most up-to-date maternity care research to healthcare providers, maternal-child health leaders, and passionate childbirth advocates who are eager to bring evidence-based maternity care practices back to their communities. The information that Forum attendees gain provides an invaluable boost to their efforts to promote healthy birth practices across the nation. Feb. 26-27 | The Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin – Town Lake | Austin, Texas

Help Us Reach 10,000 Members by 2010
Since we launched mybestbirth this May, our community has been growing organically and has become a "go-to" website for information about all types of childbirth and holistic parenting. We have over 8,000 members now and would like to have 10,000 by the New Year. Help us reach this goal by inviting 3 of your friends to join mybestbirth.  All you have to do is point to the "Invite" tab and import their addresses.   Also be sure to check out the newest features on the site, like virtual gifts and birthdays!

Shop Till You Drop…
For great holiday gifts be sure to check out our “Born Free” Moby-Wrap modeled here by the lovely Kimberly Williams-Paisley and her baby Jasper.  These wraps come in new pastel colors and are also fabulous for baby-wearing and new baby gifts.  Another way you can support mybestbirth now is by doing some holiday shopping at our Sproutbaby store for organic, toxin-free products for baby, mom and home. Get 15% off purchases over $50 with code MBB15.  

 

Your Best Birth
your best birth bookYOUR BEST BIRTH is an empowering childbirth guide packed with crucial advice from medical professionals, delivered in a down-to-earth, engaging, and honest voice. Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein reevaluate the pregnancy process, renew expectant mothers’ confidence, and place the control back where it belongs: with parents-to-be.
Order your copy now!

 

The Business of Being Born on DVD

the business of being born dvd


"It should be seen by EVERY pregnant woman in America..."
-NY Daily News
Click here to watch the trailer

Military suicides: Cases of post-traumatic stress mount at alarming rate | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com

More than 1.7 million Americans have served in Iraq or Afghanistan over the past eight years. No one can say with precision how many of those service members came home with debilitating mental trauma, but studies suggest the figure is, at the least, many hundreds of thousands.
A report released last year by the RAND Corp., a nonpartisan research group, said at least one in five returning soldiers suffers from depression or PTSD, an anxiety disorder mental health experts and military officials alike say is a contributing factor in the rising suicide rate.
More recently, researchers at Stanford University estimated up to 35 percent of all veterans from those two wars either have PTSD or will develop it.


Reported by Tomas Dinges & Mark Mueller
Written by Mark Mueller

By contrast, about 19 percent of those who served in the Vietnam War experienced PTSD, according to a 2006 study published in the journal Science.
John A. Renner Jr., a military psychiatrist during Vietnam and now associate chief of psychiatry at the VA’s Boston Healthcare System, contends repeated tours are a major factor in the higher rate of mental trauma.
"The length of time in combat is directly related to incidents of PTSD. We’ve known that since World War II," Renner said.

Star-Ledger special report: Military suicides

The typical GI in Vietnam served one 12-month tour of duty. Many service members now serve two to three tours, with little time between deployments to decompress or reconnect with families. Two soldiers who committed suicide this year had served four tours of duty, Army records show.
Even those serving a single tour have come back with PTSD symptoms, including flashbacks, anxiety attacks, explosive anger and a lack of concentration, said Judith Broder, the founder and director of the Soldiers Project, a nonprofit group that provides free counseling to service members and veterans.
Some harbor feelings of intense guilt for surviving while buddies died, or for the things they did while deployed. Some withdraw from friends and family.
A few engage in uncharacteristic and dangerous behaviors: driving recklessly, gambling huge sums of money, drinking until they pass out, acting out violently.
"They’re courting disaster because they’re used to courting disaster in combat," Broder said. "They come home in a hyperactive state."
In the most extreme cases, they take their own lives.
military-suicide-graphic.jpg
Military suicides: Cases of post-traumatic stress mount at alarming rate | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Trying to be supermum left me suicidal | News Of The World

 

By Eimear O’Hagan & Jill Foster

She'd read all the baby magazines, been to her antenatal classes and written out her birth plan - now expectant mum Clare Sallery couldn't wait to have her first child. But when her son Rhys arrived, she struggled to be the perfect mum she'd read about and seen on TV.

And after failing to breastfeed and bond with her baby, Clare, 31, from Devon, felt so inadequate as a mother that she not only gave her son away, but also tried to kill herself.

"When I got home from hospital, I wasn't like the mums you see on television, who seem to cope really well and are so happy to have babies," she says. "I was crying all the time and convinced myself Rhys would be better off without me."

Worryingly, Clare's case is far from unusual. In a society where parenting is big business, there is also increasing pressure on new mums to do everything by the latest best-selling book. But what if your experience of motherhood is less than perfect?

