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Common Baby Care Items, Obesity, and Diabetes

Posted by on April 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Scientists found that people exposed to phthalates were more prone to weight gain. Similarly, test subjects that had even ‘modest’ levels of phthalates in their bloodstream were twice as likely to develop diabetes. We have a childhood diabetes crisis in our country. Certainly there are numerous causes for the trend toward obesity in American children, but that doesn’t mean we just toss our hands in the air and give up.

So, where are our children getting phthalates from? Well, numerous sources actually. It’s in certain plastics, which is part of the reason why parents are reaching to natural wooden toys.

I found an article on Medscape posted this year that was published in the American Contact Dermatitis Society’s journal Dermatitis last year. The study looked into common baby products and found four common baby products that contained detectable levels of phthalates.  The sunscreen that was tested contained the highest levels, followed distantly by the baby bath, the body wash, and the moisturizer. The study didn’t mention the brand names of the products tested. So, we’re kind of left there hanging. Searching for baby products and phthalates, I noticed that Johnson and Johnson’s site references that their core baby products STILL contain phthalates. They did mention they are working to phase them out, but this struggle has been going on for way to long. I go into the timeline of Johnson and Johnson’s revolting unsafe baby product production here.

“DEP, the only phthalate used in our core baby products, has been extensively researched and confirmed to be safe by independent scientific review bodies in the U.S. and Europe. However, as part of our process of continuously updating our products, The Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies completed the worldwide phase-out of DEP in baby products late last year.”

CJ's BUTTer 4oz. TUBEEach new publication warning us of new-found concerns about ingredients in our baby products that we already knew were dangerous merely compounds the evidence. We can’t trust megacorporations like Johnson and Johnson with our babies.

There are genuinely toxin free baby products available online. Everything Birth even carries many baby care products that are actually natural and actually safe. Check them out here.

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Autism, Mitochondria and Mitochondrial Toxic Medicines.

Posted by on April 21, 2012 3 Comments

Mitochondrial damage is getting lots of attention recently.  As new, expecting or experienced natural moms, this is a hot topic in the Everything Birth community mostly because it is the one admitted link between vaccines and autistic like behavior.

Merck’s Vaccines Division, Julie Gerberding confirmed to CBS News while she was Director of the CDC that, “if you’re predisposed with the mitochondrial disorder, it (the MMR vaccine) can certainly set off some damage. Some of the symptoms can be symptoms that have characteristics of autism.”

In addition to our non-organic food sources like high fructose corn syrup which in various forms is nearly everything, including formula, there are medications that are stated by Mito Action as being reported to be mitochondrial toxic. Some very common medications that we give our children and even take during pregnancy may be harming our children’s mitochondria and setting them up for a decreased ability to stay healthy as well as a decreased ability to handle the bodily trauma from vaccinations. Mito Action’s chart can be found here.

Many of you have witnessed my journey through deciding not to vaccinate my own daughter any longer through posts on this blog, but in an attempt to stay fair and seek out truth, I want to point out something that I found very interesting.

How many vaccinating moms are told to give the baby Tylenol (Acetaminophen)  just before or just after their vaccinations? Most of my vaccinating mom friends get told to give tylenol just before the vaccination visit to help with any pain. Those that aren’t though, are usually told to give it afterwards for pain, and to prevent or treat a fever that arises from vaccines.

Acetaminophen though, according to Mito Action, is toxic to mitochondria. 

Keep in mind as you ponder this, I am not a doctor. I’d just like for us to think on this for a moment. If we chose to vaccinate, we generally hold our breath for a few days with our fingers crossed, right? What if there is something to this? What if this practice of giving Tylenol just before or just after being injected with multiple vaccines could be a factor in the autism epidemic that has stricken 1 in 88 of our children in the US? Another thing to consider before giving Tylenol before or after a vaccination is that when put to the test, more children get a fever with vaccines when Tylenol is given than when it is not given at all.

