Spring or Summer Due Date?

Check out the Events or Meet Decatur Doulas page for info on our upcoming Meet the Doulas on January 10, 2009. Email or call for the address, near Emory University. We would love to have you there! You will learn more about having a doula for continuous support throughout your labor and birth. Husbands, partners, grandmothers-to-be are welcome as well.

Fans to Help Prevent SIDS

A new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research has found that by adding a fan to move the air in an infant’s sleeping area decreases the chance of SIDS by 72 percent. Of course, this assumes that the baby is sleeping alone, which is another factor in SIDS. Scientists are not sure exactly what causes SIDS, but speculate that it could be lack of oxygen and their immature brains don’t wake them from sleep when this occurs. The baby’s sleeping environment, and what the baby sleeps ON are important factors. I recommend an organic cotton futon crib mattress for babies that use a crib either full or part-time. They do not off-gas chemicals from plastics. Keep soft bedding, soft toys, pillows, or excess blankets out of the crib and away from the railings as well.

Big Medicine’s blowback on home births

Why do U.S. doctors strong-arm women into our standard maternity care system? – By Jennifer Block, July 9, 2008 in the LA Times. Check it out. Jennifer is the author of Pushed, also an excellent read.

Strollers & Baby Stress

Here’s a report that will have you investigating types of slings and reading books on attachment parenting, if you haven’t already.  Come on over to my house, I’ve got a bunch of both!  And you can find great slings and helpful info at Along For the Ride.  ~Jenn

“Infants who spend a lot of time being pushed along in a front-facing stroller become anxious and stressed, possibly suffering long-lasting psychological damage, says a new study. Researchers at Dundee University in Scotland studied 3,000 infants, some of whom were pushed by parents in front-facing strollers, and others in rear-facing strollers in which the infant and parent could see each other. In the rear-facing strollers, the study found, parents made eye contact and spoke to babies more often, which reassured them and let them drift off to sleep. Babies in the front-facing strollers, who could not see their parents, had higher heart rates and other detectable signs of stress. “Life in a stroller is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful,” researcher Suzanne Zeedyk tells the London Daily Telegraph. “Stressed babies grow into anxious adults.”