With post-natal depression affecting one in 10 mothers, research suggests that at least 50 new mums commit suicide every year, because they feel they can't cope with their new babies…

Trying to be supermum left me suicidal | News Of The World

My EmpowHer Conditions Digest

Women's Health Online

Pregnancy

news:
Many Women Miscalculate Time to Full-Term Birth

Posted - Nov 20, 2009 - 4:51pm
0 comments  10 reads

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

news:
U.S. Military Studying PTSD Risk Factors

Posted - Nov 20, 2009 - 4:50pm
0 comments  10 reads

‘I felt like I was crazy’ | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

 

By: Sarah Horner, Duluth News Tribune

Kamara Langenbrunner

Kamara Langenbrunner, 10, sits with her purple violin at her Cloquet home. Kamara, who was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder a couple of years ago, says playing the violin has helped her through the process of dealing with the disorder. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

 

When Kamara Langenbrunner was 8, she started hearing voices.

The first time it happened, the Cloquet girl, now 10, was staying at a Minneapolis women’s shelter with her mom and siblings.

“I thought someone was really there and talking to me,” Kamara said. “I heard it say, ‘I am going to stay here and not go away until you do what I say.’ ”

Kamara knew whom the voice belonged to: her stepfather, a man who had physically abused her since she was 4.

“It would tell me to slam my head on my desk at school, or stab myself with a knife while I was helping my mom cook in the kitchen. It would say: ‘Regret being alive,’ and stuff like that,” Kamara said. When it got so loud that Kamara worried she might start to listen to it, she told her mom, Erin Camacho.

A few days later, Camacho took Kamara to the emergency room of Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where she was immediately admitted to the children’s psychiatric unit at Abbot Northwestern. It was there she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It was absolutely shocking,” Camacho said. “I didn’t think she could have something like that at age 8; you think maybe 15 or 16 or when you start going through those hard teenage years. Words don’t describe what it felt like; you never want to see your baby hurt like that.”

Kamara is not a rarity. Mental-health providers say more young children — some as young as infants — are being diagnosed with a mental illness…

‘I felt like I was crazy’ | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

To women between the ages of 18 and 40 who have delivered a baby within the last year:

Please forward to any new moms who might participate!

I am a doctoral candidate at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN, studying postpartum depression in new mothers. I am seeking 18-40 year old women who are within 1 year of giving birth. It is not necessary that you have a postpartum depression diagnosis.
The questionnaires will take about 10 minutes to complete. I will also be offering a drawing for several $20 gift cards, if you submit your email address. You will be eligible if you complete the entire survey by December 31, 2009.
If you have any questions before participating, please contact me at kmarshallcounseling@gmail.com.
The questionnaires, with a consent form and instructions, can be accessed by clicking on the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Wmth99YRC75Nvpi0P5VBbA_3d_3d
Thank you for your time, please feel free to forward this to other women who might be willing to participate!
Sincerely,
Kristi Marshall, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Trevecca Nazarene University

Saturday, November 21, 2009

News : Carondelet gets grant for postpartum disorders - Inside Tucson Business - newspaper, business news, opinion, classifieds

 

HEALTH CARE

Published on Friday, November 20, 2009

Carondelet Health Network has received a $35,000 grant to help it identify and support mood disorders in pregnant and postpartum women. 
The grant was awarded through Project HOPE (Healthy Optimistic Perinatal Experience) and funded by the Child Abuse Prevention License Plate Program.
“Mood disorders around childbirth impact several generations,” says Carole Sheehan, coordinator of St. Joseph’s Postpartum Depression Program. “By providing tools for parents to understand the symptoms and expected outcomes, Carondelet is able to prevent some of the harm and neglect of children, personal pain and suffering, as well as family or marital discord.”

The postpartum depression program is part of Carondelet Women’s Care.

News : Carondelet gets grant for postpartum disorders - Inside Tucson Business - newspaper, business news, opinion, classifieds

Tell your Congressional Representatives to stand up for kids and families too and show their support by wearing the MomsRising pin!

