I have been doing Bodywork for the pre/post natal woman since 1987. In my work, I combine a number of modalities which result in the sessions becoming uniquely tailored to each individual. Based on what the woman or partner is going through, I will work accordingly with the aromatherapy essences.

Enjoy the touch, smell, sense of well being the aromas bring to you, your baby, or partner you are working with. Let the room become infused with the essence of healing!

The following is a list of essences to assist and/or avoid during the time of pregnancy.

BASIL

General tonic can relieve nervous tension, flatulence and nausea and aids digestion.

BENZOIN

Helpful in all “cold” conditions, such as flue, colds, coughs and bronchitis and for the relief of gout and rheumatoid arthritis. Beneficial in times of sadness and loneliness as combined with neroli or rose.

BERGAMOT

Safe throughout pregnancy. Effective in helping treat the irritation, stinging and tenderness caused by urinary tract infections which may develop during pregnancy. Uplifting, light and refreshing, helping relieve depression and anxiety. Used as a treatment for loss of appetite, colic and intestinal infection. Caution: phototoxic and can cause a skin reaction when exposed to UV light, from either sunlamp or sunlight.

BLACK PAPER

Stimulating oil, its principle areas of action being on the respiratory, digestive and urinary system. Blends well with the fortifying benefits of frankincense and sandalwood and can restore tonus to lax, smooth muscles. Gives relief from stiff muscles and with its pronounced stimulating action on digestive tract, can help with constipation, flatulence, loss of appetite and with atonic dyspepsia. Caution: only small amount is ever needed.

CEDARWOOD

Should NOT be used during pregnancy.

CHAMOMILE

Safe ONLY after 16 weeks. Effective for relieving muscle spasm experienced as back ache, or discomfort due to infection within the urinary tract.

CYPRESS

Safe throughout pregnancy /Avoid during the pregnancy (conflict). A powerful astringent and circulatory tonic that is useful as a treatment for varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Also helps relieve excessive foot perspiration commonly experienced during the pregnancy.

FRANKINCENSE

Safe Throughout pregnancy. One of the most useful oil for use during pregnancy. Effective in helping the user cope with extremely stressful situations, inducing a state of concentration. The fortifying action gives tonus to loose skin and can help with engorged breasts.

GERANIUM

Safe throughout pregnancy, Good for poor circulation, edema, breast engorgement, stress and anxiety. Helps to restore hormonal equilibrium. (Contradiction) Should be avoided during the first trimester of pregnancy, and only used in low dilution for the remaining time, unless under the guidance of a professional Aromatherapist.

JASMINE

Safe only after 16 weeks. Calming and relaxing, encouraging optimism and confidence.

JUNIPER

In homeopathy, under the name of threatened miscarriage and metrorrhagia, however AVOID the use of juniper during the pregnancy, this primary due to its action on the kidneys.

LAVENDER

Safe throughout pregnancy.

Has a wide range of therapeutic qualities:

· Analgesic

· Encourages the healing of damaged tissue

· Prevents excess scar tissue developing

· Relieves headaches

· Settle the stomach

· Stimulate the immune system, helping protect the user from infection

· Useful in helping treat constipation

· Has a smoothing and gentle presence for helping reduce high blood pressure

Frequently used to enhance the action of many other essential oils. In case of morning sickness, place a drop of the oil on a handkerchief and inhale.

LEMON

Safe throughout pregnancy. Helps tone the circulation and reduce tissue congestion. Stimulate the immune system, improving the use’s resistance to infection. Caution: Phototoxic, may cause irritation.

LEMONGRASS

The effectiveness in stimulating stress related weakness has been shown to help in encouraging milk production and digestion.

MANDARIN

Safe throughout pregnancy. Helps soothe and settle the nervous system and digestive tract, encourages optimism. Caution: possibly phototoxic.

MARJORAM

A powerful sedative, an aphrodisiac and can lower blood pressure. It is therefore NOT recommended for use during pregnancy.

MELISSA

Can promote relaxation and good sleep and it is a very gentle oil, is safe to use over a long period of time or with delicate or frail people.

MYRRH

Should NOT be used at all during pregnancy due to its use as an emmenagogue to promote menstruation.

NEROLI

Safe throughout pregnancy. Acts as a sedative for the nervous system, relieving stress and state of depression. Also good for nourishing the growing layer of the skin in treatments for stretch marks.

ORANGE

Safe throughout pregnancy. Helps tone and stimulate the digestive tract, and is useful for digestive upsets. Bright and energizing. Caution: phototoxic.

PARSELY

Should NOT be used during pregnancy or on children.

PATCHOULI

Safe throughout pregnancy. Good for treating inflamed skin and preventing the development of infection. Also works well as a nerve tonic and is useful in helping overcome anxiety. However, rather like ginseng, a lot depends upon the state of mind of the individual.

PEPPERMINT

Safe only after 16 weeks / has to be avoided during pregnancy (contradiction). Valuable for helping treat all digestive problems, nausea and headaches. Also relieves breast engorgement by reducing the circulation to breast tissue. May used in footbaths to refresh and deodorize tired and aching feet. Caution: skin irritant in concentration. In case of morning sickness, place a drop of the oil on a handkerchief and inhale.

ROSE

Avoid using rose during pregnancy unless under the provision of a professional Aromatherapist.Relaxing and soothing when experiencing anger or intense emotions. The profound positive effect on the emotions, it can be related to its influence on the female productive organs. Also helps regulate hormone balance following childbirth.

ROSEMARY

Safe only late pregnancy / Avoid during pregnancy (contradiction). Avoid in cases of high blood pressure. Good for encouraging the circulation needed for the production and flow of breast milk. Also useful for states of tiredness and fatigue.

ROSEWOOD

Has a gentle yet positive effect and is of particular benefit during pregnancy.

SAGE

Can be a very useful oil for pregnancy and childbirth, yet it can be toxic in certain circumstances and should be strictly avoided unless the treatment of a fully qualified Aromatherapist. It is not for home use.

SANDALWOOD

Safe throughout pregnancy.Recommended for impotence, physical tonic, especially for the reproductive organs.Useful when treating urinary tract infections. Relaxing and supportive.

TEA-TREE

Safe throughout pregnancy. Aid the damaged tissue while helping prevent the development of infection.Its antiseptic and antifungal effect is good for treatment for female problems, such as fungal conditions, urinary or sinus infections.

THYME

Toxic in certain circumstances and should not be used during pregnancy.

YLANG YLANG

Safe throughout pregnancy. Good for high blood pressure, stress, anxiety. Anti-depressant. Because of its “heady” aroma, it is not recommended to use on those prone to headaches. Effective against introversion, emotional coldness, anger and frustration and is recommended for frigidity and impotence or for those with sexual debility.

Essential oils to be completely avoided during pregnancy:

·Angelica Aniseed· Armoise· Arnica (not to be confused with homeopathic remedy)· Basil Birch Black Pepper Boldo Leaf Buchi Caluamus Camphor· Caraway· Cassia Cedarwood Chamomile Cinnamon· Clary Sage Clove· Cedar wood· Elecampane Fennel· Fir Ginger Horseradish Hyssop· Marjoram· Melissa Mugwort· Mustard Myrrh· Nightshade Nutmeg· Oregano Origanum· Parsley Seed Pennyroyal· Peppermeint Pine Rose Rosemary Rue Sage· Sassafras Savin Savory· Southernwood Stinging Nettle Tansy· Tarragon· Thuja· Thyme (both Red and Linalol)· Wintergreen Wormseed Wromwood.

Essential oils that must be used with caution during pregnancy:

· Chamomile· Clary Sage· Peppermint· Rose· Rosemary

LOTUS BIRTHING: TREND OR RISK

BY MONICA ORBE/ MEDILL
DEC 03, 2009

(http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=151179)

PREGNANCY – PART – Paediatrics    21/4/2009

Lotus Birth: born naturally. In Turin

In Turin, the first major hospital that gave birth to a baby … with the placenta. The opinion of the expert and the testimony of mothers

LUIGI WORLD OF THE PRINCE AND STEFANIA

Birth in water, painless childbirth, epidural anesthesia are all terms that expectant mothers feel appoint at least once. Instead of a period which speak little or no thirst and “second nature.” And it is likely that almost none has ever been asked how it wishes to happen, the second, or the final phase of childbirth, which consists in the expulsion of the placenta.

But there’s something new and, although not yet become a routine practice, many parents are already experiencing the second natural birth or the placenta or the “Lotus birth.

According to experts, is the most gentle and less traumatic to bring to light a child.

