Babies Remember Birth
What do you see when you look at a newborn baby, bright-eyed, gazing straight at you? Is there really a person there? Silently frowning or beet-red with rage, can this baby think and feel? For its small size, a newborn makes a powerful, compelling...
New Blood
Infants have a right to all the blood they’re born with. Why are doctors keeping it from them?Are we allowing our health providers to rob our babies of their full potential of health, intelligence, immunity and longevity? At the time of b...
The Controversy Reignites
Vitamin K shots are routine for most newborns... but the practice has its dark side.The controversy surrounding administering vitamin K shots to newborns recently surfaced when physicians at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at V...
The Twinkle in Your Parents' Eyes: Conscious Conception and Conscious Pregnancy
You know the expression, “When you were only a twinkle in your parents’ eyes.” The phrase conjures up the happiness of loving parents who truly want to conceive a child. It turns out it is also a phrase that sums up the latest genetic research...
Risks of Induced Labor
A new study linking labor induction to increased autism risk made the news last year. This latest study on the connection between induction and risk of autism comes out of Duke University, and was reported in the Journal of the American Medical...
Estimating the Estimated Due Date
“I’m due on May 27th!” I was told enthusiastically by a friend who just found out she was pregnant. It took more than a little effort to mask my cringe and share her joy. Little did she know that within hours of her positive pregnancy test, she had...
Letter to a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Dear Labor and Delivery Nurse, This letter could also be addressed to doctors and midwives, but it is you, nurse, whom most expectant mothers interact with throughout their labors. I understand that you were called to this profession for a...
Eyes Wide Open: Are Informed Mothers and Autonomous Childbirth the Answer to Our Modern Obstetric Dilemmas?
The mosquitoes weren’t as bad that year. I was thankful. Typically, through the summer, they were so thick in our part of the city that it was hard to be in our yard. My quilt was spread out under the pawpaw tree, and tailor-sitting in that shade, I...
Birth as Initiation
Imagine yourself in a large, dark room lit by the flame of a single lamp at the center of a table in front of you. The air is thick and warm with the humidity of the 50 people who have remained seated behind you for two hours. You’re tired, yet y...
A Touch to Heal: A Chiropractor Helps Direct an At-Risk Newborn Toward Wellness
The text came through at 10:41 p.m. on a Friday night. It was from our midwife, Michelle Ruebke, C.P.M.: “I just delivered a baby and think he needs to see one of you guys. He’s too fussy (not crying) and won’t nurse.” Instantly I turned to my wife,...
The Pregnancy Circle: Preparing for Motherhood One Breath at a Time
What would the transition into motherhood be like if women were encouraged to build their own inner strength throughout pregnancy? What if a woman knew she already held her own answers, and that all she had to do was to trust her intuition? How...
Mother and Child are Linked at the Cellular Level
The Mother and Child Connection As we approach this Mother’s Day, I wish to honor all mothers and show an understanding of the healing relationship we have shared with our mothers and our children, and how they have reciprocated this...
The Growing Role of Chiropractic in Childbirth Education
There are few things harder for a childbirth educator to watch than a couple who tried desperately to achieve a natural birth have it slip through their fingers. How do well-prepared people sometimes end up with a birth very different than the one...
A New Leaf: 8 Conscious Choices for a Healthier Pregnancy
I wasn’t always a clean-living crusader. Pregnancy has a way of turning on that “just tell me what to do to get this right!” switch, and, five years ago, when a friend gave me the book Green Babies, Sage Mamas, I began to recognize that I was in...
Birthing with the Wisdom of the Ages
It is sometimes called our “inner knowing,” a “gut feeling,” or “the wisdom within.” Whatever its name, the experience is universal. It is a feeling, a word, or an image that stands out bolder than the regular stream of conscious thought and makes a...
Birthing Bliss, Birthing Trauma and Postpartum Depression
I remember looking out of my living room window, drawing on my connection to all the women in the world who had felt this energy before, all who were in that moment, and all who would in time to come. This energy, this incredible power, was...
The Pitfalls of Going with the Flow in Birth
So many of us aim to “just go with the flow” as our birth plan. But could the gentle flow of birth we envisage actually be undermined with this approach? Could “going with the flow” ever be detrimental to a positive start to life for your new family?...
Better Birthing: It's About Time
When Jenny arrived at her assigned birthing room, she wasn’t prepared for the clock. It was a large, digital timer, which hung over her bed and was started when the nurse walked in. As the clock began running, she was told she had 10 hours t...
10 Points to Remember About Birth
1.) Be with people who think you can do it. Keep numbers to a minimum, and limit it to people with whom you are familiar.
Are Ultrasounds Causing Autism in Babies?
Scientists are uncovering disturbing evidence that those sneak peeks at baby could damage a developing brain.Toward the end of my first pregnancy, a doctor ordered an “emergency” ultrasound because she believed I was measuring small. She tur...