Dear Friend,

In response to messages from MomsRising members last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, primary architects of the healthcare reform plan, were the first Members of Congress to be photographed wearing the MomsRising Pacifier pin to show that they also won't be pacified until healthcare reform is done right for children and families (Click here to see their photos and others)
But just because we have head honchos on our side doesn't mean we're done yet… there's more work to do. Right now, Congress is making monumental decisions about health reform: Make sure every Member of Congress shows that they'll also stand up for affordable and comprehensive coverage for all kids and families.
http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=933
By clicking the easy link above, you'll be able to send your Members of Congress a letter now asking them to wear our MomsRising pin, and to send us a quick photo of themselves wearing our pin so we can post it on our website to celebrate their support for children and families.
It only takes one minute to email a letter.
Why are we pinning down Congress? The MomsRising pins, which were delivered to all of Congress last week along with a book of MomsRising member healthcare stories, help raise awareness among elected leaders in Congress that kids and families can't be forgotten when corporate insurance lobbyists start talking. Imagine sitting around a table negotiating who's covered by healthcare reform and who's not with industry lobbyists, and then looking up to see a Congressional colleague's pin as a reminder that many need coverage who don't have a powerful lobby, i.e. kids.
Our MomsRising pins put kids in the healthcare negotiating meetings-right on the lapels of decision makers!
Health reform is getting a lot of attention, but the headlines focus on adults. Even with great public healthcare programs like Medicaid and CHIP, millions of children remain uncovered and under-insured. Congress needs to make sure all kids benefit from health reform.
We have momentum now. Let's keep pushing! Getting U.S. Senate Majority Leader Reid and Speaker of the House Pelosi to wear our pin is a huge victory; now we all need to make sure that others in Congress follow their examples and stand up for kids and families.
*Don't forget to tell your Congressional Representatives to stand up for kids and families too and show their support by wearing the MomsRising pin!
http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=933
And please forward this email to your friends and family. Kids need every adult voice to speak up right now!
Thanks!

Pin Congress Down on Facebook! « MomsRising Blog

 

Posted November 20th, 2009 by Ashley Boyd

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved their health reform bill by a razor-thin margin. Now, opponents of health reform (i.e., highly-paid insurance industry lobbyists) are working to make sure that comprehensive health reform is stopped in the Senate.

It’s time to remind Congress (yes, again!) that real people — their constituents — will not be pacified until Congress passes a healthcare reform package that does right by women, children, and families. Twenty members of Congress are wearing MomsRising’s pacifier lapel pin to show their support for getting health reform right for kids and families. Now, it’s your turn!

Show your support for health reform by wearing your very own pacifier pin — on Facebook! http://apps.facebook.com/momsrising/

Pin Congress Down on Facebook! « MomsRising Blog

Bournemouth to host Baby Friendly Conference (From Bournemouth Echo)

 

MORE than 800 health care professionals and breastfeeding experts from around the world will descend on the BIC for the Unicef UK Baby Friendly Conference next Wednesday and Thursday.

Delegates will hear about research into breastfeeding and obesity, stem cells in breast milk, postnatal depression, and care for premature babies.

There will also be presentations on how to improve breastfeeding support for new mothers.

Sue Ashmore, Unicef UK Baby Friendly initiative director, said: “It is great that our conference is taking place in a town where services for breastfeeding mothers are making such big leaps forward.”

She said the Royal Bournemouth Hospital had been working hard towards making sure that every pregnant woman and new mother is offered information about breast and bottle feeding and supported in her choice.

The hospital has passed the first stage of the globally recognised Baby Friendly accreditation. The full award is given when a hospital passes stage three, which usually takes five years.

The midwifery course at Bournemouth University is also working towards including Baby Friendly standards in its teaching.

Bournemouth to host Baby Friendly Conference (From Bournemouth Echo)

KCBS - Campaign Launched Over Early C-Sections

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) - Some health experts are expressing concerns about the increasing number of pregnant women who are scheduling early deliveries for non medical reasons.

A new campaign has even been launched to educate women about the growing trend of early deliveries.

Elected c-section births now account for about one-fourth of all deliveries in California. "California has 10.9%, nearly 58,000 babies are born in our state prematurely every year," explained Dani Montague, state director for the March of Dimes.

Listen   KCBS' Mike Colgan reports

She worries that giving birth several weeks before the baby reaches term can have severe consequences. "There are a lot of things that go on during those last few weeks of pregnancy, including a tremendous amount of brain development and if pregnant women knew that there were important connections and pathways that were being developed in the brains of their babies, they wouldn't be asking for an early delivery, they would be waiting. So we're trying to educate women about the importance of making sure that they get their full 40 weeks."

KCBS - Campaign Launched Over Early C-Sections

Mum's fight over 'vacuumed' baby - The Tribune

 

By MEGAN REYNOLDS

Tribune Staff Reporter

mreynolds@tribunemedia.net

A MOTHER who cried out for help in childbirth at Princess Margaret Hospital had her baby sucked out of her with a vacuum in seconds leaving him disabled, she claims.

Elaine Wright, 41, told The Tribune how she endured a nine-hour labour while, she claimed, the ward nurse slept in her chair until a doctor arrived, tired and angry.

The mother-of-two had a forceps delivery with her first child in Jamaica and knew she would not be able to birth her second baby on her own.