The method is very simple and is to leave the placenta attached to the baby for a few days (on average 3 or 4) until natural detachment. This gradual separation could provide the child, even a small amount of placental blood useful for the formation of the immune system.

“We know that the placenta is formed from the division of the same cells that form the fetus, then baby and placenta have the same DNA. Lotus Birth is the birth that deeply respects the importance of this union’s biological child with her placenta, “explains Susanna Swapana Hinnawi, Breathworker and Counselor ICC (Inner Child Codependency). Referee for Italy’s birth Lotus Birth.

“In the Lotus Birth, in fact, the umbilical cord is cut, but expects that detaches itself from the navel when the child is ready for separation.” Susanna Hinnawi Continue “on average, the wait is three to four days . When the cord comes off spontaneously, the umbilicus does not need medication or special care, it is tightly closed and healed, in times less than when severed the umbilical cord. ”

What are the benefits of this mode of delivery? We ask Susanna

“It’s hard to have to summarize in a few words … Speaking from a physiological point of view, the connection to the placenta causes the baby receives all the rich oxygenated blood, important for the proper development of organs still immature at this delicate stage of adjustment. When the cord is cut in the opening minutes, the placenta remains to be third to 50% of the blood that should go to the baby! Another aspect to consider is that of breathing, being under the pulmonary system a perfect autonomy, continues to be from two sources in parallel: the placenta and lungs. Then, if the cord is cut, we avoid separating the child from his birth mother, a union which must absolutely be preserved! But what struck me most is the emotional and psychological. Training for staff believe that birth is the cornerstone on which to build their lives. Born without trauma, in a respectful and friendly is definitely a good start on which is easier to develop aspects of character of completeness and integrity. Keeping together the biological unit formed by the baby and placenta, avoiding any kind of injury, both physical and emotional. If we are not “wounded,” we are at peace. There are no scientific studies demonstrating the benefits of Lotus Birth, but from what I started to notice, children born without cutting the cord, show generally a strong immune system, a pronounced tendency to socialization and autonomy . Someone called them “beings complete. Moreover there are many studies showing how important it is to delay cutting the cord until the end of the pulse, well, the Lotus Birth is merely an extension of this delay that is safe, but, rather, brings additional benefits.

So the Lothus Birth should not be seen as a particular technique to be used during  childbirth, but a conscious and responsible choice that guarantees health and  wealth to the unborn.

“I would point out that this mode must be understood as a piece in the mosaic that  makes up a responsible choice of birth ‘points Suanna Hinnawi” A birth in which the  woman picks up herself, is in contact with your body, with its emotions and fears,  has chosen to be with his child, the only protagonist. An event that should not be  delegated to anyone except her ability to procreate mammal: so from spectator to player, from lamb to lioness! After this introduction, the Lotus Birth may also occur after a cesarean section, in all those conditions in which the placenta is healthy and there are no other impediments. Indeed, after a caesarean, as well as a premature baby, it would be more desirable because it provides an excellent support to the respiratory system that in both cases is greater compromise. ”

We understand that in Italy is a technique almost unknown, there are other countries where it is practiced more often?

“In Italy the Lotus Birth was introduced in 2004, when it was translated and published the book in Australia” Lotus Birth: the integral, born with the placenta. ” In recent years, our association has been working to publicize this way of coming into the world maybe a little ‘unusual, but certainly natural, and above all no contraindications. Children are born in our homes, maternity homes and even in those hospitals where doctors “enlightened” or maybe even just curious, have allowed to happen. In Australia and Canada is a very common mode since the end of the ’70s.

Lotus Birth may be required in an Italian hospital?

“The hospitals have their protocol from which hardly differ. However, as I said above, some doctors areparticularly sensitive, especially in structures of the province, have accepted the Lotus Birth, into the protocol in a hospital official.

The paradox is that although there are no scientific studies that demonstrate the need to cut the umbilical cord, the failure to cut it often needs to be proven scientifically! I welcome the availability of wanting to start a search, unfortunately, are funds that fall outside our capabilities. ”

It is true that one of the first hospitals to test the technique Lotus Birth was the Sant’Anna di Torino?

“Not really. The Sant’Anna di Torino was perhaps the largest hospital in which both happened. Moreover, thanks to a very tenacious and determined mother, the first Lotus Birth was in 2006 in a hospital in the province of Mantua. Despite initial resistance imaginable, now this is one of the public in which it can take birth.

To make us even more aware of what is the Lotus Birth. We ask those who have experienced directly and that Eusebius Prabhat and Monica Farinella, parents of small Deva was born December 16, 2008 right in the Sant’Anna di Torino.

Before you try this new experience, you had a little ‘fear or any doubt?

“The first time we heard about the Lotus Birth was during the course of our pre-  natal eldest Munay, midwives have referred to this technique, namely the ability to  not sever the umbilical cord and leaving the child attached to the placenta, until  natural detachment. For us it was immediately clear that the party had done with  this mode, bought and read the book I had no doubt or fear in wanting to run the  integral part. ”

What sensations did you feel with the Lotus Birth?

“Around the baby in those days is a feeling of sacredness, all emotions are amplified, the strongest feeling is to assist the mystery of creation in a way that reflects and respects the time of life and nature, since in last 100 years, the event of birth was completely “industrialized” to the paradox of planned caesarean. The two cases are differentiated by Lotus in the duration of the days when the cord is still attached to the placenta, Munay let go of her placenta between the 6th and 7th days, Deva between the 3rd and 4th. ”

And the Sant’Anna hospital staff? There was skepticism on the part of doctors?

“Rather than skepticism, we would say ostracism. The new, if it is not known scares. Our civilization isfounded on dogmas at all levels, suffice it to say that the hospital protocol the placenta is considered a refusal and not an organ, where there is not sold (but that’s another story). The amazing thing is that the medical director of a company as the S. Anna, talking in terms of ownership of the placenta, to my question, but you can not deny the biological origin of the placenta, as a result of insemination sperm / ovum has not been able to answer, the answer is that the logic can shatter any dogma, then we realize the opening of minds and accept new truths.

Eventually, after more than two hours of discussion, we came out tonight with Girls and placenta, and a historic declaration by a hospital, a certificate stating that a health worker can not sever the umbilical cord without parental consent, statement written that actually opens a new way to natural childbirth. Thanks S. Anna.

The birth occurred even without the aid of oxytocin, monitoring, epidural, episiotomy, antibiotics, the delivery room couch, pushed manuals, etc.. because a choice like this?

“The party, as for the first child has been without outside intervention. The woman does not feel and no longer knows his body, or rather, knows only through the models of media, lifting and correction in a meaningless race against time. For generations, childbirth is seen as an agonizing suffering, when the best thing would be to be able to experience together with operators who know the rhythms of nature, women are able to help a pregnant woman to be aware that childbirth is not a ‘ operation, and that all women, with a working knowledge about themselves, and a proper preparation (mental and physical) can have a natural birth without medical intervention. Should allow time to the woman and the child to feel and communicate with each other, and having close of discreet … the rest takes place naturally. ”

After your experience, is there anything you feel to inform readers of “LaStampa.it?”

“What our experience is told in a free book download from www.bambininuovi.com. The greatest contribution we can make to humanity and the best gift we can do for our children is closer to the pregnancy with a deep sense of respect for the mystery that is, knowing that only our ability to inform and to choose the path fewer artifacts, and our courage, can make a difference. What we as humanity is the result of what we have tried so far, let’s try something new and waiting … waiting for the results read, informiamoci, seeking new ways to be born and to live accordingly. ”

For more information:

Websites:

http://www.lotusbirth.it/

http://www.partonaturale.org/parto/lotusbirth.php

www.bambininuovi.com

Events

“Laboratory of birth – meetings and stories”

1 to 3 May 2009, at Officinale, in the park of Castle Belgioioso (Pavia), on the topic of birth with the experts.

Every story of birth is unique and special and teaches us something. For this association CHILDBIRTH, Lotus Birth Italy along with the National Association of midwives for childbirth at home and BambiGioi organized three days to deepen various topical issues in the world of birth.

Books

“Lothus Birth: the integral, born with the placenta” – by Shivam Rachana – Amrita Editions

E-book: http://www.bambininuovi.com/nascita_armoniosa.pdf

Videos

Breast-feeding to the Breast but… also INTEGRAL BIRTH, with the Placenta – “LOTUS BIRTH” – Part 6  ( In Italian)

(Allattamento al Seno ma… anche NASCITA INTEGRALE, con la Placenta – “LOTUS BIRTH” – Parte 6)

Academic OB/GYN December 3, 2009      Nicholas Fogelson

Delayed Cord Clamping Should Be Standard Practice in Obstetrics

There are times in our medical careers where we see a shift in thought that leads to a completely different way of doing things.   This happened with episiotomy in the last few decades.  Most recently trained physicians cannot imagine doing routine episiotomy with every delivery, yet it was not so long ago that this was common practice.

