Here’s an article from the AJC about birth plans. The author claims that some care providers find birth plans disrespectful because you should trust them to know enough to have your best interests at heart. If you believe that, then you need to read Pushed, NOW! Here’s a telling quote to heed when choosing a care provider and place of birth, “And if a woman is with doctors whose practice routines are not consistent with what she wants, writing a birth plan won’t change that, Greenfield said.” Yep.
This reminds me of something said by the founder of ICAN, the idea of informed consent logically follows that one also has the right to informed refusal. So, educate yourself, hire a doula, and make a birth plan, then go with what labor brings your way.
A perplexing decision for new parents is what kind of diapers to use. It takes about two-and-a-half years to toilet train a youngster, and a child spends on average about 25,000 hours in diapers, so it’s an important decision. Price, convenience, and environmental concerns need to be weighed. A typical child will go through about 6,700 disposable diapers at the cost of $2,400 before being toilet trained [not to mention the cost of chemical-laden wipes, too]. Disposable diapers are not only expensive, they also place an enormous burden on landfills. Each year, about five million tons of human waste go to landfills via disposable diapers. Additionally, these diapers use plastics (about 30 percent of each diaper is not compostable), chemically treated materials, and bleached paper fibers.
Fortunately, today’s parents can choose from several options. Look for cloth diaper systems that don’t require the pins and soaking of yesteryear. You can buy diaper-and-cover combinations called all-in-one’s made from organic cotton. Reusable diaper covers, made from cotton, plastic, wool, or fleece, eliminate the use of pins and can be used repeatedly. Even diapering with the most expensive cloth diapers costs less than disposable diapers.
Flushable diapers are a new option [gDiapers]. They consist of a washable cotton outer cover (use any cover you want) and a flushable refill. The fragrance and chlorine-free biodegradable disposables can be flushed down the toilet. Wet ones can even be put into garden compost, since urine is the best source of nitrogen! Some companies also manufacture baby wipes made with organic cotton and organic plant-derived essential oils.
Excerpt from “buyOrganic!” by Lynn Tryba, “Take a cotton to organic material: Babies and Women Especially Benefit”
