Mothers are told to get vaccinated while pregnant for influenza and pertussis, which is Tdap, 3-shots-in-one. If a mother truly feels she needs these vaccines, perhaps after she births may be best; not exposing the unborn baby to harsh preservatives. According to the CDC she should also have MMR and Varicella, aka chicken pox, if she hasn't had it already. Varicella is a highly contagious vaccine. It's advised to avoid infants, elderly, and immune compromised. Did you know the CDC doesn't give the MMR until after a year because the baby receives a natural immunity through the Mother's Milk? Did you know Pertussis antibodies also are passed in Mother's Milk? If you get the shot it can take two weeks to develop antibodies. If your baby was exposed to a virus or disease and you breastfeed it only takes your body until the next feeding to protect your baby. If the CDC even says immunity is passed in breastfeeding, why aren't providers working harder to support an immune the system process that does work?

"A woman who has not received the new vaccine for the prevention of tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) should be vaccinated right after delivery. Vaccinating a new mother against pertussis (whooping cough) reduces the risk to her infant too. Also, a woman who is not immune to measles, mumps and rubella and/or varicella (chicken pox) should be vaccinated before leaving the hospital. If inactivated influenza vaccine was not given during pregnancy, a woman should receive it now because it will protect her infant. LAIV may be an option" http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/downloads/f_preg.pdf

"Why is MMR vaccine given after the first birthday? Most infants born in the United States will receive passive protection against measles, mumps, and rubella in the form of antibodies from their mothers. These antibodies can destroy the vaccine virus if they are present when the vaccine is given and, thus, can cause the vaccine to be ineffective. By 12 months of age, almost all infants have lost this passive protection" (it's because most infants are weaned by this age. The American Academy of Pediatrics, AAP, and World Health Organization, WHO, say to breastfeed until the age of 2 or longer as both parties desire)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/measles/faqs-dis-vac-risks.htm


 "By breastfeeding, you may pass some antibodies you have made in response to the vaccine to your baby. When you get a whooping cough vaccine during your pregnancy, you will have antibodies in your breast milk that you can share with your baby as soon as your milk comes in. However, your baby will not get protective antibodies immediately if you wait to get the whooping cough vaccine until after delivering your baby. This is because it takes about 2 weeks for your body to create antibodies"
http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/pregnant/mom/get-vaccinated.html

"Breastfeeding has been shown to be protective against many illnesses, including painful ear infections, upper and lower respiratory ailments, allergies, intestinal disorders, colds, viruses, staph, strep and e coli infections, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, many childhood cancers, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, salmonella, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS) as well as lifetime protection from Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, some lymphomas, insulin dependent diabetes, and for girls, breast and ovarian cancer."..."Through your breast milk, you give your baby immunities to illnesses to which you are immune and also those to which you have been exposed. Nursing also allows your baby to give germs to you so that your immune system can respond and can synthesize antibodies! This means that if your baby has come in contact with something which you have not, (s)he will pass these germs to you at the next nursing; during that feeding, your body will start to manufacture antibodies for that particular germ. By the time the next feeding arrives, your entire immune system will be working to provide immunities for you and your baby"
http://www.llli.org/faq/prevention.html

Good Morning Sister Doulas, Fellow Birthworkers, and Parents

I am writing this morning with a heavy heart. One of our birth worker friends is in trouble and needs our help. I don’t know all the details, but I will share some of what I do know. There is a midwife in the state of North Carolina that has been arrested for the death of the unborn child by “acute chorioamnionitis and funistis and meconium aspiration.”
According to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, “Meconium aspiration syndrome occurs when a newborn breathes in a mixture of amniotic and other fluid during delivery. It is a leading cause of severe illness and death in newborns and occurs in 5-10 percent of births.” As one respondent educatedly replied, “If meconium aspiration is one of the leading causes of newborn death according to John's Hopkins, then how is this the midwife's fault? Statistics show that 99% of births take place in the hospital, so are the doctors arrested every time this happens in a hospital and blamed for the death?” 

North Carolina is a CNM midwife only state. A midwife must then adhere to what regulations the doctor sets before the midwife and in turn the parameters that a woman has in birthing her baby. (In Arizona midwives are not allowed to support a VBAC, a normal variation of birth. In Arizona the doctors do not support VBACs. Where does this leave a mom who has been cut and lives in Arizona?) Rowan Bailey was not licensed, but supported women in how they wanted to birth and were competent in choosing who to birth with. Being unlicensed does not mean a midwife is unqualified, uneducated or lacks skills, as Cindy has explained. Not many years back Virginia had unlicensed midwives and licensure has become a fight in Maryland, using it to take down midwifery as a profession. As we have witnessed here, in Virginia, our CPMs are more than competent to support moms giving birth, as well as our unlicensed midwives have been. Women and babies are capable in birth. Rowan was supporting a mom, who chose her as her support team, and the baby passed. Rowan is not being charged for not adhering to North Carolina’s midwifery
licensure law. She is being charged with murder of an unborn child through the  personhood law. “2011 N.C. Sess. Laws, Chap. 60 (HB 215) defines murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and assault of an unborn child. "Unborn child" is defined as a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb. These provisions do not apply to lawful acts that cause the death of an unborn child as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-45.1, acts that are committed in the usual standards of medical practice or acts committed by a pregnant woman that result in a miscarriage or stillbirth. The law repeals N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-18.2.” Mothers, doctors, and abortionists are exempt from this law. It was enacted to protect women from abusers, not their midwife. 
 
