Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Arm Yourself with Knowledge!

One of my main frustrations isn't that moms don't always make the same choices in parenting related matters that I do, but rather that many moms aren't informed of all the choices that exist. What works for my family doesn't necessarily work for the next family (or even for the next baby!). What does work is being an informed parent and knowing that you really did make the best decision for you and your family. So I'm going to keep reading, learning, and sharing so we can all be better parents just because we're armed with knowledge.

Those of you who know me IRL might have seen these already. ;)

First up, The Lie of the EDD: Why Your Due Date Isn't What You Think. I wish pregnant moms could just pass this out to friends and strangers when asked about their due date, as if the baby is on a timer. I've always known that a "due date" is a misleading phrase since the baby is "due" when the baby wants to be, but to see a mainstream news article remind people that going past 40 week is BIOLOGICALLY normal is refreshing. Hope more people take this to heart!

Cervical Exams: Who Needs Them?
Try not to let the "crunchy" source get to you too much because this is a great perspective on why it isn't always best for every mom to get cervical checks while pregnant and while in labor. Before consenting to checks, ask yourself if you actually want and need them personally.

Last week the news that arsenic has been found in infant formula spread like wildfire. I still don't know which formula it was (if you know, please share!) but many sources have said that it is an organic brand. This bothers the heck outta me because I just think about all those moms who feel they made the best decision and are willing to pay the extra money for an organic formula for their little one. This is not okay! Whatever company this is needs to get on the ball!!!

One of my favorite recent finds is information on how to do baby led bottle feeding and best yet, it was written by a lactation consultant! There are many great tips here for formula feeding and pumping moms. Most of what she mentioned I have never heard before myself, so I doubt if many moms have. Yay for more information!

For the breastfeeding moms, here's a list of ways to increase milk supply. Most of these I've heard and read about but not all in one tidy little list! Good job Natural Mama NZ!
And interestingly enough, a Johnson and Johnson partner put out how BFing can help with a woman's heart health.

3 comments:

sanctimomious said...

Babys Only Organic formula (the only one I would ever use) has organic brown rice syrup as its first ingredient. Awesome.

Mrs Sea Monster said...

I wouldn't panic just yet since there are always 2 sides to every story! I did some digging and found this (so the other side of the story):
http://www.naturesone.com/brown-rice/

I've seen some comments to this story on other pages where some stores have allowed moms to swap out the formula for other brands.

I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the future, but I agree that it is concerning since moms are just trying to do what's best.

Jen said...

Thank you ! Nolan was born at 40w6d, labor started naturally the day before. Even my usually hands off German OB wanted to induce me at 41 weeks and I was expecting a fight.