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April 17 : A top obstetrician on why men should NEVER be at the birth of their child. Part 2 |
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This could just be a night at the pub, or a day playing golf when their child is a day old.
I've known of perfectly well-balanced men who held their wife's hand through labour then left the next day never to return again.
And in the most graphic example, one perfectly healthy man had his first experience of schizophrenia two days after watching his wife give birth. Was this his way of escaping reality?
Generally speaking, I have noticed that the more the man has participated at the birth and the worse his wife's labour has been, the higher the risks of post-natal "symptoms" are.
Of course, this is not the case for all men, but it seems without doubt that some men are at risk of being unwell or depressed due to having seen their partners labour.
The final question I would like to see answered is what, if a man is present at birth, will be the effect on the sexual attraction he feels towards his wife over the long term?
When men first started standing at their partner's side during labour, I remember my mother's generation saying, very matter of factly, that the couple's intimate life would be ruined as a result.
And, given that the key to eroticism is a degree of mystery, I am left believing they had a point.
There are many things we do in private in order to preserve a degree of modesty and mystery.
And, for the benefit of our sex lives, it may be worth adding childbirth to this list.
I have three children and wasn't present at any of their births.
My first two were born before it was considered normal for a man to be at the birth of their child. But my youngest son was born in 1985, at home.
As it happens, at the exact moment our son arrived in the world, the midwife was on her way down the street and I, having made my excuses realising he was about to be born, was fiddling with the thermostat on the central heating boiler downstairs.
My partner did not know it, but I had given her the exceptionally rare, but ideal situation in which to give birth: she felt secure, she knew the midwife was minutes away and I was downstairs, yet she had complete privacy and no one was watching her.
If there are any doubts, we only have to look across the rest of the mammal world in order to see that no other female, save the human female, invites her sexual partner to witness her giving birth.
Of course, it would not be possible for women to give birth alone.
But the optimum situation for women is to give birth with an experienced midwife, or another woman - known as a doula.
The key to the perfect birthing partner is finding a mother figure who can help, keep a low profile and remain silent.
It is only 35 years since men first entered the delivery room, yet we have welcomed them in without question.
At the present time, when birth is more difficult and longer than ever, when more women need drugs or Caesareans, we have to dare to smash the limits of political correctness and ask whether men should really be present at birth.
When we take into consideration the effects of this on male and female, it seems the answer is not.
It is time to go back to basics, and turn modern convention on its head.
When it comes to the delivery suite, men would be well advised to stay away |
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April 17 : A top obstetrician on why men should NEVER be at the birth of their child |
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Check out this controversial article:
A top obstetrician on why men should NEVER be at the birth of their child
By MICHEL ODENT - More by this author »
This week, the Mail reported a new survey which said fathers should be allowed to stay overnight in hospital on the day their baby is born.
But how much should a man be involved in his child's birth? Leading obstetrician Michel Odent has been instrumental in influencing childbirth practices for decades.
Here, with a view that will outrage many - but will strike a chord with thousands of others - he describes why he believes that when a woman goes into labour, her partner should stay well away.
For many years, I have not been able to speak openly about my views that the presence of a father in a delivery room is not only unnecessary, but also hinders labour.
To utter such a thing over the past two decades would have been regarded as heresy, and flies in the face of popular convention.
But having been involved in childbirth for 50 years, and having been in charge of 15,000 births, I have reached the stage where I feel it is time to state what I - and many midwives and fellow obstetricians - privately consider the obvious.
That there is little good to come for either sex from having a man at the birth of a child.
For her, his presence is a hindrance, and a significant factor in why labours are longer, more painful and more likely to result in intervention than ever.
As for the effect on a man - well, was I surprised to hear a friend of mine state that watching his wife giving birth had started a chain of events that led to the couple's divorce?
Scroll down for more ...
Women should be left alone to give birth in peace without the distraction of their partner at their bedside
Or another lady describing how the day after her husband had watched her deliver their child, he had fled to his hometown of Rome, and never returned again?
For many men, the emotional fallout of watching their partner have their baby can never be overcome.
When I was first involved in obstetrics in the Fifties, it was unheard of for a man to be present as their child was born.
Childbirth was predominately a woman's business - usually carried out at home - and while a man may be in the vicinity at the time of labour, he would usually be found in the kitchen, boiling copious amounts of water, and therefore would miss the actual event.
However, by 1970, a handful of women started to ask for their husbands to be present at the birth, a shift that began to occur in many Western countries at about the same time.
