"With a reputation as the “love hormone,” oxytocin has been linked to trust, empathy and generosity. But new research suggests that oxytocin plays a role in jealousy and gloating as well. “Subsequent to these findings, we assume that the hormone is an overall trigger for social sentiments: When the person’s association is positive, oxytocin bolsters pro-social behaviors; when the association is negative, the hormone increases negative sentiments,” Israeli researcher Simone Shamay-Tsoory, of the University of Haifa, said in a news release from the university".
Same hormone evokes both love and envy, study finds | Science and Environment | Jerusalem Post
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Study links genetic variation to individual empathy, stress levels
Researchers have discovered a genetic variation that may contribute to how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress. In the first study of its kind, a variation in the hormone/neurotransmitter oxytocin's receptor was linked to a person's ability to infer the mental state of others.
Hmmmmm, can't help but wonder what sort of birth and early upbringing the folks with the gene variation had. The environment has a huge impact on which genes get switched on which ones get switched off. How the genes get tinkered with and altered too depends upon the environment. Epigenetics is the field of science exploring genetic behaviour in response to environmental cues. The issue of the early environment on the person's oxytocin's receptor variation would be good study.
Study links genetic variation to individual empathy, stress levels
Hmmmmm, can't help but wonder what sort of birth and early upbringing the folks with the gene variation had. The environment has a huge impact on which genes get switched on which ones get switched off. How the genes get tinkered with and altered too depends upon the environment. Epigenetics is the field of science exploring genetic behaviour in response to environmental cues. The issue of the early environment on the person's oxytocin's receptor variation would be good study.
Study links genetic variation to individual empathy, stress levels
BBC NEWS | Health | Hypnosis has 'real' brain effect
"Hypnosis has a "very real" effect that can be picked up on brain scans, say Hull University researchers.
An imaging study of hypnotised participants showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain linked with daydreaming or letting the mind wander.
The same brain patterns were absent in people who had the tests but who were not susceptible to being hypnotised.
One psychologist said the study backed the theory that hypnosis "primes" the brain to be open to suggestion.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help people stop smoking or lose weight and advisers recently recommended its use on the NHS to treat irritable bowel syndrome".
Hypnosis is used in programs like 'Hypnobirthing' and 'Calmbirth' to help women give birth normally. This research helps to understand how hypnosis can be effective for some women and not for others. The self management skills that come through these programs are very beneficial for most people.
BBC NEWS | Health | Hypnosis has 'real' brain effect
An imaging study of hypnotised participants showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain linked with daydreaming or letting the mind wander.
The same brain patterns were absent in people who had the tests but who were not susceptible to being hypnotised.
One psychologist said the study backed the theory that hypnosis "primes" the brain to be open to suggestion.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help people stop smoking or lose weight and advisers recently recommended its use on the NHS to treat irritable bowel syndrome".
Hypnosis is used in programs like 'Hypnobirthing' and 'Calmbirth' to help women give birth normally. This research helps to understand how hypnosis can be effective for some women and not for others. The self management skills that come through these programs are very beneficial for most people.
BBC NEWS | Health | Hypnosis has 'real' brain effect
Medical establishment prevents nurses from assuming new roles
Physicians still retain the bulk of decision-making power over nurses in Quebec - a situation that's detrimental to evolving nursing roles. According to a new study by Université de Montréal researchers, published in Recherches Sociographiques, nursing functions are still very much assigned by physicians who often oversee family medicine groups (FMGs), specialized nurse practitioners (SNP) and oncology nurse navigators (ONN).
Medical establishment prevents nurses from assuming new roles
Medical establishment prevents nurses from assuming new roles
Sunday 15 November 2009
Medical News: Listeriosis Risk to Fetuses Higher than Thought - in Infectious Disease, General Infectious Disease from MedPage Today
The risk of listeriosis in pregnant women and their fetuses is greater than previously thought, researchers said.
Listeria monocytogenes -- one of the most dangerous foodborne pathogens in the U.S. -- can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, according to Mary Alice Smith, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Medical News: Listeriosis Risk to Fetuses Higher than Thought - in Infectious Disease, General Infectious Disease from MedPage Today
Listeria monocytogenes -- one of the most dangerous foodborne pathogens in the U.S. -- can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, according to Mary Alice Smith, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Medical News: Listeriosis Risk to Fetuses Higher than Thought - in Infectious Disease, General Infectious Disease from MedPage Today
Friday 13 November 2009
QUESTION 2. Should an infant who is breastfeeding poorly and has a tongue tie undergo a tongue tie division? -- Algar 94 (11): 911 -- Archives of Disease in Childhood
The whole issue (of whether tongue tie -ankyloglossia is related to breastfeeding difficulties) is complicated when considering that many studies have attempted to measure the degree of tongue tie, a notoriously difficult endeavour, and that once graded, the degree of impairment appears not to correlate with breastfeeding problems. With all this considered, one cannot ignore the plethora of documented experience that supports this procedure, so much so that NICE have produced an interventional procedure guideline that acknowledges that the little evidence there is does seem to suggest that this procedure can improve breastfeeding while having no major safety concerns. As a result it suggests that the evidence is enough to support the use of the procedure provided that normal arrangements are in place for consent, audit and clinical governance.11
If mothers overwhelmingly tell us that it works, then why should we argue?
What a sensible conclusion!!!
QUESTION 2. Should an infant who is breastfeeding poorly and has a tongue tie undergo a tongue tie division? -- Algar 94 (11): 911 -- Archives of Disease in Childhood
If mothers overwhelmingly tell us that it works, then why should we argue?
What a sensible conclusion!!!
QUESTION 2. Should an infant who is breastfeeding poorly and has a tongue tie undergo a tongue tie division? -- Algar 94 (11): 911 -- Archives of Disease in Childhood
BBC NEWS | Health | Music 'nurtures' premature babies
Music 'nurtures' premature babies
Music may help block pain
Hospitals that play music to premature babies help them grow and thrive, mounting evidence suggests.
The benefits are said to be calmer infants and parents as well as faster weight gain and shorter hospital stays.
A Canadian team reviewed nine studies and found music reduced pain and encouraged better oral feeding.
Music also appeared to have beneficial effects on physiological measures like heart and respiratory rate, Archives of Disease in Childhood reports.
BBC NEWS | Health | Music 'nurtures' premature babies
and of course, an even better solution is to provide one to one midwifery care to women as the rates of premature birth drop when women have midwifery care.
Music may help block pain
Hospitals that play music to premature babies help them grow and thrive, mounting evidence suggests.
The benefits are said to be calmer infants and parents as well as faster weight gain and shorter hospital stays.
A Canadian team reviewed nine studies and found music reduced pain and encouraged better oral feeding.
Music also appeared to have beneficial effects on physiological measures like heart and respiratory rate, Archives of Disease in Childhood reports.
BBC NEWS | Health | Music 'nurtures' premature babies
and of course, an even better solution is to provide one to one midwifery care to women as the rates of premature birth drop when women have midwifery care.
Early life stress has effects at the molecular level
More evidence of the need to keep mothers and newborn babies together and ensure skin to skin uninterrupted time at birth. Maternity service providers, midwives and doctors take note
Early life stress has effects at the molecular level
Early life stress has effects at the molecular level
Georgianne Nienaber: Congo: Midwives Transform Trash Into Hope
"The midwives who fight to preserve new life as babies struggle to enter the world in the Mugunga camps and in the villages are tired, but their courage overcomes discouragement. When we visited with them in January of this year, their requests were simple. "Do not forget us." "We have no means to feed our own families." "Some cloth for the babies would be nice."
Georgianne Nienaber: Congo: Midwives Transform Trash Into Hope
"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure
suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented". Elie Wiesel
Georgianne Nienaber: Congo: Midwives Transform Trash Into Hope
"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure
suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented". Elie Wiesel
Thursday 12 November 2009
ScienceDirect - Current Biology : The Privileged Brain Representation of First Olfactory Associations
The first smell you associate with an object is given privileged status in the brain.
Yaara Yeshurun and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel conducted a study on smells and memory, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The hippocampus showed a characteristic pattern of neural activity when particular smells were represented to the participants. The researchers concluded that the brain reserves a special pattern of activity for memories that represent the first time we have associated a smell with a particular thing – and that such pairings are most likely to be laid down in childhood.
The brain may have evolved to lay down these privileged memories because it enhanced our ability to sense danger. "This is especially true for unpleasant odours," says Yeshurun.
This makes sense, says Rachel Herz, author of The Scent of Desire: Discovering our enigmatic sense of smell and visiting professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "The evolutionary implication is that the situation in which you first encounter an odour is likely a reliable maker for its meaning, and it is highly adaptive to learn that meaning so that the odour can be responded to appropriately in the future."
This study provides more information about the importance of ensuring immediate skin to skin experience for newborn babies and their mothers. When mothers and babies are enabled to maintain skin to skin proximity at birth, both mother and baby are mapped neurologically to each other through their olfactory system. The importance of this neurological olfactory mapping between mother and baby is profound in terms of the baby identifying feeling safe, secure and calm in her/his mother's presence and having those feelings triggered by the scent of the mother. The feelings the mother experiences with the scent of her baby from birth patterning can be recognised to be similarly profound for the vibrancy of the relationship between them.
ScienceDirect - Current Biology : The Privileged Brain Representation of First Olfactory Associations
Yaara Yeshurun and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel conducted a study on smells and memory, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The hippocampus showed a characteristic pattern of neural activity when particular smells were represented to the participants. The researchers concluded that the brain reserves a special pattern of activity for memories that represent the first time we have associated a smell with a particular thing – and that such pairings are most likely to be laid down in childhood.
The brain may have evolved to lay down these privileged memories because it enhanced our ability to sense danger. "This is especially true for unpleasant odours," says Yeshurun.
This makes sense, says Rachel Herz, author of The Scent of Desire: Discovering our enigmatic sense of smell and visiting professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "The evolutionary implication is that the situation in which you first encounter an odour is likely a reliable maker for its meaning, and it is highly adaptive to learn that meaning so that the odour can be responded to appropriately in the future."
