Birth | Pregnancy | Blog

Needs for antibiotics may make it so you should not breastfeed your baby, regardless of whether or not you had planned to. If the benefits of antibiotics out-weigh the cons, then obviously you need to do what you need to do. However, if you minimize the risk of you needing antibiotics in the first place, that would be optimal, for you and your baby.

This abstract from Green Journal titled “Use of Intrapartum Antibiotics and the Incidence of Postnatal Maternal and Neonatal Yeast Infections” says:

Neonatal thrush and maternal breast candidiasis are common early postnatal complications. The higher rates of thrush and breast candidiasis in antibiotic-exposed mother–infant pairs merits further study.

Another called “Antibiotic Use in Pregnancy and Lactation” points out:

…there is the concern of possible teratogenic and toxic effects on the developing fetus and newborn.

and encourages it health care providers to:

consider the teratogenic and toxic risk profiles of antibiotics to assist in making prescribing decisions for pregnant and lactating women.

However, this article, which reviews 11 broad spectrum antibiotics, does go on to say that most of the antibiotics reviewed are considered “compatible with breastfeeding.” I would say the uncertainty is still there though because what you take into your body, your baby also gets some of. Why risk it if you can take care of the problem a safer way?

During pregnancy and while breast feeding, I like to remedy anything that may come up as naturally as possible. I have had to take an antibiotic for a UTI (urinary tract infection) before because it was bad enough that I couldn’t remedy it naturally (I had never had one before and didn’t recognize the signs soon enough). The more natural way, which proves very effective for me now because I know the signs and signals of a UTI, would be something like cranberry juice (or capsules if you don’t like the juice) and/or uva-ursi. My favorite cranberry juice (although I don’t really like cranberry juice) is the Lakewood Organic Pure Concentrate because a lot goes a long way and since it’s unsweetened, it tends to works better. Amazon has it in six packs. Other unsweetened brands may work just as well.

Uva-ursi is an herb, and some herbs are very beneficial for pregnant and lactating women while others are not. So be sure to discuss it with a knowledgeble care provider before taking anything you are uncertain about in any way.

For after childbirth, I like to put 10 drops of tea tree oil in my peri-bottle. That way my area is cleaned every time I use it, and I’m not ingesting anything that might affect my baby’s milk.

A good guide for more natural remedies is: Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year. This book is great for homeopathic and natural remedies.

Sheilah

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While reading another blog the other day, some things were brought to my attention that I hadn’t really thought about before. The blog was vbacadventure and the post was about media births. A commenter, Kara, pointed out some media births (on the show “Friends”) that weren’t the typical horrifying portrayal of childbirth we usually see on TV shows.

I like Kara’s point, but “Friends” happens to be our favorite show, maybe the birth scenes are part of the reason why. The labors that took place over their 10 years on the air were not without “complications” but were all natural birth (without drugs or other medical interventions). Phoebe gives birth to triplets, Rachel’s baby was breech, and Monica and Chandler adopt twins, all of which were vaginally delivered babies. They do make those birthing scenes funny while empathizing with a laboring woman. Laughs during labor can help to ease stress anyway, so it could be helpful to remember these scenes. As they say, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Russell kept me laughing and it helped a lot I think (but so did being on my own turf and doing things my way).

While these TV births aren’t exactly realistic either, I do feel they are more along the lines of what childbirth can and should be. When Rachel is in labor, we even see how labor can be different for each woman. She sits there half distraught because a few other women come in and go to the birthing room while she is waiting to do the same. (Another reason I enjoy home birth, my progress is not compared with anyone else’s.) Each one of those women handled the experience a little differently, just like we do for real. One of them appears to feel practically no pain, as she just makes little “mm” sounds during her contractions and then says, “That was a big one!” afterwards. Another woman is loud, miserable and cussing at her husband, but not because of “pain.”

Obstetricians have been trained for worst case scenarios and anything less than that is a bore to most of them. I don’t think they realize their brilliance when they help a woman successfully give birth to a baby without drugs or medical intervention. It would make all their time in med-school seem like a waste (until the rare occasion where that knowledge comes in handy despite all other efforts, to actually save lives rather than control “progress”). There is certainly a time and place for medical interventions, but the media should not promote them by showing such b.s. so often that millions of women actually expect to need those interventions.

Birth should be a time to celebrate family (like “Friends” also portrays: Ross and Susan agreeing on a baby name, Phoebe settling for being the favorite aunt when she has to “give up” the triplets, Joey promising Rachael she won’t be alone, and Monica not separating the twins),it should not be about fear of pains.

There is no cookie cutter for childbirth, but the dough is basically the same. If we are all starting out with the same kind of dough, our cookies shouldn’t be all that different, but it depends on the circumstances in the kitchen. In other words, in case you didn’t get my metaphors, women are women. We have the same parts that make us women and those parts have the same functional potential. The differences in our labors can be caused by a variety of factors like the support we have or don’t have, our comfort level in our birthing places, the attendants we have, and the tools that are or are not used and the timing of such things.