Episiotomy was supported in Medline indexed publications as early as the 1920s(1), and many publications followed in support of this procedure.  But by as early as the 1940s, publications began to appear that argued that episiotomy was not such a good thing(2).  Over the years the mix of publications changed, now the vast majority of recent publications on episiotomy focus on the problems with the procedure, and lament why older physicians are still doing them (3) (4).  And over all this time, practice began to change.

It took a long time for this change to occur, and a lot of data had to accumulate and be absorbed by young inquisitive minds before we got to where we are today, with the majority of recently trained OBs and midwives now reserving episiotomy only for rare indicated situations.

Though this change in episiotomy seems behind us, there are many changes that are ahead of us.   One of these changes, I believe, is in the way obstetricians handle the timing of cord clamping.

For the majority of my career, I routinely clamped and cut the umbilical cord as soon as it was reasonable.   Occasionally a patient would want me to wait to clamp and cut for some arbitrary amount of time, and I would wait, but in my mind this was just humoring the patient and keeping good relations.  After all, I had seen all my attendings and upper level residents clamp and cut right away, so it must be the right thing, right?

Later in my career I was exposed to enough other-thinking minds to consider that maybe this practice was not right.   And after some research I found that there was some pretty compelling evidence that indeed, early clamping is harmful for the baby.  So much evidence in fact, that I am a bit surprised that as a community, OBs in the US have not developed a culture of delayed routine cord clamping for neonatal benefit.

I think that this is a part of our culture that should change.  This evidence is compelling enough that I feel like a real effort should be made in this regard.   So to do my part in this, I am blogging about it.

As this is Academic OB/GYN, of course I am going to lay out this evidence I speak of.  But before I do that, I want to present some logical ideas under which this evidence ought to be considered.

Prior to the advent of medical delivery, and for all time in animals, it has been the natural way of things for a baby to stay on the umbilical cord for a significant period of time after delivery.  Depending on culture and situation, the delay in cord separation could be a few minutes or even a few hours.  In some cultures the placenta is left on for days, which of course I find excessive and gross (5).  But whatever the culture and time on cord, the absence of immediate cord clamping allows fetal blood that was previously in the placenta to transfuse back into the baby.  Studies have demonstrated that a delay of as little as thirty seconds between delivery and cord clamping can result in 20-40 ml*kg-1 of blood entering the fetus from the placenta (6).

Considering this data, I have to think about evolution and  function.  I am a strong believer in evolution, but even  under creationist thinking I have to believe that if the  system meant for babies to have been phlebotomized of  50-100 cc of blood at birth, we would have been born with  higher hemoglobins.  Clearly the natural way of things is for  this not to happen.

So does this mean that early cord clamping is necessarily  harmful?  Absolutely not.   But what it means is that the  burden of proof is on us to prove that early cord clamping,  which amounts to planned fetal phlebotomy, is a beneficial  thing.  Otherwise, all things being equal we ought to give the tykes a few minutes to soak up what blood they can from the placenta before we cut’em off.

Check out this video by Dr. Stuart Fischbein: Delayed Cord Clamping:  http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-WWCOzkSe85M/dr_stuart_fischbein_delayed_cord_clamping/

So the question is whether or not there is strong data either way.

It is easy to imagine a randomized study of immediate vs. delayed cord clamping, with quantitative analysis of fetal lab values and clinical outcomes.  So easy in fact, that it has been done many times – and in just about every study, there is a clear benefit to delaying cord clamping, even if it is just for 30 seconds after delivery.  These benefits include important outcomes such as decreased rates of intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm neonates.  Furthermore, aside from some intermittent reports of clinically insignificant polycythemia and hyperbilirubinemia in term infants, there appears to be no harm that can be linked to delayed cord clamping. It feels like being a doctor 10-15 years ago looking to see if there is any data about episiotomy, and finding that there’s a lot, and it says we’ve been doing it wrong for awhile now.

So here’s the data:

Delayed cord clamping in very preterm infants reduces the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and late-onset sepsis: a randomized, controlled trial(7)

Randomized 72 VLBW infants (< 1500 grams) to immediate or delayed cord clamping (5-10 vs. 30-45 seconds).  Delayed cord clamp infants had significantly less IVH (5/36 in delayed group vs. 13/36 in immediate group, p = 0.03) and less late onset sepsis (1/36 vs. 8/36, p = 0.03).

The Influence of the Timing of Cord Clamping on Postnatal Cerebral Oxygenation in Preterm Neonates: A Randomized, Controlled Trial (8)

Randomized 39 preterm infants to immediate clamping vs. 60-90 second delay, and examined fetal brain blood flow and tissue oxygenation.  Results showed similar blood flow between groups, but increased tissue oxygenation in the delayed group and 4 and 24 hours after birth.

Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping on iron status in Mexican infants: a randomized controlled trial(9)

Randomized 476 infants to immediate or 2 minute delayed clamping and followed them for 6 months.  Delayed clamped babies had higher MCVs (81 vs. 79.5), higher ferritins (50.7 vs. 34.4), and higher total body iron.  Effects were greater in infants born to iron deficient mothers.  Delayed clamping increased total iron stores by 27-47mg.  A follow up study showed that lead exposed infants with delayed clamping also had lower serum lead levels than immediate clamped infants, likely due to iron mediates changes in lead absorption.

A randomized clinical trial comparing immediate versus delayed clamping of the umbilical cord in preterm infants: short-term clinical and laboratory endpoints(10)

Infants delivering at 30 to 36 weeks gestation randomized to immediate vs. 1 minute delay.  Delayed group had higher RBC volumes (p = 0.04) and hematocrits (p < 0.005), though there was no difference in RBC transfusions.  There was a small increase in babies requiring phototherapy in the delayed group (p = 0.03) but no difference in bilirubin levels between groups.

Immediate versus delayed umbilical cord clamping in premature neonates born < 35 weeks: a prospective, randomized, controlled study (11)

Randomized 60 infants to clamping at 5-10 seconds vs. 30-45 seconds.  Delayed clamping infants had higher BPs and hematocrits.  Infants < 1500 grams with delayed clamping needed less mechanical ventilation and surfactant.  Trend towards more polycythemia in delayed group, but not statistically significant.

And that’s just some of it.  I’ll be happy to send you an Endnote file with a pile more of you’d like it.  If the burden of proof is on us to prove that immediate clamping is good, that burden is clearly not met.  And furthermore, there is strong evidence that delaying clamping as little as 30 seconds has measurable benefits for the infant, especially in premature babies and babies born to iron deficient mothers.

So basically, we should be doing this.  I’m going to try to effect some change in my department, but there are a lot of things that need to happen for us to change as a general culture.  It can’t just be the OBs.  L and D nurses and pediatricians need to buy in as well.

Some people will argue that premature babies need to be brought to the warmer right away for resucitation.  I don’t know the answer to this, but it’s worth study.  One might think that it is important to intubate a very premature baby right away, but I have to wonder if that intact cord will be better at delivering oxygen to the baby for 30-60 seconds than the premature lungs.  Particularly in cases of fetal respiratory acidosis, there is strong logical argument that a baby might be better resuscitated by unwrapping the cord and letting it flow a bit than trying to oxygenate it through its lungs.  Until that placenta is detached, you have a natural ECMO system.  Why not use it?  Certainly there are exceptions to this logical argument, abruption being the biggest one, and perhaps even severe pre-eclampsia and other poor feto-maternal circulation states.

I wonder at times why delayed cord clamping has not become the standard already; why by and large we have not heeded the literature.  It is sad to say that I believe it is because the champions of this practice have not been doctors, but midwives, and sometimes we are influenced by prejudice.  Clearly, midwives and doctors tend to have some different ideas about how labor should be managed, but in the end data is data.  We championed evidence based medicine, but tend to ignore evidence when it comes from the wrong source, which is unfair.  It is fair to critique the research and the methods used to write it, but it shouldn’t matter who the author is.  In this case, Mercer and other midwives have done the world a favor by scientifically addressing this issue, and their data deserves serious consideration.

To quote Levy et al (12) “Although a tailored approach is  required in the case of cord clamping, the balance of  available data suggests that delayed cord clamping should  be the method of choice.”  We ought to heed this advice  better.   Like episiotomy, this change in practice may take  awhile, but we should get it started.   I’m going to work on  it myself.  How about you?

1.            Martin DL. The Protection of the Perineum by Episiotomy in Delivery at Term. Cal State J Med 1921 Jun;19(6):229-31.