There are a variety of reasons for this, including the fact that birth was being increasingly concentrated in hospitals rather than at home, and the rise of the smaller nuclear family meant women increasingly turned to their husbands for support in all areas of their life, rather than relying on their mothers or aunts.
What we didn't anticipate at the time was that this occasional demand from a handful of women would, in a matter of years, become doctrine.
By the late Seventies, all pregnant women were saying they could not imagine giving birth without their husband at their side.
And not only was the husband now nearly always present at birth, but with his wife clasping his hand during labour and screaming out for reassurance, he became an active participant.
At the time, it was widely believed there were many benefits to be had from the father's presence.
It was said sharing such an experience would strengthen ties between the couple and help the father bond with his baby.
It was said his reassurance would make birth easier, and that the rate of intervention in pregnancy would decrease as a result.
This shift to having the father in the delivery room was one which was shrouded by optimism.
However, little scientific study was conducted to find out if there was any truth to these claims.
And even at the time, I had my reservations. I didn't want to judge, but I knew from experience that the presence of a man is not always a positive thing.
Fast-forward to today, and there is still a lack of scientific study on this subject.
But having been in charge of thousands of births, at homes, in hospitals, in the UK, in France, with the father present, with him absent, I have reached my own conclusions.
I am more and more convinced that the participation of the father is one of the main reasons for long and difficult labours.
And there are a number of basic physiological reasons for this.
First, a labouring woman needs to be protected against any stimulation of the thinking part of her brain - the neocortex - for labour to proceed with any degree of ease.
This part of the brain needs to take a back seat and allow the primal "unthinking" part of the brain connected to basic vital functions to take over.
A woman in labour needs to be in a private world where she doesn't have to think or talk.
Yet, motivated by a desire to "share the experience", the man asks questions and offers words of reassurance and advice.
In doing so, he denies his partner the quiet mind that she needs.
The second reason is that the father's release of the stress hormone adrenaline as he watches his partner labour causes her anxiety, and prevents her from relaxing.
No matter how much he tries to smile and appear relaxed, he cannot help but feel anxious. And the release of adrenaline is contagious.
It has been proven that it is physically impossible to be in a complete state of relaxation if there is an individual standing next to you who is tense and full of adrenaline.
The effect of this is that, with a man present, a woman cannot be as relaxed as she needs to be during labour, and hence the process becomes longer and more difficult.
We must keep in mind that mammals cannot release oxytocin - the key hormone in childbirth - when they are also being influenced by the stressful effects of hormones of the adrenaline family.
I have been with many women as they struggle to give birth with their partner at their side.
Yet the moment he leaves the room, the baby arrives. Afterwards, they say it was just "bad luck" he wasn't there the moment their child was born.
Luck, however, is little to do with it. The truth is that without him there, the woman is finally able to relax into labour in a way that speeds up delivery.
After birth, too, a woman needs a few moments alone with her baby, particularly between the time the child is born and she delivers the placenta.
And this is not just about her need to bond with her baby.
Physically, in order to deliver the placenta with ease, her levels of oxytocin - the hormone of love - need to peak.
This happens if she has a moment in which she can forget everything about the world, save for her baby, and if she has time in which she can look into the baby's eyes, make contact with its skin and take in its smell without any distractions.
Often, as soon as a baby is born, men cannot help but say something or try to touch the baby.
Their interference at this key moment is more often than not the main cause for a difficult delivery of the placenta, too.
But it is not just the fact that men slow down labour that makes me cautious about their presence at the birth.
There are two other important questions that I would like to see answered scientifically.
The first is, are we sure that all men can easily cope with the strong emotional reaction they have when they participate in the birth?
Over the years, I have seen something akin to post-natal depression in many men who have been present at the birth.
In its mild form, men often take to their bed in the week following the birth, complaining of everything from a stomach ache or migraine to a 24-hour bug.
Their wives, meanwhile, are up and about, caring for their baby and in good spirits, and tell me how unfortunate it is that their husband has been struck down by one ailment or another.
But it is well known by those who study depression that rather than admit a low mood, men often offer up a symptom as a reason to why they have taken to their bed.
There are also men who try to find ways to escape the reality of what they have been through. |
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April 10 : Babies who sleep less at more risk for obesity |
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Babies who sleep less at more risk for obesity
CHICAGO - Babies who don't get enough sleep may gain too much weight, new research shows.
A Harvard study found that babies and toddlers who sleep fewer than 12 hours daily are at greater risk for being overweight in preschool, startling evidence that the link between sleep and obesity may affect even very young children.
