Green Options

This just proves it: Canadians are smarter than Americans, at least when it comes to birth.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has announced that c-sections are no longer recommended for breech babies!

This is contrary to common practice in North America, in which very few doctors or midwives will attempt a vaginal delivery on a breech baby.  A c-section is automatically dictated for these babies who want to come out feet first.  Canada plans to train doctors in breech vaginal delivery following the new recommendation.  Carla Wintersgill writes for Globe and Mail:

Since 2000, C-sections have been the preferred method of delivery in breech births. Studies suggested that breached births were associated with an increased rate of complication when performed vaginally.  As a result, many medical schools have stopped training their physicians in breech vaginal delivery…With the release of the new guidelines, the SOGC will launch a nationwide training program to ensure that doctors will be adequately prepared to offer vaginal breech births..The new approach was prompted by a reassessment of earlier trials. It now appears that there is no difference in complication rates between vaginal and cesarean section deliveries in the case of breech births…Cesarean sections, in which incisions are made through a mother’s abdomen and uterus to deliver the baby, can lead to increased chance of bleeding and infections and can cause further complications for pregnancies later on.

Chinese workers making energy-saving fluorescent lightbulbs for Western consumers have been sickened by the hundreds due to mercury poisoning.

While poor factory conditions in China shoulder most of the blame, the news does raise serious questions about just how “green” the mercury-rich fluorescent lightbulbs actually are.

Women in labor can shorten the first stage by about an hour by walking, kneeling, standing, or otherwise avoiding lying in bed, according to a review of 21 birth studies covering over 3700 births.

“This shortens labor by about an hour and, for a lot of women, an hour would be really important.” - Teri Stone-Godena, director of midwifery at Yale School of Nursing

It’s not long before the birth of our baby makes his debut into the world. Preparing for a home birth can be overwhelming but for the most part it has really put things into perspective. For instance, having to get your home ready by doing all the cleaning and sorting and laundry seems to be the overwhelming aspect. Ordering the birth kit and receiving our water birth tub put things into perspective as I realize the birth our baby is not far off. After that, it’s mostly preparation in the home which seems to be a large task but if done at pace, isn’t so bad and well worth it. 

Having the labor and birth items 6 weeks before you deliver is usually key. The cleaning and sorting part can wait till the last few weeks. If you’re anything like me though- it can’t wait. I feel so much better working on things here and there as the weeks go along. Rather than trying to scramble and get it all done in one day or week seems more nerve-racking to me than spacing it out. At this point, I’ve been able to get to all the nooks and crannies that I feel should get cleaned prior to delivering a baby in our home. Focusing on the bathroom and birthing room is a must.

It’s nice when people put their money where their mouths are. For some time now, labor has been on the green jobs bandwagon. At this week’s Good Jobs Green Jobs conference, the AFL-CIO announced a $1 million investment from the Working for America Institute to create a Center for Green Jobs, showing just how committed they are to the symbiosis between green jobs and union jobs.

At a press conference announcing the center, United Steelworkers Union President Leo Gerard said:

We need to send the economy in the direction where the primary emphasis is on good jobs and green jobs. Don’t let anybody tell us that can’t be done.

We reject the notion that we have to choose between good jobs and a clean environment. It’s not one or the other. It’s both or neither. – AFL-CIO

Is it possible to build a carbon neutral home? Apparently so says the Australian Home Lifestyle TV show. Watch this segment about green building construction.

Don’t forget! The next Carnival of Green Crafts will be August 9th at BlogHer.  Send in your submissions now.

As much as I love to bring you pretty things, today I have something weightier to share. Grab a cup of coffee or something, pull up a chair, and when it’s done, please let me know what you think. My thoughts on this topic are definitely a work in progress, and I welcome your thoughts. (Thanks to Yoel Knits for inspiration for the first section’s title, by the way.)

Greening The Craft World

As far as I can tell, there are four main “green” strategies currently circulating in the crafting world.

