I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and happy. You may click on the bold and italicized words or sentences below to take you to sites for references or for more information. Enjoy! -Dr. Jen
TOP ANTIOXIDANT FOODS
(ORAC units per 100 grams – about 3.5 ounces)
Dark Chocolate – 13,120
Milk chocolate – 6,740
Prunes – 5,770
Pomegranate – 4,000
Acai – 3,871
Raisins – 2,830
Blueberries – 2,400
Blackberries – 2,036
Kale – 1,770
Strawberries – 1,540
Spinach – 1,260
BOHEMIAN BABY
Finally! Fresh, organic baby food delivered to your door! You may not always have the time (or energy) to make fresh baby food, but it is still available for your baby.
10 Reasons to STAY AWAY from sodas and energy drinks
1. Sodas have NO nutritional value.
2. According to Harvard researchers, the risk of childhood obesity increases 1.6 times with each additional daily serving of soda consumed.
3. Sodas add more sugar to a typical 2 year old’s diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined.
4. Sugar and acids in soda may cause tooth decay.
5. A Harvard study identified a strong association between soda consumption and bone fractures in 14 year old girls.
6. An average can of soda has 35-38mg of caffeine and as much as 13 teaspoons od sugar.
7. Most energy drinks contain about 80mg of caffeine, along with other stimulants.
8. Certain energy drinks contain up to 280mg of caffeine – almost 3x the caffeine in a cup of coffee.
9. Energy drinks can boost heart rate, blood pressure, increase anxiety, dehydrate the body, cause insomnia and headaches.
10. Women who drink more than 1 can of soda each day, increase their risk of diabetes by 85% over the women who drank less than 1 can each day.
ANTACIDS AND HIP FRACTURES
A recent UK study has shown that people older than 50 who take PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) for more than a year, had a 44% increased risk of fracturing a hip than non-users. That risk more than doubled when high doses were taken for extended periods of time. PPIs, such as Nexium or Prilosec may inhibit the absorption of calcium. US docs write more than 100 MILLION perscriptions for PPIs each year.
Lifestyle changes, diet and even a small soft tissue stomach adjustment can stop heartburn or decrease it significantly, at a much lower cost – to your hips and your checking account.
OC is recycling toliet water for drinking water.
Who’s first? We all are.
If you didn’t know, Orange County is one of the first places in the US to recycle toilet water into drinking water. I might prefer ocean water and desalination plants, but that’s me. All this after OC already increased the amount of fluoride into our water, as well. All of this is for the good of the community, or is it?
Insurance Companies Rejecting Women with History of Cesarean
Some Companies Require Surgical Sterilization for Coverage;
Trend Gives New Imperative to Learn Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Cesarean
Redondo Beach, CA, June 1, 2008 – As reported in today’s New York Times, ICAN has begun tracking an alarming new trend of insurance companies refusing to provide health insurance for women witha history of cesarean surgery. In some cases, women are being rejected for coverage outright and in other case they are being charged significantly higher rates to obtain the same coverage as women without a history of cesarean. Withover a million women each year undergoing this surgery, this practice has the potential to render large numbers of women uninsurable.
This trend surfaces as the rate of cesarean surgery, including unnecessary cesareans, continues to rise. In 1970, the cesarean rate was 5%. In 2007, it was 30.1%. Experts often cite the incentives within the health care system for driving up the rate of cesarean unnecessarily, including physicians’ medical malpractice fears, better reimbursement for surgery, and lifestyle conveniences for care providers and staffing efficiencies in having more “9-5″ deliveries.”
Women are caught in the middle of a dysfunctional system. Doctors are telling them they need surgery, even when they don’t, and insurance companies, who are tired of paying the bill for so many frivolous surgeries, are punishing women for the poor medical care of doctors,” said Pam Udy, President of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN).
The trend is highlighted in the cases of women like Peggy Robertson of Colorado. When she applied for health insurance coverage with Golden Rule, her husband and her children were accepted, but her application was denied. After multiple inquiries directed to the insurance company, she was finally told that she was denied because she had delivered one of her children by cesarean. “It was shocking. I assumed that as a woman in good health I would be readily accepted,” said Robertson. “When I finally found someone who would explain why my application was denied, they had the audacity to ask me if I had been sterilized, stating that this was the only way I could get insurance coverage with them.”