TV viewing heightened the effect. The children who slept the least and watched the most television had the greatest chance of becoming obese.
“The two (behaviors) are acting independently. In combination, they are particularly risky,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Elsie Taveras of Harvard Medical School.
The findings, published in April’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, are based on mothers’ reports of their babies’ sleep habits and TV viewing, and direct measures of the children’s height, weight and skinfold thickness.
Starting when the babies were 6 months old, mothers were asked how long their children napped during the day and how long they slept at night. Moms were asked again when the children were 1 and 2 years old. They were asked about TV time when the children reached age 2.
The researchers combined the sleep answers to find an average pattern for each child during the first two years of life. They found 586 of the children slept an average of 12 or more hours a day and 329 of the children slept less than that.
Among the long sleepers, 7 percent were obese at age 3.
The short sleepers fared worse. Twelve percent of them became obese 3-year-olds. Adding TV to the picture, 17 percent of those who slept less than 12 hours a day and watched two or more hours of television a day were obese by the time they were 3.
Obesity was defined as having a body mass index in the 95th percentile or above. BMI is a measure that combines height and weight. A 3-year-old who is 3 feet, 3 inches tall and 40 pounds would be considered obese.
Double the risk for obesity
The researchers took into account other risk factors for obesity, including TV viewing, and still found the children who slept fewer than 12 hours a day had a doubled risk of being obese at age 3 than the other children.
Sleep’s impact on appetite hormones may explain the effect, Taveras said. In prior studies, sleep-deprived adults produced more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone that signals fullness.
TV viewing is thought to increase the risk of obesity both because it takes time away from calorie-burning play and because of food ads for snacks and fast food.
The families in the new study lived in Massachusetts and had relatively high incomes and education levels, making it difficult to apply the findings to everyone, Taveras acknowledged. Sleep researchers who read the study said it adds to growing evidence of the link between poor sleep and obesity. A study published last year found that every additional hour per night a third-grader spends sleeping reduces the child’s chances of being obese in sixth grade by 40 percent.
“The main message for parents is that there has to be regularity in sleep in children. It’s very important to maintain a schedule,” said Dr. Michelle Cao of Stanford University’s sleep disorders clinic. She wasn’t involved in the study but co-wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.
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Taveras recommended practices that teach infants to fall asleep on their own, putting them to bed when they’re drowsy but not fully asleep.
Pat Prinz of the University of Washington, who wasn’t involved in the study, said parents who rely on day care should make sure their toddlers have plenty of time to run, jump and play.
“The more active they are in the day, the better they’ll sleep at night,” Prinz said. But she cautioned that genetics may play a role in sleep and a person’s genetic makeup may limit how much sleep duration can be improved |
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March 30 : A Must Read Book on Vaccinatons |
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I went to a seminar by Tim O'Shea yesterday and it changed my view on vaccinations.
Here is the link to his website and the book.
[url]http://thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=order_books.php[/url]
The book is called The Sanctity of Human Blood, Vaccination is not Immunization.
Thanks
Kathy |
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March 23 : The Dangers of Giving Your Baby Cereal in a Bottle |
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The Dangers of Giving Your Baby Cereal in a Bottle
By Tamika Gardner
Many parents have been adding cereal to their babies bottles with the hopes that baby will sleep better through the night or because they feel the baby is not getting enough to eat.
If you've heard the statements, "Add cereal to your babies bottle and he'll sleep for 5 hours" or "If your baby constantly wants to nurse or seems hungry, add cereal to the bottle," know that those are myths and not facts.
Your baby gets enough nutrition from breast milk or formula for the first 6 months of life. In fact, many medical experts agree that introducing cereal before 4 months of age can cause food allergies. Additionally, adding cereal to your babies bottle is a bad idea. Period.
Experts like Dr. Alan Greene, M.D. believe that the sucking and swallowing actions are not fully coordinated in some children, which can lead to pulmonary problems because they can inhale small amounts of rice cereal in their lungs.
What other dangers are there with adding cereal to a babies bottle? For one thing, your child could very well be on the road to obesity. The extra calories in the cereal itself is enough to teach your child to overeat. When your child is at least 4 months of age, it is more suitable to introduce cereal by feeding your baby with a spoon. Not only does this teach them to learn to eat from a spoon, but it also allows them to rest in between and it helps the baby learn the proper way to eat.
Well, what about your mother, and your grandmother, and your sister, and all those people who swear that adding cereal to a babies bottle will help them sleep and stay satisfied longer? Dr. Alan Greene, M.D. states, "I suspect the reason is that kids do fall asleep a bit more quickly, and some babies may even go a bit longer between feedings. There is no scientific evidence, though, to support the claim that cereal in the bottle will help an infant increase total sleep or decrease crying."'