2.            Barrett CW. Errors and evils of episiotomy. Am J Surg 1948 Sep;76(3):284.

3.            Rodriguez A, Arenas EA, Osorio AL, Mendez O, Zuleta JJ. Selective vs routine midline episiotomy for the prevention of third- or fourth-degree lacerations in nulliparous women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008 Mar;198(3):285 e1-4.

4.            Gossett DR, Su RD. Episiotomy practice in a community hospital setting. J Reprod Med 2008 Oct;53(10):803-8.

5.            Westfall R. An ethnographic account of lotus birth. Midwifery Today Int Midwife 2003 Summer(66):34-6.

6.            Weeks A. Umbilical cord clamping after birth. Bmj 2007 Aug 18;335(7615):312-3.

7.            Mercer JS, Vohr BR, McGrath MM, Padbury JF, Wallach M, Oh W. Delayed cord clamping in very preterm infants reduces the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and late-onset sepsis: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 2006 Apr;117(4):1235-42.

8.            Baenziger O, Stolkin F, Keel M, von Siebenthal K, Fauchere JC, Das Kundu S, et al. The influence of the timing of cord clamping on postnatal cerebral oxygenation in preterm neonates: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 2007 Mar;119(3):455-9.

9.            Chaparro CM, Neufeld LM, Tena Alavez G, Eguia-Liz Cedillo R, Dewey KG. Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping on iron status in Mexican infants: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2006 Jun 17;367(9527):1997-2004.

10.            Strauss RG, Mock DM, Johnson KJ, Cress GA, Burmeister LF, Zimmerman MB, et al. A randomized clinical trial comparing immediate versus delayed clamping of the umbilical cord in preterm infants: short-term clinical and laboratory endpoints. Transfusion 2008 Apr;48(4):658-65.

11.            Kugelman A, Borenstein-Levin L, Riskin A, Chistyakov I, Ohel G, Gonen R, et al. Immediate versus delayed umbilical cord clamping in premature neonates born < 35 weeks: a prospective, randomized, controlled study. Am J Perinatol 2007 May;24(5):307-15.

12.            Levy T, Blickstein I. Timing of cord clamping revisited. J Perinat Med 2006;34(4):293-7.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

Grassroots Network: Delayed Cord Clamping

I hobble and stand on the curb outside the clinic, awaiting the arrival of my chariot and driver, Mary. There is a young man nervously pacing off to my left, looking both directions for something or someone that either exits or is a figment of his imagination. I’ve recognized him from the waiting area in the clinic. He reminds me of the ‘methadone’ population on the Upper West Side in New York City.

I’m quietly wallow in my pain, looking down saying, “Please don’t come and talk to me, please don’t come and talk to me…” and all of a sudden I look up and there he is in my face, off to the left.

“Do you know what time it is?” He impatiently queries.

“Ahhhhhhh… “ I look at my watch remembering, I TOO am on a time schedule. “…2:10,” I report quickly and curtly in my New York fashion.

“Huh, thanks,” as he continues to ponder my answer while desperately gazing at me.

I look off to the right, my eyes widen and I bite the bottom of my lip. I shout to myself, “Sheez, I hope he doesn’t think we are going to offer him a ride, somewhere, someplace, that either does or doesn’t exist.”

Before I turned 50, I would have been sucked into his field of ‘neediness’ and fell prey to helping him out, even at the expense of compromising my integrity. After 50, there’s a chemical produced in people’s brain- body called, “I don’t care.” It comes up at the most opportune times. If someone says, “I like your hair.” I say, “Thank you, I don’t care.” If someone says, “What in the world did you do with your hair?? Yuck!” I say, “Thank you very much, I don’t care.” It’s the ‘unattached hormone.’ Well, it kicked in here…in fact, with a little extra pain in the body to get the point across.

“Where is Mary with that car!!!” I  scream in my mind. “Ah, here she comes.” As I see the arrival of the familiar silver van.

As Mary drives up, the stranger to the left seems to have wandered off toward the main road. I stumble into the van and feel the welcome relief of sitting down. We strap in and off we go.

Being that everything in Cedar Rapids is fairly close together, the  ride to the airport is complete within a matter of minutes.

Mary drops me off at the curb, runs around to get the  suitcases. A young man comes over when he spots the crutches and asks if he can help.

I respond quickly, “Absolutely.”

Mary leans into me and says, “He’s going to expect a tip!”

“Why should this be any different than New York,” I say to Mary.

I wave my hand, roll my eyes and respond, “Whatever!”

Mary jumps back into the van and rides off to find a parking spot.

Off I go, hip pity-hop through the electronic doors as they part the way for my entrance to the check-in counter. Thank GOD, there isn’t a line of people. I crutch my way past the few waiting in line and ask what the procedure is for someone in my condition? Within minutes there is a wheel chair at my side and the ‘man who expects a tip’ is prompt with my luggage.

Mary has joined us and is helping out with the check in. I slip the man a $10 bill and off Mary and I go with my purse, crutches, and bulky, heavy, computer bag on my lap. She steers the operation as I painstakingly keep everything on my lap, ON my lap. The crutches keep falling off either dragging on the floor or poking people as we go by.

“Sorry, excuse me, oops!” Seem to be my mantras.

Mary, who is type A personality and the mother of all ‘controllers’, seems the perfect candidate for assisting me on this escapade. We efficiently weave in and out of stragglers, waiting for their families, friends or flights. When we get to the scanning area, I wonder how this is going to work. Even though Mary doesn’t have a boarding ticket, she is allowed to proceed through and wheel me to the boarding gate.

After I place all my bags, the computer, my shoes and  jacket in  the  plastic containers on the scanning platform, I’m wheeled to a  very  public area off to the side of the machines. A female airport  officer  is assigned to ‘check me out’.

I see Mary about 15 feet away, already through the line, collecting and organizing our things. She stands patiently watching out of ear shot while I go participate in the ritual of ‘padding down the crippled traveler’ and micro scanning the wheel chair. (Why are they are so interested in the chair? It’s airport property.)

The woman seems very official and stiff. She begins to tell me what she is going to do. She adds, “If you would prefer me to do this in a more ‘private place’ I can arrange for that to be done.”

I jokingly respond, “Listen, you can do what you like, but if you are going to do a vaginal exam, I probably would like to go to someplace more private.”

She looks at me shockingly, I laugh out loud, Mary wonders what’s going on. I wave and smile at Mary letting her know nonverbally all is well. Of course she know better.

The woman lightens up and realizes it was a joke. We clumsily begin the routine of her probing and patting my body.

She starts at my head, and I ponder, “How do they think, something could be hidden in my hair?” Oh, well, down the body she goes. At one point she is patting the front and back of my chest. Before she gets to the front, I comment, “Ah, I have a padded bra on, so, ah…”

“Oh, honey, we all do what we have to do!” She comes right back at me with a smile.

We start laughing and yucking it up and I see Mary out of the corner of my eye shaking her head and smiling.

The female officer needs to check my hips and butt. She asks me if I would like to stand. With athletic fortitude, I press off the arms of the wheelchair with my hands with my upper body strength leaving my derriere and legs suspended in air, awaiting her search.

“Oh, OK then…that works I guess,” she acts surprised with this alternative position.

She’s patting away, systematically and rhythmically until she comes to the left area under my thigh. She keeps patting this area with a confused look on her face. “Oh great…” I am wondering what in the world she thinks she is feeling. I’m wearing a light summer dress with tight leggings underneath.

I blurt out, “Oh that’s just my extra pocket of cellulite on that side!”

She bursts out laughing, has to stop the exam, and cover her mouth. My upper body strength gives out as I begin to giggle. The guards and general public are staring at us. Mary of course now realizes it’s beyond all hope. I pass the screening.

“That was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in a long time!” the officer shares as she finishes.

I’m wheeled past all the inquiring looks and Mary, embarrassingly receives the wheel chair and me in it. We pile on all the luggage and off we go to the next experience. I have been having such a grand time I have lost all track of time. I look at my watch and it is, 2:30 pm, 10 full minutes before the plane boards. PLENTY of time to spare, but then, I don’t know how far the boarding gate is from the scanning gate. Ah yes, this is Iowa, not very far.

Mary gets me to the boarding gate area. As I approach the tall, over powering reception desk at the gate entrance, my body as a surreal viseral response. How do people who have been handicapped all their lives adapt to a world where not everything is so handicapped friendly? My new-found empathy will be tested many times over the next number of weeks.

“Hello, Hello, anybody there?” I pleadingly call from my wheel chair.

A poised steward, leans over the desk, peering through his glasses, “Yes?”