As the incidence of cesarean increases, the evidence of the downstream medical complications for women and babies, and the associated medical costs, becomes increasingly apparent. Risks of cesarean in later pregnancies include increased incidence of infertility, miscarriage, fetal deformities, overgrowth of scar tissue leading to bowel problems, and potentially deadly placental abnormalities in subsequent pregnancies.
And though most women witha prior cesarean are being encouraged and often coerced into having repeat cesareans by their doctors and hospitals that have banned vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), a pair of recent studies done by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal–Fetal Medicine Units Network demonstrates that women who deliver vaginally after a cesarean fare significantly better than women who deliver by repeat cesarean. (Obstetrics & Gynecology 2008;111:285-291, Labor Outcomes WithIncreasing Number of Prior Vaginal Births After Cesarean Delivery, Mercer et al, and Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006;107:1226-1232 MaternalMorbidity Associated With Multiple Repeat Cesarean Deliveries, Silver et al.)
Most women are looking to avoid cesareans. But physicians often make surgery difficult to avoid by insisting on non-evidence based practices,” said Udy. Practices that fail to improve the outcomes for mothers and babies and increase the risk of cesarean section include inducing for going post-dates, inducing for suspected large baby, requiring fasting during labor, requiring women to be confined to bed for continuous fetal monitoring, and failing to offer continuous support to a mother in labor. “These care practices serve the system well, but not mothers and babies” Udy added.
In fact, women and their babies may be paying a higher price than being denied health insurance. Last August, the Centers for Disease Control reported that, for the first time in decades, the number of women dying in childbirth has increased. Experts note that the increase may be due to better reporting of deaths but that it coincides with dramatically increased use of cesarean. The latest national data on infant mortality rates in the United States also show an increase in 2005 and no improvement since 2000. Internationally, the U.S. ranks 41st in maternal deaths and has the second worst newborn death rate among industrialized nations.
Women who are seeking information about how to avoid a cesarean, have a VBAC, or are recovering from a cesarean can visit ICAN for more information. In addition to more than 90 local chapters nationwide, the group hosts an active on-line discussion group that serves as a resource for mothers.
Women who want to reach their lawmakers can visit http://www.votesmart.org/. Women who want to reach their state insurance commissioner can visit http://www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm .
About Cesareans: ICANrecognizes that when a cesarean is medically necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique for bothmother and baby, and worththe risks involved. Potential risks to babies include: low birthweight, prematurity, respiratory problems, and lacerations. Potentialrisks to women include: hemorrhage, infection, hysterectomy, surgicalmistakes, re-hospitalization, dangerous placentalabnormalities in future pregnancies, unexplained stillbirthin future pregnancies and increased percentage of maternal death.
Mission statement: ICANis a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child healthby preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery and promoting vaginal birth after cesarean. There are 94 ICAN Chapters across North America, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery.
Contact: Gretchen Humphries (734) 323-8220
VAGINAL BIRTH OF TRIPLETS???? IS IT POSSIBLE? YES!!!!
Natural Birth – WOW how amazing!!????
WOW!!! How amazing, you had a natural birth!! Is something I have heard repeated since we welcomed Clancy, William and Tomas into the world on the 15th June 2007.
Yes we have triplets and yes I had a vaginal birth of all three.
I am extremely proud of myself: that I continued to question and reject the premise that my so called “high risk” pregnancy had to end in a caesarean delivery and grateful that we got the birth outcome I wanted for babies and myself.
At 19 weeks we had our first ultrasound as we thought there was the chance of twins due to my rapid growth. I still thought there was only one baby as I had very little nausea, no vomiting (don’t people with multiples getREALLY sick?) and the only symptom was the fatigue- which was considerable, but I was pregnant and that’s something I expected to go with the territory so I soldiered on. We had chosen not to have the earlier ultrasound; trusting nature was taking its course. The sonographer immediately pointed out two heads- “did you know you were having twins? There’s one head, there’s two. Hang on, count with me- there’s one baby, there’s two babies, there’s three babies….. YOU’RE HAVING THREE BABIES!”