This study provides more information about the importance of ensuring immediate skin to skin experience for newborn babies and their mothers. When mothers and babies are enabled to maintain skin to skin proximity at birth, both mother and baby are mapped neurologically to each other through their olfactory system. The importance of this neurological olfactory mapping between mother and baby is profound in terms of the baby identifying feeling safe, secure and calm in her/his mother's presence and having those feelings triggered by the scent of the mother. The feelings the mother experiences with the scent of her baby from birth patterning can be recognised to be similarly profound for the vibrancy of the relationship between them.
ScienceDirect - Current Biology : The Privileged Brain Representation of First Olfactory Associations
Monday 9 November 2009
AMA welcomes amendment to the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 | Australian Medical Association
The Medical Union crows victory over the right of women to choose where to birth and who with! Roxon and Rudd pawns in the AMA's game of control and domination
5 November 2009 - 3:05pm
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government’s decision to amend the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 to specify a formal requirement that midwives and nurse practitioners must work in collaboration with medical practitioners.
Dr Pesce said the AMA has been negotiating with the Government for this vital change to the legislation for some time, and the AMA had received recent support from other medical groups, most notably the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
“We made it clear to the Government that without a requirement in law that there be collaborative arrangements between midwives, nurse practitioners and doctors then the legislation did not have any safeguards to ensure continuity of patient care, nor did it have any protections against the fragmentation of patient care services,” Dr Pesce said.
“I repeat – the amendments impose a legal requirement for collaborative arrangements between medical practitioners and midwives or between medical practitioners and nurse practitioners.
“The AMA has worked cooperatively with the Government on these amendments to the legislation.
“These changes create a framework of quality primary care delivery that supports team-based care and ensures that the role of medical practitioners, particularly the patient’s usual General Practitioner, is not undermined.
“Evidence shows that patients enjoy better health outcomes when they are treated in a model of care that provides coordinated, continuous, and comprehensive patient-centred care that is delivered by appropriately trained health professionals.
“The AMA commends the Government for recognising and accepting amendments that are in the interests of patient care.
The AMA will continue to work with the Government as further regulations and guidelines are developed to ensure that collaborative arrangements are based on best practice standards of medical care,” Dr Pesce said.
The AMA’s position was part of its submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee on 22 July 2009. AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, appeared before the Committee on 6 August 2009.
5 November 2009
CONTACT:
John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Peter Jean 02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
AMA welcomes amendment to the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 | Australian Medical Association
5 November 2009 - 3:05pm
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government’s decision to amend the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 to specify a formal requirement that midwives and nurse practitioners must work in collaboration with medical practitioners.
Dr Pesce said the AMA has been negotiating with the Government for this vital change to the legislation for some time, and the AMA had received recent support from other medical groups, most notably the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
“We made it clear to the Government that without a requirement in law that there be collaborative arrangements between midwives, nurse practitioners and doctors then the legislation did not have any safeguards to ensure continuity of patient care, nor did it have any protections against the fragmentation of patient care services,” Dr Pesce said.
“I repeat – the amendments impose a legal requirement for collaborative arrangements between medical practitioners and midwives or between medical practitioners and nurse practitioners.
“The AMA has worked cooperatively with the Government on these amendments to the legislation.
“These changes create a framework of quality primary care delivery that supports team-based care and ensures that the role of medical practitioners, particularly the patient’s usual General Practitioner, is not undermined.
“Evidence shows that patients enjoy better health outcomes when they are treated in a model of care that provides coordinated, continuous, and comprehensive patient-centred care that is delivered by appropriately trained health professionals.
“The AMA commends the Government for recognising and accepting amendments that are in the interests of patient care.
The AMA will continue to work with the Government as further regulations and guidelines are developed to ensure that collaborative arrangements are based on best practice standards of medical care,” Dr Pesce said.
The AMA’s position was part of its submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee on 22 July 2009. AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, appeared before the Committee on 6 August 2009.
5 November 2009
CONTACT:
John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Peter Jean 02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
AMA welcomes amendment to the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 | Australian Medical Association
Sunday 8 November 2009
Fathers Gain Respect From Experts (and Mothers) - NYTimes.com
"when couples scored high on positive relationship traits like willingness to compromise, expressing affection or love for their partner, encouraging or helping partners to do things that were important to them, and having an absence of insults and criticism, the father was significantly more likely to be engaged with his children"
Fathers Gain Respect From Experts (and Mothers) - NYTimes.com
Fathers Gain Respect From Experts (and Mothers) - NYTimes.com
Doctors to gain veto powers over midwives and birth choices
Maternity Coalition sent out a press release which explains the current legislation changes very clearly.
Doctors to gain veto powers over midwives and birth choices
On 5 November the Government announced that the “Medicare for midwives” Bills
would be amended to require midwives to have “collaborative arrangements” with
“medical practitioners” before being eligible for professional indemnity insurance or Medicare rebates:
*before the midwife can access professional indemnity insurance, and
*before women can claim a Medicare rebate for midwifery services.
Doctors must approve each midwifeʼs entry to private practice:
*Midwives will be required by Commonwealth law to have “collaborative arrangements” with
“one or more medical practitioners” before being eligible for Commonwealth-subsidised professional indemnity insurance (PII).
*PII will be a prerequisite for a midwife to enter private practice, under new national registration laws, being enacted state by state.
*Doctors will be able to unilaterally withdrawal from collaborative agreements with a midwife, rendering her uninsured, and legally unable to practice in a private professional capacity.
*This legally mandates medical control over midwives’ ability to register and work in private practice.
*This will be set in Commonwealth law, which can only be changed by Commonwealth
Parliament.
*These provisions are contained in the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009.
Doctors must approve womenʼs access to Medicare rebates for midwifery care:
*Midwives will also be be required by Commonwealth law to have “collaborative arrangements” with “one or more medical practitioners” before their services are eligible for Medicare rebates.
*This puts women’s access to private midwifery care under medical control.
This is potentially defacto “parallel regulation” of the midwifery profession:
*Medical practitioners will control the registration status of midwives, despite their being a discrete, separately regulated profession.
*Medical professional organisations could set guidelines for collaborative arrangements,potentially forming defacto regulatory standards for midwifery endorsement and practice.
This gives doctors right of veto over womenʼs choices in birth care:
*Any birth care choice using private practice midwives, or developed under the
Commonwealth’s new arrangements, will be subject to medical control or veto.
*This gives medical practitioners unprecedented control over women’s choices and access to care.
“Collaborative arrangements” may be legally restricted to privately practicing doctors
*The amendments do not specifically include hospitals as able to form collaborative
arrangements with midwives. They require medical practitioners to be “of a kind or kinds specified in the regulations”.
*It is unclear whether a hospital, health service district or authority may be included within the definition of “one or more medical practitioners”.
*Doctors who are employees of public hospitals can’t make “collaborative arrangements” as employees of the hospital they work for. They work for the hospital, attend their workplace when rostered on and collaborate in line with hospital policies.
*A range of very serious consequences would flow if these arrangements were restricted to privately practicing doctors. Consequences could include:
o No new midwifery models in public hospitals.
o No private midwifery practice.
o No homebirth care from midwives in private practice.
o Practice midwives in private obstetricians rooms could be the only viable model of private practice or Medicare-funded midwifery.
This brief represents the best information available to Maternity Coalition on 8 November 2009. We are actively seeking ongoing clarification and dialogue with Government in order to ensure women and families have access to accurate information.
For full text of amendments go to:
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=;group=;holdingType=;id=;orderBy=priority,title;page=7;query=Dat
aset%3AbillsCurBef%20Dataset_Phrase%3A%22amend%22;querytype=Dataset_Phrase%3Aamend;rec=11;resCount=Default
For more information contact: Bruce Teakle 07 3289 0231, teakle@maternitycoalition.org.au
Doctors to gain veto powers over midwives and birth choices
On 5 November the Government announced that the “Medicare for midwives” Bills
would be amended to require midwives to have “collaborative arrangements” with
“medical practitioners” before being eligible for professional indemnity insurance or Medicare rebates:
*before the midwife can access professional indemnity insurance, and
*before women can claim a Medicare rebate for midwifery services.
Doctors must approve each midwifeʼs entry to private practice:
*Midwives will be required by Commonwealth law to have “collaborative arrangements” with
“one or more medical practitioners” before being eligible for Commonwealth-subsidised professional indemnity insurance (PII).
*PII will be a prerequisite for a midwife to enter private practice, under new national registration laws, being enacted state by state.
*Doctors will be able to unilaterally withdrawal from collaborative agreements with a midwife, rendering her uninsured, and legally unable to practice in a private professional capacity.
*This legally mandates medical control over midwives’ ability to register and work in private practice.
*This will be set in Commonwealth law, which can only be changed by Commonwealth
Parliament.
*These provisions are contained in the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009.
Doctors must approve womenʼs access to Medicare rebates for midwifery care:
*Midwives will also be be required by Commonwealth law to have “collaborative arrangements” with “one or more medical practitioners” before their services are eligible for Medicare rebates.
*This puts women’s access to private midwifery care under medical control.
This is potentially defacto “parallel regulation” of the midwifery profession:
*Medical practitioners will control the registration status of midwives, despite their being a discrete, separately regulated profession.
*Medical professional organisations could set guidelines for collaborative arrangements,potentially forming defacto regulatory standards for midwifery endorsement and practice.
This gives doctors right of veto over womenʼs choices in birth care:
*Any birth care choice using private practice midwives, or developed under the
Commonwealth’s new arrangements, will be subject to medical control or veto.
*This gives medical practitioners unprecedented control over women’s choices and access to care.
“Collaborative arrangements” may be legally restricted to privately practicing doctors
*The amendments do not specifically include hospitals as able to form collaborative
arrangements with midwives. They require medical practitioners to be “of a kind or kinds specified in the regulations”.
*It is unclear whether a hospital, health service district or authority may be included within the definition of “one or more medical practitioners”.
*Doctors who are employees of public hospitals can’t make “collaborative arrangements” as employees of the hospital they work for. They work for the hospital, attend their workplace when rostered on and collaborate in line with hospital policies.
*A range of very serious consequences would flow if these arrangements were restricted to privately practicing doctors. Consequences could include:
o No new midwifery models in public hospitals.
o No private midwifery practice.
o No homebirth care from midwives in private practice.
o Practice midwives in private obstetricians rooms could be the only viable model of private practice or Medicare-funded midwifery.