 

 

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The problem with LMP-Based Pregnancy Calculations, Obstetricians and Arizona

Posted by on April 19, 2012 6 Comments

Look, I’m not actually pro-choice. I wouldn’t bother to mention it, except that many of you follow my posts and might feel like I was a big huge liar if I suddenly started commenting on an abortion issue from a pro-choice argument. Not to be wishywashy, but for those of you who don’t know me, I’m not in that grey “I wouldn’t do it, but you can” area either. I’m talking totally left field. My personal beliefs on abortion fall much more in line with ancient midwifery practices.

BUT…

My stance on the abortion issue has absolutely nothing to do with this post, so I won’t bother to delve into it further.

Arizona has passed a new law concerning abortions. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Here’s the text of it.

Here’s the part that has gotten women everywhere, including many in the pro-life (or even left field) camp pretty riled up:

“Gestational age” means the age of the unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman.

So, according to this law, a woman’s window to obtain an abortion just lost at least two weeks.  Now, I really do get why they did it. They want to use the same “week schedule” that doctors use.  They don’t want women told by Planned Parenthood that they are 4 weeks pregnant to do a google search for “four weeks pregnant” to find a barely recognizable fetus that is only 2 weeks old. Perhaps a different photo of a fetus at the actual stage of the one she is carrying would alter her decision. I get that. But this new verbage in the Arizona abortion law has enormous consequences.

Not all women ovulate two weeks after the start of their last menstrual period (LMP). Women’s bodies don’t work that way. I mean sure, often they do, but often they don’t. Some women won’t ovulate an egg to be fertilized for six to eight weeks after their last period. Some women will ovulate twice in one cycle. Our bodies vary. Our bodies aren’t machines.

I know that when women are pregnant it’s exciting to say, “I’m four weeks,” but we’re not really fooling ourselves. Lord knows, our husbands or lovers get awfully confused by it. How many young men do you think have seen the paperwork stating the due date have protested that they are not the father because forty weeks earlier was not “the night?”

We shouldn’t be making laws stating, “Gestational age means the age of the unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman.” Instead of changing abortion laws to reflect obstetric terminology, we should be changing obstetric terminology to reflect the actual age of the unborn baby. From there, the lawmakers can debate on how far along a pregnancy is allowed to be for a woman to be allowed an abortion.

We have pretty accurate ways to judge the age of an unborn child. We have amazing ultrasound technology. Even fundal height would be a more accurate way of determining gestation than last menstrual period.

This LPM-based system causes havoc already. LMP-based calculations result in preterm deliveries being induced. LMP- based calculations result in unwarranted tests. LMP-based calculations result in membranes being stripped too soon. LMP-based calculations result in significant complications in a lot of pregnancies. So, why are we building upon a broken system?

 

 

 

 

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Shingles and Chicken Pox Vaccinations, Oh My….

Posted by on April 18, 2012 3 Comments

chicken pox picture

Disclaimer: Nothing in this post should be considered medical advice. Always discuss medical concerns with your doctor.

According to Medscape, the varicella zoster virus booster vaccine was tested among older adults. They found that among healthy adults 60 years and older there is no extra benefit from a second vaccination against varicella zoster vaccine over the first. The experts believe these findings suggests that those who have had shingles in the past might also not benefit from this vaccination at all.  This was all discussed in March of this year during a presentation at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 70th Annual Meeting.

Varicella zoster is the virus which causes chicken pox and herpes zoster (shingles.)

Their findings also showed a slow decline in immunogenicity over the 6-month testing period. So, the benefits began to wear off while they were monitoring, and subsequent boosters did not help boost their immunity.

I realize this study was all about older people and this blog is about birth, but this study will bring the argument against the routine chicken pox vaccine full circle by the end of it, I promise.

Let’s take a step back from the shingles booster shot for a moment and look at the child hood chicken pox vaccine. I’ll explain why in a moment…

The Chicken Pox Vaccine

Here is Merck’s information that they give to doctors regarding the Varivax Vaccine.  It says, that in their study 0.3%-3.8% of vaccinees per year reported getting chickenpox even with the childhood chicken pox vaccine. Notice that is per year, not per child. This is a very different thing.  They had 4240 children that they followed for nine years. And each year, 0.3%-3.8% got chicken pox. We will just go with 2 percent because it’s in the middle. Two percent of 4240 children is about 85 children. So, 85 children got Chicken Pox every year, despite getting vaccinate. Except the follow up lasted nine years. 85 time 9 is 765. So, essentially, within nine years, 765 of the 4240 children  roughly got Chicken Pox anyway. Suddenly, that’s 18 percent of the test subjects… that got Chicken Pox anyway in nine years, despite being vaccinated. They say the virus is less severe, but even if it is less severe, it’s still contagious. Most of us aren’t too worried about Chicken Pox, we remember having it. Most of us only concede to give this vaccine to our children because they tell us if we don’t, we are selfish and then they explain that we need think of the children who have compromised immune systems.

