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.

Induction of Labor Info Posted at Childbirth Connection

Childbirth Connection has launched a new area of their Web site to provide evidence-based information about the benefits, harms, and appropriate use of induction of labor, which affects approximately one-third of births in the US. According to Childbirth Connection, a systematic review of evidence published in 2009 found that many of the accepted medical indications for labor induction lack rigorous research demonstrating health benefits. Another systematic review published late last year demonstrated harms of elective induction of labor (without medical indication). The new resource sums up the evidence from these reviews and other high quality studies to help childbearing women make informed choices. The resource can be accessed at http://www.childbirthconnection.org/induction. The site was launched as part of a partnership with the March of Dimes and the Leapfrog Group.

The Leapfrog Group, an organization aimed at mobilizing large employers to improve health care quality, released data from their national hospital survey that shows many hospitals falling far short of targets to eliminate elective deliveries before 39 weeks. The database of hospital rates can be found at http://www.leapfroggroup.org/tooearlydeliveries.

Summarized from National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition newsletter, 1/31/11

Two Birth Stories for One Baby Boy

Guest Blogger Sara Saylor reflects on her adopted son's two birth stories today on his third birthday.

My son has two birth stories. One took place in a small village in Ethiopia. The other happened 8,324 miles away in Dallas, Texas.

Buturo was born in rural Ethiopia. As I listen to my friends talk about prenatal care, doulas and birthing plans, I think about my son’s first mother. I’ve tried to imagine the day he was born. I think of her pushing him into the world as the sun streamed through her thatched roof. Who was with her? A sister? A midwife? What did she think when she held his little, slippery body for the first time? What did she hope for him when she gave him the name Buturo, which means hard worker? Did she picture him becoming a farmer like his father? I can’t imagine she ever thought he’d grow up half a world away.

Around the same time Buturo took his first breath, my husband and I gave birth to our adoption plan. We had been through two painful miscarriages. It had rocked us to the core. Although I underwent numerous invasive tests to try to figure out why my body had failed me, there wasn’t a magic answer, no certain explanation. Maybe it was a clotting disorder. Maybe it was just bad luck. There was no reason not to try again, but we just couldn’t. It had been too hard, too heartbreaking. So we decided to adopt. The outcome seemed more certain. Eventually we’d become parents even if it took awhile.

So in January 2008, two mothers a world apart, held this new child in their hearts. She likely dreamed of a good life for him. And I dreamed of being there for a child who needed me. Buturo is celebrating his his third birthday today at our home in Ann Arbor, and we will not only celebrate his birthday, but we will also light a candle to honor the woman who gave him life.