Green Options

Money and C-sections. They go together like, uh–well, they don’t really go together. Unless you notice that cesareans cost a lot more than vaginal births. Add to that recovery time in the hospital for mama and babe, medications, and follow-up care, and you can almost hear the cha-ching!

Washington state has a new cost-cutting program that may also dramatically lower the rate of C-sections.

They’re going to start paying the same amount for an uncomplicated C-section as they do for a vaginal birth.

And because C-sections in that state cost on average $5000 more than vaginal births, this will help make sure the motive for the surgery–the most common in the United States besides circumcision–are the best interests of the patient.

We are choosing to improve quality mostly by using carrots rather than sticks.

On April Fools Day, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named, Clark. I wrote a post on how to prepare for homebirth and so when the day arrived things fell into place just as planned. The day before I gave birth I’d been experiencing a little cramping. Nothing unusual but the sense a woman gets when her monthly cycle is going to begin. I had a feeling that it was the onset of labor so I told my husband to be prepared to come home (he commutes an hour away). Just after I called him he left work because he too had a feeling. I called him in the early morning before 10AM and we spent the rest of the day taking it easy.

The cramping had subsided by late afternoon. I was 38 weeks and 4 days and ready to have a baby! I didn’t realize that he’d really come on April Fool’s day as some had predicted. That evening I went to bed at 8:30pm and woke up with surprise to what I thought was my water breaking. It turns out that I had a high leak which means that baby Clark only tore my bag of waters rather than rupture it. With my first my water broke and that was that! This time around it was a gradual process.

As you know, it’s World Breastfeeding Week and for me that means a plugged duct! Yep, that’s right, I woke up Monday feeling feverish and my left breast was throbbing and sore. I was wondering why the night before I had the chills when I woke up once to switch sides. I’d also felt the breast soreness during the night upon switching sides but I was too tired to really think on it.

It was tender to the touch and I could definitely feel a mass inside. It was also a bit swollen.  I still had the chills. I recounted my breastfeeding schedule the day before and realized Clark did not nurse as often as normal. We had a busy weekend. To make matters even worse, it HAD occurred to me that I was wearing an under wire bra. I don’t normally wear an under wire bra but it was the only clean bra I had that day. Plus, I carried Clark in the Ergo baby carrier several times over the weekend which can contribute to pressure on the milk ducts.

In any case, I did not feel well and immediately started applying natural methods to help rid the situation. This is my second go at nursing, my first go my son had thrush but we overcame it and nursed a few months short of baby number two arriving (18 mos.). I’d heard about this happening and in fact I think it might of occurred with my first. I was completely engorged and remember having to massage my breasts in the shower. Oh, the memories! I figure a little plugged duct can’t be bad, right?! Okay, maybe not. A plugged duct can be painful and annoying. I believe, in my case, I’m somewhere in between. I haven’t experienced terrible pain but I do have a “wedge” in my breast and I have to constantly massage it out. I know you’re thinking this can’t be fun…

After a year-long review of studies regarding bisphenol-A, Massachusetts warned parents to avoid storing breastmilk or formula in containers that contain the endocrine disruptor. Officials also urged pregnant and breastfeeding women to also avoid food contact materials made with the chemical.

Suzanne Condon, director of the state Bureau of Environmental Health, said this in the absence of any federal action on the chemical:

We are concerned about this enough that we want to warn the public. It just seemed it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to sit back and not do anything.

The FDA has yet to change their policy on the chemical in food contact materials. Instead, there has been enough demand from consumers that BPA has been removed from many brands of baby bottles and sippy cups. Also, some states and municipalities have banned BPA, so it’d be pretty tough for manufacturers to regionally offer products with different chemical compositions.

Here are the places where BPA has been banned:

In Zambia, the health workers are on strike. That’s not good for the people.

In response, journalist Chansa Kabwela sent two pictures of a woman giving breech birth to women’s rights groups, Zambia’s vice president, and health groups. They were graphic, so much so that Zambia’s The Post decided they were too obscene to publish.

But Kabwela was using these photos as an urgent message: End the strike! The woman had been turned away from two clinics where nurses were on strike, Her breech baby, seen in the photo, suffocated during childbirth. From the BBC:

The pictures are graphic. They show a woman in the process of giving birth to a baby in the breech position - when the baby’s legs come out first.

Its shoulders, legs and arms are visible, but the head has not yet been delivered.