The first strategy is being thrifty with materials.  Very few crafters are made of money, so we cut fabric carefully, re-use materials, and give away or swap supplies we don’t need.  This would fall into the Reduce part of the reduce-reuse-recycle waste hierarchy, and would also encompass stashbusting and “use what you have” type projects that decrease or postpone additional consumption.   Nicely for us, this is also better for the environment than being wasteful.

When I first got pregnant, I remember my mother sending me tons of books, as well as perusing the pregnancy aisle at the library and bookstore.  There is a plethora of labor books out there, but not all of them support natural birth, especially home birth. Thankfully, my midwives had a lending library, and one book Special Delivery was required reading. In this list of essential books for natural birth, I’ve also included two books by Ina May that were highly recommended as well by my midwives.

What makes a pregnancy book essential reading for natural birth?  I think a natural birth book should support all women’s choices, both home and hospital births, as well as carefully explain all of the interventions that could happen if medically needed.  The book should support women, as well as realistically discuss how each labor is unique.

Essential Books for a Natural Birth

• Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin:  This book can be hard to find, but it is well worth the hunt.  This book prepares you for all aspects of a home or hospital birth, and we read many times to be prepared in case we didn’t make it town in time during my labors.  My first child was a breech baby, but she turned thanks to this book!  Rahima explains an exercise where mother’s lay with on their backs, knees bent, and pelvis highly elevated.  When followed precisely, this method turns babies 85% of the time.  It worked for my daughter, and I have this book to thank!

It’s probably going against the grain to be talking about pain medication in a natural parenting blog, and one of the few writers this week that would probably advocate non-natural childbirth; but I always knew that epidural was going to be my drug of choice when the time came to give birth. Two distinct memories of labor and birth came from my mother and childhood best friend. I was three weeks overdue, and by the the time my mother delivered me; I was over ten pounds. She would regale in the horror of the labor and how terrified she was of her next birth, my brother. My best friend had a child right out of high school. I remember her telling me how it was the worst pain she had ever been in her life. With those two very painful experiences; I decided that I would DEFINITELY get an epidural, no doubt about it. I would always joke, first sign of contraction, I am rushing myself to the hospital so they could stick a needle in my back. Of course, I never expected to be induced either.

I waited a long time to have a child. Although I am only couple months shy of thirty; I am the last of my siblings, who are of rightful childbirthing age, to have a baby. My brothers would often ask me, when I would settle down and be a mother. I had no interest in settling down. I loved traveling and loved my life as a single girl in the city. However that changed when I met my baby’s father. Things progressed pretty quickly for us, and not even a year after we became a couple; I was pregnant. I suffered through the hell of first trimester, the bliss of second, and the ridiculous weight gain of third. We started laughing one night because my feet were SO swollen, they looked like Fred Flinstones. Then there was the waiting game. Waiting patiently for my daughter to make her entrance into the world. Eight days past her due date, and still no sign of our daughter; an induction was scheduled. Although I had always planned for an epidural; the induction didn’t play into the equation. I tried everything from sex to chocolates to induce naturally. No avail, on April 1st at 7:30 in the morning; we arrived at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton, PA with my trusty pillow.

I don’t know if you caught it, but the whole Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama flap over NAFTA exposed a dirty little secret: The North American Free Trade Agreement isn’t about American jobs or cheap Mexican labor—it’s about Canadian oil.

Think as far back as two weeks ago. I know you can do it. Remember, Britney’s dad started taking control of her life… everyone you know bugged the hell out of you by constantly saying: “I drink your milkshake…”

Anyway, back then, Hillary and Obama were campaigning among blue-collar crowds in Ohio when news broke out that someone from the Obama camp called the Canadian government and reassured them that the tough talk on NAFTA was all just an act. Later, it was revealed that Hillary probably made a similar call.

All of which begged the question: Why would they care so much about Canada if this was about NAFTA? Hasn’t Uncle Lou told us time and time again that NAFTA is all about Mexico: its cheap labor, and its non-existent regulations, which entice American factories to relocate south of the border?