Strollerderby : pregnancy and delivery

Make That a Single Cappuccino: Study Links Caffeine and Miscarriage

Kelly Mills — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:32:00 GMT

Get ready for some flack from your barrista, pregnant ladies. A new study reported in the New York Times connects drinking 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day (200 milligrams is about 10 ounces of coffee or 25 ounces of tea) to a greater risk of miscarriage. The lead author of the study, Dr. De-Kun Li, says pregnant women should consider going decaf or at least cutting back to a cup for the first few months of being knocked up. The study consisted of interviews with 1,063 pregnant women about caffeine use, but by the time of the study, 102 had already miscarried. Later, 70 more miscarried, for a rate of 16 percent of the group, pretty typical for the population. The researchers found that "the miscarriage rate was 24.5 percent in the 164 women who consumed 200 milligrams or more per day. The increased risk was associated with caffeine itself and not with other known risk factors like the mother’s age or smoking habits."

Is there any hope for the latte-loving mamas of the world? Maybe. Dr. Carolyn Westhoff at Columbia University Medical Center says, "'Just interviewing women, over half of whom had already had their miscarriage, does not strike me as the best way to get at the real scientific question here. But it is an excellent way to scare women.'" She says other risk factors like smoking have much clearer links to miscarriage, that most miscarriages are caused by chromosonal abnormalities, and that moderation in everything is key. I'll always be waiting for the day when they find that a joyless life, one devoid of the pleasures you love, like coffee, sushi, saunas, and the occasional drink, leads to increased risks in pregnancy.

Expecting Moms Not Expecting To Take A Class

Amy S.F. Lutz — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:55:00 GMT

I have to say, I didn't get much out of the childbirth class I took almost a decade ago - except for two lifelong friends and the astonishing fact that many Brazilian women give birth in the squatting position.

I guess more women are coming to similar conclusions about the utility of childbirth classes, because attendance has dropped.

Experts attribute the decline to several factors. More women are working right up until their babies are due, so they have less time for classes. Most women also approach birth having already decided to have an epidural, so they feel they have little use for breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and other natural coping strategies they associate with childbirth classes.

Although studies have shown no difference in outcome between those who take classes and those who don't, experts fear that those who neglect to take a class will be unprepared for the kinds of decisions that may have to be made in the heat of childbirth, including those involving induction, episiotomies, and C-sections.

Miscarriage Myths Persist: Like That You Had Something To Do With It

Kelly Mills — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:01:00 GMT

A recent survey of women found that myths about the causes of miscarriage are still firmly with us. See, the majority of miscarriages are the result of genetic or chromosonal abnormalities with the fetus, hormonal issues, or problems with the uterus or placenta. Of course alcohol and drugs are factors in some cases, but for the most part, we're talking about straight-up medical issues, beyond anyone's control. However, a good third-plus of the women surveyed thought that a pregnant woman's bad mood could negatively affect her baby. I'm living proof here that foul moods do not prevent mothers from carrying babies to term.

Couple of other myths for you: "One in four of these women thought a pregnant woman's exposure to upsetting situations could hurt her unborn child, and one in five believed excessive exercise could cause a woman to miscarry." The tendency to believe in folkloric miscarriage stories was linked more to the respondent's education level than anything else, and luckily those who had experienced pregnancy loss were more likely to disbelieve the myths, indicating that they probably got some education on the issue through their experiences. While survey folks did not specifically assign blame to the moms in cases of miscarriage (Only "ten percent suggested pregnant women are responsible for their miscarriages, and 3 percent said mothers should be blamed for their babies' birth defects") there is something to the fact that people were willing to peg stress, upsetting situations, and bad moods as causes of pregnancy loss. Here, I'll say it loud, one more time: The miscarriage was not your fault.

Capturing Joy During Most Painful Loss

Madeline Holler — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:46:00 GMT

I don’t even know what to say about this recent LA Times piece, except that there are some damn nice people in the world.

The article is about a photographer who volunteers to take pictures of families who are about to experience what must be unimaginably painful: stillbirth or the imminent and early death of a sick child.

This photographer does all the usual portraiture and holiday photos, weddings and other occasions. That’s how she earns her living. But over the past few years has also donated her time and photostock to pregnant women or families who are bracing themselves for the sadness of this most profound loss. These families want some way to preserve their memories of the sheer joy of even the shortest lives and she gives it to them.

Since the photographer first started, and word spread, demand became so high that she had to recruit other volunteer photographers to do it too. Now, she’s formed a network of bereavement photographers in most major cities around the country.