What can you do to help? We are raising money for Rowan’s bond, $15,000. When she appears back in court she will be given the money back to apply to her lawyer fees. Carla Hartley, the owner of AAMI, Ancient Art Midwifery Institute, has generously set up this option for donations. "I am working on a way to raise money for Rowan's bail... First .... If you send a check made payable to Rowan Bailey I will give you an AAMI shop credit in the
same amount....mp3s and more. Send to Carla Hartley 30223 Calle Belcanto. Menifee, Ca 92584. If you send $500 I will give you a $700 credit." I will tell you this is a great offer. The MP3s are invaluable in our birth work. There is knowledge from all over the world on them. Another offer is http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-for-rowan-bailey-midwife?show_todos=trueStephanie Dawn is offering some birth business goodies. This isn’t just a midwifery issue, but a women’s right to choose how she wants to birth and with whom. 

Gina Kirby will be hosting Rowan on her talk show today at 1:30pm (EST) The Witch Hunt:Midwifery & the myth of Freedom. “Today we are talking to Rowan Bailey, a birth advocate in North Carolina, where midwives are literally criminalized and Homebirth is virtually prohibited because mothers are forced to choose hospital birth or unassisted birth. Rowen is talking to us from jail, where she was taken because she assisted a mother in excercising her own human right to birth her baby where she chosen…”
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/progressive-parenting/2013/03/29/the-witch-hunt-lives-onmidwifery-the-myth-of-free

 Have a beautiful day!

Warm regards,
~Fern<><

The reasons for not hatting (adapted from Carla Harlty):
1.Hats can be very dangerous. They can cause moms to have postpartum hemorrhaging. As it turns out the experience of birth is what triggers the built in safety mechanisms. This is also true for third stage. Mom being able to smell her newborn’s head is the design for the reconnection of mother and baby (smell of baby to olfactory system to limbic system = initiation of “identification” biology) and release of Oxytocin signaling the uterus to release placenta and stop bleeding so necessary for mother’s health. The smell doesn't so much trigger Oxytocin as it is that the limbic system is waiting for that smell in order to tell the uterus it is ok to proceed to the next step; anything we do to inhibit that process is dangerous to the mamma.

2.In addition to hats interfering with bonding and safety of third stage, hatting restricts the unmoulding of the baby’s skull. Plus the head is extremely sensitive in those first hours.

3.The hats we use in the U.S. do nothing for maintenance of core temp according to the studies I have found, and in fact one study showed that a hat was detrimental to maintenance of core temp. Brain cooling may actually be good for all babies and not those who have potential brain damage. And studies show that skin to skin with mom is most effective way to stabilize core temperature and that in fact, her body will heat and cool as
needed for baby’s sake as it did when baby was inside. Even if separated from mom, a hat is NOT proven to stabilize core temp unless it is woolen these stockinette or cotton hats we use are useless if not dangerous throw them away.

Brilliant! We cannot improve on this design. Why do we keep trying?

I hope you learned. I sure did, when I first heard of this concept. It’s a part of
protecting moms and protecting babies.

My sister took her 4 week old baby to the pool to let him explore. He wore sun block and she kept her back to the sun. While swimming she noticed the center of her baby’s head had sunk in. She panicked called the pediatrician, who was busy, and tried Googling what was going on with her baby.

This can be quite alarming to see happen and if not handled properly can lead to greater medical conditions. The soft spot sinks in when a baby is dehydrated. This can be seen when a baby has been in hot weather, not getting another liquids, or going through the flu. It is important that if you are breastfeeding to continue to and even increase the fluid intake. Formula fed babies should also continue the formula intake to ensure good hydration.  

“Children’s skin can be quite sensitive to heat. Nursing moms often discover this, especially in the summertime, when their baby’s face turns red where it is against the mother’s skin. This redness comes from blood vessels in the area dilating to cool the skin down. Cooling the skin usually makes the rash disappear within hours, or even sooner. Prickly heat (miliaria rubra) is a type of heat rash that lasts.

Heat cramps are common with physical exertion. They usually affect the calf or hamstring muscles.

Heat syncope is fainting due to heat/dehydration.

Heat edema is swelling of the hands or feet from heat. People sometimes get this condition when initially exposed to hot weather.

Heat tetany is tingling, especially of the wrists. Hyperventilation in hot weather can cause heat tetany.

Heat exhaustion usually entails a body temperature of 101 to 104, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and fainting.

It is important to recognize and treat heat exhaustion immediately. 

Heat stroke is very serious. A person’s temperature rises over 104 degrees and he or she has an altered mental status. 50 percent of those with heat stroke die from it. There are two types of heat stroke: exertional, with profuse sweating; and classic, in which the skin is hot and dry. Classic heat stroke builds up over days and is most common in infants and in the elderly. It is a true emergency.

The smaller the child, the less likely he is to be able to tolerate heat, especially if he is already a bit dehydrated or has a fever, and if there is poor air circulation.

Heat injuries can occur at any age. Sports and physical activity are generally beneficial and healthy for adolescents; nevertheless, heat injuries are among the leading causes of sports deaths.”(1)

*If you are concerned seek medical advice and attention. This blog is just to help inform what may be going on with your infant and is not to substitute that of the medical profession.

1. Gavigan C. Healthy Begins Here. June 30, 2010. http://blogs.webmd.com/health-ehome/2010/06/heat-stroke-is-no-joke-keep-hydrated-this-summer.html.