The American Academy of Pediatrics also advises against feeding a baby cereal from a bottle. The only time feeding a baby cereal in a bottle is when your Pediatrician recommends it to help with reflux.
Obesity. Food Allergies. Pulmonary problems. Bad eating habits. Those are all enough reasons to steer away from giving your baby a bottle of cereal. You may be happy you did.
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Article Source: [url]http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tamika_Gardner[/url] |
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March 16 : Case Study: Autism and Vaccines |
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Monday, Mar. 10, 2008
Case Study: Autism and Vaccines
By Claudia Wallis
What happened to little, red-haired Hannah Poling is
hardly unique in the world of autism. She had an
uneventful birth; she seemed to be developing normally
— smiling, babbling, engaging in imaginative play,
speaking about 20 words by 19 months. And then, right
after receiving a bunch of vaccines, she fell ill and
it all stopped. Hannah, now 9, recovered from her
acute illness but she lost her words, her eye contact
and, in a matter of months, began exhibiting the
repetitive behaviors and social withdrawal that typify
autism. "Something happened after the vaccines," says
her mom, Terry Poling, who is a registered nurse and
an attorney. "She just deteriorated and never came
back."
Parents of kids like Hannah have been fingering
vaccines — and, in particular, the mercury-based
vaccine preservative thimerosal — as a cause of autism
for over a decade, but researchers have repeatedly
failed to find a link.
What's unique about Hannah's case is that for the
first time federal authorities have conceded a
connection between her autistic symptoms and the
vaccines she received, though the connection is by no
means simple. A panel of medical evaluators at the
Department of Health and Human Services concluded that
Hannah had been injured by vaccines — and recommended
that her family be compensated for the injuries. The
panel said that Hannah had an underlying cellular
disorder that was aggravated by the vaccines, causing
brain damage with features of autism spectrum disorder
(ASD).
A special federal vaccine court has yet to award
damages, but the recommendation, made public last
week, is causing a sensation in the autism advocacy
community. The Polings, who live in Athens, Ga., were
originally part of a group of nearly 5,000 families
with autistic children seeking damages through the
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The
other cases remain before the court.
The Poling case is also causing deep concern among
public health officials, eager to reassure parents
that vaccines are safe and, indeed, hugely beneficial.
In a public statement on Friday, Dr. Julie Gerberding,
director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), insisted that "the government has
made absolutely no statement about indicating that
vaccines are the cause of autism, as this would be a
complete mischaracterization of any of the science
that we have at our disposal today."
Gerberding and other health authorities point out that
the benefits of vaccines far exceed their risks. They
also note that thimerosal was eliminated from
routinely administered childhood vaccines manufactured
after 2001, and yet autism rates have continued to
climb. The current CDC estimate is that 1 of 150
American children has an autism spectrum disorder.
Nonetheless, there's no denying that the court's
decision to award damages to the Poling family puts a
chink — a question mark — in what had been an
unqualified defense of vaccine safety with regard to
autism. If Hannah Poling had an underlying condition
that made her vulnerable to being harmed by vaccines,
it stands to reason that other children might also
have such vulnerabilities.
But there are circumstances that make Hannah's case a
bit unusual. For one thing, she received an unusually
large number of vaccines in 2000 (when thimerosal was
still in use). Because of a series of ear infections,
Hannah had fallen behind in the vaccine schedule, so
in a single day she was given five inoculations
covering a total of nine diseases: measles, mumps,
rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis,
tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae. "That was just
too many vaccines," says Terry Poling. "I didn't find
out for several months that they had thimerosal, which
contains mercury, a powerful neurotoxin. Had I known,
I never would have allowed it to be injected into my
child."
Another confounding issue in Hannah's case is the
finding that she suffers from a mitochondrial disorder
— a dysfunction in basic cell metabolism. Mitochondria
serve as power generators for each cell in the body,
converting food and oxygen into energy. There are a
wide range of these disorders, causing symptoms that
vary widely but can include muscle weakness, cardiac
or liver disease, diabetes, developmental delays and
susceptibility to infection. In Hannah's case, the
vaccine court determined that the underlying
dysfunction of her mitochondria put her at an
increased risk of injury from vaccines.
That decision, however, comes as a surprise to experts
on mitochondrial disorders. In response to the Poling
case, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation has
released a statement saying, "There are no scientific
studies documenting that childhood vaccinations cause
mitochondrial diseases or worsen mitochondrial disease
symptoms."