Doctors and hospitals used to whisk stillborn babies away, thinking out-of-sight-out-of-mind. But now they realize parents need to hold the babies, whether alive or not, and families often don’t want to forget and can’t. Now it’s the nurses and doctors who let patients know about bereavement photography and even arrange for it.

Photo: LA Times

Jailed Mob Boss Makes Bambino Behind Bars

Madeline Holler — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:26:00 GMT

Mama mia! An Italian mob boss has put a whole new twist on the meaning of “serving” and “hard time.” Though he’s been in prison for more than two decades, with no rights to conjugal visits, his wife of 20 some years gave birth recently to a baby girl. And it’s his!

The mother, appropriately named Immacolata (meaning “immaculate,” get it? Virgin Mary?), waged a battle with the courts and won the right to her husband’s sperm, batches of which he worked up from behind bars. The two married in 1983 after he had already begun to serve several life sentences, but they have never consummated their eternal love.

She plans to raise the girl far from the Naples-based Camorra crime organization. She doesn’t want the jailed Godfather’s baby daughter to suffer the same fate as his son from a previous marriage – he died in a gangland shooting at 25.

Be All Healthy In Pregnancy and Your Baby Might Grow Up To Be A Cowboy. Or Healthy. One of the Two.

Kelly Mills — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:08:00 GMT

I'm sure there are many pregnant women out there thinking to themselves, "Should I eat well, exercise, and take care of this little life growing in my womb, or should I only eat Pringles and sit on my behind all day?" If so, there's a piece here that might tip the scales. Turns out that eating well in pregnancy might not only result in a healthy baby, but might also help your child grow up to be a healthy adult. Why, Rachel made a list of reminders for herself should she ever get knocked up again: "1. leave off crack smoking, 2. stop running more than 15 miles per day in the 8th month, and 3. avoid kickboxing and bikram yoga." And I told myself, "Froot Loops over JD and Coke is not a nutritious breakfast." See, we help with the hard choices here.

But one thing I want to point out amidst all the obesity-very-bad news items: you don't do your baby any favors if you don't get enough to eat. Insufficient diet or nutrient-poor diets are just as bad as gaining too much weight. (Somebody tell key neighborhoods in Los Angeles!) And the article also points out that your best bet is to be in top shape pre-baby. So it pays to take care of yourself on every level for your whole darn life. Yes, health is actually good, or so the experts say, anyway.

Surrogate Mom Set to Hit Record of 12

Karen Murphy — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:03:00 GMT

I bitched and moaned through four pregnancies, and each time that magic moment came when it was clear that I was about to go through [yet another] labor and delivery, and that there was no stopping, no turning back, no do-overs. All this was close to four years of my life when totaled and I think the experience of being pregnant and giving birth was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Which is why I'm a little slack-jawed at the news of British mom Carole Horlock, who enjoys giving birth so much that she's now carrying her 10th, 11th, and 12th babies as a surrogate mom. "Some people like eating, others enjoy smoking, but for me it’s being pregnant."

Better you than me, honey, that's all I can say. I have nothing but respect for women who make pregnancy work for them and for whom it's not 9 months of torture. I think there are quite a few happy parents who have Carole to thank for doing something she enjoys.

Embryo Culture and The Ethics of Assisted Reproduction

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:27:00 GMT

I probably wouldn't have read Embryo Culture, a new book on ethics inside a test tube nation, until I read this interview on Salon with author Beth Kohl. I was surprised at how engaging she was and how connected I felt to the reproductive, political and spiritual journey she went on while becoming a mother. It reminded me of a very clear moment when the worlds of assisted reproduction and doing it the old-fashioned way collided on Thursday morning in another mother's living room.

I was sitting in playgroup one week when two of the mommies were talking IVF treatments. I was fascinated and humbled by all they were going through physically and otherwise, by the insider language of IVF and by their very different experiences. I've been privy to many of these conversations simply because I know a lot of women who've turned to assisted reproduction to have biological children. I could very well be one of those women, but I am not.

One of the mommies turned to me and asked how long we tried to conceive before the seeds of Lil E took root. I told her the truth, that to my own surprise, it only took one try.

"Bitch!" she laughed. But it wasn't funny and she wasn't really joking around about whatever physiological or genetic or environmental or just plain old stupid luck got me knocked up on the first go and landed her in a long line at a fertility clinic to get shots at 7 a.m. with 75 other women.

