Cesarean Awareness Month: Transparency and Skin to Skin at University of Michigan Hospital

There are many reasons why I love working at Lamaze Family Center Ann Arbor; I love making connections with expectant families, helping moms forge new friendships and find resources in our community, and hearing how birth fundamentally changes a family and a woman's perspective of her body and her strength.

One huge plus of working here is our strong working relationship with the University of Michigan Hospital, as we provide their patients with childbirth education classes as a separate, non-hospital-based entity. One of our recent requests after meeting with Dr. Tim R.B. Johnson, Chair of the University of Michigan's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was to have our educators view a Cesarean birth, and I was lucky enough to see one this morning.

I arrived at the nurse's station and was greeted warmly by the two nurses I shadowed. After donning my jumper, which resembled a biohazard/Pillsbury Doughboy outfit, I put on booties, and was given a face mask to put on once we reached the OR. I met Mom and Dad, who were excited to meet their baby. Mom felt well-supported and prepared to deliver via Cesarean (for a condition that was medically indicated). Dad asked me lots of questions about Mom's recovery, breastfeeding support, and where he would be in the OR, and after a meeting with the anesthesiologist, Mom was wheeling into the OR.

The last time I was in the OR was for my son's Cesarean birth about 3.5 years ago. What I didn't realize from the last time I was there was the amount of busyness, charting, counting supplies, quality checks, and comforting words to Mom. I was not emotionally prepared and in labor when I arrived at the hospital.

This morning, Mom was very calm and excited, but understandably nervous about baby and if he would cry when he arrived in the world. She was assured that he might take a moment after having fluids suctioned, but it was normal. She need not have worried, as Baby greeted the world with a hearty cry, covered in white vernix, as he was about a week early.

Baby was skin to skin with Mom, in just a diaper and hat, within 12 minutes of being born. Signs all over Labor and Delivery exclaimed the benefits of early skin to skin contact between mom and baby (as do we in our Lamaze childbirth and breastfeeding classes), and the hospital staff took it seriously and made sure Dad was involved and helping support Baby on Mom's chest. Dad was invited to see Baby right away while the nurse was cleaning him and checking his vitals. The atmosphere in the OR was upbeat, efficient and happy as both Mom and Baby were doing very well.

The nurses were incredibly nurturing and confident, which helped Mom and Dad, but also were super helpful to me as an observer. One of the nurses actually walked me through the steps of the surgery before baby was born and as the OBs made their incisions and delivered the baby, and kept me updated on the newborn procedures of Baby.

Three other of our educators are observing a Cesarean birth as well this week, and I know that this opportunity is amazing, unique, and very appreciated. Our families that enroll in Lamaze childbirth classes will benefit from our firsthand accounts of all types of births at UofM.

Cesarean Awareness Month: Support for VBACs at LFC

Did you know that April is Cesarean Awareness Month? According to the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), the U.S. cesarean rate stands at 32.9%, but some states have rates of more than 40%.

“Cesareans are far from the niche occurrence of yesteryear. Every woman in her childbearing years MUST sit up and take notice of this alarming and astonishing rate of surgical delivery,” says ICAN President Desirre Andrews. “Now more than ever, women and babies need access to evidence-based care.” Click here to read the ICAN blog.

Lamaze Family Center's evidence-based childbirth classes help give families real tools and support to prepare for their births and make empowered choices. We teach families to recognize the "cascade of interventions" but also be flexible and realistic.

Additionally, we offer a Review Workshop class for second- (or third- or more) time moms who want refresher for their next birth, and we are hearing more and more from moms who are seeking a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). Our next class meets Wednesday, May 25. This class isn't just for moms who have taken Lamaze previously; moms and their partners can enjoy devoted time to think about their next birth and reassess their priorities, hopes and plans for the upcoming birth.

Want to celebrate a recent VBAC or honor a friend? Buy your baby a VBAC onesie! Gotta love Etsie.

ICAN is asking for birth stories, and I'd love to hear some second-time birth stories to share with our readers. Email me at meredith@lamazefamilycenter.org

New Car Seat Safety Recommendations: Rear Facing Until Age Two

We know this has been all over the news this past week, and wanted to make sure that our Lamaze family had the latest information:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have released updated child passenger safety recommendations. Parents are advised to keep toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age two or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. In addition, most children should continue to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age.

While previous recommendations suggested that it is safest for infants and toddlers up to the limits of the car seat, they also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. Because of this, many parents turned their car seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated their first birthday. The new recommendations stress the importance of selecting a car seat based on a child’s age, height and weight and keeping children in seats for as long as possible, until they reach the seat’s maximum height and weight requirements.