Two points to consider:

  • This vaccine contains the live virus, so is potentially contagious for awhile anyway.
  • A vaccinated child who get the pox will still be contagious even if the illness less severe.

The Chicken Pox Boosters

Now, the vaccine doesn’t last as long as we originally thought it would. That’s why my ten year old was sent  a note home from school explaining it was time for his chicken pox booster shot though we were originally dreading the magic age of 12. The schedule we got at the beginning of kindergarten said our next scheduled boosters would be at age 12.

I did give my son the Varicella vax, because that was a time when I didn’t understand that I could state a philosophical exemption. Had he gotten actual chicken pox, like I did, he would have had decades of immunity to varicella. He wasn’t allowed to though, so now they urge boosters. Before 1995, it’s true that there were about 3.7 million cases of chickenpox annually.  Yet, of those millions of kids there were only an average of 100 people in the US per year that died from it.  Of all of the immunodeficient kids, of all of the cancer patients, of all the children with transplants, only about 100 people total in the entire US died from chicken pox and chicken pox complications per year.

My biggest concern is tha one of the most dangerous time for anyone to get chicken pox would be during pregnancy because of the danger of that first exposure to the developing fetus. Now, with the ambiguity of the vaccination efficacy and the need for boosters, I can’t help but worry about our daughters. In sparing them from a mild childhood illness, did we just end up leaving them open to contracting it while they are pregnant, when their immune systems have weakened so as not to reject the baby?

Teens With Shingles and Adults With Shingles

While chicken pox rates and severity have fallen, we are countered with a rise in cases of teens getting shingles. Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D.,also  revealed high rates of shingles  in Americans since the  recommendation in 1995 that all children receive chicken pox vaccine. This is disheartening because it is believed that shingles results in three times as many deaths and five times the number of hospitalizations as chicken pox. In vaccinating against chicken pox, are we encouraging shingles?

What we know now that we didn’t know even a couple of years ago is that each time an adult is exposed even in passing to a child who has chicken pox, it acts like a little booster shot… a safe and actually effective little booster shot that is. Humans throughout the ages have been exposed to the sick children of their society while taking care of them. This exposure is good and healthy for the adults. We now understand that it boosts the adult’s  immunity over and over again, making them stronger… making them less likely to develop shingles.

Shingles is more dangerous and painful than chicken pox, and yet, by vaccinating against chicken pox, we are increasing the number of shingles case. The answer to this conundrum, according to our drug companies, is now to also vaccinate against shingles through adulthood.

But I do not believe that that is a valid resolution to this problem now that we have been brought full circle. It doesn’t stand the test of reason because, according to the new research presented at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting this year that I started this post with, the shingles vaccine loses effectiveness slowly and subsequent vaccinations do nothing to boost effectiveness.

Is this the mess we really want for our children?

Wouldn’t it just be simpler and more beneficial to let them get chicken pox as children when it’s safest? In doing so, we would spare them countless extra vaccinations, eliminate the risks of our daughters contracting it during pregnancy, lower the chances that they will get shingles as teenagers, decrease our own risks of getting shingles and decrease the risk of our elderly developing.

 

References

“VARIVAX® Varicella Virus Vaccine Live.” Merck. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/varivax/varivax_pi.pdf>.

“CDC – Reports of Health Concerns Following HPV Vaccination – Vaccine Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/hpv/gardasil.html>.

“CDC – VAERS – Vaccine Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Activities/VAERS.html>.

“Chickenpox Vaccine Facts National Vaccine Information Center.” National Vaccine Information Center. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Chickenpox/chickenpoxfacts.aspx>.

