New AAP Sleep Guidelines: Same Old Line or Something New?
The AAP has released their updated Safe Sleep Recommendations so it's time to take a look at what they say and how it applies to families.
Press Release Re: Carpenter et al. Bedsharing Study
We were luckily able to view a copy of the article in advance and the group of researchers I have worked with on other posts and I wrote a response. This is it. It has been shared as a press release generally and given specifically to the BBC (the study is a UK one). We shall see how the media responds in the days to come, but it's nice to know that at least we're not one step behind this time!
Guest Post: Does It Really Matter? (A Poem)
Trisha Lawrie has kindly shared three incredibly powerful poems regarding birth and I am thrilled to share them. I feel they speak to so much that we speak of on EP and give voice to experiences that, sadly, far too many women experience during the birth process.
We are people, not guinea pigs
Like it or not, pregnant women and the children they bear are the guinea pigs of medicine. For us and our children, it is safe until proven otherwise (despite how often that otherwise crops up) and yet our faith in the medical establishment as a whole keeps many people from speaking out.
Co-Sleeping on Trial: The Vanessa Clark Case
On April 5, 2012 Vanessa Clark was found guilty of child endangerment in the death of their 2-month-old son Tristan in July 2010. What did she do? She co-slept with him. There are multiple things wrong with this though and we need to look at all them to understand how flawed this outcome and entire situation is.
A Comment on Anti-Bedsharing Campaigns
I feel like it’s time to not just point out what many of us having pointed out over and over – namely that education is key – but to truly examine why these places are feeling the need to take this route and what’s wrong with their approach (beyond the obvious).
To Drug or Not to Drug? The Epidural Debate
My view in a nutshell: The development of the epidural was a great scientific discovery that has the power to help women who NEED it in labor. It has its place in the world of childbearing, but it has also been VASTLY overused and many of those who opt for it have no idea what it is that they’re choosing to do.