Saturday, September 29, 2012

Birth trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: 8 Tools to Help You

Birth trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: 8 Tools to Help You

 During the birth of my first child, I spent two hours in the final pushing stage of labor. I was tended to by a midwife who despite my requests for a natural birth, was keen to “get the job done.” The fetal heart rate was fine but she attempted to prepare me for an episiotomy – I told her where to go. She complained about the time I was taking and the “mess” she had to clear up. Maybe the midwife was having a bad day; I doubt she should be a midwife at all.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Extended breast-feeding: What you need to know - MayoClinic.com

Extended breast-feeding: What you need to know - MayoClinic.com

 Reduced risk of certain illnesses. Extended breast-feeding — as well as breast-feeding for 12 months or more cumulatively in life — has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Saving Our Sons: Intact or Circumcised: A Significant Difference in...

Saving Our Sons: Intact or Circumcised: A Significant Difference in...: By Danelle Frisbie © 2011 ~~~~ NOTICE: The images below are graphic in nature for the purpose of education. They may not be suitabl...

Monday, September 17, 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

InCultureParent | Breastfeeding in the Land of Genghis Khan

InCultureParent | Breastfeeding in the Land of Genghis Khan

 Like many first-time mums, I hadn’t given much thought to breastfeeding before I had a child. But minutes after my son, Calum, popped out, he latched on, and for the next four years seemed pretty determined not to let go. I was lucky, for in many ways breastfeeding came easily—never a cracked nipple, rarely an engorged breast. Mentally, things were not quite as simple. As much as I loved my baby and cherished the bond that breastfeeding gave us, it was, at times, overwhelming. I was unprepared for the magnitude of my love for him, and for the intensity of his need for me and me only—for my milk. “Don’t let him turn you into a human pacifier,” a Canadian nurse had cautioned me just days after Calum’s birth, as he sucked for hour after hour. But I would run through all the possible reasons for his crying—gas? wet? understimulation? overstimulation?—and mostly I’d just end up feeding him again. I wondered if I was doing the right thing.