Her medical history had been recorded at PMH and given her age and high blood pressure she believes she required a Caesarian section, but said the doctor went ahead and used a suction device without her consent to extract the baby.

The baby was born in seconds with a "an awful whooshing sound" and rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he breathed with the aid of a ventilator for his first week of life and then remained in hospital care for a further two weeks before he could return home.

Kenneil Wright is now 14 months old and unable to roll over, sit up, or hold his head up as a healthy child of his age should.

He also suffers from seizures, for which he takes medication, and is unable to focus his eyes or see properly.

Miss Wright puts his slow development down to his traumatic birth…

Mum's fight over 'vacuumed' baby  - The Tribune

The Daily WD: Daily Dose: Hope for Depression

Amy Brightifield, Health Director

Monday I was honored to attend the Hope for Depression annual seminar where Brooke Shields accepted the first “HOPE” Award for Depression Advocacy for her efforts to help lift the stigma that surrounds depression. She wrote a book, “Down Came The Rain,” about her struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, Rowan, who’s now 6 years old. (You might remember the little tiff she had with Tom Cruise when he suggested that there’s no such thing as a ‘chemical imbalance’ and that you can just take vitamins and exercise to feel better!)

Brooke spoke emotionally and emphatically about her struggle, from how she had tried rounds and rounds of in-vitro fertilization to get pregnant, and then when Rowan was born, her body being “hijacked” by such terrible depression that she couldn’t bear to look at her new baby. Brooke One day, she said, things got so bad that she barely resisted the urge to drive her car (with the baby in the back seat) off the freeway into a wall. “My friend stayed on the phone with me until I got home safely,” she said.

Brooke admitted that she resisted the idea of taking medication at first. “I was a survivor and I felt like I just failed,” she said. But it was medication and therapy that did finally help her get through the postpartum depression.

“It wasn’t about being strong enough to ‘get over’ the depression, but being strong enough to get help,” she said.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The Daily WD: Daily Dose: Hope for Depression

NEW DATE FOR THE MAMA WEBINAR: December 3

Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign

MAMA Has Good News to Share!  Join Us for a Webinar on December 3rd to Learn All About It!

Our federal lobbyist, Billy Wynne will join representatives from the Campaign Steering Committee, on Thursday, December 3rd, for an exciting webinar about the MAMA Campaign at 8 pm EST. Please note that this is a new date. The webinar was previously scheduled for the beginning of Thanksgiving week, but that week was too busy for too many of our supporters so we have postponed the date a week to accommodate our supporters.
MAMA has good news to share!  The effort to secure federal recognition of CPMs got a big boost this week – language beneficial to CPMs is included in the Senate health care bill just released on Wednesday, November 18th.   And MAMA is still hard at work to include our amendment to reimburse CPMs in the federal Medicaid program in the final bill that will go to the President to be signed early next year.
You are invited to join us to hear:

  • What this new language in the Senate bill will mean for midwives and mothers across the country
  • The impressive support for CPMs that MAMA has built among key legislators over the last six months, that will serve midwives and mothers well for years to come
  • About the most successful fundraising campaign for midwifery ever!
  • What the next steps are this year for Federal recognition for CPMs

It is easy to participate in the webinar!  Click here to register and receive easy steps to join us.

And during the webinar MAMA wants to answer your questions:  email a question to info@mamacampaign.org and put “Webinar Question Submission” in the subject line.
We look forward to your participation!
MAMA thanks you for your support. If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the campaign at info@mamacampaign.org.

Centre to open 250 midwifery schools

 

The Government of India was committed to providing accessible, affordable and accountable health care to the people, the minister said.

The National Rural Health Mission was the flagship programme of the government, and would look to improving delivery of health care services.

The programme had helped add 7 lakh community health workers, 70,000 nurses and auxiliary nurse midwives and over 15,000 MBBS doctors to the health system, he said, and the effort had resulted in decrease in maternal mortality to 254 per thousand from 301 per thousand.

Countries like Sri Lanka had shown how nursing and midwifery skills alone could bring major reduction in maternal mortality, and India was learning from the experience, Azad said.

He lauded the contribution of midwives who worked in remote areas and provided ante and post natal care in difficult circumstances.

Centre to open 250 midwifery schools

Pregnancy: New Conceptions - The East Hampton Star - To Your Health

 

…The downside of C-section is bigger than you might think. First, there are the obvious surgical risks. Obstetricians must obtain informed consent for the surgery, but due to the current health care system, pregnant women have very little time to talk to their obstetrician about what a Caesarean will actually mean. Often, the woman’s fears, preferences, and concerns are not addressed.