Dr. John Shoffner, the Atlanta-based neurologist who
identified Hannah Poling's mitochondrial disorder, is
"genuinely puzzled" by the court's judgment. Shoffner,
who has been studying and treating these disorders for
20 years, says it's impossible to say whether Hannah's
mitochondrial disorder was, in fact, a pre-existing
condition that set the stage for her autism (as the
government contends) or if it developed along with her
autism. A specialist in mitochondrial disorders, he is
investigating the relationship between autism and
these disorders and plans to present a paper on the
topic at the annual meeting of the American Academy of
Neurology in April. "In some subset of people with ASD
— a small group of patients, I think — mitochondrial
dysfunction is an important part of their disease. But
it's too early to say whether it gets the ball rolling
or if it comes about after the ball got rolling."
Experts on autism spectrum disorders believe that most
cases are caused by a combination of genetic
vulnerabilities and environmental factors. There may
be hundreds of roads to autism, involving numerous
combinations of genes and external factors.
Could thimerosal or some other aspect of vaccines be
one of these factors? "It's always possible that
there's a small subset of kids that have this
vulnerability," says Dr. Isaac Pessah, director of the
Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease
Prevention at the University of California, Davis.
Pessah's lab is looking at dozens of possible
environmental factors, including pesticides, plastics
and flame-retardants. "This is a very emotional
debate," he says, "and we need more research directed
at these questions."
It's difficult to draw any clear lessons from the case
of Hannah Poling, other than the dire need for more
research. One plausible conclusion is that
pediatricians should avoid giving small children a
large number of vaccines at once, even if they are
thimerosal-free. Young children have an immature
immune system that's ill-equipped to handle an
overload, says Dr. Judy Van de Water, an immunologist
who works with Pessah at U.C. Davis. "Some vaccines,
such as those aimed at viral infections, are designed
to ramp up the immune system at warp speed," she says.
"They are designed to mimic the infection. So you can
imagine getting nine at one time, how sick you could
be." In addition, she says, there's some evidence,
that children who develop autism may have immune
systems that are particularly slow to mature.
Van de Water worries that current vaccine schedules
may be overly aggressive for some children. She
suggests that parents who are concerned about vaccine
safety ask their pediatricians to give fewer at a
time. And, she adds, don't vaccinate a child when he
or she is ill.
Hannah Poling is now a third grader in public school,
working one-on-one with teachers in a special-ed
classroom. She continues to struggle with the effects
of autism and also has seizures. Her parents are
hoping her case will spur additional research into the
causes of autism, including the roles of vaccines and
mitochondrial disorders.
"My daughter's case raises more questions than it
answers," concedes her father, Dr. Jon Poling, a
neurologist who also has a Ph.D. in biophysics. Poling
believes in the importance of vaccinating children:
"Vaccines are one of the most important advances in
the history of medicine," he says, "but people need to
know there is a risk to every medicine. There may be a
small percentage of people who are susceptible to
injury." He and his wife would like to see thimerosal
eliminated from flu vaccines, which continue to be
given to children and pregnant women, a fact that, he
thinks, could be one reason autism rates haven't
declined. And he urges pediatricians to take a hard
look at the schedule on which vaccines are given. "I
think we need a grassroots movement among
pediatricians to be more conservative, and not give so
many shots at once."
Find this article at:
•
[url]http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1721109,00.html[/url] |
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March 12 : Early bedtime means better baby sleep |
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Early bedtime means better baby sleep
Elizabeth Pantley
In their efforts to encourage their baby to sleep better, one approach that many parents use is to put their baby to bed later in the evening. They think, "If he's "really tired" he'll sleep better, right?" Wrong! This often backfires because Baby becomes overtired, and chronically sleep-deprived.
In the majority of cases, a baby's biological clock is preset for an early bedtime. When parents work with that time, a baby falls asleep more easily and stays asleep more peacefully. Most babies are primed to go to sleep for the night as early as 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. I often hear about how babies and toddlers have a "melt down" period at the end of the day, when they get fussy, whiny and out of sorts. I suspect that it's simply a sign of over-tired children longing for sleep.
Early to bed, early to rise?
For babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise! Most babies sleep longer with an earlier bedtime. Many parents are afraid to put their baby to bed so early, thinking that they will then face a 5 a.m. wake up call. But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more often, a late night is the one followed by that early morning awakening.