The reason my husband and I decided to go ahead and give pregnancy a try was because a close friend and co-worker had been into the depths of many kinds of shots, procedures, miscarriages and attempts at making a baby that lasted years before she finally had a "successful" pregnancy. It scared me and it scared another close friend and co-worker who also got pregnant on the first try. It felt like a strange twist that our friend's state of well-being and marriage were so battered by infertility and that each of us reacted by quickly getting pregnant.

All of this back story that led to my pregnancy and then future friendships with women engaged in the real work of reproduction has played into my politics. I have been pro-choice as long as I can remember. I grew up in a household where we were not allowed to buy products or pizza by companies that in turn gave money to anti-choice organizations. As my belly grew and from it, emerged a human being, because of whom I met women struggling with what to do with frozen embryos and the possibility of selective abortion, I became even more invested in the freedom for women to make all kinds of reproductive choices. I understand now, though, that it is even deeper and more emotional and more spiritual than a sign scrawled with Sharpie slogans or an issue to check off on a voting ballot or click off in an email of protest to my local representatives.

One thing I see clearer now is that although we may go about becoming and being parents quite differently, we are not divided by the people who conceive in the back of a Suburu Outback and those who do it in stirrups in their doctor's office, those who are filling out applications for adoption and those who are making the very tough decision to have an abortion, those who are holding on to embryos until they can donate them to science and those who are choosing not to pay thousands of dollars to keep them frozen and ferried away, bitches who got pregnant immediately and those who didn't.

I'm not going to say I completely understand each experience or choice; they are not all mine. But I do think we are linked in the reproductive choices we are making simply by making the choices. I don't imagine that every single person does, but I imagine that most people do invest themselves psychologically, spiritually and emotionally as well as physically when they try to become parents. And that is the place where I think there is so much room for conversation, activism and exploration. After all, many of us could easily slide from one category to the next, from fertile to infertile or the other way around in the blink of an eye, slip of an egg or prick of a needle. Beyond the science and reasoning of that possibility, is, as Kohl says, the question of not what we can do but if we do it. And that is a deep well I think we've only just begun to dive into.

More U.S. Women Dying In Childbirth

Kelly Mills — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:30:00 GMT

Maternal death rates in the U.S. are up from 2003, and in 2003, the rates were up for the first time since 1977. So, why are more women dying in childbirth? Of course "maternal obesity" is a popular answer, as is an increase in c-sections, and the two may be related (bigger babies are more likely to require c-section delivery.) Yes, obesity is a public health problem, but I swear, I'm just waiting for the day when we find out obesity shot Kennedy.

Now there's also a couple of statistical things happening, which may not be as exciting as how big Americans are. The first is that a few states, including plenty-o'-people California, changed some questions on death certificates, which might have increased the number of deaths attributed to problems in childbirth. The second issue is that not very many U.S. women die in childbirth. Like less than 600 per year. That means 50 deaths can change the whole rate, which is measured as "deaths per 100,000 live births."

So which is responsible: obesity and c-sections, or statistics? Researchers say probably a little of both. And older maternal age, race, and quality of care are also implicated. In other words, it's not a simple problem.

Docs Revise Pregnancy Weight Guidelines. Oh Great.

Kelly Mills — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:33:00 GMT

The Institute of Medicine is going to review current weight gain guidelines for pregnant women, because many doctors are concerned women are gaining too much weight. Some say the current recommendations, of 300 extra calories a day and no more than 35 pounds take into account factors such as the obesity epidemic. Gaining too much weight can increase the risk of complications including labor and delivery problems and large babies. Plus it can be hard to get the weight off later. And I say, once again, the medical community is going about this the wrong way. Ooooh, wait, I feel an annoyed sound coming on: aaaaaaarrrrghh!

This kind of stuff just gets me all friggin' worked up. I mean, how much crap do pregnant women need to really worry about? Or maybe more to the point, is telling pregnant women they should cap their weight gain at 25 instead of 35 pounds really gonna help solve this problem? But for whatever reason, many doctors like a set of "no's" and some guideline numbers. Screw the numbers. What about this? Instead of big weigh-ins and "tsk tsk"ing at women, tell expectant moms they are practicing for how they will feed their children. Make sure they know what they SHOULD eat, instead of always harping on what they shouldn't. Make sure they get adequate fruits and veggies and protein and whole grains. Talk about the importance of calcium and nutrients. Explain healthy eating practices, like practicing eating without distractions like TV, paying attention to the feeling of satiety, ensuring water is a companion to every meal. And okay, yeah, avoid highly processed food, excessive alcohol, raw beef and eggs, and crack. Because I think most pregnant women wanna do right by their kids, and if you help them understand what is essential for fueling a healthy life, they'll have an easier time adding in good stuff rather than always focusing on avoiding "bad" stuff. Oh, and then they have skills to pass on to their kids. Two-fer.

