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Archive for the ‘Scientific Studies’ Category

Improving your epidural birth

By Buscando la luz on Thursday, November 18th, 2010 | 1 Comment

Tips for improving your epidural birth, gleaned from my blog (and other helpful sites) over the years.

Growing, Glowing, and Going: South Mountain

By Buscando la luz on Sunday, November 14th, 2010 | 1 Comment

My body is telling me to get moving. And research on prenatal exercise tells me the same thing. Remember that book I mentioned in my last exercise post? Origins:How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives, by Annie Murphy Paul? I picked it up from the library earlier this week. I haven’t had a chance to read much of it yet, but from what little I’ve read so far, there’s no question that prenatal exercise is beneficial to both mom and baby. And, of particular note to me today, prenatal exercise can “help manage musculoskeletal problems like low back pain” (p. 151). (Click over to read the full post)

Protecting your perineum (from the inside out)

By Buscando la luz on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 | 23 Comments

I’ve posted before about how to prevent tears from the outside in, but now I know a whole slew of ways we may be able to protect our perineums from the inside out. These are some dietary additions you may want to make if you’re hoping to prevent tears (and improve your skin and health in general)… (click over to read the full post)

Prenatal music exposure

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 | No Comments

Earlier this evening I was playing the piano while my family sang songs. I noticed after I had been playing for a few minutes that the little babe in my belly starting moving around. . . . and I got wondering what my little wombling thought of that piano music… and it got me thinking about the effects of prenatal music exposure. (Click over to read the full post)

Growing, Glowing, and Going: Slacker

By Buscando la luz on Monday, November 1st, 2010 | 4 Comments

So I was going to write regular posts sharing my adventures exercising through this pregnancy. Ha. Oops. My only excuse is that I got too busy researching and posting about other topics… (Click over to read the full post… and find out why pregnant women SHOULD EAT CHOCOLATE…) :-)

Preventing preterm labor

By Buscando la luz on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 | 11 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote “The Bed Rest Myth” and promised that a post about preventing preterm labor was in the works. Here is that promised post. To re-cap, I got thinking about preterm labor a little over a month ago. A family member was put on bed rest (at 7 months pregnant) for some worrisome cramping and contracting she was experiencing. Her situation catapulted preterm labor onto my radar screen with big flashing red lights. Since then I’ve spent considerable time digging through the available research, hoping to find some clues that might be helpful to women facing preterm labor (and those hoping to prevent it). Click over to read the full post.

The Bed Rest Myth

By Buscando la luz on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 | 20 Comments

Several weeks ago, someone I care about was put on bed rest (at seven months pregnant) for some worrisome cramping she had been and continues to be experiencing. Her situation catapulted preterm labor and bed rest onto my radar screen with big flashing red lights. I had never really given preterm labor or bed rest much thought because I had never experienced them nor had anyone close to me. As I started digging into the scientific literature on these subjects, I was totally blown away by what I discovered. I’ve been researching pregnancy and childbirth topics for over seven years, but, yet again, I’m asking myself, “How did I not know this before? How do people not know this?”

Suicide: the silent thief of mothers

By Buscando la luz on Monday, September 13th, 2010 | 16 Comments

For so long I have read and believed that hemorrhage was the leading cause of maternal death. And hemorrhage does, in fact, account for a large portion of maternal deaths–25% of them, according to the World Health Organization. What I didn’t know was that there is (more specifically in the developed world) a larger and more disturbing cause of maternal death. According to the 1997 to 1999 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths conducted by British medical researchers, the leading cause of maternal death (within pregnancy and the year following childbirth) wasn’t hemorrhage. (Click over to read the full post…)

Preventing postpartum hemorrhage naturally

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 | 27 Comments

Childbirth involves blood loss. There’s no way around it. How much blood a woman loses is the potentially dangerous variable. Postpartum hemorrhage accounts for the majority of maternal deaths worldwide. Fortunately, in the United States where maternity care is more readily accessible, most postpartum hemorrhages are not fatal. But they do happen, regardless of where you give birth. (Click over to read my research on preventing postpartum hemorrhage naturally)