“Childhood Cancers – National Cancer Institute.” National Cancer Institute. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/childhood>.

“Going to Be a Patient.” St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center of Syracuse, NY. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.sjhsyr.org/sjhhc/stj_patient_2.asp?id=232>.

Johnson, Kate. “No Benefit to Zoster Booster Vaccine” Medscape Medical News. March. 2012. <http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/760898>.

“US Historical Population, by Year.” Negative Population Growth.. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.npg.org/facts/us_historical_pops.htm>.

“Chickenpox Vaccine Shingles Epidemic.” Dr. Mercola. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/02/chicken-pox-vaccine-creates-shingles-epidemic.aspx>.

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Dental X-Rays And Brain Tumors?!

Posted by on April 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

File:Virtual teeth smile.png A study published this month in the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer reported that they have found a link between certain kinds of dental x-rays and the most common type of brain tumor. Meningioma is almost always benign, but is often debilitating and often require surgery.

The x-ray that that was the biggest concern is associated with more than twice the likelihood of this type of brain tumor. That dental x-ray is the bitewing x-ray. I’m sure you’ve seen this one, I got it at almost every dental visit when I was young. It’s the one where you hold that weird film down in place by biting it and the edges often pinch at your mouth or cheek if you’re not careful.

The study compared the self-reported dental X-ray histories of 1,433 adults who had the meningioma brain tumor with 1,350 adults who had not ever had these types of x-rays. The meningioma brain tumor group was two times as likely as the control group to report ever having had a bitewing x-ray exam. But, also, the meningioma group also was more likely to report having had a panorex exam as a child or on a yearly basis. The panorex x-ray is the one that is taken outside the mouth and shows all of the teeth in one film.

Now, the study’s author says it doesn’t yet prove that dental x-rays cause these meningioma brain tumors and that more research would be able to make that claim. They point out that perhaps the test subjects were more inclined to remember childhood x-rays because they were looking for a cause of their tumor. However, dental experts, according to this report, already recommend practitioners only use x-rays on their patients when absolutely needed. Dr. Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society said, “We need more data before we can even begin to state there is a relationship between dental x-rays and these tumors. Until that research is done, the best advice we can give people is to get dental x-rays when they are necessary and only when they are necessary.”

I haven’t found that the dentists I have gone to recently are subscribing to that policy though, which is the point of this post.  Since many of your children presumably see a dentist that may follow the similar x-ray at every check-up policy that is apparently outdated, we as parents need to be proactive in this.

I’m not suggesting you go against a dentist’s advice and refuse x-rays for your children.  The concerns that this study brought up are just an incentive to me to make sure that my children avoid any unneeded x-rays and avoid the standard annual dental x-rays all together.

 

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The common, “We were all vaccinated” argument and its obvious holes.

Posted by on April 14, 2012 9 Comments

One of the main arguments I keep hearing used to justify complying with the mandatory vaccine schedule for pre-school children is, “Well, we were all vaccinated, so what’s the big deal?”

It’s true that I was vaccinated in accordance with the CDC’s schedule at the time.  Here’s my pre-school vaccination history:

When I was two months old, I got a shot of DTP and a shot of OPV.  At my four month well visit, I was given a second shot of DTP and a second shot of OPV. At my six month well visit, I was given a third dose of DTP. Then I was good for awhile until at fifteen months, I was given the MMR. Three months later at 18 months, I was given another round of both the OPV and the DTP.  At four years old, I was given another dose of the DTP and of the OPV. Then, I was ready for kindergarten.