“I just broke my ankle, about 3 and a half hours ago, and well, I’m not really sure what I’m suppose to be doing here. Can you give me a clue?”

I’m instructed I will board first so I am to stay close to the doorway. I will not be able to bring the wheelchair onto the plane, so I will need to use the crutches and an attendant will carry my luggage to the seat. When I arrive at the next City, I will be asked to exit the plane last and there will be an attendant present with another wheel chair to transport me to my connecting flight. This is great!  First class service without the extra fee, except the extra PAIN!

It’s almost time to board the plane. From my trusty, temporary,  wheelchair, I give my sister Mary a big hug and kiss. I know from  my heart of hearts, if this had to happen in the scheme of life’s  unfolding, I was blessed to have such a wonderful guardian angel  be here helping me. Love you girl, more than you will ever know.

More to come in Part V…

Whether you are pregnant, a birth medical or non medical caregiver, post partum doula, baby nurse or teacher, during the winter months, immune systems are compromised and there are concerns with flu pandemics. Pregnant women are more vulnerable because their immune systems are suppressed during thepregnancy so that their bodies don’t reject the baby.

The following piece is from Midwife: Gloria Lemay with her research on the H1N1 vaccine as well as preventative suggestions:

The publicity for the H1N1 vaccine is pervasive.  Pregnant women are being focused on as a group  that should be first in line to receive the vaccine.  The fact that the vaccine is highly experimental and  contains mercury (thimerosol preservative) has not escaped pregnant women and childbirth workers. (I, Judith, coordinator of this blog, have read on some sites one can request to have the vaccine WITHOUT the thimerosol preservatve in it.  They may not have it at your clinic or doctor’s office.)

When the public is polled about who will take the H1N1 vaccine, almost half the population say they  will refuse it.  Thanks to the internet and other people-centered media, the experts who disagree with  this mass population vaccine program have gotten the message out that the vaccine is far more dangerous than the disease.

What can a pregnant woman do to protect herself from H1N1 if she refuses the vaccine program?

Again, the media suggestions of sneezing into your sleeve and washing your hands with toxic sanitizers don’t get to the heart of the issue.  We all need to take charge of having the best immune response possible so these suggestions, although directed at pregnant women in the fall of 2009, are good lifestyle advice for everyone.

1. Go to bed at 10 p.m.  or earlier in a very dark room.  Healthy sleep is important.  Get rid of lighting in the bedroom (nightlights, electronic clocks, etc.)

2. Change your bedding and towels once a week.

3. Eat foods high in Vitamin C.  Grapefruit, oranges, kiwi fruit and red peppers.  Get used to these fruits as dessert.

4. Eliminate white sugar and flour from your diet.

5. Eliminate caffeine (coffee, tea, colas, chocolate).

6. Buy a wool scarf and mittens and be sure to bundle up warmly when you go out into the cold.  Scarves help maintain your body heat and can be unwrapped and stuffed into your pocket when you go into a store or office building to adjust your warmth level.

7. If you feel the first tickle of a cold or sore throat, cancel everything and go straight to bed with hot herbal tea and a bag of grapefruit.  Nip it in the bud with rest, Vitamin C and inner warmth.

8. Here’s a link to herbs that are safe in pregnancy.  Learn to love your herb teas.

9. Slow down and enjoy your pregnancy.  This is a special time in your life.  Say “no” to overbooking yourself and consider quitting work earlier than you planned.

10. Keep your partner healthy, too.

Your baby will thank you for adopting these measures and you’ll have more energy, too.  The first 3 days are the hardest and, then, you’ll love this routine.  I’m sure the comments will have lots more tips, too, read on.                                                                                                ____________________________

One woman who works alot with twins says this, “I work with a lot of twins who are usually preemies and so the parents tend to be extremely concerned about germs and have had the vaccine pushed on them by their doctors. I have had a bad vaccine reaction in the past as an adult and so don’t get vaccinations but what I do is to take the homeopathic version of the vaccine which is called Influenzinum. It changes every year according to the new strain of the virus and this year also includes the homeopathic version of the H1N1 vaccine. I take it once a week october through june and am rarely sick even though I do not get good sleep. (I work mostly nights.) To get it just call your local homeopath (you won’t need a consultation) or you can order it online at http://drfeder.com/index.php?page=shop&action=viewProduct&itemID=124 which is where I get mine from. When I tell my clients I am doing this they have all been fine with it. I think they just want to know I am being proactive about my and therefore their children’s health.”

Influenzium: Winter Tonic is a homeopathic combination of flu types from 1918 to  the present. The combination of flu types is then combined with ingredients that  help strengthen the immune system during the cold and flu season.  Winter Tonic  (4 pellets) can be taken once a week during the cold and flu season.  For children a  and adults.  Contains: Influenzinum; Otitis; Sinusitisitum; Grippe;  (All 6C)  4 dram  bottle, 400 pellets  Produced by NHP

Check out Dr Feder’s website at: www.dr.feder.com in general for his information on alternative immune booster suggestions.  He also has an interesting article on H1N1 (Swine)  Flu:  http://drfeder.com/index.php?page=articles&action=viewArticle&articleID=295

Three things that can’t hurt and may well help: Vitamin D-*3*, up to 10,000 IUs a day if the flu is coming on. Otherwise, 2,000 – 4,000 daily as a preventative. Vitamin D is not given in milligrams, but in IUs, which is a much smaller dosage. 250mcg or micrograms is equal to 50 IUs or international units. A microgram is 1/1000 of a milligram. The normal dosage of Vitamin D is about 2000 IUs.

Vitamin C, which most people are already taking in their prenatal vitamins, but maybe a  larger dose of 2,000-5,000 mgs. per day.  Vitamin C is water soluable so you will pee  out whatever is too much for the system.  Also, if you are taking too much your body  will let you know through loose stools.  Do not take anymore that day if this happens.  Or, give your body a break and take some later during the day or night.

Resveratrol (that’s the good stuff in red wine) at about 250 a day.

THere is also another vital vitamin to take a look at and integrate into your supplements this season: Vitamin D Theory  (Taken from www.foodconsumer.org)

“…Cannell has reported on Sept 16 in his newsletter that two physicians, one in Wisconsin and the other in Georgia, suggested that vitamin D supplementation can be the key to H1N1 flu prevention.

“Norris Glick, M.D. of Central Wisconsin Center in Madison told Cannell in his email that 274 residents at his health care facility took vitamin D supplements and were monitored regularly for their plasma vitamin D levels; as a result, only two residents developed influenza-like illness and had positive tests for H1N1 during a period of observation. This compares to 103 of 800 staff members during the same period who were not required for the supplementation. This huge difference may be due likely to use of vitamin D
supplements.

“Dr. Ellie Campbell, who also responded to Cannell’s vitamin D theory, told Dr. Cannell in an email of a similar observation.   She said she told her patients to take 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D regularly and monitored their serum levels to make sure her patients had sufficient Vitamin D in their blood.  Campbell shared office with another physician. Her office mate did not do the same thing to his patients.  When H1N1 hit George, none of her patients came to see her for H1N1 virus infection while the other physician was seeing one to 10 cases per week of influenza-like illness.”

Not to be too obsessive about this, there’s also hand sanitizer, which is a really good idea. A little bottle in your purse, and then use it whenever you’ve been out anywhere. Most drug stores have the little bottles right by the check-out counter.

Another thing to do that can help to keep you healthy is nasal gavage.  Use a Neti Pot  once  a day – every day.  If you are around someone ill  go home and use it.  Many  doctor’s  particularly ENT’s for eye, ear, nose surgery comment, if all their patients  used this  every day they would be out of business.  It helps to rinse all the allergens  and germs  out of your nasal passage. Learn about it at a local health food store or here online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8sDIbRAXlg or  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8KOsNtpV8w. It works great!  But one caution – you need to use 1/4 t. of sea salt and 1/4 t. baking soda.  If you don’t use the baking soda it burns like crazy – the baking soda acts as a buffer. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.  Other ‘nasal washes’ you might look into are:  NeiMed Sinus Rinse which one of my pregnant woman says is inexpensive and she uses it in the shower.  Get it at a local drug store or online at:    http://www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Sinus-Rinse-Regular-Bottle/dp/B000RJGB5C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1256842484&sr=8-3-fkmr0.

the nasal cavity. The result is an elegant new way to keep your nose clean. It’s easy to use, convenient, comfortable and safe.  And it doesn’t make a mess!  Please join us on the road to better nasal health starting today, and begin to enjoyimmediate sinus relief along with the lifelong benefits of superior nasal hygiene.