    Women are usually informed of the risks of hemorrhage, infection, and the rare need to do a hysterectomy should something go wrong with the C-section. They often are not told about the increased risk of chronic pelvic pain, that they will be 50 percent less likely to be able to conceive again, or that they can generally deliver only by C-section in the future.

    In addition, it is healthy for the baby to pass through the birth canal, in order to be inoculated with multiple bacteria as an early challenge to the immune system. Caesarean babies have more breathing difficulties and resistance to breastfeeding. All told, the choice of elective Caesarean section is not an obvious one…

Pregnancy: New Conceptions - The East Hampton Star - To Your Health

Local freestanding birth center catches baby No. 500 - YourHub.com

 

by: Tracy Ryan
view profileview other postings from Tracy Ryan

Article Contributed on: 11/19/2009 11:52:21 AM

On November 11th, a local family celebrated the birth of their first child and Mountain Midwifery Center, a freestanding birth center owned by Littleton resident Tracy Ryan, celebrated the 500th baby born in the Englewood facility. Mountain Midwifery Center (MMC) is Colorado's only licensed birth center and baby #500 is a sign that this unique practice is established and here to stay.
Per Tracy Ryan, founder and CEO of MMC, "We started slow, only catching 6 to 8 babies a month. Now we catch almost 30 babies a month and we've caught 500 babies in just over 3 years of operation, so we are very excited. It's a real privilege to offer independent midwifery care to so many families."
MMC was licensed in September 2006 by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as a freestanding birth center. The center employs 5 midwives that focus on natural birth (no pain medications, no inductions, no extractions or surgical deliveries) and they achieve a natural birth rate of 90 percent. If the woman or unborn infant develop a condition where natural birth becomes too difficult or risky, MMC transfers their care to Swedish Medical Center, just a block away. MMC's overall rate of Cesarean Section surgical delivery is 6 percent. For comparison, the national rate of C-Section delivery is 31 percent.
To achieve this high rate of natural births and such a low C-Section rate, MMC plans ahead for each birth. Expectant parents are assigned an education plan for child birth, breastfeeding and newborn care. At a minimum, births are attended by a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) and a Registered Nurse (RN). Water birth or just laboring in a warm tub is available to every client. Doulas (birth assistants) are often present and are available for post-birth support.
"Our immediate network of providers includes two wonderful physician practices and a strong and diversified team of doulas, including two ladies that also serve as our receptionists. We also work almost daily with a pregnancy-focused acupuncturist, an herbalist, and other holistic providers. This team is a critical asset that contributes to our high success rates in natural birth, breastfeeding and low newborn complications," said Ryan.
Mountain Midwifery Center is located just a block from Swedish Medical Center at 3555 S. Clarkson Street, Suite 500, Englewood 80113. Those interested in learning more about Mountain Midwifery can visit www.MountainMidwifery.com or call (303) 788-0600.

Local freestanding birth center catches baby No. 500 - YourHub.com

Letters: Patient's safety at stake | The Jakarta Post

 

My wife just got out of hospital after giving birth through cesarean section on Nov. 10. We had a very bad experience.

My wife's operation was planned for Nov. 10, at RSB Permata Sarana Husada in Pamulang, at 8 p.m., but it was then delayed until about 9 p.m. Shortly after the operation started, there was a black out. According to the required SOP (Standard of Operation), the generator set should immediately turn on and provide enough electricity for the operating room.

But the generator never turned on until the time we had to go home (Nov. 13). It could be said then that there was a violation over hospital's SOP if a surgery or other high-risk actions were to be done.

Instead of turning to a proper alternative such as buying or borrowing a generator set - since there were some shops selling mini generators - some employees of the hospital tried to repair the generator and kept my bleeding wife waiting…

Letters: Patient's safety at stake | The Jakarta Post

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Lamaze e-news

November 2009

Science & Sensibility’s Healthy Birth Blog Carnival Provides Tips from Around the Web

In October, Science & Sensibility began a Healthy Birth Blog Carnival wherein bloggers from around the ‘Net were asked to submit posts that applied to one of the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices. The first series linked to some excellent submissions that pay tribute to letting labor begin on its own. In the most recent series on moving and changing positions in labor, bloggers have contributed some amazing photos, illustrations and videos in addition to thoughtful written pieces.

The links provided by Science & Sensibility’s Healthy Birth Blog Carnival contain inspirational stories and resources. If you haven’t already, go check it out and join in the online community conversation!

To get the most out of Science & Sensibility, become a Facebook fan! You can keep up with the latest posts, news and research tips right in your Facebook news feed.

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Weigh In at Ask an Expert

A visitor to the Lamaze Ask an Expert community board recently posted asking for advice:

“I am an older doula who is having a hard time trying to convince hospital staff that mothers and babies should have skin-to-skin immediately and uninterrupted for an hour or so after birth. Some nurses and doctors are great with this, but they are in the minority. My effort to talk about it with nurses leaves me with the emotional equivalent of having a door slammed in my face.”