This brief represents the best information available to Maternity Coalition on 8 November 2009. We are actively seeking ongoing clarification and dialogue with Government in order to ensure women and families have access to accurate information.
For full text of amendments go to:
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=;group=;holdingType=;id=;orderBy=priority,title;page=7;query=Dat
aset%3AbillsCurBef%20Dataset_Phrase%3A%22amend%22;querytype=Dataset_Phrase%3Aamend;rec=11;resCount=Default
For more information contact: Bruce Teakle 07 3289 0231, teakle@maternitycoalition.org.au
Friday 6 November 2009
Who's behind Roxon's betrayal of Women's Birth Choices?
I wonder who?
This report in the Medical Observor might give some clues?
Government to mandate nurse practitioner teamwork
Andrew Bracey and Shannon McKenzie - Friday, 6 November 2009
AFTER months of intense lobbying, the Government has bowed to GP pressure and amended proposed legislation to ensure nurse practitioners must work in collaborative partnerships with doctors.
In what is being heralded as a win for the profession, Health Minister Nicola Roxon last week announced the new stipulation would be built into legislation that will grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS and PBS from November 2010.
However, the victory has been tempered by the news that legislation effectively handing politicians’ control of medical education and training standards has been passed by the Queensland Parliament, and will now begin its national rollout.
AMA Queensland president Dr Mason Stevenson said it would be “doubly hard” to win concessions now, and added the lack of outrage from grassroots doctors had made the lobbying efforts of the organisation more difficult.
The amendments to the nurse practitioner legislation will come as welcome relief for doctors, who feared that without mandated collaborative arrangements in place nurse practitioners would work independently and fragment care.
AMA vice-president Dr Steve Hambleton, who sits on the Government’s Nurse Practitioner Advisory Group (NPAG), said the crucial amendment would ensure nurse practitioners were not supported to work in competition with doctors.
“It clarifies the Government position – their [intention] was always there, but the clarification was not, and the fact the Government has brought this amendment forward is a good sign,” Dr Hambleton said.
In a statement Ms Roxon said the amendment had come “following requests for clarification” on the legislation. She told MO the Government had always been committed to ensuring team care. “I think everyone can recognise the skills of other professionals without fragmenting care.”
RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell welcomed the news and said he was confident that NPAG would develop satisfactory frameworks.
Meanwhile, the fight for amendments to the national registration and accreditation scheme is set to shift into state parliaments. The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Bill 2009 passed by the Queensland Parliament will now be adopted by all states and territories.
After failing to gain amendments to the initial legislation, doctors’ groups are now lobbying for changes at a local level.
The NSW, Victoria and WA state branches of the AMA are all calling for the insertion of a “public interest test” into the legislation, which would have to be satisfied before politicians could change medical education or training standards.
There will also be a last-minute push for further exemptions to the legislation’s mandatory reporting clauses, which will force doctors to report their spouses for any professional misconduct.
This report in the Medical Observor might give some clues?
Government to mandate nurse practitioner teamwork
Andrew Bracey and Shannon McKenzie - Friday, 6 November 2009
AFTER months of intense lobbying, the Government has bowed to GP pressure and amended proposed legislation to ensure nurse practitioners must work in collaborative partnerships with doctors.
In what is being heralded as a win for the profession, Health Minister Nicola Roxon last week announced the new stipulation would be built into legislation that will grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS and PBS from November 2010.
However, the victory has been tempered by the news that legislation effectively handing politicians’ control of medical education and training standards has been passed by the Queensland Parliament, and will now begin its national rollout.
AMA Queensland president Dr Mason Stevenson said it would be “doubly hard” to win concessions now, and added the lack of outrage from grassroots doctors had made the lobbying efforts of the organisation more difficult.
The amendments to the nurse practitioner legislation will come as welcome relief for doctors, who feared that without mandated collaborative arrangements in place nurse practitioners would work independently and fragment care.
AMA vice-president Dr Steve Hambleton, who sits on the Government’s Nurse Practitioner Advisory Group (NPAG), said the crucial amendment would ensure nurse practitioners were not supported to work in competition with doctors.
“It clarifies the Government position – their [intention] was always there, but the clarification was not, and the fact the Government has brought this amendment forward is a good sign,” Dr Hambleton said.
In a statement Ms Roxon said the amendment had come “following requests for clarification” on the legislation. She told MO the Government had always been committed to ensuring team care. “I think everyone can recognise the skills of other professionals without fragmenting care.”
RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell welcomed the news and said he was confident that NPAG would develop satisfactory frameworks.
Meanwhile, the fight for amendments to the national registration and accreditation scheme is set to shift into state parliaments. The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Bill 2009 passed by the Queensland Parliament will now be adopted by all states and territories.
After failing to gain amendments to the initial legislation, doctors’ groups are now lobbying for changes at a local level.
The NSW, Victoria and WA state branches of the AMA are all calling for the insertion of a “public interest test” into the legislation, which would have to be satisfied before politicians could change medical education or training standards.
There will also be a last-minute push for further exemptions to the legislation’s mandatory reporting clauses, which will force doctors to report their spouses for any professional misconduct.
Julia Gillard's 2005 speech about the importance of choice for childbearing women
In 2005, Julia Gillard was the Shadow Minister of Health, Manager of Opposition business in the House of Representatives. Ms Gillard spoke at the following conference:
Midwifery By The Sea - Riding The Waves Of Change
Speech - ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF NSWMA
20th October 2005
Following are excerpts from Ms Gillard's speech
Following are excerpts from Ms Gillard's speech
"Thank you very much for your invitation to join you here today at your annual state conference by the sea.
The best start in life
It will not surprise this audience - I'm sure you will all agree - if I now say that I see the pregnant woman as the best focus for early intervention.
Between us we could draw up an impressive list of perinatal programs that would boost the health of the mother and her baby, and improve outcomes, and give all our kids the best start in life.
Obstetric services and workforce shortages
In the middle of this is the big event - the birth.
I know that midwives - as a group and individually - have strong ideas about what should be provided in terms of birthing services.
But shockingly, it is increasingly the case that for some women the idea of having a choice of birthing services and having continuity of care throughout their pregnancy, the birth and in the post-natal period is an impossible luxury - not just unaffordable, but unobtainable in their local area.
The shortage of midwives is also a problem. The Australian Health Workforce Advisory Committee estimates a current national shortage of 1850 midwives, and this is expected to increase over the remainder of the decade.
Midwives face additional concerns about the lack of professional recognition as well as limited opportunities to practise as primary carers and provide continuity of care to women.
The need for a concerted approach
Clearly this is no time for turf warfare between doctors and midwives, but it is time for all health care professionals involved in delivering obstetrics care to mount a combined attack on the Howard Government to force them into action to address this situation.
Unless and until the Government is shocked and shamed into realising that Australian women are now scrambling to find the birthing centre of their choice, and in some cases scrambling to find any professional who will deliver their child, the situation will not improve.
It seems to me that we need a variety of solutions to fit all the circumstances that arise. There is no 'one size fits all' way to solve the problems that present so differently in metropolitan Sydney, the isolated community of Wilcannia, the growing town of Byron Bay and the multicultural suburbs of Western Sydney . The one common factor is the pregnant woman and her child - they must be at the centre of the solution.
… I believe that midwives … are key heath care professionals whose role in the care of women and their babies has yet to be fully realised in the Australian health care system.
We need to realise that potential so that mothers have real choice in their birthing experience, and their babies have the best start in life".
Beautiful and true words. However, now we are finding that it is no longer the Howard government standing in the way of women's choice, it is now the Labor Government. Right now, Nicola Roxon is seeking to abort women's choice in birth place and birth attendant. Ms Gillard, you need to ensure that your words in 2005 were not empty rhetoric and politically driven spin to win brownie points in opposition.
The time for action on your words is now.
1. Ensure the needs and choices of all childbearing women are at the centre of any goverrnment, health /maternity service or policy action.
2. Ensure that midwives are able to work unhampered by politics in the way that the World Health Organisation recommends.
3. Provide a level playing field for health care providers (midwives , lactation consultants (IBCLC) and doctors) who work with childbearing women (access to Medicare, insurance and PBS)
4. Remove professional silos and institute true dialogic conversations and interactions for those situations when childbearing women require a multidisciplinary approach for their situation).
Facebook | RALLY FOR BIRTH CHOICES - SYDNEY
The proposed amendment to the nurses and midwives legislation is contained in the Federal Minister of Health's press release below.
As Jo Hunter, convenor of Homebirth Australia explains:
“The College does not support Home Birth or ‘Free-standing’ Birth Centres
Facebook | RALLY FOR BIRTH CHOICES - SYDNEY
Midwives/ Nurse Practitioner Amendment
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon has today circulated an amendment the Government intends to introduce into the Health Legislation (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill and the Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Bill.
This amendment makes clear in the legislation something that was articulated both on introduction of the Bill to parliament and in the explanatory material tabled at that time.
Following requests for clarification, this amendment will simply clarify in legislation that collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners will be required to access the new arrangements.
The details of these requirements will be specified in subordinate legislation following the ongoing consultation with the professional groups.
These bills are a key plank of the Government’s 2009/10 Budget commitments which recognises for the first time the role of appropriately qualified and experienced midwives and nurse practitioners in our health system.
The Minister for Health and Ageing said today “I thank the doctors, nurses and midwives for their constructive engagement to date to ensure these new opportunities for nurses and midwives are implemented in an integrated fashion for the benefit of patients.”
As Jo Hunter, convenor of Homebirth Australia explains:
"The point that will redefine the fundamental nature of midwifery and certainly homebirth midwifery in Australia
This is NOT acceptable. How will it be possible for a midwife who attends homebirths and for women wishing to birth at home to gain the support of a GP ob or private obstetrician when their own college statement does not support homebirth?
RANZCOG statement reads -
(without adjacent obstetric and neonatal facilities) as appropriate Health Care
Settings. The College acknowledges that a very small minority of women will
choose to birth in these centres, even if appropriately informed of the
consequences”
In solidarity with our northern and southern sisters (who will be rallying outside Kevin Rudd’s Brisbane office and Julia Gaillard’s Vic office) please come and rally outside the Minister for the status of women, Tanya Plibersek’s office in Sydney"
Facebook | RALLY FOR BIRTH CHOICES - SYDNEY
THE HON NICOLA ROXON MP
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING
MEDIA STATEMENT – 5 NOVEMBER 2009
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING
MEDIA STATEMENT – 5 NOVEMBER 2009
Midwives/ Nurse Practitioner Amendment
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon has today circulated an amendment the Government intends to introduce into the Health Legislation (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill and the Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Bill.