My daughter’s mandatory vaccine schedule, had I not opted out of most of it for health reasons, would have looked quite a bit different. Here is her ideal vaccination schedule to start kindergarten according to the CDC:

My daughter would have first been exposed to the influenza vaccine while still gestating within me. Then, fresh from the womb, before being released from the hospital, she was supposed to get the Hep B vaccine. Four weeks later, she was supposed to get a second Hep B vaccine. At a mere two months old, when I was getting my first two immunizations, my daughter was supposed to the DTaP vaccine, the Hib vaccine, the IPV vaccine, the PCV vaccine and the Rotavirus vaccine.  Two months later, at her four month well visit, she was supposed to get another dose of the DTaP vax, the Hib vax, the IPV vax, the PCV vax and the Rotavirus vax.  Her next well baby visit was supposed to be at 6 months. At that visit she would have been given another Hep B shot, another DTaP shot, another Hib shot, another IPV shot, and other PCV shot, a flu shot, and a final Rotavirus shot. Then, we’d take a six month vaccine break. Her immunizations would pick back up on her first birthday and I would go in and her her another Hib vaccine, her first MMR vaccine, the chicken pox vaccine, the PCV booster, and a vaccination for Hep A. Her 15 month well baby visit would have been a breeze because she’d only get the DTaP at that visit. At 18 months, she would get another flu shot and another Hep A shot.  At two and a half, she’d be ready for another annual flu shot. Again at 3 and a half years old, she would have gotten another flu shot. At four years old, before pre-school, she would have been given another MMR vaccine, another DTaP vaccine, another chicken pox vaccine, and another IPV vaccine.  One more flu shot at 4 and a half and then (provided they don’t add any new vaccines to the schedule in the next couple of years) she will be ready to start kindergarten. 

I think we can all agree, at the very least, that those two kindergarten readiness schedules are vastly different from each other. So, I request that that argument be stricken from the record. Will anyone second that request?

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Yes, People Eat Their Own Placentas. So What?

Posted by on April 12, 2012 1 Comment

Placentophagy is the word used for when mothers eat their own placentas. In 2007, a woman had to actually fight a hospital in court for the right to retain her own placenta which she intended to dry, grind up, encapsulate and ingest it. These days, “Will you be saving your placenta?” is just about as common of a question as, “Will you be cloth diapering?” on many mothering forums online.

I know it seems gross. It did to me at first too. While I never ate my placenta, maybe I should have. I suffered from pretty bad postpartum depression with each of my deliveries. Women claim that eating their own placentas dramatically helps even out post-birth hormones. The placenta contains estrogen and progesterone naturally, so it does stand up to reason. Unfortunately there is very little research on the matter of women eating their placentas.

We often see it in nature. Though, I always assumed it was just wildlife’s way of eliminating all traces of an easy target to protect their infants from predators. It seems that there may be much more to it though. As more women reach out to midwives, thanks to the Canadian study that showed midwife attended home births are statistically safer than hospital births, placentophagy is becoming more common place.  Despite a lack of scientific research, the anecdotal evidence and positive additional expressed by new mothers who have chosen to eat their own placentas seem to substantiate the idea that it offers a lot of benefits.

Women counter the ick factor by pointing out that most Americans eat meat from random animals they’ve never seen, handled by a meat industry that is deplorable, and no one thinks anything of it. There is nothing inherently dangerous about eating your own placenta, so, why all the opposition?

Remember, your birth is your birth. Do it your way.  And keep in mind, if you’re nervous about what people will think, there’s no reason you have to tell everyone anyway. If you want to see if encapsulating or eating your own placenta might help with your postpartum weeks, check out www.placentabenefits.info. You can buy your own kit on that website as well!

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Non-Organic Foods and Pregnancy Do Not Mix: A Birth Weight and Gestational Study

Posted by on April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

A new study is saying what many of us have known for a long time: Pesticides and herbicides and pregnancy do not mix.

Obstetricians have been told by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine to issue a basic warning that pregnant women should stay away from pesticides and herbicides that are in non-organic foods because of previous studies indicating they can harm the developing fetus.

In this study, Cincinnati-area women demonstrated levels of organophosphate insecticides that significantly affected birth weight and gestation period. Lead researcher, Dr. Bruce Lanphear, and his partners followed an economically and ethically diverse group of more than 300 expectant mothers from the Cincinnati and the surrounding areas and they measured the levels of organophosphates in their urine. The women with the highest concentrations of urine had babies that were delivered, on average, about half a week earlier and weighed one-third of a pound less than those of women with the lowest exposures.

This may not seem like a big deal. In fact, for many women, it may seem inviting to have to deliver a smaller baby and wait a few less days to deliver, but it is indicative of a bigger problem.  Pesticides and herbicides in our foods are getting into our bodies and causing an effect on our lives.