Read the rest of the post and chime in with your thoughts and suggestions.

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Mark Your Calendar: The 50th Anniversary Mega Conference

We are already hard at work on next year’s 50th Anniversary Mega Conference: Celebrating Our Pasts, Uniting for the Future of Birth, a joint conference between Lamaze and the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA). Save the date for this once-in-a-lifetime event that takes place September 30 – October 3, 2010, in Milwaukee, WI.

This monumental event marks the first joint conference for Lamaze and a celebration of the 50th anniversaries for both Lamaze and ICEA. The goal of the joint conference is to unite the childbirth education community, celebrate our rich history, share ideas and learn from each other, and advance the future of birth toward evidence-based care for mothers and their families.

We encourage you to share your expertise with colleagues at The 50th Anniversary Mega Conference by submitting an abstract for a conference session, research paper or poster presentation. Abstract submissions for a session, research paper and poster presentation must be received by January 8, 2010.

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Breastfeeding Tips: Making Work Work for Your Baby

Are you or someone you know committed to breastfeeding but concerned that going back to work or school might interfere? Breastfeeding makes it easier to stay connected with your baby while you’re away. With a little planning, you can do it! Discover simple ideas and strategies that have helped other moms in Breastfeeding Tips: Making Work Work for Your Baby, a tip sheet sponsored by Philips AVENT. 

Childbirth professionals are encourages to download copies and share this Lamaze education resource with expectant and new moms in their community.

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Discounted Educator Materials from Childbirth Connection

Childbirth Connection is discontinuing publication of The Birth Atlas and The Growing Uterus Charts. To help clear out their existing inventory, they are offering a package deal to childbirth advocates. For $50 (including shipping within the United States), you will receive The Birth Atlas, The Growing Uterus Charts and 100 copies of The Rights of Childbearing Women brochure (a $150 value).        

Clearance orders can be placed by phone at 212-777-5000 or e-mailing info@childbirthconnection.org. To receive the discounted package, please include the promotion code CC2009.

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Expectant Parents Can Follow Lamaze on Twitter

Do the expectant moms in your circle know about Lamaze on Twitter? Pregnant moms and families can keep up with the latest tips and resources, like tips for breastfeeding in public, news related to H1N1 and more. It’s a great way to receive bite-sized information throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond.

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What’s Happening Now at Lamaze

Fall Bookstore Blowout Sale – Place Your Orders!
Check out the huge blowout sale at the Lamaze Bookstore and Media Center, happening throughout the fall season. Everything is 20% off of retail price, so take this opportunity to stock up for next year or purchase gifts for co-workers and friends. Consider purchasing Prepared Childbirth in English and Spanish at a cost of only $4.60 for members and $4.80 for non-members.

Do You Tweet? Do You Read? Watch for Tweader Thursdays!
Every Thursday, Lamaze posts special deals and steals from the Lamaze Bookstore and Media Center on our Twitter pages. Look for Tweader Thursday updates on both the Lamaze Advocates and Lamaze Online Twitter pages. Send your feedback about Lamaze products to info@lamaze.org and you may be featured on our Twitter sites!

Homestudies Available for the New Ethics Requirement for Recertification
The new mandatory continuing education requirement is effective for LCCE educators due to recertify by December 31, 2009, and for each subsequent recertification period through June 30, 2012. Lamaze International offers opportunities to fulfill this requirement via homestudies on the ethics articles published in The Journal of Perinatal Education, Volume 18.1. Visit the Lamaze Online Education Store to access the two ethics homestudies that are currently offered and two more will be available in the coming weeks.

Relevant childbirth education ethics offerings from Lamaze Approved Providers of Continuing Education will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Questions? Contact certification@lamaze.org.

Recertification Deadline – December 31
If you are due to recertify by December 31, 2009, you still have time to meet your continuing education requirements. Lamaze International offers a wide variety of online homestudies for continuing education. We also will be offering on-demand sessions from the 2009 On Call “Virtual” Conference, available soon. We hope you will take advantage of these educational opportunities as you advance your career!

To maintain your certification, postmark your application with payment by December 31, 2009. Contact the Lamaze Administrative Office at 800-368-4404 or at certification@lamaze.org with questions.

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Calendar of Events

November

20
Lamaze Childbirth Educator Seminar
Chicagoland Childbirth Education Program, Libertyville, IL

23
Evidence-Based Nursing Care: Labor Support Skills
Magee-Women's Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

December

2
Mega Conference Abstract Submission Webinar
Lamaze Webinar

January

11-13
Lamaze Childbirth Educator Seminar
Passion for Birth, Monterrey, Mexico

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: e-Update November 2009

 

Announcing the DBSA 2010 National Conference--Celebrating 25 Years of Peer Support!

