Must read

You simply must read the blog on the Lamaze site.
It is the best!!

Scienceandsensibilty.org

Breastfeeding and Mothering Circle

COming soon! January 2010

Diane and I will soon be announcing the start date for our new group- Serendiptiy, Sweetness, and Surrender Breastfeeding Support and Mothering Circle.The space is now ready and we are putting the finishing touches on it and tying up all the loose ends. We are excited about this new venture.
I will post the details as soon as we have a start date.
Contact Diane Berger, RN PHN 805 654-1463 805 368-2297 venturabreastfeeding@gmail.com
venturabreastfeeding.net

Totally off topic...oh well....

O.K. I have been gluten free now for about 6 months. It's been fairly easy, much easier than I thought it might be. But bread, good actual bread, now that has been dearly missed. I've tried a few brands none has been what one might call "good" and some have been downright icky. This week I discovered the wonderful Udi's whole grain gluten free bread and is it ever yummy. The taste, texture, appearance, aroma all like the gluten bread I know and love. I can't say enough about how good this bread is. I'm so excited about it I feel compelled to blog even though this blog is about pregnancy, birth and parenting and not food. But- here's where the stretch is - if you are gluten free or your children are on a gluten free diet - this info may be relevant. There, I've said it, I've proclaimed the wonders of Udi's gluten free bread, I've sort of made it fit in my blog, and now I shall carry on with the rest of my evening.

Shunning the Family Bed. Who Benefits Most?

Dr Mercola

Shunning the Family Bed. Who Benefits Most?
Co-sleeping is twice as safe for your baby, but why are you being told otherwise?

Lindsey's VBAC Journey

My Journey to a VBAC from Lindsey Meehleis on Vimeo.

Lamaze

Well, a quick note about Lamaze. In the last year I have actually spent time checking out Lamaze and I am so impressed with their organization. I had been laboring under the assumption that they were still promoting their well known patterned breathing as a means of coping with labor. I was quite mistaken as they no longer support such unatural breathing but are a top quality organization that promotes natural birth, education, evidence based care and the midwifery model. I definitely will become a member of Lamaze. I wish I had not waited so long to really check them out.
On another note- new birth class series starting October 12, 2009. For this series only we will meet on Monday nights 7:15 - 9:45 p.m. Once we complete the series we will return to Wednesday nights.
Check out lamaze.org

New study from Canada on safety of homebirth

http//www.cmaj.ca/cgi/rapidpdf/cmaj.081869

Quote from Peggy O'Mara of Mothering Magazine

"It is the nature of the child to be dependent, and it is the nature of dependence to be outgrown. Begrudging dependency because it is not independence is like begrudging winter because it is not yet spring. Dependency blossoms into independence in its own time."
Peggy O'Mara

Celebrity alternative birther/ parenting

Remember the TV show Blossom? The star in that show was Mayim Bialik. Today she has a doctorate and a family. She's done a few TV shows recently and was interviewed about her parenting choices. Very interesting read with a video of the interview. Check it out with this link
http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/goddess/spotlight-to-nightlight-mayim-bialik-from-teen-icon-to-unconventional-mom/270?nc

Research article for Infant Massage

Read this great article showing the benefits of Infant Massage for brain development.
http://www.infantmassageusa.org/resources/articles/2009JNeurosciGuzzetta.pdf

Ask Dr. Sears- working mothers and AP

Read Dr Jim's answer to the question about working mothers and attachment parenting.
Love his answer.

http://askdrsears.com/faq/ap9.asp

New mothering and breastfeeding group

Starting in October of 2009 : Serendipity, Sweetness and Surrender- Breastfeeding and New Mothering Circle. You are invited to meet with other mothers, enjoy a cup of tea and relax, laugh, commiserate, learn, talk, and create together.Receive support for breastfeeding and have your questions answered by experienced mothers who also happen to be professionals. Come and nourish your mind and heart Faciltated by: Diane Berger, RN PHN & Helen Loucado, RN LMT CLA CIIM CLC call 805 643-4354 FREE!

We are solidifying our plans and I will post more details as we move forward. This will not be the typical support group. We have lots of ideas and activities that will make this a different experience. Not that we won't be offering support and answering questions but there will be much more than that.

Dr Sears on Infant Massage

Go to askDrSears.com and get lots of info. Click this link and read about the benefits of Infant Massage!

