Midwife honored with CNN Hero award

Image from: http://www.guerrillamidwife.org

Robin Lim, a midwife in Bali, was honored with CNN's Hero of the Year award this past Sunday. She believes that how a child is brought into the world helps shape how they interact and behave in the world. It brings to the forefront the importance of supportive care of women in the childbearing year, peaceful birth, and midwifery. Proper prenatal care and attendance by an experienced set of hands (midwives or doctors) is essential to the health and wellbeing of women and children.

In some countries, like Bali, women sometimes have no one in attendance to help them with one of life's greatest challenges and most rewarding experiences (birth), not to mention any prenatal care. As a result 981 women die every day. Robin pleas for your help to change that by supporting midwifery to mother care.

Women in the US are blessed with many options for prenatal care and birth. Sometimes the safest, best option is a home or birth center birth attended by a midwife (certified nurse midwife, certified professional midwife, lay midwife, or naturopathic doctor/midwife). Other times, a hospital birth with an an obstetrician or certified nurse midwife may be best. The most important thing to consider, after health risks, is where the woman feels the safest because in order for the birth to progress she must be relaxed. I hope all women take the time to investigate all their options so they can make a well informed choice that is best for their family.

To learn about Robin Lim see her excellent documentary Guerrilla Midwife. Learn more about choices in childbirth at Childbirth Connection

"Peace on Earth begins with birth, support midwives"

Early TV watching linked to ADHD

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages television watching in children under 2 years old. Watching TV before the age of 2 increases the chance the child will be diagnosed with ADHD. Watching TV impacts the way children's brains develop. It is especially important for very young children to play as it teaches them about the world and wires their brain appropriately.

More info:
American Academy of Pediatrics' Healthy Children website for parents and article on television

article: it's official: tv linked to attention deficit

Study in Pediatrics: Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children

Food labeling - just some fun

I thought vitamins were good for me

A new study published in the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Archives of Internal Medicine Journal claims that taking multivitamins may be bad for your health.  Oh but look at their study design.  They only asked participants 3 times over 18 years if they took multivitamins.  We know nothing about the quality of the supplements used, because investigators didn't look into that.  Learn more about the study in this article.

HPV vaccine (Gardasil)

Cervical cancer used to be a major cause of death for women, but since the introduction of the Pap smear, early detection and treatment has resulted in a 70-80% decrease in deaths from cervical cancer.  Thus, the contribution to Gardasil in reducing cervical cancer is minimal, if not unnecessary.  

Just learned in class this week that the risks of the HPV Vaccine do not outweigh its benefits.  According to my professor, the risk of an adverse reaction to the vaccine (such as fainting, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and possibly death) do not outweigh its benefits.  Woman are more likely to have an adverse event to the vaccine than they are to get cervical cancer.

Some of the other problems associated with the vaccine is that women think that they don't need to go in for a yearly pap smear anymore.  The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends yearly Pap screens for all women 21-35 years old.  After 35, the recommendations depend on the woman's history.  There are other strains that also cause cervical cancer, besides the two that the vaccine protects against.  Remember vaccines just help prepare your immune system for when you may encounter the vaccine.  Even the most effective vaccines do not provide 100% protection.  

For more info about the Gardasil vaccine read this article.

Dirty Dozen Fruits and Vegetables

Learn about the Dirty Dozen  fruits and vegetables.  These ones that are important to eat organically grown.


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Let's Get Started

Welcome to my new blog where I will be sharing with you various health information.  I may write about things I learn or experience during my journey in naturopathic school, and share news and articles. Stay tuned to improve your "health IQ."