And honestly, pregnancy is nine months of planning for a big future event. As long as you and your baby are reasonably healthy, do you really need to concern yourself with post-partum weight loss right now? If pregnancy is your big chance to go crazy with food, then I'd say perhaps your "normal life" diet is too restrictive. And P.S.: Ladies, I gained 65+ pounds in pregnancy. And we're all okay. That's right, beating the odds whenever we can...

Antepartum Depression: Not Every Pregnant Woman Glows

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:38:00 GMT

Who here loved being pregnant? I see a couple of hands up but most of you are scowling at me. Yeah. I hated it too. I've never thrown up so much in my life, and I used to be bulimic. I was very sick and I was terrified. As badly as I had been wanting a baby for years it turned out that there were two of them in there and I was uncomfortable and exhausted and this thing was suddenly real.

We've all heard of postpartum depression, but did you know about antepartum depression? Nordette Adams wrote a great post all about it over on BlogHer. She called her post The Happy Pregnant Lady Myth. In it she mentions that one in five women experience antepartum depression.

So why are we all talking about PPD and not APD (I don't know if anyone else actually uses that acronym I might have just made it up, or maybe it should be AD, but whatever)? Did any of you experience this? Did I experience this and I just didn't know it?

Let's talk about this. It is important for pregnant women to understand that pregnancy isn't all ice cream and compliments. If you are pregnant and miserable you are not alone, and it could be physiological.

Pregcellent: Would These Tees Make You Barf In Your First Trimester?

Kelly Mills — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:02:00 GMT

You should see what Mir at Droolicious says too, but I'll say right off, I hate. I mean, no doubt pregnancy brings on some changes. But apparently the folks at PREgo rules believe it's all temporary, and the best way you can reassure yourself and the world that these nine months is by wearing $45 tees that say stuff like: "I'll be back...in my favorite shoes" with a picture of some pointy-toe heels, or "Better than healthy salad... just for now." with a shot of an ice cream cone. Barf. Barf. Barf.

Frankly, it's probably bullshit, the shoes may never be back, cuz those feet spread and you can't chase a toddler in Jimmy Choos. And shockingly, I eat ice cream even though I am no longer knocked up. It's this crappy vision of pregnancy as a temporary gluttony fest where the real you gets lost, when in fact, even though I'm in better shape now than I was pre-preg, I was permanently altered by the experience. Body, mind, and soul (we'll pretend I have a soul for the sake of argument) and really, I'm okay with it. I don't need a hug. And I also ~~couldn't~~ didn't have to bounce right back to a tiny jeans size like some anxious celebrity just to prove something. Because I was busy, with my BABY.

I also hate because I don't get who the message is for: are you reassuring other people, or yourself? If this is for other people, then yuck. Tell anyone who looks at you funny for eating goddamn ice cream to go labor themselves. Or if what you mean is, "Girl, you'd better not look at my husband like that because I'll be back in my two-piece swimsuit soon" then, um, just say that. It's very Terminator, "I'll be back." Prego claims, "At some point, along with this new 'little you' comes the (completely normal) 'losing yourself' feeling." Is the "little you" the baby? Cuz mine is her own self, thanks. Pregnancy is not the end of your life or solo identity or any such nonsense, but as a woman who hated being pregnant, I still wouldn't think of it as some lame period where I checked off the days until I could squeeze into my old bathing suit.

At Least Your Doctor Isn't 15, Even If He Looks It

Kelly Mills — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:32:00 GMT

I can tell I'm getting older because everyone looks so damn young to me. The police officer who pulled me over offered me friendly advice could have been the kid I babysat as a teenager; and please don't get me started on the mere child who works on my teeth. Soon I'll just call everyone "sonny" and be done with it. But while my doctor might come in just this side of Doogie Howser, at least he isn't actually 15 years old. Which is more than one woman can say about the kid who performed her c-section.

Apparently Dhileepan Raj and his parents had a world record in their sights: youngest person to perform surgery. So after Dr. K. Murugesan anesthetized his patient for her c-section, his 15-year-old son allegedly did the actual cutting and sewing. Yikes. He and his wife (also a doctor) were arrested, and Dhileepan gave himself up after hiding out for a bit. Word to the wise: next time go for a record that doesn't, you know, endanger a woman and her baby, okay? Try for longest gum-chewing or some crap.