My youngest child, two-year-old Coleton used to go to bed at 9:30, the time when my three older children went to bed, because it was convenient for me. At that time in the evening, it would take him a long time to get settled. I never connected his inability to settle with his late bedtime. When I started putting him to bed at 7:00, he fell asleep much more quickly and slept more soundly.
What about working parents?
If you are a working parent, and your evening with your little one begins at 6:30 or 7:00, you may find yourself torn between keeping your baby up for some playtime and getting him right to bed. You may find, though, that when your baby goes to sleep earlier, and sleeps better, he awakens in a pleasant mood, eager to play. Because you have gotten a good night's sleep, you can consider getting up earlier in the morning and saving some time before work to play with your baby, as an alternative to that late-evening play session. You'll both enjoy that special morning time. Later, when your baby is consistently sleeping all night, every night, you can move bedtime a little later and judge whether the difference affects your baby's sleep.
Finding your baby's best bedtime
It can take some experimentation to find your baby's best bedtime. If you have been putting your baby to bed too late in the evening, you can approach this adjustment in one of two different ways:
• Adjust your baby's bedtime to be earlier by fifteen to thirty minutes every two or three nights. Pay attention to how easily your baby falls asleep as well as his awakening time and mood to gauge the effectiveness of the changes until you settle on his best bedtime, or
• Beginning at around 6:30 p.m., watch your baby closely. As soon as he exhibits any signs of tiredness (fussing, losing interest in toys, looking glazed, yawning) put him right to bed, even if his previous bedtime has been 11:00 p.m. When you do this, keep your home quiet and the baby's room dark so that it resembles his usual environment in the middle of the night. If this bedtime is substantially earlier than usual, your baby may think he's going down for a nap and awaken after a short snooze. If he does this, respond very quickly so that he doesn't fully awaken. Follow your usual method for helping him fall back to sleep, such as rocking or nursing; keep the room dark and quiet as you do during the middle of the night.
Here's what Tammy, mother of seven-month-old Brooklyn had to say about changing her baby's bedtime, "I had been waiting until 10:00 to put Brooklyn to bed because that's when I go to sleep. But your suggestion made so much sense that last night I put her down at 8:00. I loved having the evening to spend with my husband. We haven't spent that much time alone together in months! And the baby actually had a better night's sleep. I'm happy that all our needs can be met in such a pleasant way."
It may take a week or more of adjustment to settle into a new bedtime, but once you do, you'll find that both you and your baby are happier. |
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March 08 : Baby Sleep Solutions-Press Release |
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Baby Sleep Solutions Offers Customized Infant-Based Sleep Consultation to Tired Parents
Usually, when there is an infant in the house, parents are expected to not get any sleep. Fortunately, with Baby Sleep Solutions, this no longer has to be a problem. Through this unique company, parents can get specialized infant-based sleep counseling, to help ensure that both they and their babies get the type of healthy rest a person needs.
The individual who will be offering the sleep consultation is Kathy Sinclair, a former neonatal specialist. Throughout her 15-year career, she has helped put hundreds of newborns to sleep, both as an overnight PPD and through her business. She is a certified post partum doula as well as a Happiest Baby on the Block educator. She is the only person with such qualifications offering infant-based sleep consultation in Ventura County.
Kathy offers her consultation at a family’s home, in her office or on the telephone, (for families who do not reside in the Ventura County area). The approach for each type of consultation is the same. Basically, Kathy prepares a customized sleeping plan based on an infant’s individual needs. The process she uses is designed to put babies to sleep in a gentle manner.
“I do not believe in letting a child "cry it out" alone. Instead, I design a program with what you are comfortable with. Sometimes this may include some crying, I would not be telling you the truth if I told you their will be absolutely no crying at all. I will design a customized plan to allow your child to learn how to sleep while you are offering love and support throughout the process.” Notes Kathy, in regards to how she gets babies to sleep.
The age at which an infant can be sleep trained is 6 to 8 weeks. If an infant is younger, Kathy can prepare them for future sleep training. As far as timeframe, it is possible that infants can be sleep-trained in as little as 3 days, especially if the goal is just nighttime sleeping.
Additionally, Baby Sleep Solutions can provide assistance with breastfeeding mothers or families that co-sleep. Crib-sleeping is not a requirement, though some parents may find that the transition to crib-sleeping might be easier with Kathy’s help.
For more information please visit: [url]www.BabySleepSolutionsLa.com[/url].
Or contact Kathy Directly at 805-765-7795 or email [email]kathy@babysleepsolutionsla.com[/email] |
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March 06 : Why The Fuss Over Sleep? |
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WHY THE FUSS OVER SLEEP?