“Well, there you are!” Ms. Radiology comments as she limps back into the room. I’m wondering where she thinks I would have gone since, I can’t walk and the crutches are way the hell over on the other side of the room!

“Do I get to go somewhere else? “ I impatiently prod.

“Oh, yes,” as she hands me the crutches, “I’m going to bring you back to your examination room,” she cheerfully retorts.

“Great.” I squeeze out under my breath, gritting my teeth while breathing out at the same time. I muster up my strength; pull it together and crutch/hop my way down the various hallways, back to the exam room. I look as if I have all the balance and ability to do this, knowing I am being fueled by high doses of adrenaline and a deep desire to get to the airport on time.

I’m surprise I arrive safely and rather quickly back to the room. My eldest sibling, Mary, is patently awaiting my return. I plop up on the exam table, dangle right leg down and bend left leg up and supported over my right knee.

We wait. While biding our time until someone walks in and can tell me if it is broken or not, Mary asks a few questions about the ‘radiology’ experience.

As I am in the middle of the yarn, a small framed, blonde woman walks into the room. She’s wearing the traditional white jacket and carries a file. She seems neat, clean, serious, quiet and could benefit by courses on laugh therapy.

Mary and I exchange glances as my animated story comes to an abrupt halt and the room becomes quiet.

She sits at a small desk in a swivel doctor chair and coolly reports with a deadpan face, “It seems you have a non-displaced, distal, fibula fracture. I would like you to see someone in 2-3 weeks for a follow up on…”

My brain is a bit mushy at this point and I have NO idea what she just said other than the word, FRACTURE.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait..” I impatiently interject, then lightly continue with a smile on my face, “…you’d think I fell on my HEAD because I have no idea what you just said…could you please write everything you are saying on a piece of paper? I will never remember it.”

With an expressionless look, the doctor gazes at me for a pregnant moment, says nothing, then looks down at a piece of paper on the desk and responds, “Of course.” She proceeds to legibly write down on a piece of prescription paper what she just said.

Mary and I share eye-popping glances, smiling and shrugging our shoulders as we cover our mouths from giggles. The doctor’s conversation continues with the practicalities and firming up my ‘next steps’. (No pun intended).

Pain meds are a big topic. It’s all about covering up the pain in life, right?Take a pill; cover it up particularly in a Country with more legal prescription drug addictions than, marijuana, cocaine and alcohol combined. I am about to be prescribed one of the most popular: vicodin. (House, look out.  Here I come.)

I explain to the doctor, I generally don’t take allopathic medicines, so I don’t really need something that strong or very many pills. (I have NO IDEA what I am in for with the kind of pain I am going to experience in the next couple of weeks. I ‘m still in shock, so I don’t even feel the full extent of this fracture, yet.) She fills out another piece of paper containing the prescription and hands it to me.

I graciously thank and shake her hand, and she slips out of the room as quietly as she came in.

“Well, she certainly could stand a few lessons in ‘patient relations’,” my sister comments.

“Yah, I don’t think they very many courses like that in medical school, do they Ms. Nurse Practitioner?” I ask my sister smiling as I jump/hop off the examination table and sit on a chair, next to her.

Another, more pleasant woman enters the room. I assume she’s the nurse, lighter energy and a pleasant smile. She fits me for a walking boot cast and upon my request, pleasantly inserts an ice panel, which helps cool the swollen, fire laden ankle.

I notice it takes extra focus on my part to correctly remember the instructions regarding the ‘mechanics’ of the boot cast. Left leg needs to be 90 degrees at the knee, slip in the foot slowly and make sure the heel is flush with the back of the boot. Fold and strap the foot pieces first and then along the calf.  Make sure the velcro straps are secure but not too tight.  My eyes periodically check my watch. It’s 1:35 pm. The flight is 2:40 pm. ‘I’ll be OK,’ I reassure myself by focusing on what I do want instead of do not want: an integral point for the law of attraction.

At one point the nurse jokingly exclaims, “…and the boot matches your outfit! How perfect!”  I peer at Mary out of the corner of my eye, smiling, reminding her of my comment earlier in the car, “It DOES matter how fabulous one looks!” We have a good laugh. I am soooo ready to get out of this room.

Next instruction;  hop to the payment window. While propped on one foot, dropping a crutch as I search for my credit card, I finally find the card and hand it to the woman behind the window sitting at a desk. She processes my records effortlessly and easily with a smile and midwest, “Thank you very much,” hands me back my card and bill.

WOW!  The full fee, no insurance, emergency visit, walking boot cast, 3 x-rays, the doctor’s consultation: $245! In New York City, I couldn’t walk into an emergency room for under $500 and that is just to walk through the door! PLUS, I would have never been able to make my flight because I would have had to wait 5-10 hours to see someone. There are certain advantages to being in the Midwest. Yet, sorry, family…the Big Apple calls me.

Next, I tunnel through a few more hallways and doors and make it to the original waiting area. I see my sister standing in line for my prescription to be magically filled out, all in the same building! As I stand waiting, simulating a ballet dancer, I prop my leg and foot on top of the horizonal support railing, easing the pressure of the blood and fluids pooling in the ankle. I hand my credit card over to Mary and within a few minutes, my drugs are in hand at a reasonable, $24! Wow, the Midwest, at least in Iowa, has quite a health care system.

We are out of there, on to the airport. It’s 2:05 pm. 40 minutes before my plane departs.

More to come in Part IV…

When a woman, pregnant or NOT desires or craves chalk, for taste or the sensation of crunching, there is an iron  deficiency in the woman and she is  anemic. (more tired, need energy building foods). Once she gets the iron balanced in her system, she will NO LONGER have the craving for the chalk.

When one supplement’s their diet with iron pills, it is important to take the iron pills with something acidic, like orange juice, BECAUSE it helps to ENHANCE the absorption of iron in your body.

When one takes rolaids, it is COUNTER PRODUCTIVE to the absorption of the iron in the body. Rolaids is an ANTACID, (not acidic) and you NEED acid to absorb the iron in your body. So, you are just canceling out the iron supplement each time a rolaid is taken.  It doesn’t matter if one takes one or ten…IT IS NOT GOOD!  Research shows if a pregnant woman has to choose between chalk and rolaids, the more favorable choice is the chalk.  It doesn’t have the antacid element to it.  STOP rolaids immediately if your doctor has suggested this as a solution away from the chalk.

Eating iron rich foods is imperative.  If one needs to find foods that will satisfy a need to CRUNCH try something like ALMONDS or other kinds of seeds or nuts rich in iron. Leafy green veggies are high in iron and so are dried apricots which are ALSO high in Vitamin C, ( an acidic source )

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Floradix is a liquid formula that will help to enhance the iron absorbtion in one’s body when eating iron rich foods.

Floradix Formula Iron (250mL) Brand: Flora http://www.amazon.com/Floradix-Formula-Iron-250mLBrand/dp/B0002DUFKU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1254578184&sr=8-3 Uses: Energy, Anemia etc.. The absorption rate of Floradix (liquid iron gluconate) is twenty-five per cent compared solid iron tablets that have an absorption rate of two to ten per cent. Floradix provides maximum absorption by using the most highly absorbable form of iron, iron gluconate. Floradix also contains B vitamins and vitamin C to enhance absorption, herbal extracts to increase digestion, and fruit juices to ensure proper stomach acidity. A twenty milligram dose of Floradix satisfies the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of fifteen milligrams of iron for women of child-bearing age.

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Homeopathic remedies to help get your minerals balanced in one’s body are:

1.  Ferrous Phosphate:  6X or 12X strength, take 1-4 times per day, 4 pellets. This very useful cell salt is known as the “oxygen carrier”. It has the ability to carry oxygen to all the cells of the body for use in conversion to energy.

2,  Bio-chemic Tissue Salts:  take 5/6 of these COMBINATION  3-4X’s per day. The 12 Tissue/Cell Salt Combination As the name implies, this is a combination of all 12 salts in a single tablet. This combination can be used daily in much the same way as you would take a vitamin or supplement. To treat specific conditions, however, select one of the single salts listed above. RECOMMENDED POTENCY - 6X is the most widely used potency These are all the different MINERALS combined into the 12 Tissue/Cell Salts. Calcarea Fluoricum Calcarea Phosphoricum Calcarea Sulphuricum Ferrum Phosphoricum Kali Muriaticum Kali Phosphoricum Kali Sulphuricum Magnesia Phosphoricum Natrum Muriaticum Natrum Phosphoricum Natrum Sulphuricum Silicea (Silica)

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How Much Iron?
The recommendation increases to 27 mg for pregnant women.

http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml
Iron Rich Foods containing Heme Iron (Iron found in animal protein)
Excellent Sources               Good Sources
Clams                                       Beef
Pork Liver                                Shrimp
Oysters                                     Sardines
Chicken Liver                           Turkey
Mussels
Beef Liver

Iron Rich Foods containing Non-Heme Iron
Excellent Sources Good Source

Enriched breakfast cereals Canned beans
Cooked beans and lentils                 Baked potato with skin
Pumpkin seeds                               Enriched pasta
Blackstrap Molasses                         Canned asparagus

Warning: Pregnant women should not eat liver because of its very high Vitamin A content. Large amounts of Vitamin A can be harmful to the baby.

