Giving Birth With Confidence

I was at a seminar the other day in the public health department of a large university. The subject at hand was “maternal request” cesarean. A lot of the folks in the room were students, many of them not (yet) parents themselves. They could, in a sense, talk the talk, but few of them had [...]

If you don’t know the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, go check them out. Organized between 1995 and 1997, this coaliton of organizations and individuals has been quietly making waves for a decade. Their Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative identified the Ten Steps of Mother Friendly Care ten years ago, and in March the Evidence Basis for [...]

Jennifer Garner has more than terrific dimples, good teeth, and actor Ben Affleck as a husband. She’s got a little girl with the lovely name Violet Anne, born in December 2005. Turns out Jennifer (of television’s “Alias” fame) is a smart mom who understands (unlike so many other starlet mothers) the many values of breastfeeding. [...]

Here’s a sweet little bit of footage about an Ohio midwife that sort of sums up beautifully the belief that birth is a normal, natural life event.
It reminds me of the Dutch women who say that the bedroom is where life should begin and end. And if we’re fortunate enough, it’s where we can come [...]

It’s always interesting to keep up with the latest word in health care issues – from how to stave off Alzheimer’s, to the virtue of oats, grape juice, red wine, dark chocolate for heart health; from the benefits and pitfalls of replacement hormone therapy, to the necessity (or not) of arterial stents for heart blockages. [...]