This death apparently occurred outside the main hospital of the capital city, Lusaka. Doctors didn’t reach the laboring woman in time to save the baby.

You’ve heard of “Greenwashing.” My favorite posts on this matter are at The Good Human.

But what about a fraudulent “breastfeeding support kit” from a formula company? Wow! Ain’t nothing like finding this crap offer during World Breastfeeding Week!

Today’s specimen: Enfamil. It’s offering “support” in the form of formula samples, among other things:

A sample of the NEW Enfamil® PREMIUM™ with Triple Health Guard™, our closest formula to breast milk, should you choose to supplement.

The “closest formula to breastmilk,” you say? You mean it comes out warm in human skin and chock full of immune system boosters that can’t be replicated in a factory? Gee whiz! New mothers struggling to breastfeed: Sign up now! Wait–no. Here are the considerable problems with this:

Phthalates, as you know, have been ordered removed from children’s goods, which includes food contact materials. But they’re still found in common items, such as shower curtains, personal body care products, and various medical products, among many other things. Phthalates soften plastic and bind “fragrance” to the products that contain it. [Hint: look for PVC and fragrance, and you'll find phthalates.]

So what’s the big deal? They’re endocrine disruptors, which means they interfere with the normal functions of hormones. Phthalates have been linked to early onset of puberty in girls, obesity, lower sperm count and testosterone level, under-virilized boys, and male genital deformities such as hypospadias (in which the urinary opening is located somewhere besides the head of the penis, like the underside). Whee!

And now they’ve been linked to preterm birth. Makes you wonder if we should kick the chemical out of all products, doesn’t it?

As you know, today starts World Breastfeeding Week. While we all know “breast is best“, we have varying comfort levels regarding public breastfeeding.

How ’bout plastered on walls around the world, every day of the year?

That’s what the 2010 Rugby Breastfeeding Calendar is shooting for. It’s a calender produced by the UK’s Rugby Breastfeeding Cafe, where women play a full-contact sport while nursing. Oh wait–no. (It’s located in Rugby!)

From the Telegraph:

One photograph shows a half-naked couple embracing with their newborn baby at the breast.

Another features a pregnant woman breastfeeding her four-year-old daughter after a bath.

And one shows a pretty brunette in a revealing bra putting on make-up while breastfeeding her son.

These tasteful, beautiful shots are used to show it’s absolutely hip and “sexy” to breastfeed, while raising money for the Cafe. And it all started with a tiny little £100 donation.

Sending your food allergic child off to school can be scary beyond belief.  What will happen to little Johnny when we aren’t there to monitor every his food intake?  I feel like we are becoming skilled at dealing with allergies in all kinds of social situations, here’s some tried and true tips from our allergic household to yours.

What we have to avoid: Gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oats and all derivitives), dairy, food additives (colors, flavors, preservatives) and chemicals.

How we do it:

Yesterday, I mentioned that some of the swine flu vaccines will be available without thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative found in many vaccines, including the seasonal flu vaccine.

Now the Washington Post confirms that most of the swine flu vaccines that will be available in the fall, probably in October, will contain thimerosal.

Considering that children are among the first ones pushed to get the vax, this is worrisome.

Thimerosal is about half mercury. It is an antibacterial additive allowing caregivers to administer shots in multi doses. Really, the main benefit is that it’s more cost effective than single dose shots. But mercury is a known neurotoxin, one that pregnant women and children carefully steer clear from when choosing fish meals.

So why should we trust that thimerosal in vaccines is any safer?

Stylish, practical babywearing with a message, and a real contribution to mother-friendly childbirth advocacy.

Moby Wraps, one of the most popular stretchy wraps for babywearing, is currently selling a custom-designed model sporting a “Born Free” butterfly logo, from the makers of The Business of Being Born (that’s Ricki Lake in the promo photo, along with the film’s director Abby Epstein).

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this wrap will go to support the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, an organization now in its second decade.  CIMS seeks to promote evidence-based maternity care, and states their mission as follows:

The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) is a coalition of individuals and national organizations with concern for the care and wellbeing of mothers, babies, and families.  Our mission is to promote a wellness model of maternity care that will improve birth outcomes and substantially reduce costs. This evidence-based mother-, baby-, and family-friendly model focuses on prevention and wellness as the alternatives to high-cost screening, diagnosis, and treatment programs.