The absorption of Non-heme iron can be improved when a source of heme iron is consumed in the same meal. In addition, the iron absorption-enhancing foods can also increase the absorption of non-heme iron. While some food items can enhance iron absorption, some can inhibit or interfere iron absorption. Avoid eating them with the iron-rich foods to maximize iron absorption.

Iron Absorption Enhancers  (GOOD to eat)
Meat/fish/poultry
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

Iron Absorption Inhibitors  (BAD to eat)
Red Wine, Coffee & Tea
Vegetables: Spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato
Whole grains and bran
Soy products

Is Spinach a good source of Iron? Written by Gloria Tsang, RD
Published in May 2006 (HealthCastle.com)

Spinach and Iron has been a highly discussed topic in our free nutrition forum. Many readers know that spinach is a source of iron. However they are confused that spinach is said to contain an iron absorption inhibitor as mentioned in our Iron Rich Foods article.

Spinach – a source of Iron
Spinach is a source of non-heme iron, which is usually found in vegetable sources. Unlike heme iron found in animal products, non-heme iron is not as bioavailable to the body.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of cooked spinach provides ~3.5mg of iron whereas a cup of raw spinach only contains 1 mg of iron.

Spinach – also inhibits(stops) iron absorption
Spinach also contains oxalic acid (sometimes referred as oxalate). Oxalic acid binds with iron, hence inhibiting its absorption.

Spinach is not the only food containing high levels of oxalic acid. Whole grains such as buckwheat and amaranth, other vegetables such as chard and rhubarb, as well as beans and nuts all contain significant levels of oxalic acid.

So Should you or Should you not eat Spinach?
You do not need to give it up if you are a spinach lover! Simply eat spinach with any foods containing iron absorption enhancers. Here are some examples:

Iron Absorption Enhancers  (Good to eat)
Meat, fish, or poultry
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit and other Vitamin-C rich fruits
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

I have learned from my visits over the years, pretty much everything in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is fairly close together. Post office, right up the street. Need to go get milk, oh, that’s about 7 minutes away. Visits to my father, not more than 15 minutes.

The drive to Mercy Care Center takes all but ten minutes, yet in the excruciating pain pulsating through my ankle and leg, I bite my lip and redirect my mind to more pleasant thoughts. It’s funny, what keeps going through my head is, “This is all in divine order. Nothing is out of place.”

“Well,” I blurt out. “At least I look fabulous to go to the emergency center.” I washed and curled my hair; great make up, power-jewelry on and fashionable black and white New York outfit.

Mary turns and squints her mouth as if to say, “Like we really care here!”

When Mary parks the van, I manage to peel my body off the seat and slide out of the van, dangling my bulbous left foot, laden with a ten pound cool pack and 9 inch wide, 4 foot long support wrap. I wonder what’s worse, the break or the concentrated bowling ball at the end of my foot.

Mary runs around the side of the van and produces the metal walking sticks. The crutches, oh yes, crutches. I think I missed that course in the school of life. Mary HAPPENS to have a couple of sets, because not only has she had the privilege to take the course, her twenty something sons have also engaged in class as well. Without missing a beat, Mary chimes in, “These will save you a good $100 off the bill.”

Great! I ponder, now how the hell do I use them? OK, under the armpits, up against the side of the body, hang on at the palm poles and balance. Crutches first, hop on right leg next, all seems easy enough. Man, the lymph nodes under my armpits are really being activated. How in the world am I going to do this for a number of weeks???

Mary sees the terror in my face, reads my mind, she says, “You can’t put the crutches right under your pits. Rest them along side the body and focus your weight bearing on your palms.”

OK then, here we go. Doors are held open for me. People look on with faces of concern and pity. Avoiding the glances, I look down, one step, literally, in front of itself until I reach a cushioned chair in the waiting area.

Mary rushes over to the registration window and I prop my foot up over an adjoining chair just to relieve the pressure. There is a big burly, red headed, bearded, Harley Davidson man right across from me, with his girlfriend or wife. They both look on with empathy.

As I settle into the chair and my body for the first time since the fall, I feel my nose begin to burn, eyes start to water and I blink back crocodile tears while I experience a tightening around a regressed five-year-old mouth. I want to cry out loud but there are too many people. (Actually compared to NYC, there is hardly anybody in this waiting room. But this point anyone beside myself feels like too much!)

I see out of the corner of my eye Mr. Harley Man gets up and saunters over to me. “Wow, man, what happened?” he asks sincerely as the sound of chain jingles in his pocket.

“Oh, I broke it,” I cordially reply, fighting back the tears, avoiding eye contact.

I regressed at that moment, to a comment made by one of my black students at a high school I was teaching at 30 years ago, “You can always tell when a white folks are going to cry or have been crying. Your nose and eyes get all pink and shit.” I was at the ‘pink and shit’ stage. This man’s true act of grace and heart felt kindness, burst my dam and humongous tears poured out of eyes, rushed down my cheeks and onto my sheik New York attire.

“Ah, man! You’re goona be all right! I’ve broken so many bones in my body. It hurts, but you’ll get better real fast, ” Mr. Harley says to me as his huge palm pats my timid shoulder.

I gaze up at him with the tears streaming down my cheeks and splashing onto my chest. “Thanks.” I timidly grin with a sort of embarrassed and genuinely grateful response.

My sister sits down next to me after completing the duties of registration board, credit card exchange and other logistical procedures; I can’t begin to wrap my head around. Now I know what it’s like to a hospital in labor and am asked a million questions in the midst of all that is happening.

The wait is relatively short. I look at my watch and keep saying to myself, “I am already on the plane, already in New York.” The emergency clinic is so clean. Definitely the Midwest!

A woman opens a door and calls my name. I hobble and hop past everyone else in the waiting area then down the hall into the examination room. My sister has been invited to come with me. Hey, I need someone to carry my stuff.

The nurse asks a number of questions about my allergies, how did the accident happen and then proceeds to take my blood pressure. Before she does the reading, I take a deep breath out and calm my nervous system. 113 over 73. Mary comments, “Not bad for someone who just broke their ankle!” I have resolved myself early on there is no room for fear, only trust.

Ok then, what’s next? Radiology. A very large woman comes waddling into the exam room and says, “Follow me.” I feel strong, I feel powerful with my metal appendages. I keep the tops of the crutches against my body and not nestled into my armpits. My strides are long and steady. I am going to make the plane on time. Maybe even with time to spare.

She leads me into a huge empty grey room except for a long cold table. Up I go onto the cold slab. The technician takes my crutches and places them as far away from me as possible. She rambles on about the weather, her knees, pain, difficulty walking and slowing down. I keep on breathing and seeing myself on the plane.

She asks me if I could be pregnant and I say, “It would have to be a miracle if I am, because I no longer menstruate and haven’t had sex in awhile.” Her mouth opens, then closes and a little smile arranges around her mouth. “Alrighty then,” the technician lays a heavy apron over my ovaries and exits the area.

A large camera hovers over my leg. She asks me to lay the leg this way, prop it that way, turn a little more this way. Done! Good, on the plane, on the plane. She teeters back and forth as she waddles over in pain to remove the metal covering from my privates.

“OK then, it will take about 2 and a half minutes for the x-rays to process. Hopefully this will work because there were funny sounds coming out of the machine before you got here and I hope we won’t have to do it again,” she says in a gleeful voice while exiting the area.

“Oh great! That’s all I need is to vibrationally mess up the machine! I see myself on the plane, I am in NYC by tonight.” I ponder quietly.

The long, cold table is fairly uncomfortable so I sit myself up on my elbows, listening to Ms. Techie on the phone talking about recipes for the Sunday picnic. I also hear the x-ray machine buzzing and whizzing away. Breathe out, on the plane, tonight, today, easily, effortlessly, focus on what it is I want, only what I want and desire.

The machine clicks off…I wait for the conversation on the phone to end. It continues for another minute, then two, three, four, five, six. I’m losing now. I wonder if I should scream out in a New York fashion, “ Yo! The pie is done. Dinger has dunged! Helloooooo! X-rays are awaiting us.” But I don’t scream it out loud. I scream it in my head.