This amendment makes clear in the legislation something that was articulated both on introduction of the Bill to parliament and in the explanatory material tabled at that time.
Following requests for clarification, this amendment will simply clarify in legislation that collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners will be required to access the new arrangements.
The details of these requirements will be specified in subordinate legislation following the ongoing consultation with the professional groups.
These bills are a key plank of the Government’s 2009/10 Budget commitments which recognises for the first time the role of appropriately qualified and experienced midwives and nurse practitioners in our health system.
The Minister for Health and Ageing said today “I thank the doctors, nurses and midwives for their constructive engagement to date to ensure these new opportunities for nurses and midwives are implemented in an integrated fashion for the benefit of patients.”
For more information contact the Minister’s office on 02 6277 7220
Wining and dining doctors a $60 million a year industry / Current news / The University of Newcastle, Australia
Transparency is important. Where funding comes from and goes to, what makes the cost of pharmaceuticals so high are financial and health related issues that the government and the general population need to know more about.
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative has sought to keep maternity services free from the wining and dining, 'gift' freebee culture of formula makers that creates dependency and a sense of 'owing one' to the generous one. If anyone wonders if it is necessary to keep midwifery free of funding by vested interests of formula makers and the like, wonder no more.
Wining and dining doctors a $60 million a year industry / Current news / The University of Newcastle, Australia
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative has sought to keep maternity services free from the wining and dining, 'gift' freebee culture of formula makers that creates dependency and a sense of 'owing one' to the generous one. If anyone wonders if it is necessary to keep midwifery free of funding by vested interests of formula makers and the like, wonder no more.
Wining and dining doctors a $60 million a year industry / Current news / The University of Newcastle, Australia
Thursday 5 November 2009
Sunday 1 November 2009
iPhone in OBGYN Business Timesaver
Isn't this the best thing now!
Handy for those busy obstetricians
"AirStrip OB, which enables obstetricians to monitor different stages of labor even when they’re not by a patient’s side"
Apple - iPhone in Business - Profiles - Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
“AirStrip OB is an absolutely indispensable app that iPhone completely unlocks. It fundamentally changes the way I’m able to interact with labor and delivery.”
Yes, I'm sure it will.
If anyone had any doubt about the benefits of one to one midwifery care, this may help them understand more.
Handy for those busy obstetricians
"AirStrip OB, which enables obstetricians to monitor different stages of labor even when they’re not by a patient’s side"
Apple - iPhone in Business - Profiles - Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
“AirStrip OB is an absolutely indispensable app that iPhone completely unlocks. It fundamentally changes the way I’m able to interact with labor and delivery.”
Dr. Marco Giannotti, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Memorial Hermann
The Woodlands Hospital
The Woodlands Hospital
If anyone had any doubt about the benefits of one to one midwifery care, this may help them understand more.
Thursday 29 October 2009
Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service UK
MATERNITY MATTERS: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service - EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT is a NHS document
"Maternity Matters has been developed following the publication of the Maternity Standard of the National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (October 2004). The NSF acknowledged the importance of addressing the needs of women and their partners before the woman becomes pregnant, throughout pregnancy, childbirth and beyond as they embark on parenthood and family life. Healthy mothers tend to have healthy babies, a mother who has received high quality maternity care throughout her pregnancy is well placed to provide the best possible start for her baby. A Department of Health Maternity Services Survey published in December 2005 showed that whilst 80% of women are pleased with the care they get when they have a baby they would prefer more choice about the type of care they receive and choice about where to have their baby".
dh_087081.pdf (application/pdf Object)
This report is a wonderful example of what people in power with a commitment to providing safe, equitable, satisfying and accessible maternity services can do.
The National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Sheila Shribman, outlines how services are being reconfigured to meet the needs of mothers and babies.
"Maternity services need to be safe and flexible - designed around the individual's needs and choices. Pre and post birth care will be available in community-based settings such as children's centres. Women will be able to go direct to a midwife for care rather than having to go to a GP. Depending on their circumstances women should be able to choose between having a birth at home, in a home-like unit or in a maternity hospital supported by obstetricians and anaesthesists. For some women with known risks giving birth in hospital will be the safest option".
This is the link to that report:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_065128.pdf
"We know that the emotional wellbeing of new parents and the involvement of both mother and father can have an effect on a child’s life chances including their health and educational attainment. Pregnancy and the first three years are vital to child development. If we are going to give children the best start in life services must meet the social and emotional needs of new parents and parents-to-be. Our vision of joined up services delivered in the local community will not only improve access and support a family’s ability to choose but will allow for support for their health and social care needs from midwives, health visitors and the primary health care team"
"To meet this commitment, and the others I have already described, the NHS should offer women a range of settings to give birth in, appropriate to their needs and wishes, taking account of safety and any risks as a key priority.
All women should have a choice of the following services:
• a home birth supported by a midwife, or
• birth in a local facility under the care of a midwife such as a designated midwifery unit. The unit might be based in the community, or in a hospital; patterns of care will vary
across the country to reflect different local needs. These units typically promote a philosophy of “normal” and natural births
• birth supported by a local maternity care team that includes a consultant obstetrician. For some women, this type of care may be the only safe option. These teams are nearly all hospital-based".
"Maternity Matters has been developed following the publication of the Maternity Standard of the National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (October 2004). The NSF acknowledged the importance of addressing the needs of women and their partners before the woman becomes pregnant, throughout pregnancy, childbirth and beyond as they embark on parenthood and family life. Healthy mothers tend to have healthy babies, a mother who has received high quality maternity care throughout her pregnancy is well placed to provide the best possible start for her baby. A Department of Health Maternity Services Survey published in December 2005 showed that whilst 80% of women are pleased with the care they get when they have a baby they would prefer more choice about the type of care they receive and choice about where to have their baby".
dh_087081.pdf (application/pdf Object)
This report is a wonderful example of what people in power with a commitment to providing safe, equitable, satisfying and accessible maternity services can do.
Making it better: For mother and baby
Clinical case for change. Report by Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity ServicesThe National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Sheila Shribman, outlines how services are being reconfigured to meet the needs of mothers and babies.
"Maternity services need to be safe and flexible - designed around the individual's needs and choices. Pre and post birth care will be available in community-based settings such as children's centres. Women will be able to go direct to a midwife for care rather than having to go to a GP. Depending on their circumstances women should be able to choose between having a birth at home, in a home-like unit or in a maternity hospital supported by obstetricians and anaesthesists. For some women with known risks giving birth in hospital will be the safest option".
This is the link to that report:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_065128.pdf
"We know that the emotional wellbeing of new parents and the involvement of both mother and father can have an effect on a child’s life chances including their health and educational attainment. Pregnancy and the first three years are vital to child development. If we are going to give children the best start in life services must meet the social and emotional needs of new parents and parents-to-be. Our vision of joined up services delivered in the local community will not only improve access and support a family’s ability to choose but will allow for support for their health and social care needs from midwives, health visitors and the primary health care team"
"To meet this commitment, and the others I have already described, the NHS should offer women a range of settings to give birth in, appropriate to their needs and wishes, taking account of safety and any risks as a key priority.
All women should have a choice of the following services:
• a home birth supported by a midwife, or
• birth in a local facility under the care of a midwife such as a designated midwifery unit. The unit might be based in the community, or in a hospital; patterns of care will vary
across the country to reflect different local needs. These units typically promote a philosophy of “normal” and natural births
• birth supported by a local maternity care team that includes a consultant obstetrician. For some women, this type of care may be the only safe option. These teams are nearly all hospital-based".
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Outcomes for Caseload Midwifery at St Mary's UK
This poster was presented at the June 2009 Normal Birth conference in the UK. The poster reports on a prospective cohort study on all live births at St Mary's Hospital in the Imperial College Healthcare Trust NHS. The study evaluated the caseload model in that health service.
Women who had caseload, or one to one relationship based midwifery care were found to have fewer interventions in labour and birth. These women were found to have a higher rate of births at home, higher rate of normal births, a reduced rate of both analgesia and epidural anaesthesia, higher breastfeeding rates and more normal births. The rates of caesarean section and babies admitted to the nursery were the same for both groups of women.
caseload09.jpg (image)
Women who had caseload, or one to one relationship based midwifery care were found to have fewer interventions in labour and birth. These women were found to have a higher rate of births at home, higher rate of normal births, a reduced rate of both analgesia and epidural anaesthesia, higher breastfeeding rates and more normal births. The rates of caesarean section and babies admitted to the nursery were the same for both groups of women.
caseload09.jpg (image)
Sunday 18 October 2009
YouTube - Monty Python - Hospital Sketch
Cosleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Human Babies Do Not and Should Not Sleep Alone « Neuroanthropology
Ah James McKenna, the voice of reason in a world sent spinning into nets of fear and worry by the 'risk' and 'threat' discourses that abound in our control freak society.
Cosleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Human Babies Do Not and Should Not Sleep Alone « Neuroanthropology
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Cosleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Human Babies Do Not and Should Not Sleep Alone « Neuroanthropology
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Saturday 17 October 2009
Science & Sensibility » Beyond Due Dates: How Late is Too Late?
The following is a quote on the Science and Sensibility blog by Rosie:
"Harmanni Boerhaave, a botanist who in 1744 came up with a method of calculating the EDD based upon evidence in the Bible that human gestation lasts approximately 10 lunar months. The formula was publicized around 1812 by German obstetrician Franz Naegele. There is one glaring flaw in Naegele's rule. Strictly speaking, a lunar (or synodic from new moon to new moon) month is actually 29.53 days, which makes 10 lunar months roughly 295 days, a full 15 days longer than the 280 days gestation we've been lead to believe is average."
The comment above is so important to think about. How do we right this crazy wrong?
The way that that the normal, physiological span for when labour begins has been contracted to the due date is unacceptable and wrong. The 'due date' was always an estimation, not a set in concrete date.
The feverishness with which the medical model approach to childbearing seeks to control women with babies on the inside is simply astonishing and, when you really think about it, deplorable.