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t110209.asp

Celebrity births at My Best Birth

Celebrity Birth Webisodes has now launched on mybestbirth.com with Cindy Crawford's exclusive birth story. It is running in four parts and parts 1 and 2 are available now. cindy will also be participating in a week long forum on mybestbirth.com answering questions about her birth.
see them at: http://mybestbirth.com

Keep going back as there will be other birth stories after Cindy Crawford's

Certified nurse midwives oppose homebirth midwives

Can you believe it? Turf wars and elitism among midwives. Read the statement and Gloria LeMay's response on her blog
www.glorialemay.com/blog

Important information!

Please use this link to see the trailer for an important film about reducing infant mortality-

http://reducinginfantmortality.com/

Exciting new format for birth class!!

In order to better serve families we are offering a unique opportunity in childbirth and parenting preparation. Our new format will be a seven week class taught by two licensed birth professionals. We will have a combined series with wonderful sessions for childbirth education and an entire session exclusively devoted to a 2 hour breastfeeding workshop. Dedicating a complete two hour session to breastfeeding helps to lay the necessary foundation for this vital nourishing and bonding phase of the holistic birthing process and gives it the importance it deserves.

There is nothing in our area that is like this class. The instructors are both holistically oriented registered nurses and have worked together in the birth community for more than 10 years. They have partnered in a way that maintains a continuity of thought and style. You will find that they truly give from their hearts and love supporting families.

This new format is designed to fully prepare parents on all levels for their birth and parenting experience. The breastfeeding portion will be presented the week after the session covering newborn care. This timing supports the learning curve and will allow participants to weave together what they have just learned about newborn care and behavior with babies’ feeding cues and instinctive behavior regarding breastfeeding. Our last session is devoted to postpartum issues and then wraps up beautifully with an invitation for ongoing connections and mentoring with classmates and instructors. ( more on this later.. stay tuned - we have additional exciting developments planned for the Fall. Feel free to email me if you'd like a preview)

We are very excited about this unique format for Childbirth Education and Breastfeeding Preparation. The instructors are looking forward to supporting you during this transformative time of your life
To learn more detail as to what exactly you will learn and how this will help you please see my web site. http://maternalinstincts.net

Link to great videos& pdf booklet

View these wonderful videos with tips to help you as you plan your best birth. They are courtesy of Lamaze & Injoy
Sorry- can't seem to activate that link. You'll have to copy & paste. It's worth it, though.
http://www.injoyvideos.com/mothersadvocate/videos.html

OB consent form

Must read this mama's consent form she drafted for OB to sign after she has been repeatedly refused a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean).

http://gisellestotalwasteofbandwidth.blogspot.com/2009/05/different-kind-of-consent-form.html

My Best Birth- Ricki Lake

Ricki Lake's new collaborative book is available. Very exciting. Check out the web site-
mybestbirth.com

VBAC - Informative read- check it out

http://www.socuteurl.com/floppykitty

One mother's perspective on the contrasting models of care

Read this mother's comments about the midwifery model of care compared to the typical medical model.

http://keyboardrevolutionary.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-thoughts-on-midwifery-model-of-care.html

National Perinatal Society stand on Midwifery

http://www.nationalperinatal.org/advocacy/pdf/Midwifery.pdf

For more info go directly to
nationalperinatal.org

Choice of Birth Settings

Check out this link regarding the National Perinatal Associations stand on this very important issue-
http://www.nationalperinatal.org/advocacy/pdf/Choice-of-Birth-Setting.pdf

Frequency of posts

I wish I could post more often. I'm so busy with real life that there's not much time left for my virtual one. But I am passionate about these issues and I add things as I find them or think of them. My intention is that this blog isn't just about me expressing myself (wouldn't that get old? and predictable? blah blah blah), but I want it to be a resource, a place to share information, links etc. so that here, in one spot, others might find ways/links to do more research on their own. I strongly feel that education about pregnancy, birth, infants and parenting is of vast importance. We need to look at how and why we do things. Think for ourselves and not just accept the "experts'" opinions, question what is. If we birth and parent in an instinctive way, making conscious, informed and aware choices, it can make such a difference for our families.
Anyway, just a blurb to explain why I'm not constantly posting. Please, do keep checking as I will add things as often as I can.