2010 Conference Logo Block


     Celebrate Our 25th Anniversary
this Spring!
DBSA 2010 National Conference
April 30 - May 2, 2010
Eaglewood Resort & Spa
Itasca, IL (Chicago suburb)
REGISTER NOW!
Online registration
Mail or fax (download form)
Telephone (800) 826-3632

DBSA got its start 25 years ago with people who wanted to be there for each other as they traveled the road to recovery. So, we’re going back to our roots—our grassroots—and celebrating something that’s absolutely crucial to recovery: peer support. It’s our 25th anniversary, and we're hosting a very special conference in 2010 in honor of a quarter of a century of peer support!

  • We’re having the conference earlier--in the spring--to start the celebration early!
  • We’re inviting you to our home state of Illinois, where it all started!
  • We’re hosting it at a beautiful resort where you can renew, relax, and refresh!

Join us for powerful keynote speakers,
outstanding educational breakouts,
peer roundtables, and so much more!
And yes, it's back for its 3rd year:
DBSA Stand-Up Comedy Night!
Apply to be a stand-up student
and debut at the conference!

Enjoy all of these activities at the beautiful
Eaglewood Resort & Spa,
and renew, relax, and refresh while
you take advantage of all it has to offer!
Get the conference schedule,
registration details, and more at
www.DBSAlliance.org/Conference2010.

~REGISTER NOW~
Tell us the topics you'd like to see
presented at the conference, and you could
receive a FREE conference registration!

Eaglewood Hotel Lobby
Resort & Spa Lobby

Eaglewood Bowling
Resort & Spa Bowling Alley

Eaglewood Terrace
Meet & Greet (Thursday p.m.)
Eaglewood Pool
Water Aerobics (Sunday a.m.)


Building on the Dream at the 4th Annual Rebecca's Dream Gala

Over 250 guests from across the country came together at the beautiful Chicago Cultural Center to celebrate the 4th Annual Rebecca's Dream Gala on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The guest of honor and the recipient of the 2009 Rebecca Lynn Cutler Foundation Legacy of Life Award was Paige Hemmis.
Ms. Hemmis is one of the stars of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, as well the celebrity spokesperson for the Blueprint for Hope campaign, with which DBSA was a partner. In light of Ms. Hemmis's skilled carpentry work on Extreme Makeover—and in recognition of the growing contributions to Rebecca's Dream for the wellness and recovery of hundreds nationwide—the evening’s theme was, appropriately, "Building on the Dream."
Rebecca's Dream was once again emceed by WGN Radio's Steve Cochran. Additional presentations were made by

  • DBSA Chairman Steve Propst
  • DBSA President Peter C. Ashenden
  • Rebecca's Dream Founders and Chairs Gail and Norman Cutler
  • Rebecca's Dream Co-Chair Brett Cutler

2009 RD Gala with Hemmis, Ashenden, and Cutlers
Paige Hemmis, 2009 Legacy of Life Awardee,
with DBSA President Peter Ashenden, and
Rebecca's Dream Founders and Chairs,
Gail and Norman Cutler

The music of the Steve Edwards Orchestra had everyone up and dancing. And the silent auction inspired brisk bidding thanks to the participation of Charity Sports Auctions, Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe, and Shelle Jewelers. The evening generated nearly $250,000 for the Rebecca Lynn Cutler Legacy of Life Foundation, which helps to support crucial initiatives that promote awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder as real diseases.
Many thanks to everyone who attended this special event!

Stay tuned to RebeccasDream.org
for details about the
5th Anniversary Rebecca's Dream Gala
at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
on October 2, 2010!

Last Chance to Win $1,000!

Share your talents—and your recovery story—on film, and you could win up to $1,000! But you’ve only got until December 1, so don’t delay! Send us your personal video by December 1 to be entered into the DBSA 2009 Facing Us Contest for a chance to win a cash prize!

$1,000 (1st Place)
$600 (2nd Place)     
$400 (3rd Place)

DBSA 2009 "Facing Us" Video Contest

Help break stigma, inspire your peers,
and share your talents!
Submit your video story at
www.FacingUsContest.org.

Peer Specialist Training Updates

Four hands & power of peers

Time’s Running Out—Next Peer Specialist Training

Don't miss your chance to apply for DBSA's next peer specialist training course! The course takes place December 7–11, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
The course fee is $950 per person. This includes the cost of training, materials, daily continental breakfast, and beverage breaks as well as post-training certification testing. Participants are responsible for their own hotel accommodations, travel, and other meals.
Enrollment is limited! Download the application here.