Electrolyte replacement

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 | 13 Comments

It’s not uncommon for women in labor to be offered Emergen-C by members of their birth support team. I had never used Emergen-C drink packets until I got a free sample in a folder of materials given to me by one of the midwives I interviewed during my last pregnancy. Emergen-C packets contain a slew of helpful vitamins and minerals. In our family, we have reserved our packets for “emergency” immune system boosting use (when we feel the first twinges of an illness coming on). When used in moderation, I believe the packets can be helpful. But excessive use can be problematic, especially for women at the end of their pregnancies or women in labor. (Click over to read the full post.)

Improving your epidural birth: Hire wisely

By Buscando la luz on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 | 8 Comments

A former college roommate and beloved friend came into town this past weekend and stayed with us Saturday night. As we chatted late into the night, she made a request. Could I created some more basic posts for women like her who don’t spend all their free time devouring birth-related media… women who aren’t sold on the “natural” bit (at least not yet)… women who plan to get epidurals but still want to improve their birth experiences? I thought that was a great idea. I think I’ll call this series: “Improving your birth.” And here’s the first installment…

Hopes for next time

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 | 13 Comments

Each of my births has been an improvement upon the last one, with fewer interventions, faster recovery, more intense bonding, etc. So, naturally, I’m looking for ways to make birth #4 even better than the rest. . . . So… drawing on all that I’ve learned over the last seven years, and assuming that I remain low-risk and complication-free throughout the duration of my pregnancy and labor, here are my plans, hopes, and goals for this next birth…

Got lecithin?

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 | 25 Comments

Partway through my first pregnancy, I started having pain in my pelvis. It wasn’t the normal round ligament pain. It started in my lower back and radiated through my whole pelvis into the hip joints. When I walked or climbed stairs, it was especially bad. Eventually, I could hardly walk without excruciating pain, lasting for weeks. I asked my doctor about it, but I think all he told me was, “That’s normal.” Thanks, doc. It sure didn’t seem “normal” to me. If only I had met my friend Meredith way back then!

Meredith and I met at our doula training in February of ’09. Some time afterward, when we were hanging out at one of our houses, she started telling the story of how she switched from a doctor to a home birth midwife mid-pregnancy (with her second baby). She began by describing some pelvic pain she had been experiencing and how her doctor was no help to her. Bells and whistles started ringing in my head… (Click over to read the full post.)

Exercise your creativity–my first contest/giveaway!

By Buscando la luz on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 | 29 Comments

This contest/giveaway will run for two weeks, ending on August 14th.

There will be two sets of prizes.

The first set of prizes will go to the person who comes up with the winning name for my series of posts documenting my adventures running and exercising through my pregnancy (something like “Running for Two,” but cooler and better since you’re all creative geniuses).

In addition to the post-series-name-contest, I will hold a drawing for a second prize. You can earn entries into this drawing in a number of ways… (Click over to read the full post.)

Pitocin’s untold impact

By Buscando la luz on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 | 93 Comments

Oxytocin is the hormone of love and bonding and human connection. If the oxytocin system is damaged, or a child’s oxytocin receptors become desensitized, the ramifications are huge. A brain and body with an impaired ability to release or detect oxytocin sounds like misery to me. As more and more scientists study oxytocin’s impact, we can see how crucial our body’s oxytocin systems can be for human life, love, and happiness. (Click over to read the full post.)

Archive for the ‘Scientific Studies’ Category

Improving your epidural birth

Growing, Glowing, and Going: South Mountain

Protecting your perineum (from the inside out)

Prenatal music exposure

Growing, Glowing, and Going: Slacker

Preventing preterm labor

The Bed Rest Myth

Suicide: the silent thief of mothers

Preventing postpartum hemorrhage naturally

Electrolyte replacement

Improving your epidural birth: Hire wisely

Hopes for next time

Got lecithin?

Exercise your creativity–my first contest/giveaway!

Pitocin’s untold impact

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