I personally hate stirrups, unless they are attached to a saddle sitting on a horses back. I feel that when my body is good and ready, it will open up, I don’t need some cold, hard, un-feeling things baring my all for somebody else’s convenience. When the baby is ready to show, the baby shows. Making a woman spread herself this way isn’t going to make childbirth happen any quicker, especially if she’s not comfortable doing such a thing in the first place. The stirrup factor is something I’ve also seen a lot in TV births, along with back laying, fear, screaming, loved ones in the waiting room instead of supporting the laboring woman, and women being portrayed as completely unreasonable, even crazy, during labor. It’s not right.

So for a more accurate portrayal of childbirth in the media, I refer you to “Friends”. Season 5 episode 3 called “The One Hundredth” (Phoebe’s birth of the triplets), season 8 the last episode called “The One Where Rachel Has a Baby”, and season 10 “The Last One” (Erica gives birth to the twins that Monica and Chandler adopt). Also, the first “Friends” childbirth scene was when Carol (Ross’ lesbian ex-wife) gives birth in season 1, the second to last episode called “The One With the Birth.”

It was a great show, well written, with a great cast and some great birth stories given a funny twist to show the lighter side of childbirth.

By the way, every one of those childbirth episodes makes me tear up because they are emotionally griping to me, in a good way. So there are your birth stories for today. Watch ‘em if you can and if you see them during your pregnancy, be aware that you may also cry.

Sheilah

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Besides growing up on a dairy farm and learning all the great benefits to milk and mother’s milk, I have also seen the benefits in my own children and I have found studies supporting my own findings. Mother’s milk is a natural meal for baby, whatever kind of mammal mother and baby are.

One study conducted on breast feeding found:

promoting prolonged breast feeding may help decrease the prevalence of obesity in childhood.

The conclusion also goes on to say:

Since obese children have a high risk of becoming obese adults, such preventive measures may eventually result in a reduction in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and other diseases related to obesity.

Now I don’t know about the entire world, but in the United States, obesity is a growing problem. Diets are filled with convenience foods and/or stuff loaded with various forms of MSG, and days filled with sitting in front of computers or wanting to sit down from the tiring stress caused by growing bodies. It seems to me that breastfeeding our babies, is a simple enough task since it offers them early preventative protection against future obesity and all that entails.

Breastfeeding benefits babies, so why wouldn’t we want that? If you can do it, I strongly urge you to, for your baby’s future health.

Sheilah

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No, not real sandwiches, but I do like them, whether I’m pregnant or not. Here’s what I mean:
I am part of what my dad likes to call “the sandwich generation.” What that means is that I am smack dab in the middle of the young (my babies) and the old (grandparents) and because of that, I stand a good chance of changing diapers of the young and the old at the same time. While it hasn’t gotten to that point thankfully, I must admit that my attention is rather split when we have certain “elderly” company. Sometimes it’s like having another toddler around. They want to help but sometimes just don’t know appropriate ways to, and so they must both (the young toddler and the elderly toddler) be kept busy in productive and meaningful ways. Otherwise they find their own ways to help which are often exactly opposite. Yikes. It’s a tough spot to be in sometimes, but I’m about family, so it doesn’t matter that it can be tough.

Anyway, we have had this company off and on now since Jeannie was born about 7 weeks ago. On one hand, I’m glad and enjoy it, on the other hand, I feel like now is not the time. I have my own small children to watch after and take care of, and of course a new baby. So every now and then, my “sandwich” feels a little lumpy. Today is an okay day, but I wanted to explain this situation anyway.

I know there are nursing homes and senior communities, but if conditions allow and my family wants, I would always do what I can to keep them where ever they are most comfortable, even if it means in our home and being sandwiched for awhile.

Of course, if you are part of the “sandwich generation” too, and are in a similar or worse position, you probably already know that sanitation can become a problem. If otherwise “clean” people are expected to wash their hands before holding a newborn (to prevent your new baby from coming into contact with foreign germs) then incontinence around the home would certainly become a health issue too. I know that urine is sterile at first, but it’s so sterile that germs love it and will multiply like mad if given the chance. So it needs to be taken care of right away, whether in a diapers, on the floor, or in the toilet. (Sorry if the idea grosses you out, but the need to pee is a fact of life for any somewhat healthy body).

To help curb this possible problem (I also have little boys too, who may sometimes miss the toilet on sleepy mornings) I use Flylady’s “swish and swipe” habits in the bathroom, and I change the hand towels everyday. I’m doing wash all the time anyway, so it’s no big deal to toss them in. Of course I wash my hands after all diaper changes or dirty jobs too. My little angels are worth the lotion necessary to keep my hands from chapping.

I also like to use some basic cleaners, like glass cleaner on the sinks, and a natural cleaner everywhere else. Just in case I run out of that, I like to keep vinegar and baking soda on hand.

Whether you are sandwiched or not, Flylady can be helpful. And if you already have good habits in place, it’s easier to deal with being sandwiched.

Sheilah

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