Best of the birth world this week!

I loved this poster created by Salem Birth Support. Again, families need support after birth!! I've been so lucky to receive loving support after each baby!

A giant study was published this week about the safety of home birth. It was thorough and the commentary was fair and without judgement. Commentators on both sides of the issue applauded it. Forbes did a great write-up as well as Science and Sensibility.

With my own upcoming birth, I've been getting really into emergency preparedness lately! Especially preparing for childbirth in an emergency situation; whether that by during/after an earthquake or simply a precipitous unassisted birth. I printed out this free emergency childbirth guide and have started collecting items. I think I'll keep the kit in the car for now!

How the system fails breastfeeding families. On a birth/breastfeeding page this week, a community member explained that her family doctor prescribed her cold and asthma medications incompatible with breastfeeding (her child was under 1) and when she pointed this out to her doctor, she (the doctor) shrugged and told her she would need to stop. Um, what?! First of all, you don't "just stop breastfeeding." It's not that easy for mother or for baby. And if this doctor really wanted to promote the health of her patients and society at large, she would have taken a couple of extra steps to find her an alternative that was compatible with breastfeeding. One commenter stated that she takes Thomas Hale's book with her to all doctor appointments now. Smart! But too bad mothers are the ones that have to educate their care providers on evidence-based information. Not all doctors of course. But I see and hear this kind story too often. If we want a more healthy population, we have to start at the beginning and actually support families in their breastfeeding goals. But for now...be your own advocate! And know your stuff! 

I found two great articles this week about informed consent in childbirth: No Thank You and 10 Responses to Pressure to Consent.

And lastly, I am really loving this Dr. Seuss inspired meme about breastfeeding anywhere!