We menstruate at different ages, we go through menopause at different ages. Children learn to speak, to crawl and to walk within wildly varying time frames. These time frames are normal. Everyone is different.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we suddenly imposed restrictions and curtailments on what was considered normal and acceptable in those domains of human development?
Such restriction would lead to inhuman and cruel procedures.
The medical control of birthing women's processes is often inhumane and cruel, although it positions itself as 'lifesaving', heroic and really, the only field which really cares about the baby. The medical model view has positioned mother and baby as competing entities and medicine is the advocate of the baby. Barbara Duden is a German historian who has written a great book called Disembodying Women. Barbara talks about how women have been depicted as a faulty ecosystem and the baby is depicted as an endangered species in modern medical discourse.
The rise in the rate of surgical birth, maternal depression and admissions of babies to neonatal intensive care units is the fallout from this crazy making 'emperor has no clothes' medical model approach to try to control women and childbearing.
The childbearing process has to be worked with, not worked on.
Science & Sensibility: Beyond Due Dates: How Late is Too Late?
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"Harmanni Boerhaave, a botanist who in 1744 came up with a method of calculating the EDD based upon evidence in the Bible that human gestation lasts approximately 10 lunar months. The formula was publicized around 1812 by German obstetrician Franz Naegele. There is one glaring flaw in Naegele's rule. Strictly speaking, a lunar (or synodic from new moon to new moon) month is actually 29.53 days, which makes 10 lunar months roughly 295 days, a full 15 days longer than the 280 days gestation we've been lead to believe is average."
The comment above is so important to think about. How do we right this crazy wrong?
The way that that the normal, physiological span for when labour begins has been contracted to the due date is unacceptable and wrong. The 'due date' was always an estimation, not a set in concrete date.
The feverishness with which the medical model approach to childbearing seeks to control women with babies on the inside is simply astonishing and, when you really think about it, deplorable.
We menstruate at different ages, we go through menopause at different ages. Children learn to speak, to crawl and to walk within wildly varying time frames. These time frames are normal. Everyone is different.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we suddenly imposed restrictions and curtailments on what was considered normal and acceptable in those domains of human development?
Such restriction would lead to inhuman and cruel procedures.
The medical control of birthing women's processes is often inhumane and cruel, although it positions itself as 'lifesaving', heroic and really, the only field which really cares about the baby. The medical model view has positioned mother and baby as competing entities and medicine is the advocate of the baby. Barbara Duden is a German historian who has written a great book called Disembodying Women. Barbara talks about how women have been depicted as a faulty ecosystem and the baby is depicted as an endangered species in modern medical discourse.
The rise in the rate of surgical birth, maternal depression and admissions of babies to neonatal intensive care units is the fallout from this crazy making 'emperor has no clothes' medical model approach to try to control women and childbearing.
The childbearing process has to be worked with, not worked on.
Science & Sensibility: Beyond Due Dates: How Late is Too Late?
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Why immune cells count in early pregnancy
"This research identifies immune system cells as critical determinants of normal ovarian activity and the maintenance of early pregnancy. This might be a key to helping prevent early pregnancy loss, such as recurrent miscarriage."
Ms Care says a number of factors - such as smoking, obesity, poor nutrition and stress - could all alter the way macrophages behave and may provide reasons for infertility or miscarriage in some women.
Why immune cells count in early pregnancy
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Ms Care says a number of factors - such as smoking, obesity, poor nutrition and stress - could all alter the way macrophages behave and may provide reasons for infertility or miscarriage in some women.
Why immune cells count in early pregnancy
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Friday 16 October 2009
The food-energy cellular connection revealed
This article helps us understand why shift workers are more at risk of a raft of diseases. Night duty workers are more at risk of breast cancer. More reasons why changing the way that midwives work leads to better outcomes. This time it's midwives who benefit by coming off shift work and working one to one or in caseload models with childbearing women. Maternity service managers please take note.
"Shift workers face a 100 percent increase in the risk for obesity and its consequences, such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and an increased risk of heart attacks," says Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory.
The researchers' findings, which are published in the Oct. 16, 2009, issue of Science, could have far-reaching implications, from providing a better understanding how nutrition and gene expression are linked, to creating new ways to treat obesity, diabetes and other related diseases. "It is estimated that the activity of up to 15 percent of our genes is under the direct control of biological clocks," says Evans. "Our work provides a conceptual way to link nutrition and energy regulation to the genome."
The food-energy cellular connection revealed
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"Shift workers face a 100 percent increase in the risk for obesity and its consequences, such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and an increased risk of heart attacks," says Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory.
The researchers' findings, which are published in the Oct. 16, 2009, issue of Science, could have far-reaching implications, from providing a better understanding how nutrition and gene expression are linked, to creating new ways to treat obesity, diabetes and other related diseases. "It is estimated that the activity of up to 15 percent of our genes is under the direct control of biological clocks," says Evans. "Our work provides a conceptual way to link nutrition and energy regulation to the genome."
The food-energy cellular connection revealed
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Thursday 15 October 2009
How Diet Affects Fertility | Newsweek Health for Life | Newsweek.com
This is a great article. A must read for anyone who wants to get pregnant and anyone else who wants to stay healthy and live well.
Health, wellness and fertility all comes down to 'what you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow'. The overall message is
1. Eat whole foods
2. Avoid processed and modified products (which masquerade as food)
3. Eat quality protein
4. Include natural fats
5. Eat fresh foods
and of course, drink lots of fresh, filtered water, stop smoking, limit alcohol, move and enjoy your life!
The authors wrote:
"In a nutshell, results from the Nurses' Health Study indicate that the amount of carbohydrates in the diet doesn't affect fertility, but the quality of those carbohydrates does. Eating a lot of rapidly digested carbohydrates that continually boost your blood-sugar and insulin levels higher can lower your chances of getting pregnant. This is especially true if you are eating carbohydrates in place of healthful unsaturated fats. On the other hand, eating whole grains, beans, vegetables and whole fruits" all of which are good sources of slowly digested carbohydrates”can improve ovulation and your chances of getting pregnant."
The authors also talk about transfats. This article is excellent.
How Diet Affects Fertility | Newsweek Health for Life | Newsweek.com
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Health, wellness and fertility all comes down to 'what you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow'. The overall message is
1. Eat whole foods
2. Avoid processed and modified products (which masquerade as food)
3. Eat quality protein
4. Include natural fats
5. Eat fresh foods
and of course, drink lots of fresh, filtered water, stop smoking, limit alcohol, move and enjoy your life!
The authors wrote:
"In a nutshell, results from the Nurses' Health Study indicate that the amount of carbohydrates in the diet doesn't affect fertility, but the quality of those carbohydrates does. Eating a lot of rapidly digested carbohydrates that continually boost your blood-sugar and insulin levels higher can lower your chances of getting pregnant. This is especially true if you are eating carbohydrates in place of healthful unsaturated fats. On the other hand, eating whole grains, beans, vegetables and whole fruits" all of which are good sources of slowly digested carbohydrates”can improve ovulation and your chances of getting pregnant."
The authors also talk about transfats. This article is excellent.
How Diet Affects Fertility | Newsweek Health for Life | Newsweek.com
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Tuesday 13 October 2009
Associations of drugs routinely given in labour with breastfeeding at 48nbsphours analysis of the Cardiff Births Survey - - BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Associations of drugs routinely given in labour with breastfeeding at 48nbsphours analysis of the Cardiff Births Survey - - BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
S Jordan,a S Emery,b A Watkins,c JD Evans,d M Storey,G Morganf
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Volume 116, Issue 12 (p 1622-1632)
Accepted 4 May 2009. Published Online 1 September 2009.
Breastfeeding rates drop when labouring women are given epidurals, intramuscular narcotics and third stage oxytocics. More evidence for maternity care that is mother friendly, that is, continuity of care by a midwife the woman knows, trusts and feels safe with. The hormones associated with feeling safe are prophylactic, that is, they keep women's physiology working well. When women feel safe, cared for and supporting in pregnancy and birth, they have their inner 'high' from healthy chemicals made by their own bodies. Amazing how the chemistry works. Bring on the changes to maternity care! It's a human rights issue for women and their babies
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S Jordan,a S Emery,b A Watkins,c JD Evans,d M Storey,G Morganf
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Volume 116, Issue 12 (p 1622-1632)
Accepted 4 May 2009. Published Online 1 September 2009.
Breastfeeding rates drop when labouring women are given epidurals, intramuscular narcotics and third stage oxytocics. More evidence for maternity care that is mother friendly, that is, continuity of care by a midwife the woman knows, trusts and feels safe with. The hormones associated with feeling safe are prophylactic, that is, they keep women's physiology working well. When women feel safe, cared for and supporting in pregnancy and birth, they have their inner 'high' from healthy chemicals made by their own bodies. Amazing how the chemistry works. Bring on the changes to maternity care! It's a human rights issue for women and their babies
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Saturday 10 October 2009
South West Alliance of Rural Health (SWARH)
˜To know your midwife and be able to have as natural a birth as possible with minimal intervention is certainly something this hospital can brag about'
South West Alliance of Rural Health (SWARH)
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South West Alliance of Rural Health (SWARH)
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Friday 9 October 2009
Bioethics for clinicians: 12. Ethical dilemmas that arise in the care of pregnant women: rethinking
Bioethics for clinicians: 12. Ethical dilemmas that arise in the care of pregnant women: rethinking "maternal?fetal conflicts"
This article was written in 1997. The ideas about ethics that are expressed here need to be reaffirmed today.
This article was written in 1997. The ideas about ethics that are expressed here need to be reaffirmed today.
Wednesday 9 September 2009
The Mother of All Rallies 7th September 2009
The rally for women's rights to choose the place of birth and caregiver was wonderful. I travelled with other women, men and children in a two bus convoy from the Central Coast. It was a great trip. Thanks to Monica and Julie, two UTS BMidwifery student midwives for organising the buses. People came from Newcastle and Central Coast to travel on the buses.
I spoke to Natalie Forbes Dash and Amy Bell who told me that 70-80 families travelled down on the day from the Blue Mountains.
Depending upon which report you read, there were between 2000 - 4000 people there. I couldn't get near the centre of the crowd there were so many people and I didn't hear the speeches because of the depth of the crowd. So there were vast numbers present. The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever been to before. Everyone, including the children and parents were all relaxed, upbeat and happy. The sky was overcast, it rained intermittently and no one's spirits were dampened.