On the Road Again

September was a busy month for DBSA peer specialist training! We're excited to have had 79 people participatie in two courses offered in Indiana and Texas. And we were especially happy to welcome a significant number of Peer Support Technicians employed by Department of Veterans Affairs facilities throughout the country: Washington, Florida, Oregon, New Jersey, Arkansas—even Hawaii! As always, our participants enthusiastically embraced this chance to understand their unique role in the recovery of others and to learn specific peer support techniques and tools.

We would like to thank the Central Texas VA facilities and Austin State Hospital for their initiative in helping make this course a reality. We’re also grateful to Austin Tarrant County MHMR for both its sponsorship and for hosting the course at their training facility.

Learn more about peer specialists and DBSA’s training courses.

Chapter Update--Help Us Plan the 2010 Chapter Leadership Forum!

Because DBSA is holding our conference in the spring of 2010, that means the next Chapter Leadership Forum (CLF) is just around the corner! CLF offers an opportunity for DBSA chapter leaders and participants to come together from around the country to learn from one another. Help us make CLF in 2010 the best yet by letting us know what you would like to see!

If you have a topic you would like
to see presented at the 2010 CLF--or if you have
a session YOU would like to present--
click here.

Stay tuned to
www.DBSAlliance.org/CLF2010 for the latest updates!

CLF 2007

Attitudes Toward Mental Illness

Have Your Say!

Help us understand the issues people face every day when it comes it mental illness. The survey, “Attitudes Toward Mental Illness,” focuses on issues related to living with mood disorders, the impact on family and friends, and care that is provided.

We’ll use your feedback to help determine what programs and resources will be the most helpful…and also to inform the general public on these issues the consumer community faces. 

To share your ideas for future topics, e-mail ADaniels@DBSAlliance.


What Treatment Strategies Work Best for You?

DBSA is working with Australian author Graeme Cowan to produce a book called BACK FROM THE BRINK: Americans Tell their Stories of Overcoming Depression. His Australian version was incredibly successful because of its in-depth interviews with real people who came “back from the brink” of a mood disorder…and wanted to share the strategies that helped them do that.
Graeme's conducting a unique survey that asks Americans living with depression and bipolar disorder which treatments and strategies work best for them. It explores exercise, support of family and friends, relaxation, psychological counseling, fulfilling work, nutrition, antidepressant medication, and more.

No one knows better than YOU what works best.
Let us know!

DBSA Consumer and Family Survey Center
Take the survey,
“Holistic Depression Effectiveness.”

Tell us the treatments and strategies that
have helped you.

Ever Thought of Using Light Therapy?

Help researchers learn more about this treatment and what users think of it by taking a survey. Click here, or paste this link into your browser: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wxxRIpE0j5CbFtWcUVxYFQ_3d_3d

This research is conducted by The University of Pittsburgh and is for academic research purposes only. Please feel free to contact Kathryn Roecklein, PhD, for more information kroeck@pitt.edu.

Be Part of a National Dialogue to Help Us Make a Healthier Nation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites you to comment on the DRAFT set of objectives for Healthy People 2020. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments to
•        View proposed draft objectives for Healthy People 2020.
•        Comment on the proposed objectives.
•        Comment on the topic areas.
•        Suggest additional objectives.
•        Make a general comment.
Your comments will help ensure issues important to you are included in Healthy People. Establishing objectives and providing benchmarks to track progress motivates, guides, and focuses action. Be part of the change. Comments will be accepted through December 31, 2009.
Visit www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments today. Your feedback will help define the vision and strategy for building a healthier Nation.

Wellness & Inspiration

In the Facing Us Clubhouse, consumers who have found small ways to make a big difference in their recovery can share wellness tips like those listed here. Visit the Clubhouse to be inspired by your peers…and to pass on some of your own inspiration.

Hispanic family laughing

Lists
"Write lists! Write a weekly list of things that you would like to be able to achieve. Then write a daily list and write things down as you do them. Doing one or two tasks from the weekly list each day within your routine helps get things down without feeling overwhelmed and ending up in a swing and not doing any of it."

Codes
"In my family, I am not the only one who struggles with this disorder…we have a code…when I (or another member of my family) says “I'M HAVING A BAD DAY,” it means we need a little extra space and a little more flexibility in our day for our moods, thoughts, and feelings. This code allows us to express the fact that we are struggling without allowing us to wallow in the struggle of the day. It's a code that can work in almost any situation."

Laughter
"We live with serous illnesses, but that does not mean we have to always deal with it seriously. Learn to laugh and use humor as a great coping skill. I do it--it works!"

Share some of your own “wellness wisdom!"

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Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: e-Update November 2009