Now, combine this new study with past studies and we get a better picture of just how dangerous eating foods sprayed with or genetically altered to manufacture their own herbicides or pesticides really is. Other studies include:

  • Three studies that found that prenatal exposure to organophosphates was associated with a lower IQ in children.
  • A study that shows glyphosate (an herbicide used in our foods) causes damage to placenta, umbilical, and embryonic human cells.
  • One study saying that our current  formulations for food use underestimate their toxic and hormonal impact on pregnancy.
  • A study that linked the herbicide RoundUp to birth defects.
  • A studying addressing herbicides’ link to neural defects and craniofacial malformations.

I understand the the topic of mainstream food verses organic food is an especially hot topic these days, especially as the Just Label It campaign managed to muster up over a million signatures on their petition to the FDA requesting that genetically modified foods be labeled in part because of their enormous use of herbicides and their ability to manufacture their own pesticides within their own DNA.  This is a very political issue. I understand that.

My motives for writing this post are not about politics though. In August of 2000, I had a still born baby and last year, I found a study that showed, finally, a cause for what my doctors had said was a fluke genetic mutation. After ten years, I discovered the only known, provable cause for my daughter’s genetic defect that resulted in her death. That cause was organophosphates. That loss was one I hope to prevent other women from experiencing. That is the reason for my message.

If you are planning a family, as I know many of Everything Birth Blog’s readers are, please consider making the switch to organic foods for both you and the father-to-be. It may spare you a devastating heartbreak…

organic food pregnancy

Stillborn because of a genetic mutation found to be linked to organophosphates.

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Unexpected Fire Hazards Create Unexpected Headlines.

Posted by on April 8, 2012 2 Comments

Big Movers Super Car toy trucks that were sold exclusively at Kohls as part of a toy & t-shirt set are being recalled because they could unexpectedly catch fire. For additional information, please contact Happy Shirts toll-free at (855) 354-2779 between noon and 8 p.m. PT (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. HT) Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.happyshirts.com. That’s all I’ve got on that story, but…

In other fire hazard news, here’s something I bet you never thought could unexpectedly catch fire…

A pregnant woman’s abdomen catches fire during C-section

As Kira Reed was lying on the operating table at Crouse Hospital on March 12, 2010, she suddenly smelled burning but was told there was nothing to worry about. Then, she saw smoke and told the obstetrician, Dr. Stephen Brown. At that point, he, according to Kira said, “She’s right.” Then, she said he patted out the flame with his hand. The doctor continued on with the operation and Kira Reed gave birth to a healthy baby daughter, but in addition to normal recovery, she had to recover from a painful 3rd degree burn on her side which was 7 inches long and 5 inches wide.

See here’s what happened. They applied some DuraPrep antiseptic skin preparation onto her abdomen for her surgery. They didn’t let it dry. A surgical instrument made a spark, and she caught on fire.

Kira Reed is suing Brown and Crouse Hospital for medical malpractice, claiming the doctor and nurses failed to follow the manufacturer’s recommended procedures for using an alcohol-based antiseptic that was applied to her skin in preparation for surgery. Four of the nurses and the anesthesiologist testified in depositions on the matter that before Kira’s belly caught fire, they hadn’t been trained in how to prevent surgical fires. One nurse said she didn’t even know it was a possibility.

But alas, it is a possibility, just like the manufacturer warned. It is a possibility, and it happened. During a scheduled, non-emergency c-section, a woman caught on fire.

Not only is it a possibility though. And not only did it happen, between 400 and 600 surgical fires happen on patients each year. That’s not too bad, considering that there are around 50 million surgeries annually. But, still, 400 and 600 people catch fire during surgery a year? Who would have thought? That’s just unfathomable to me. Mark Bruley, who is an expert in surgical fires, said that he’s only seen about a dozen fires in the last couple of decades from c-sections. He added that they have always been during rushed emergency c-sections. Kira’s c-section was scheduled though, so they had every opportunity to let the solution dry properly.

I’ve got my eye out on the news, rest assured, I’ll let you know if they issue a recall on scheduled c-sections.