“OH MY GOD” was about all I could say between bouts of laughter, Mick looked a bit pale and we were definitely shocked to say the least.
When we told each of our family members it took about half an hour to convince them we weren’t joking. We were extremely excited right from the start, even amongst the shock and few days of fear at the unknown of what we were in for.
The fear at whether all three of our babies would be healthy and whether I would be healthy was the initial thing to hit after the initial buzz wore off. This was not helped by the labelling of my “high risk pregnancy” in connection with my now hospital appointments and checkups (I had been planning to birth in the family birth centre with midwives).
I was (and am) healthy and fit and I reflected on this after I had started worrying. Up until then I was working full time; running my business, adjusting patients flat out, keeping up my regular exercise regime (at a slightly lower intensity than prepregnancy) and sociallife. Any one who knows me knows I like to be busy and am not one to sit around. It was at this point that I had a few stern words with myself, as I knew I had to be aware of the possible risks but that I was not in the “average” category and my journey would likely be different than what I was reading and being told: (a)that I would be lucky to carry my babies to 32-34 weeks at which point a c-section would be scheduled and (b) that it would be lucky if my babies were all similar weights and healthy and thriving and not hospitalised for some time after birth.
I chose to believe and trust in the innate health of my body and the growing and so far thriving bodies of all three of my babies and my ability to continue to be healthy and strong. I continued to getadjusted regularly (of course): to ensure my nervous system was communicating with and co-ordinating the function of my body and that of my unborn children at their highest level, I meditated daily, used affirmations as well as guided imagery and hypnobirthingcd’s to keep my mind focused as well as read and watched as many positive natural birthexperiences as possible to mentally and emotionally prepare for the birth ahead, I continued exercising to my body’s ability, I followed my naturopathsadvice on diet and supplements, had massage, kinesiology, reflexology, facials, pedicures and shopping spree’s not all necessarily essentialbut spoiling myself had health benefits too.
I was determined to have a healthy pregnancy, natural birth and healthy babies and thankfully I did.
Once we knew it was triplets everyone assumed “so you’ll be having a c-section”, I was told by lay people, other parents of multiples and Dr’s that you wouldn’t risk a natural birthbecause the babies would be at risk of oxygen deprivation, brain damage and death. What about the risks associated with a caesareanand the loss of benefits that a natural delivery affords the newborn!
One of my sisters is a nurse and a naturopath and she asked people in the medical industry who the best specialist was for me to see. The ob/gyn maternalfetalspecialist who I transferred to as a private patient was a big factor in us getting the birthwe wanted. He is one of the best healthprofessionals I have seen in any field. The first impression I had of him was his positivity and caring nature, I trusted him from day one. He listened to me, he treated me as an individualnot a statistic and recognised my above average healthand the plus that was in any options we considered. He is an advocate for natural/vaginaldelivery and is actively involved in research into women’s health. That’s not to say there wasn’t any difference of opinion in planning the birth, there was discussion, sometimes debate and give and take on bothparts to reach a plan and ultimately an outcome we were all more than happy with. For the birth I also had a private Doula (birth support person) who was an enormous help in staying relaxed and focussed.
It seems that the benefits of natural birth have been forgotten and downplayed and the effort involved seems too much for many who see a c-section as a ‘normal’ option without downsides. Certainly there are some cases where a c-section is warranted, and in emergency situations medicine is in its element, knowing I had the backup of some 15+ medicalstaff on standby for me and my babies if needed was wonderful. (I think also seeing a natural triplet birth was a drawcard for many of the staff who went out of their way to be there til after midnight.)
However the fact that my natural birth is viewed as such an accomplishment and rarity is for me cause for concern. When did nature take such a backseat that by doing something my body is made to do has become such an occasion for fanfare?
Olivia Gleeson, DC in Australia
– Dr. Jen