We all know that sleep serves a purpose, but many parents are surprised to learn the complex functions of sleep in children. Sleep is a time of intense neurologic and physiologic activity; there are times where the brain is more active during sleep than awake. For children this is especially true. By the age of three the average child has spent more time sleeping than all wakeful times combined. Research clearly shows that sleep affects behavior, health and learning. This is true for young and old alike. For the purposes of this article the primary focus will be on the role of sleep in children.
Behavior
Parents have experienced accrued sleep loss at one time or another. If we were to make a list of how we felt and behaved when we were behind on our sleep, followed by a list of how we perceive our children feel and behave when they are behind on their sleep, there would be significant overlap. Parents and children exhibit similar behavior when overtired, however, many times children are expected to behave as if they are well rested whether they are or not.
If a list of behavior was generated it would include the following: grumpy, irritable, short tempered, argumentative, cries more, hits and/or grabs more, whines, etc. An important addition to this list is hyperactivity. Many parents believe that their child is not tired until 10pm at night because the child is “bouncing of the walls” and are surprised to learn that this seemingly wide awake behavior is a classic sign of being tired. Although it seems counterintuitive, the body has a neurohormonal stress response in order to adapt and stay awake. This physiologic response increases levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones help jolt the body so it is able to remain awake. The more overtired children become the more these hormones are released, thus making it increasingly difficult to fall asleep and perpetuating a cycle of poor sleep habits.
If you reflect on how likable you are when overtired, it is easy to extend this to children. Many researchers have found that toddlers with sleep problems, most typically night waking, had more difficult temperaments. Two to five year olds that slept less had higher levels of aggression and children who were tired complained more about feeling bored leading people to view these children as lazy. Three year olds who napped were more adaptable to their environment than those who did not. What does this mean? Children who adapt well are able to make transitions easier both at home and within the classroom and are better at socializing and playing well with peers.
It is important for parents to understand that children do not outgrow these behaviors without the help of adequate sleep. Research is clear in this assertion as well. Children with sleep problems that persisted from eight months to three years of age illustrated increased tantrums and other management difficulties by the age of three. On the flip side, studies that analyzed children ages seven to eleven found that those who slept more experienced less hopelessness, a better self-concept and were more adept at sociability and activity.
Clearly it is in our children’s best interest to ensure quality sleep. Not only will they feel and behave better, but how others perceive them--teachers, peers or family--will be positively influence which directly impacts their own self concept.
Cognitive Functioning
Realizing that lack of sleep affects mood and behavior is easy because it is tangible. We can feel it in ourselves and see it in others. Lack of sleep also has a clear impact on learning and processing of memory. Mothers of newborns have a unique window into the effects of this. Many can tell outrageous stories of going to the grocery store still wearing slippers or completely forgetting a conversation that occurred minutes ago! It is very similar for babies and older children. Overtired children have greater difficulty concentrating and are less alert than their well rested counterparts. Children learn by watching. Research consistently shows that overtired babies are not able to keenly observe and process what they are watching as well as rested babies. Some parents have reported a noticeable acceleration in reaching developmental milestones once their child was “sleep trained” and no longer overtired.
Because overtired children are easily bored they are less likely to play independently for as long as well rested children. Learning to play independently is an important life long skill. During this type of play children become more creative, more resourceful and develop emotional maturity. Studies conducted on infants as young as five months old found that those children who slept longer during the day had longer attention spans. The studies looking at seven to eleven year olds reported that those kids who experienced poor sleep exhibited more communication problems and intellectual deficits than those without sleep problems.
It is important that parents understand the link between sleep and the development and maintenance of learning and processing of memory. For our children, regardless how young, we need to ensure they receive adequate sleep in order to optimize their ability to learn.
Health
Sleep is shown to play a role in the growth and healing of body tissue as well as central nervous system repair. Some scientists are asserting that poor sleep habits are as important as poor nutrition and lack of physical activity in the development of chronic illness and contributing to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have shown that cumulative amounts of sleep loss can cause harmful changes in our metabolic, hormonal and immune function. This is what you find in normal aging.
Obesity
Studies have shown that sleep loss creates hormonal changes that promote weight gain. Volunteers with significant sleep loss had significantly lower leptin concentrations than those who were well rested. Leptin is a hormone that signals the feeling of being satiated. Mice that lack leptin become morbidly obese. This miscue by the body can slow metabolism, increase fat
deposition and over stimulate the appetite. Sleep deprived people overwhelmingly ask for candy, starchy food and salty snacks.