In the meantime, let’s remember, no human is infallible. OB’s are often seen pointing out possible negative outcomes with midwife assisted births, but it’s important to remember that OB’s are also involved in bizarre, rare circumstances.  As you choose your birthing location, understand that there are risks everywhere, and if it helps settle any reservations, The Canadian Medical Association Journal declared in their 2009 September issue that planned midwife assisted home births have impressively better outcomes than hospital births. In fact, planned midwife assisted births resulted in significantly less c-sections, episiotomies, artificial rupturing of fetal membranes, use of oxytocin, electronic fetal monitoring and deaths.

So, go ahead, if your pregnancy is normal, choose a midwife.

 

 

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Most Chickens Take More Medicine Than My Children Do.

Posted by on April 6, 2012 6 Comments

File:Roasted chicken.jpgScientists at John Hopkins University ran a feather sample test to find out what toxins could be found in the feathers of our non-organic chickens that are used in the poultry industry. Researchers were only looking for antibiotics in the poultry, but when other chemicals were included in the test at no charge, they went ahead and asked for those results too.

Antibiotics

Even I was shocked to learn that they found that chickens had been being given Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics. I was only shocked because the practice of giving this kind of antibiotic to chickens has been banned because it greatly reduced the antibiotic’s effectiveness for people who needed it. It was given to chickens as a preventative  measure, and resulted in some bacteria becoming resistant to it so that when humans were infected, it no longer worked. I guess rules don’t matter to the big time corporate farmers though, because they are clearly still giving it to their chickens. I guess it doesn’t matter that according to to the Infectious Diseases Society of America  them that antibiotic-resistant infections already kill more Americans than AIDS.

Tylenol

The researchers weren’t quite sure why chickens were given Tylenol. They presumed it must be as a pain relieving measure, because stressed out chickens makes for a bad texture of meat. Whatever the reason, there was Tylenol in there. How many of you ever presumed there was Tylenol in the bodies of the chickens that we eat?

Benadryl

Benadryl is apparently commonly given to chickens to relax them. They are all penned together and overcrowded and it creates a very stressful situation for the chickens. Chicken farmers try to help them relax by doping them up with Benadryl. Presumably their bodies use most of it, but never the less, the non-organic chickens we eat often  have been given Benadryl.

Arsenic

Why in the world would farmers give chickens arsenic? Right? Actually arsenic is routinely given to poultry because it reduces infections in them and gives their meat a nice pink color. In recent months, we’ve learned about arsenic in rice and in apple juice. Now we also have to worry about arsenic in our chicken. The poultry industry however says it could easily be arsenic that was just naturally found in nature coming from the corn or soybeans that the chicken were fed.  Given that the poultry industry demonstrated a lack of trustworthiness in regards to the use of banned antibiotics though, I don’t trust them. Besides, a different study showed that chicken feathers contained mostly the kind of arsenic that is not naturally occurring in nature.

Caffeine

Why in the world would chickens need caffeine? Well, apparently chickens are routinely given coffee pulp because it keeps them awake longer. The longer they are awake, the longer they eat. The more the eat, the bigger they will be. Since poultry chickens only live a few months anyway, the goal is to get them as big as possible in as short of a time as possible.

Anti-Depressants

This is really just insane. By the time I learned that chicken feathers tested positive for caffeine, I was pretty much numb. The study got worse though. Also found in the feathers of our poultry chickens was anti-depressants like Prozac. Seriously? Prozac? I guess, now that I know the horrible conditions these chickens have to endure during those short months, I should be thankful that they don’t have to go through it will complete awareness. Even still though, wouldn’t eating free range chicken be a kinder and healthier choice?  Farmers feed their chickens Anti-depressants to regulate their moods so that they are relaxed enough to make meat that isn’t tough, not because they feel bad for the quality of their lives.

 

Now, it’s important to realize that because of this, more tests have to be run on the meat of the chicken. Just because it’s in the feathers, the poultry industry pointed out in response to this study, does not mean it’s in the meat.  So, it looks like we’ll learn the complete scope of this situation at a later date. In the meantime:

Now can we all just start eating organic?

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