Great to see so many people who travelled from interstate and vast distances. I caught up with so many people I've known and admired over the years.
When you click on the link above, you will be taken to the Riot Act site which has a good run down on the rally, including Rachel Stewart's speech.
It was a great day and a powerful testimony to people's deep desire for autonomy and self determination. Keep up the letter writing everyone. Rachel Stewart was fabulous from all accounts. Andrew Laming is onside and there are bound to be many more thinking politicians.
I spoke to Natalie Forbes Dash and Amy Bell who told me that 70-80 families travelled down on the day from the Blue Mountains.
Depending upon which report you read, there were between 2000 - 4000 people there. I couldn't get near the centre of the crowd there were so many people and I didn't hear the speeches because of the depth of the crowd. So there were vast numbers present. The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever been to before. Everyone, including the children and parents were all relaxed, upbeat and happy. The sky was overcast, it rained intermittently and no one's spirits were dampened.
Great to see so many people who travelled from interstate and vast distances. I caught up with so many people I've known and admired over the years.
When you click on the link above, you will be taken to the Riot Act site which has a good run down on the rally, including Rachel Stewart's speech.
It was a great day and a powerful testimony to people's deep desire for autonomy and self determination. Keep up the letter writing everyone. Rachel Stewart was fabulous from all accounts. Andrew Laming is onside and there are bound to be many more thinking politicians.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
Saturday 29 August 2009
Looking glass Alice examines birth and parenting in our culture. - BlogNow
A must read for anyone interested in women's right to sovereignty
Looking glass Alice examines birth and parenting in our culture. - BlogNow
Looking glass Alice examines birth and parenting in our culture. - BlogNow
Midwifery' s Renaissance
This piece was written by Marsden Wagner in 2007 and is as valid today as then. Marsden is a very astute man, with a deep understanding about power and politics related to birthing women. His story of his experience with midwifery in his early career is an excellent example of his ability to see the way women's health and wellbeing have everything to do with how power is used and abused in western society.
Midwifery' s Renaissance
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Midwifery' s Renaissance
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Friday 28 August 2009
Sunday 23 August 2009
Review into male circumcision legality - Yahoo!7 News
Laws protect girls from genital surgery but parents wanting to circumcise boys can "go around willy-nilly chopping up bits of their sons", a state children's commissioner says.
Tasmania 's commissioner for children Paul Mason and the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute have embarked on what they say is the largest review into the legalities of male circumcision in Australia's history.
Mr Mason said a critical issue for any non-therapeutic circumcision is whether parental consent is sufficient to protect a surgeon from legal action if the child's genital autonomy is thought to have been infringed.
"The only thing that protects a doctor from an action for assault or a civil prosecution is the valid consent of the patient," he said.
"The law is getting pretty hazy about whether a parent can give a valid consent for a child's non-medical procedure."
Mr Mason said about 90 per cent of Australian male babies were circumcised in the 1970s, dropping to about two per cent these days.
Its infrequency nowadays only heightens the chance of a circumcised boy feeling aggrieved as an adult that his rights were ignored as a child, he said.
But High Court rulings andUnited Nations conventions on the rights of parents and children and legal consent in terms of bodily integrity argue against parental-consent circumcision, he said.
Read more:
Review into male circumcision legality - Yahoo!7 News
Mr Mason said a critical issue for any non-therapeutic circumcision is whether parental consent is sufficient to protect a surgeon from legal action if the child's genital autonomy is thought to have been infringed.
"The only thing that protects a doctor from an action for assault or a civil prosecution is the valid consent of the patient," he said.
"The law is getting pretty hazy about whether a parent can give a valid consent for a child's non-medical procedure."
Mr Mason said about 90 per cent of Australian male babies were circumcised in the 1970s, dropping to about two per cent these days.
Its infrequency nowadays only heightens the chance of a circumcised boy feeling aggrieved as an adult that his rights were ignored as a child, he said.
But High Court rulings and
Read more:
Review into male circumcision legality - Yahoo!7 News
Bullying and harrasment of Doctors who support women's choices
Welcome to my blog. Thank you for your support!
Please take a moment to read Dr Fischbein's blog. He is a medical doctor who supports women's right to autonomy and informed choice.
Please take a moment to read Dr Fischbein's blog. He is a medical doctor who supports women's right to autonomy and informed choice.
APHA: Breastfeeding Associated with Decreased Childhood Behavioral Problems
APHA: Breastfeeding Associated with Decreased Childhood Behavioral Problems
San Diego, October 29, 2008 – Children who are breastfed are less likely to suffer from behavioral or mental health issues than those who are not breastfed, according to new research.
The study, which was presented at the American Public Health Association’s 136th Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, looked at whether breastfeeding is associated with decreased behavioral problems and psychiatric illness during childhood.
Using 2003 National Survey of Children's Health data from 102,353 interviews of parents and guardians on the health of their children, researchers found that parents of breastfed children were less likely to report concern for the child's behavior, and breastfed children were less likely to have been diagnosed by a health professional with behavioral or conduct problems and were less likely to have received mental health care. Additionally, parents of breastfed children were less likely to report concern about the child's ability to learn.
“These findings support current evidence that breastfeeding enhances childhood intellectual ability while providing new evidence that breastfeeding may contribute to childhood emotional development and protect against psychiatric illness and behavioral problems,” said Katherine Hobbs Knutson, MD, lead researcher on the study.
Session 5061.0 - Breastfeeding enhances childhood emotional and psychiatric development
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 – 8:30 AM
Researchers: Katherine Hobbs Knutson, MD and Alexy Arauz Boudreau, MD, MPH
Saturday 22 August 2009
Reducing Infant Mortality and improving the health of babies
Listen to Obstetricians, Doulas, Neonatologists, Midwives, Psychologists, Pediatricians, and other Physicians explain how our health care system is failing babies and mothers and what we can do about it.
Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.
Epigenetic modulation at birth – altered DNA-methylation in white blood cells after Caesarean section
Wiley InterScience :: Journal :: Article PDF
The report states:
"The stress of being born exceeds that of any other critical
life-event. It is fundamental for intact survival during the
transition from foetal to neonatal life. The massive sympathoadrenal
activation during labour (1) mobilizes fuel for the
hypoxic journey through the birth canal and triggers lungliquid
resorbtion (2), thereby facilitating air-breathing
immediately after birth. Labour also activates inflammatory
defence systems (3) and the central nervous system in such
way that the foetus is optimally prepared and adapted for
life outside the womb.
Timing and magnitude of birth stress are altered if delivery
is performed with CS. Infants delivered by elective CS
before onset of labour lack the catecholamine surge seen
after normal VD (1). As compared with normal birth, stress
in infants delivered by CS is also immediate rather than
gradually evolved as during labour. CS may therefore be
maladaptive for the newborn infant and has been associated
with increased short-term neonatal morbidity (4)."
The report states:
"The stress of being born exceeds that of any other critical
life-event. It is fundamental for intact survival during the
transition from foetal to neonatal life. The massive sympathoadrenal
activation during labour (1) mobilizes fuel for the
hypoxic journey through the birth canal and triggers lungliquid
resorbtion (2), thereby facilitating air-breathing
immediately after birth. Labour also activates inflammatory
defence systems (3) and the central nervous system in such
way that the foetus is optimally prepared and adapted for
life outside the womb.
Timing and magnitude of birth stress are altered if delivery
is performed with CS. Infants delivered by elective CS
before onset of labour lack the catecholamine surge seen
after normal VD (1). As compared with normal birth, stress
in infants delivered by CS is also immediate rather than
gradually evolved as during labour. CS may therefore be
maladaptive for the newborn infant and has been associated
with increased short-term neonatal morbidity (4)."
Thursday 20 August 2009
Sexual Abuse Linked to Somatic Disorders
From Medpage
By Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
Published: August 19, 2009
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of somatic disorders, in which patients report physical symptoms or complaints with no clear underlying cause, a review of nearly two dozen studies concluded.
Patients with a history of sexual abuse, as children or adults, were more likely to experience gastrointestinal disorders (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.36 to 4.31), nonspecific chronic pain (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.54 to 3.15), psychogenic seizures (OR 2.96; 95% CI 1.12 to 4.69) and chronic pelvic pain (OR 2.73; 95% CI 1.73 to 4.30), according the report in the August 5 Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Building greater awareness of the association between sexual abuse and somatic disorders may lead to improved health care delivery and outcomes for sexual abuse survivors," Ali Zirakzadeh, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, and colleagues wrote. "As a group, survivors of abuse have higher medical care use and incur greater costs compared with the general patient population."
Surveys have determined that the incidence of sexual violence in the United States is 2.5% for women and 0.9% for men, according to the review, and researchers have estimated that one in 15 adults has experience forced sexual intercourse. Studies have also estimated that 16% of men and 25% of women in the United States are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
"To date, research on the long-term effects of sexual abuse has primarily focused on mental health outcomes," wrote Zirakzadeh and his coauthors. "Strong evidence supports a link between childhood sexual abuse and multiple psychiatric sequelae. However, studies investigating the association between sexual abuse and somatic outcomes have been less definitive."
The authors conducted a systematic literature search of electronic databases from January 1980 to December 2008, identifying 23 longitudinal studies that reported somatic outcomes in 4,640 people with and without history of sexual abuse.
The researchers categorized sexual abuse into two major groups. "Rape" was defined as penetration with a body part or foreign object, while "All forms of sexual abuse" captured the wide variety of definitions used to characterize sexual violence.
While analysis from the data in the studies indicated a relationship between sexual abuse and some somatic disorders, the researchers found no significant association between sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of fibromyalgia, obesity or headache.
However, when they restricted the analysis to rape victims, they found a higher risk of fibromyalgia diagnosis (OR 3.35; 95% CI, 1.51 to 7.46). Like those classified under "all forms of sexual abuse," rape victims were also more prone to chronic pelvic pain (OR 3.27; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.53) and functional gastrointestinal disorders (OR 4.01; 95% CI 1.88 to 8.57).
The principal limitation of the study, according to the authors, was the inclusion of data susceptible to bias. Only two of 23 studies met at least 8 of the 10 maximum points of the Newcastle-Ottawa criteria for study quality. They also noted that their findings may not apply to men, since sixteen of the 23 studies in the review included only female subjects.