Breathe out, on the plane, seven, eight minutes, more conversations about food, food, food. OK, this is it, no more Ms. Nice Guy…I sit on the edge of the table, that feels like it should be holding dead people and I scream at the top of my lungs, “GET OFF THE F—-PHONE!!!” (Only in my mind though.)

All of a sudden I hear, “Well then, we’ll see you all on Sunday, bye bye now.”

I blurt out, “I think the x-rays are done. I’m a bit on a time schedule, I do have a plane to catch you know.”

She responds, “Oh, they ARE finished aren’t they?”

“DUHHH,” I think to myself, yet I contain that thought.

“OK, you are in luck, these did turn out, there’s an odd line across them, but looks like all is well.” She cheerfully chimes in. “Are you traveling first class?”

What an odd question, I think. “Ah, no, but if this can get me first class, I’ll work on that.”

She looks at me rather strangely and then proceeds out the door. OK, here I am, trapped in the room that echoes. I can’t reach my crutches, I am not really sure where she’s going and I still don’t know if it is broken or not. I guess I wait for her go and come back. Hopefully, she will stay focused and go and come right back.

I decide to go in my mind and slow down time. I do this sometimes when I am in a cab, stuck in traffic, working on not being late for an appointment. It works, quite readily, in fact. I imagine Ms. Radiology moving, floating to her destination and back with efficiency and grace. Five, six, seven minutes later she comes into the room.

More to come….look for Part III

Are you aware of how you create your life through the power behind your thoughts, emotions or words? The following is a first hand, rather first foot, experience that ‘woke me up’ to the next step, (no pun intended) in my personal and professional growth.

I just finished a two-week, annual vacation to the midwest to visit my family.  First stop, Minnesota. I embrace the challenges with my mother and her memory, giant crossword puzzles and visits with the grandchildren.  I revel in the joy of holding my 4 month old, great-nephew for the first time. I share in the excitement of my nephew and his wife’s enchanting new home. Myself, my sisters and sister-in-law, engage in a yearly ritual of ‘overnight with the girls.’ We cheat in a hysterical game of crocket, rummage through hundreds of pictures from the past and top it off with an evening of nothing but the best homemade midwest cuisine and conversation. The whirlwind week in Minnesota flies by in a blink.

My oldest sister, Mary, and I drive down to her home in Iowa.  My father lives in Iowa as well, in a nursing home where hospice visits him regularly.   As my father and I spend the week together, he goes through an ‘awakening’ process.  From our first visit, he transforms from, falling asleep in the middle of sentence, to eyes wide-open and non-stop conversation by the end of the week.  It’s amazing how love, personal touch, reading aloud, clipping fingernails, hair trimming and good ‘ole fashioned sunshine and fresh air, brings dad back into his body.  I spend my days, in the dream world where my father lives.  In the evenings, I share cherished conversations and moments with Mary.

I comment to my sister what a whirlwind 2 weeks it has been and I need a break before I get back to the rat race in NYC.  I just need a break, and any kind of a break. I can’t believe it, but Friday has come so quickly and I must head back to the Big Apple.

Around 11 am I begin to load my suitcases into my sister’s van. My flight takes off at 2:40 pm. There is plenty of time as I leisurely prepare for the all day trek to La Guardia Airport in NYC.  I strategically load my two smaller bags and my heavy computer suitcase around my shoulders.   I open the front door and second screen door with my right hand, bracing the doors with the right leg as I take a step onto the welcome mat leading with my left foot forward.  Out of nowhere, within a split second, I feel as if someone has vigorously pushed me from behind out through the door, as I yell out loud to myself, “What the hell?”

I forcibly land on my left foot. It collapses inward at the ankle and I hear a  dry, loud CRACK!  Searing pain shoots up my leg, everything I am carrying  goes flying onto the steps  and I pound the pavement with the left side of  my body. I spontaneously curl up in a ball, in sheer, primal survival mode,  grasping my left ankle with both hands screaming, “f—!”

Within seconds, my mind goes from, a 10 second ‘pity party’,  tears welling up in my eyes, going out of my body and into the victim role: “Why did this happen to me? I have a birth waiting for me when I get back to NYC!!! OMG what am I going to do????!” I pout.

Suddenly, I am back in my body, level headed and able to see the greater picture, “You know EXACTLY why this happened!  So get over it and move forward.” Ok then, I will have to check back with that later I remind myself.

I wonder if it’s broken or if I have torn ligaments or tendons?  Within seconds, I deduce, based on the sound, feeling and pain, it’s probably fractured.

I scream for my sister to come to my aid, “Mary, I just broke my ankle!!”

She screams from the kitchen, “WHAT???” I hear her running toward the front entryway, “What happened?”

“You are never going to believe me!” I shoot back in pain.

“What?” She impatiently asks.

“I felt like someone pushed me through the doorway and I landed on my left foot and it broke!” I honestly reported.

“Judith, there’s NOBODY else here.” She looks at me suspiciously.

“I know. I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” I respond.

She rolls her eyes. I get this is not the time or place to discuss the ‘deeper’ more mysterious circumstances surrounding the accident.

The nurse practitioner in my sister, asks me to remove my hands so she can look at my ankle. I scream back at her like a mother protecting her cub, “NO! I have to keep my ankle supported.”

I immediately gather myself, looking at the watch on my right  wrist and say, “OK, it’s 11 am and my flight takes off at 2:40  pm. I need to get someplace to get an x-ray and be seen by a  doctor. I don’t have insurance, so what is this going to cost  me, ball park?”

Mary looks at me in disbelief. (I’m not sure if it’s the ‘I don’t  have insurance’ comment or the fact I have switched gears so  quickly that gave her a startled response.)

“Well, it could be as much as $1000. Can you afford that?”  Mary’s being very logical.

“At this point, I can afford whatever.” I respond in total trust,  because there is no room for fear.

“OK, the two options are, going to the emergency clinic at the hospital which will probably by about a grand, or there is another clinic, but I am not sure if they have an x-ray machine. I will have to call.” Mary kicks into gear.

“OK, go make the call and bring ice.” I yell after her as she runs back toward the kitchen.

Still curled up in a small ball on my left side, I close my eyes and I talk to God,

“OK, I need a sign to let me know if this is broken or I have extensive ligament and tend on damage.” I take a breath out, wait for a feeling, open my eyes and without missing a beat, the first thing I see is one of the 10 bangle bracelets on left wrist.  It’s broken, and there is a wire sticking straight up, with a number of  turquoise beads neatly lined up in a row. “Ah ha! It’s a clean break.”  I am pleased to have received a response.

At that moment, Mary comes back with, “You are in luck. The clinic outside the hospital has an x-ray machine. They can see you right away and it will be MUCH less expensive than the emergency room at the Hospital.”

“Great!” I am relieved. “Mary, I know it’s a clean break.” I confidently diagnose.

“How do you know that?” Mary responds surprised.

I nod to my left wrist, sticking the broken bangle out as far as I can, still grasping onto the left ankle and extending my  body forward.  “See?”

“What? Where?” She looks up and down my body questioningly.

“Right there, on my wrist…the broken bangle!” I shove the wrist even further towards her.

“Ah, Judith, you ARE going to have to have an x-ray to confirm your break,” She starts to laugh and shakes her head.

Mary removes my broken bangle. Very nurse-like, she wraps the ankle in a huge ice pack with a wide adhesive bandage.  Ahhhh, the cold relieves the pain.

Mary loads the rest of the luggage into the van and hunts for  spare crutches in the basement. I duck walk toward the  van; on my butt, hands and right leg weight bearing, as the  left leg extends out.  (Good thing I  spent the last two weeks  of my vacation working out, building muscle, and  healthy tissues to help buffer this accident.)

Mary comes outside to see me performing my cal-esthetics and says, “Judith, what in the world are you doing?”

“I’m getting to the van. You are loading things up, so I thought I’d get myself there.” I respond logically.

“Well, sheez, let me help you up.” Mary leans down to assist me to stand upright and hop to the van.

As I sit in the front seat, leg elevated, patiently waiting for Mary to lock up the house and drive me to the emergency care center I reflect about the experience. It’s as if this incident is designed to help me remember I’m not in control and that a deeper design is trying to emerge into my consciousness by putting my ego-mind (judgment, criticism, victimization, etc.) in the back seat for a time.

Mary joins me in the van, grasps onto the wheel, darts back forth through traffic as she emphatically suggests, “You know Judith, you HAVE to put this in your book!”

Now I roll my eyes.

Stay tuned for Part II …