For more information from AAP, go to http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx. For more information from NHTSA, go to http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS.

Excerpted from the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Newsletter

Introduction of Solid Foods and Obesity

An interesting blurb underscoring another benefit of breastfeeding:

A study appearing in the March edition of the journal Pediatrics examines the association between timing of the introduction of solid foods during infancy and obesity at 3 years of age.

Researchers studied 847 children in a prospective pre-birth cohort study, with obesity at three years of age as the primary outcome. The timing of introduction of solid foods was measured as less than 4 months, 4 to 5 months and 6 or more months. 67% of the infants were breastfed in the first four months of life, and 32% were formula-fed. By 3 years of age, 75 children (9%) were obese (measured by a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for age and gender). Among breastfed infants, the timing of solid food introduction was not associated with odds of obesity. However, among formula-fed infants, introduction of solid foods before four months was associated with a sixfold increase in odds of obesity at age 3 years. To review the study online, go to http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/3/e544.

From the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Newsletter

Science & Sensibility » In Response: “The Doctors” Got it All Wrong

Instead of re-writing a response to the recent "The Doctors" show about epidurals, read this great response from the Science & Sensibility blog.

Science & Sensibility » In Response: “The Doctors” Got it All Wrong

Who has time for sex? Don't miss this moms-only workshop on March 26

By Guest Blogger Kelly Grocoff, LSW

Why teach a class called “Sex and Intimacy After Baby: Making it Matter for Moms”? Aren’t there a thousand other things mothers need to worry about? Who has time for sex?

In my classes and workshops, I make a case for sex. Why? Sexual health concerns are as important as any other health concern. Healthy sexual activity has numerous medical and psychological benefits, including many that are important for mothers, such as improving mood, aiding in sleep and keeping the pelvic floor muscles strengthened and toned.

My next workshop, for moms only, will be held at the Lamaze Family Center on Saturday, March 26 from 1:00pm-6:00pm. It will be an opportunity for moms to get answers to some of the trickiest postpartum questions, and engage in honest, thoughtful discussion about how to re-establish sex and intimacy after having children.

Many couples find that along with the multiple joys, challenges and changes of child-rearing comes an end to "Sex as We Know It." For some it gets better, but for many others it gets worse; it can create distance between two partners and is often marked by physical or emotional pain. But instead of accepting sub-par sex as the new normal, I encourage couples to identify what is not working, talk about the changes and make a commitment to their sexual relationship. For many couples, the postpartum period is the first time they have ever had to talk about sex. With commitment, honesty, and a sense of humor, couples can start a life long conversation that will help them adapt to a sexual relationship that inevitably changes throughout the life span.

Some common questions mothers have are: will I ever get my sex drive back? Why is my partner so interested in sex when I am not at all? Why should I consider sex when all I want to do with my free time is sleep or take care of things around the house? How can I show my postpartum body to my husband? Our kids are now much older and it seems like our sex life is forever changed. How can I learn how to enjoy sex again?

In “Sex and Intimacy After Baby” we discuss these questions, and many more. I hope to see you there.

Register now for the March 26th workshop, from 1:00pm-6:00pm at Lamaze Family Center Ann Arbor. The five-hour workshop is $60 and includes the great book "Sex Matters for Women," by Sallie Foley, MSW; Sally A. Kope, MSW and Dennis P. Sugrue, PhD. The workshop is for moms only and open to any mom who has given birth in the last ten years.

Expectant Moms: Come to Nesting, a Creative Prenatal Retreat at Blue House

Lamaze Family Center Ann Arbor and Blue House proudly introduce a retreat on Saturday, March 5, dedicated to a day of creative empowerment for expecting moms. Whether you are a first time mom or a busy momma expecting #3, pregnancy is a journey to cherish. What better way to mark this time in your life than to celebrate what matters most. Come enjoy a day just for you and your baby.

The retreat includes two crafting projects (no previous experience required, so don't be intimidated if you aren't a Martha Stewart-type!), delicious local food, prenatal yoga session, and a comfort measures and birth wish list session, co-facilitated by yours truly (Meredith Lovelace, LCCE, one of the Lamaze Family Center's childbirth educators.)

The retreat is on Saturday, March 5, from 9:30am-4:00pm at Blue House Ann Arbor, 1026 South Main St. (corner of Main and Pauline, across from the Big House.) Limited to 20 mommas, so sign up now if you are interested!

Go to Blue House's site for more information and to register.