Inflammation
Modest sleep deprivation may also be associated with low-grade inflammation, which can lead to a myriad of cardiovascular problems. Volunteers studied showed elevated levels of cytokines (molecules released during inflammation and infection), which can cause this inflammation response. Continuous low-grade inflammation can damage artery walls, which can lead to the narrowing of vessels, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Increased cytokines also contribute to insulin resistance and obesity. Also, sleep deprived men showed signs of insulin resistance, which can lead to type II diabetes.
This research is in its infancy and based on adults and animals, but is very provocative. Certainly more research needs to be done to be conclusive and research on pediatric sleep needs to occur to draw definitive conclusions on how it might affect kids.
Education
Behavior, cognitive functioning and health all affect children with regards to their education. If a child is behind on sleep, they are more prone to get sick, which can result in increased days missed at school. Many of the aforementioned studies found poor academic performance with school-aged children who were sleep deprived. One prominent sleep researcher suggests that sleep is vital to communications between centers of the brain. He compares the brain to a musical instrument. Instruments need to be retuned after much playing so they work properly. The brain too needs sleep in order to resynchronize, a process where nerve cells can regroup and fire at compatible frequencies. When this process is hampered children have problems integrating multiple centers of the brain. An overtired child watching television alone is not likely a problem, but this same child in a stimulating preschool classroom where they need to employ the frontal lobe and limbic emotional memory processing simultaneously are unable. This is where multiple problems are seen.
If you were to reflect on how you feel and behave when you are rested it is easy to generate a list of positive attributes. The same holds true for our children. It is important to understand that children need more sleep than adults. Quality daytime naps affect nighttime sleep and the reverse is equally true. Each sleep period serves a specific function. The morning nap has more REM sleep, which is associated with brain maturation and growth. Afternoon naps have more nonREM sleep which is associated with psychological and physical restoration. Thus, it is important for parents to understand how to achieve and maintain healthy sleep habits. |
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March 05 : What are the LLLI guidelines for storing my pumped milk? |
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What are the LLLI guidelines for storing my pumped milk?
Your milk is a living substance so precious some call it "white blood". It is essential to store your expressed (pumped) milk properly to maximize its nutritional and anti-infective qualities. Human milk actually has anti-bacterial properties that help it to stay fresh. Giving your baby the freshest milk you have pumped ensures its high quality.
This information is based on current research and applies to mothers who:
• have healthy, full-term babies;
• are storing their milk for home use (as opposed to hospital use);
• wash their hands before expressing;
• use containers that have been washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed.
• All milk should be dated before storing.
Storage Guidelines
Storing milk in 2-4 ounce amounts may reduce waste. Refrigerated milk has more anti-infective properties than frozen milk. Cool milk in refrigerator before adding to frozen milk.
Human milk can be stored
• at room temperature (66-72°F, 19-22°C) for up to 10 hours
• in a refrigerator (32-39°F, 0-4°C) for up to 8 days
• in a freezer compartment inside a refrigerator (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 2 weeks
• in a freezer compartment with a separate door (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 3 to 4 months.
• in a separate deep freeze (0°F, -19°C) for up to 6 months or longer.
What Type of Container to Use
Refrigerated or frozen milk may be stored in:
• hard-sided plastic or glass containers with well-fitting tops
• freezer milk bags that are designed for storing human milk
Disposable bottle liners are not recommended.
How to Warm the Milk
Thaw and/or heat under warm, running water.
Do not bring temperature of milk to boiling point.
Gently swirl milk before testing the temperature. Swirling will also redistribute the cream into the milk. (It is normal for stored milk to separate into a cream and milk layer.)
Do not use a microwave oven to heat human milk.
Thawed Milk
If milk has been frozen and thawed, it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours for later use. It should not be refrozen. It is not known whether milk that is left in the bottle after a feeding can be safely kept until the next feeding or if it should be discarded.
According to THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, page 228, research indicates that human milk has previously unrecognized properties that protect it from bacterial contamination. One study, Barger and Bull 1987, found that there was no statistically significant difference between the bacterial levels of milk stored for 10 hours at room temperature and milk that had been refrigerated for 10 hours. Another study, Pardou 1994, found that after 8 days of refrigeration some of the milk actually had lower bacterial levels than it did on the day it was expressed.
Expressed milk can be kept in a common refrigerator at the workplace or in a day care center. The US Centers for Disease Control and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration agree that human milk is not among the body fluids that require special handling or storage in a separate container. |
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