However, they also noted that the review used an exhaustive and reproducible search strategy and attempted to avoid bias by careful selection and extraction of data.
They also pointed out that sexual abuse remains prevalent and that doctors commonly encounter survivors in general medical practice.
They speculated that sexual abuse may be an early inciting environmental factor in a multistep process that culminates in physical dysfunction, and that the neuroendocrine system may mediate the connection between sexual abuse and the development of somatic dysfunction.
"Increasingly, it has been shown that survivors of sexual abuse face a spectrum of often challenging health concerns, resulting in greater health care use and cost and significant morbidity," they wrote. "Recognition of this association may have important clinical implications for patients coping with these disorders and their clinicians."
The authors reported no financial conflicts of interest.
No funding source for the study was reported.
Primary source: Journal of the American Medical Association
Source reference:
Zirakzadeh A, et al. "Sexual Abuse and Lifetime Diagnosis of Somatic Disorders" JAMA 2009; 5: 550-61.
The application of this information to pregnancy and birth for women who have been abused in childhood is well known to midwives. This information underscores the importance for women to feel in control and autonomous in their pregnancies and births.
Great to see this information becoming 'mainstream'.
By Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
Published: August 19, 2009
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of somatic disorders, in which patients report physical symptoms or complaints with no clear underlying cause, a review of nearly two dozen studies concluded.
Patients with a history of sexual abuse, as children or adults, were more likely to experience gastrointestinal disorders (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.36 to 4.31), nonspecific chronic pain (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.54 to 3.15), psychogenic seizures (OR 2.96; 95% CI 1.12 to 4.69) and chronic pelvic pain (OR 2.73; 95% CI 1.73 to 4.30), according the report in the August 5 Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Building greater awareness of the association between sexual abuse and somatic disorders may lead to improved health care delivery and outcomes for sexual abuse survivors," Ali Zirakzadeh, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, and colleagues wrote. "As a group, survivors of abuse have higher medical care use and incur greater costs compared with the general patient population."
Surveys have determined that the incidence of sexual violence in the United States is 2.5% for women and 0.9% for men, according to the review, and researchers have estimated that one in 15 adults has experience forced sexual intercourse. Studies have also estimated that 16% of men and 25% of women in the United States are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
"To date, research on the long-term effects of sexual abuse has primarily focused on mental health outcomes," wrote Zirakzadeh and his coauthors. "Strong evidence supports a link between childhood sexual abuse and multiple psychiatric sequelae. However, studies investigating the association between sexual abuse and somatic outcomes have been less definitive."
The authors conducted a systematic literature search of electronic databases from January 1980 to December 2008, identifying 23 longitudinal studies that reported somatic outcomes in 4,640 people with and without history of sexual abuse.
The researchers categorized sexual abuse into two major groups. "Rape" was defined as penetration with a body part or foreign object, while "All forms of sexual abuse" captured the wide variety of definitions used to characterize sexual violence.
While analysis from the data in the studies indicated a relationship between sexual abuse and some somatic disorders, the researchers found no significant association between sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of fibromyalgia, obesity or headache.
However, when they restricted the analysis to rape victims, they found a higher risk of fibromyalgia diagnosis (OR 3.35; 95% CI, 1.51 to 7.46). Like those classified under "all forms of sexual abuse," rape victims were also more prone to chronic pelvic pain (OR 3.27; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.53) and functional gastrointestinal disorders (OR 4.01; 95% CI 1.88 to 8.57).
The principal limitation of the study, according to the authors, was the inclusion of data susceptible to bias. Only two of 23 studies met at least 8 of the 10 maximum points of the Newcastle-Ottawa criteria for study quality. They also noted that their findings may not apply to men, since sixteen of the 23 studies in the review included only female subjects.
However, they also noted that the review used an exhaustive and reproducible search strategy and attempted to avoid bias by careful selection and extraction of data.
They also pointed out that sexual abuse remains prevalent and that doctors commonly encounter survivors in general medical practice.
They speculated that sexual abuse may be an early inciting environmental factor in a multistep process that culminates in physical dysfunction, and that the neuroendocrine system may mediate the connection between sexual abuse and the development of somatic dysfunction.
"Increasingly, it has been shown that survivors of sexual abuse face a spectrum of often challenging health concerns, resulting in greater health care use and cost and significant morbidity," they wrote. "Recognition of this association may have important clinical implications for patients coping with these disorders and their clinicians."
The authors reported no financial conflicts of interest.
No funding source for the study was reported.
Primary source: Journal of the American Medical Association
Source reference:
Zirakzadeh A, et al. "Sexual Abuse and Lifetime Diagnosis of Somatic Disorders" JAMA 2009; 5: 550-61.
The application of this information to pregnancy and birth for women who have been abused in childhood is well known to midwives. This information underscores the importance for women to feel in control and autonomous in their pregnancies and births.
Great to see this information becoming 'mainstream'.
Can words hurt? Patient–provider interactions during invasive procedures
In an article in the Journal PAIN (2005) 114 303-309 Lang et al had this to say:
Abstract
Patients are often prepared for procedural discomforts with descriptions of pain or undesirable experiences. This practice is thought to be compassionate and helpful, but there is little data on the effect of such communicative behavior. This study assesses how such descriptions affect patients’ pain and anxiety during medical procedures. The interactions of patients with their healthcare providers during interventional radiological procedures were videotaped during a previously reported 3-arm prospective randomized trial assessing the efficacy of self hypnotic
relaxation. One hundred and fifty-nine videos of the standard care and attention control arms were reviewed. All statements that described painful or undesirable experiences as warning before potentially noxious stimuli or as expression of sympathy afterwards were recorded. Patients’ ratings of pain and anxiety on 0–10 numerical scales (0 No Pain, No Anxiety at All and 10 Worst Pain Possible, Terrified) after the painful event and/or sympathizing statement were the basis for this study. Warning the patient in terms of pain or undesirable experiences resulted in greater pain (P!0.05) and greater anxiety (P!0.001) than not doing so. Sympathizing with the patient in such terms after a painful event did not increase reported pain, but resulted in greater anxiety (P!0.05). Contrary to common belief, warning or sympathizing using language that refers to negative experiences may not make patients feel better. This conclusion has implications for the training in medical communication skills and suggests the need for randomized trials testing different patient–practitioner interactions. q 2004 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
This study provides a perfect example of the way that hypnotic suggestion works.
When will health professionals realise that when they talk, their words are powerful. Pregnant women get this negativity all the time with the talk of 'risk' in relation to their normal, natural process of giving birth. The negative talk creates a self fulfilling prophecy for many women. Then the 'care' givers can use the outcome to reinforce what they think and say, not realising that they created what they believed to be true.
As the above article demonstrates, words are powerful. The sort of words that should be used around birthing women are words that foster a sense of normalcy, increase self efficacy, build self worth and self trust. Every health professional who has anything to do with birthing women should be working to build capacity for wellness and optimal psychophysiological functioning with every woman they interact with.
Abstract
Patients are often prepared for procedural discomforts with descriptions of pain or undesirable experiences. This practice is thought to be compassionate and helpful, but there is little data on the effect of such communicative behavior. This study assesses how such descriptions affect patients’ pain and anxiety during medical procedures. The interactions of patients with their healthcare providers during interventional radiological procedures were videotaped during a previously reported 3-arm prospective randomized trial assessing the efficacy of self hypnotic
relaxation. One hundred and fifty-nine videos of the standard care and attention control arms were reviewed. All statements that described painful or undesirable experiences as warning before potentially noxious stimuli or as expression of sympathy afterwards were recorded. Patients’ ratings of pain and anxiety on 0–10 numerical scales (0 No Pain, No Anxiety at All and 10 Worst Pain Possible, Terrified) after the painful event and/or sympathizing statement were the basis for this study. Warning the patient in terms of pain or undesirable experiences resulted in greater pain (P!0.05) and greater anxiety (P!0.001) than not doing so. Sympathizing with the patient in such terms after a painful event did not increase reported pain, but resulted in greater anxiety (P!0.05). Contrary to common belief, warning or sympathizing using language that refers to negative experiences may not make patients feel better. This conclusion has implications for the training in medical communication skills and suggests the need for randomized trials testing different patient–practitioner interactions. q 2004 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
This study provides a perfect example of the way that hypnotic suggestion works.
When will health professionals realise that when they talk, their words are powerful. Pregnant women get this negativity all the time with the talk of 'risk' in relation to their normal, natural process of giving birth. The negative talk creates a self fulfilling prophecy for many women. Then the 'care' givers can use the outcome to reinforce what they think and say, not realising that they created what they believed to be true.
As the above article demonstrates, words are powerful. The sort of words that should be used around birthing women are words that foster a sense of normalcy, increase self efficacy, build self worth and self trust. Every health professional who has anything to do with birthing women should be working to build capacity for wellness and optimal psychophysiological functioning with every woman they interact with.
Sunday 16 August 2009
Sunday 9 August 2009
Fish oil in pregnancy linked with reduced allergy risk fo children
A new study from Sweden published in the journal Acta Paediatrica [Acta Paediatr. 2009 Jun 1 ePub ahead of print] found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19489765 has found that Omega 3–rich fish oil supplementation during pregnancy and lactation may reduce the risk of food allergy and eczema in children.
The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, followed 145 pregnant women who had allergies or had partners or other children with allergies [which makes this group at high risk for having children with allergies.
From the 25th week of pregnancy until between 3 and 4 months breastfeeding, the women were randomly assigned to receive either:
1. daily fish oil supplements providing 1.6 g of eicosapentaenoic acid
(EPA)and 1.1 g of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
2. or placebo.
Children born to the group of mothers who were given Omega 3's had a 2% incidence of allergy, compared to a 15% rate for the babies in the control/placebo group.
Another finding was that the incidence of allergic eczema was reduced by 2/3rds (8% in the omega-3 infant group, compared to 24% in the placebo group).
How this works is because Omega-3 fatty acids compete with the Omega-6s therefore lessening the release of arachidonic acid (AA) and inflammatory prostaglandins, which create havoc in our cells.
Another example of how important nutrition is and how nutrition must be the first line of primary health care!
The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, followed 145 pregnant women who had allergies or had partners or other children with allergies [which makes this group at high risk for having children with allergies.