Babble Talk: Anti-Depressants and Pregnancy Do Mix

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:51:00 GMT

Like love and marriage, like cats in a cradle, like Tom and Suri, and Kate and Pete, anti-depressants and pregnancy often ought to go together. But they are still controversial, especially since the most common drugs, SSRIs (Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors), such as Prozac, Celexa, and Zoloft are for obvious reasons largely untested. How many pregnant women do you know who want to be treated as lab rats?

Kim Brooks discusses the advantages of treating depression during pregnancy in this week's Babble feature "Baby Blues." Read more here. Just don't tell Tom Cruise about this.

Celebrity Versus Real PostPartum Bodies

Kelly Mills — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:43:00 GMT

Getting sick of seeing pictures of celebrities who are already slim one month after giving birth? So was Bonnie Crowder. She started a website, Shape of a Mother, and posted photos of her stretch marks. Soon she was getting tons of photos and essays from other moms, even (gasp) naked ones. "'Instead of seeing them as just stretch marks and an ugly scar, now you can see them as the mark that your body did something amazing,' said Crowder." Many of the women share their feelings about their bodies after during and pregnancy, and to my knowledge not one used the celeb weight-loss method of ~~plastic surgery and a wet nurse~~ a crash diet and five-hour daily sessions with a personal trainer.

The idea is pretty cool, since we get enough pressure to be bikini-ready, and perhaps aren't prepared for the "when are you due?" questions you get when you go out sans baby two weeks after delivery. I know for some of us, the notion that breastfeeding makes all that weight fall right off is just crap. The only thing breastfeeding made fall was my boobs. Most of the photos on the site are of bellies, but naturally I immediately clicked on "vaginal trauma". No photos there, and I'm sort of relieved. If yet-to-breed women saw pictures of the hoo hoo one month post-birth, it could spell the end of the species.

60-year-old Woman Gives Birth to Twins. Stop the Madness.

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:01:00 GMT

Good gawd. Another lady as old as my mom just had twins. What's with this trend?

I cannot even imagine what Frieda Birnbaum's (the mother in question's) body must have gone through before, during, and after pregnancy. I mean, I listen to my mom, who is in great shape for her age, talk about her arthritis and knee problems and I cannot imagine her getting pregnant.

Eff being politically correct. I'm gonna say it: I find this trend disturbing. And I'm not even being ageist. I'm just questioning whether its ethical for women in their sixties to undergo all kinds of invasive procedures at the expense of their own health in order to have kids, especially since mentioned in the same breath as the births are always the disgusting "world record" stats. Ladies, there are plenty of other ways to become a parent.

Sure there is the argument that people are living better and longer these days, but still. Women having babies in their sixties? You know that it's just a matter of time before a 70-year-old tries it. Then what?

Midwife-Assisted Homebirth? Wussy.

Kelly Mills — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:34:00 GMT

Just when you thought your midwife-assisted homebirth was about as natural as you could get, enter the freebirth. (And this birth you cannot change... What?) Freebirthing (not to be confused with freeballing or freebasing, though I'd much rather do either) basically means having your baby at home, with no attendant. Proponents feel birth has been hyped up as a scary thing, when in fact, we've been doing it for thousands of years. I mean, it's not like women have been dying in childbirth for thousands of years...oh. But advocates contend that the main dangers of childbirth come from "poverty, intervention, and fear". If you've covered the first, an unattended birth is a matter of dealing with the latter two.

There's this quote from one freebirth practitioner: "Birthing uses the same hormones as lovemaking--so why would you want anyone poking and prodding you, observing you and putting you under a spotlight?" Number one: I'll give you the same hormones, but if (ugh) "lovemaking" felt anything like birthing, I'd be a virgin. Number two: doesn't lovemaking involve poking, prodding, and spotlights? Just me?

In any event, I don't really care that much if someone wants to give birth without a doctor, as long as I don't have to help. But as someone who imagined this natural birth and in retrospect wishes she got the epidural on arrival, I'm so not in the "beautiful, natural, just do that special breathing and find your woman-power" camp. I like doctors. I like midwives. I even like western medicine, especially when it can prevent lots of suffering and agony. And I don't think the fact that my birthin' crazy-insane hurt was in the least bit empowering. I was really grateful to the anesthesiologist after he gave me the epidural. Next time my wonderful doctor can chloroform me in the hospital like they used to do in the old days.