From the 25th week of pregnancy until between 3 and 4 months breastfeeding, the women were randomly assigned to receive either:
1. daily fish oil supplements providing 1.6 g of eicosapentaenoic acid
(EPA)and 1.1 g of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
2. or placebo.
Children born to the group of mothers who were given Omega 3's had a 2% incidence of allergy, compared to a 15% rate for the babies in the control/placebo group.
Another finding was that the incidence of allergic eczema was reduced by 2/3rds (8% in the omega-3 infant group, compared to 24% in the placebo group).
How this works is because Omega-3 fatty acids compete with the Omega-6s therefore lessening the release of arachidonic acid (AA) and inflammatory prostaglandins, which create havoc in our cells.
Another example of how important nutrition is and how nutrition must be the first line of primary health care!
Friday 7 August 2009
Senate Committee Meeting update
This is the message from Lisa Metcalfe from Maternity Coalition following the Senate Committee hearing yesterday on the midwives and nurse practitioner bills before the Senate.
The transcript from the Senate committee hearing will be available on
this link in the next 24 hours or so
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/health_leg_midwives_nurse_practitioners_09/hearings/index.htm
MC, HBA, HAS and ACMI all presented to the committee
some terrific advocacy by the consumers
Thanks to those who represented MC (Bruce Teakle and Makayla Macintosh)
Media monitoring from Heidi this morning
Great to see this in the Age!
http://www.theage.com.au/travel/mothers-irate-at-qantas-baby-bungle-20090805-ea45.html
Lisa
--
Lisa Metcalfe
NSW President
Maternity Coalition
29 Oceana Pde
Austinmer NSW 2515
Ph: 02 4268 1675
Mob: 0437 577 576
Em: nsw@maternitycoalition.org.au
Web: www.maternitycoalition.org.au
The transcript from the Senate committee hearing will be available on
this link in the next 24 hours or so
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/health_leg_midwives_nurse_practitioners_09/hearings/index.htm
MC, HBA, HAS and ACMI all presented to the committee
some terrific advocacy by the consumers
Thanks to those who represented MC (Bruce Teakle and Makayla Macintosh)
Media monitoring from Heidi this morning
Great to see this in the Age!
http://www.theage.com.au/travel/mothers-irate-at-qantas-baby-bungle-20090805-ea45.html
Lisa
--
Lisa Metcalfe
NSW President
Maternity Coalition
29 Oceana Pde
Austinmer NSW 2515
Ph: 02 4268 1675
Mob: 0437 577 576
Em: nsw@maternitycoalition.org.au
Web: www.maternitycoalition.org.au
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Health related behaviours found to be lacking in pregnant women
A study of the health related behaviours of 262 pregnant women for factors such as fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity and smoking levels was recently undertaken by the University of Queensland researchers.
The researchers found that:
"Few women met the guidelines for sufficient fruit (9.2%) or sufficient vegetable (2.7%) intake. On average, women consumed half the recommended serves of fruit (mean 2.2, SD 1.1; median 2.0, IQR1.0-2.0) and little more than one third of the recommended serves of vegetables (mean 2.0, SD 0.6; median 2.0, IQR 1.0-3.0) per day. Approximately one third (32.8%) of the population was undertaking sufficient physical activity (see Figure 1). Women undertook a median of 112.5 minutes of physical activity per week (IQR 43.8-240.0). A large proportion of women smoked prior to pregnancy (37.8%) and more than one quarter continued to smoke during pregnancy. Approximately 10% of women quit smoking when they became pregnant. On average, women smoked 15.9 cigarettes a day (SD 1.2, n=103) before becoming pregnant and smoked 13.4 cigarettes a day (SD 2.6, n=26) once becoming pregnant. Twenty-one per cent of women were overweight and 20.0% were obese before becoming pregnant"
This is where one to one midwifery care is so beneficial. When women and midwives work together in a primary health care way, issues such as the health related behaviours noted above can be explored and discussed in a safe and effective way. My guess is that the busy antenatal clinics where women wait for hours and see whoever is free, isn't the place where sensitive subjects such as eating habits, exercise activities and smoking are explored in effective ways, if at all.
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (2009) 33(3): 228-33
The full text of the study can be read online at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122423650/HTMLSTART
The researchers found that:
"Few women met the guidelines for sufficient fruit (9.2%) or sufficient vegetable (2.7%) intake. On average, women consumed half the recommended serves of fruit (mean 2.2, SD 1.1; median 2.0, IQR1.0-2.0) and little more than one third of the recommended serves of vegetables (mean 2.0, SD 0.6; median 2.0, IQR 1.0-3.0) per day. Approximately one third (32.8%) of the population was undertaking sufficient physical activity (see Figure 1). Women undertook a median of 112.5 minutes of physical activity per week (IQR 43.8-240.0). A large proportion of women smoked prior to pregnancy (37.8%) and more than one quarter continued to smoke during pregnancy. Approximately 10% of women quit smoking when they became pregnant. On average, women smoked 15.9 cigarettes a day (SD 1.2, n=103) before becoming pregnant and smoked 13.4 cigarettes a day (SD 2.6, n=26) once becoming pregnant. Twenty-one per cent of women were overweight and 20.0% were obese before becoming pregnant"
This is where one to one midwifery care is so beneficial. When women and midwives work together in a primary health care way, issues such as the health related behaviours noted above can be explored and discussed in a safe and effective way. My guess is that the busy antenatal clinics where women wait for hours and see whoever is free, isn't the place where sensitive subjects such as eating habits, exercise activities and smoking are explored in effective ways, if at all.
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (2009) 33(3): 228-33
The full text of the study can be read online at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122423650/HTMLSTART
Melbourne Homebirth Rally Video
Melbourne Homebirth Rally Video Aug 4 2009
This message has been sent to everyone by Justine Caines, Birth activist extraordinaire!
"Forwarding on the excellent work of homebirth mum, journalist and editor extraordinaire Libby Chow and sending her enormous thanks for documenting this awesome community effort. In the name of choice, freedom and human rights - homebirth.
http://www.youtube.com/user/redmango1975
A fabulous heart warming day for us all. BRING ON CANBERRA!"
This message has been sent to everyone by Justine Caines, Birth activist extraordinaire!
"Forwarding on the excellent work of homebirth mum, journalist and editor extraordinaire Libby Chow and sending her enormous thanks for documenting this awesome community effort. In the name of choice, freedom and human rights - homebirth.
http://www.youtube.com/user/redmango1975
A fabulous heart warming day for us all. BRING ON CANBERRA!"
Sunday 2 August 2009
Language and Paradox in Childbearing
I was reading a piece of work which commented that a woman had an 'uneventful pregnancy'. That word 'uneventful' appears to be innocent at first glance. What 'uneventful' means in the context of maternity care is that there are no problems with the pregnancy. Labeling the life changing transformative experience of a normal healthy pregnancy as 'uneventful' belies the importance of a pregnancy to a woman, her family and society. That word 'uneventful'diminishes the power and magnificence of what is happening within a woman's body and psyche when she is pregnant.
Being pregnant would have to rate up there as one of the most momentous of events in a woman's life. I was thinking about language and words have so much power and convey so much meaning. The use of the word 'uneventful' together with healthy pregnancy creates a paradox. This paradox is not immediately recognised. The paradox may never actually be recognised by the speaker. With one word the wonder of pregnancy is relegated to the status of an unremarkable and therefore somehow meaningless reality. I wonder if the mindset that word 'uneventful' creates is one of the reasons why our maternity services make pregnant women wait for hours in cattleyard-like antenatal clinics?
Carmel Niland said in 1992 in her Anne Conlon Memorial Lecture “Women, Power and the Political Process” to the NSW Women’s Advisory Council “Words are seeds. Whole worlds lie curled in them. Three words like ‘women’, ‘power’ and ‘politics’ have a universe in ideas curled in them”.
The way we speak, what we say and how we say it is culturally and politically determined and reflects our belief structures, perspectives, values and biases. Language also defines structure, creates thought and gives thought form. It not only embodies our history and culture, it reinforces our values and beliefs in a self perpetuating system of meaning making. Words are carriers for cultural ideology. We see the world through the lenses of our values and belief systems. Spoken language is a major form of interpersonal communication. The words used in oral communication demonstrate power structures and positions of those communicating within those power structures. As Sheila Rowbotham (in Waring 1990:18) comments,
“language … is one of the instruments of domination... expresses a reality experienced by the oppressors. It speaks only for their world, their view.”
Changing our language to ensure what we say truly reflects the magnificence of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding is vital if we want to change maternity services and what happens to women.
Waring, M. If Women Counted: A new feminist economics Harper Collins New York.
Being pregnant would have to rate up there as one of the most momentous of events in a woman's life. I was thinking about language and words have so much power and convey so much meaning. The use of the word 'uneventful' together with healthy pregnancy creates a paradox. This paradox is not immediately recognised. The paradox may never actually be recognised by the speaker. With one word the wonder of pregnancy is relegated to the status of an unremarkable and therefore somehow meaningless reality. I wonder if the mindset that word 'uneventful' creates is one of the reasons why our maternity services make pregnant women wait for hours in cattleyard-like antenatal clinics?
Carmel Niland said in 1992 in her Anne Conlon Memorial Lecture “Women, Power and the Political Process” to the NSW Women’s Advisory Council “Words are seeds. Whole worlds lie curled in them. Three words like ‘women’, ‘power’ and ‘politics’ have a universe in ideas curled in them”.
The way we speak, what we say and how we say it is culturally and politically determined and reflects our belief structures, perspectives, values and biases. Language also defines structure, creates thought and gives thought form. It not only embodies our history and culture, it reinforces our values and beliefs in a self perpetuating system of meaning making. Words are carriers for cultural ideology. We see the world through the lenses of our values and belief systems. Spoken language is a major form of interpersonal communication. The words used in oral communication demonstrate power structures and positions of those communicating within those power structures. As Sheila Rowbotham (in Waring 1990:18) comments,
“language … is one of the instruments of domination... expresses a reality experienced by the oppressors. It speaks only for their world, their view.”
Changing our language to ensure what we say truly reflects the magnificence of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding is vital if we want to change maternity services and what happens to women.
Waring, M. If Women Counted: A new feminist economics Harper Collins New York.
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