Friday, October 29, 2010

Teething Tablets by Hyland's being recalled

While I have loved Hyland's Teething Tablets for decades, there currently seems to be a problem with them. Please do not give them to your children at this time. Belladona toxicity is nothing to mess around with!


May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database: Special Alert

Our team at Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database monitors regulatory alerts related to natural medicines from around the world. We wanted to take this opportunity to advise you about an important recall.

• Teething Tablets by Hyland's is being recalled throughout North America due to serious safety concerns. Many parents give this product to children to reduce teething-related pain. Product labeling indicates that it should contain only a very small homeopathic dilution of the drug belladonna. However, laboratory analysis has found that some batches contained more of the drug than it should. Some children who have taken it have developed belladonna toxicity. Advise parents not to use this product. 

Evenflo Car Seat Recall

Hope this does not apply to you or yours but if it does, call and get the free reinforcement plate. (And maybe use another car seat in the meantime if your child is under 40 pounds.)


May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com


Evenflo Car Seat Recall
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition

(Oct. 25, 2010)   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is alerting consumers about the recall of more than 13,700 Evenflo Maestro child safety seats.  The company is recalling the seats because in the event of a crash, a crack can form at the front of the seat, adjacent to the harness adjuster, causing the child to be restrained improperly.  Child seats with model numbers beginning with 310 and produced between November 24, 2009 and April 9, 2009 are included in the recall.  Model numbers and the manufacture date can be found on a label on the side of the car seat.

Owners of the affected seats can contact Evenflo at 1-800-233-5921 to obtain a free metal reinforcement plate to provide extra structural support in the area of the harness adjuster.  The seat should not be used with children weighing under 40 pounds without the repair bracket, but can still be used as a belt positioning booster by children weighing over 40 pounds until the remedy kit arrives.

For more from NHTSA about the recall, click here.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Elijah Asher

And baby makes three. This little boy is very well loved by his two big sisters; Mommy can hardly get him to herself.


May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle,
CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Baby Benjamin

Dreaming of superheros, robots and football games, baby Benjamin is already contemplating his next career:
heartbreaker. What a cutie! 










May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 23, 2010

CPR Changes: The ABCs are now CABs

The American Heart Association makes an evidenced based announcement - Heart trumps lungs.
May all babies be born into loving hands...

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

AHA Announces New CPR Sequence in
2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR & Emergency Cardiovascular Care No More A-B-Cs; now it’s C-A-B!


For more than 40 years, we’ve learned the ABCs of CPR – Airway, Breathing and Compressions. Now, in new 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR & ECC, released early this morning, AHA recommends C-A-B, Compressions, Airway and Breathing. The new C-A-B sequence allows rescuers to start with the simplest step, chest compressions, and helps to remove barriers to starting CPR immediately. The AHA Guidelines for CPR & ECC continue to emphasize high-quality CPR, focusing on delivering effective chest compressions with minimal interruptions.

Many of the changes and recommendations included in the new CPR and ECC guidelines are designed to simplify CPR and increase bystander response, ultimately saving more lives.

Some additional key changes include:

A new recommended compression depth of at least 2 inches
A new recommended compression rate of at least 100 beats per minute
The elimination of “look, listen and feel for breathing”
The continued recommendation that untrained rescuers provide Hands-Only CPR
A universal sequence (algorithm) for adult CPR
New protocols for EMS activation and training
And much more
Visit www.Heart.org/CPR to access the full 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR & ECC in the journal Circulation, Guidelines Highlights (summary of changes), news coverage, media materials, charts, graphics and more.

 

More Evidence Light Drinking During Pregnancy May Not Be Harmful to Offspring

Whenever I look at alcohol consumption studies, I check out what they researcher are considering low, moderate or heavy intake. In the Australian study sited here, one could drink two drinks at a time, three days a week and still be a low consumer of alcohol. The breakdown what like this, 0 to 7 drinks (big span) counts as low, 2 to 5 drinks per week counts as moderate, more than 7 counts as heavy alcohol use. Interesting that a 'low level drinker' could actually be consuming more than a 'moderate' drinker....

Highlights Australian Study:
  • In the first trimester, 40.8% of women abstained from alcohol, 28.1% were low alcohol consumers, 10.8% were moderate drinkers, and 3.7% were heavy drinkers. In late pregnancy, these percentages were 40.8%, 38.1%, 10.8%, and 2.2%, respectively.
  •  In the study, there was no association between low or moderate prenatal alcohol exposure before or during pregnancy and the occurrence of any birth defect or birth defects classified as alcohol related.
  • "An interesting aspect of this study was that a large proportion of the alcohol-related birth defects (ARBDs) found in the children were unrelated to alcohol exposure so were in all probability misclassified as being alcohol related," said Dr. Ellison.
Highlights British Study:   
  •  In the previously reported British study involving more than 11,000 children, those born to women who drank 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages a week during pregnancy were not at increased risk for clinically relevant behavioral or cognitive problems at 5 years of age. Actually, these problems were less common among children exposed to “light” amounts of alcohol before birth.
While I usually say, 'all things in moderation', maybe not in this case.


May all babies be born into loving hands...

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com


www.medscape.com


More Evidence Light Drinking During Pregnancy May Not Be Harmful to Offspring

Experts Say This Should Not Be Interpreted as a Green Light for Drinking While Pregnant

Megan Brooks


October 19, 2010 — A new study from Western Australia has found no link between low and moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy and alcohol-related birth defects. There was, however, a significantly increased risk for birth defects with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, as expected.

The new study, published in the October issue of Pediatrics, echoes findings from a British study, which generated considerable media attention in recent weeks. The British study, published October 5 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found that light or moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy did not increase the risk for clinically relevant behavioral or cognitive problems in infants at 5 years of age.

On the heels of both of these studies, several professional groups have weighed in, including the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, a joint undertaking of the Institute on Lifestyle & Health of Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts and Alcohol in Moderation (AIM) of the United Kingdom. Forum members are not paid; members are researchers who share their knowledge and expertise and put recent research into context with other studies.

Strong Reaction

Publication of these studies has fueled strong reaction, R. Curtis Ellison, MD, codirector of the forum and professor of medicine and public health at Boston University, told Medscape Medical News. "I have just finished responding to an irate person who evidently treats women alcoholics in Australia, and the last thing she wanted to hear was a message other than just say no to alcohol," he added.

While no one is advocating that pregnant women drink alcohol, we believe it is important that we use evidence-based data when making guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and these [2 new studies] add to that database.

"While no one is advocating that pregnant women drink alcohol, we believe that it is important that we use evidence-based data when making guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and these [2 new studies] add to that database," noted Dr. Ellison.

"We conclude that while drinking during pregnancy should not be encouraged, there is little evidence to suggest that an occasional drink by the mother is associated with harm," according to a forum statement issued late last week.

"It is estimated that 20% of women do not realize they are pregnant during the first 3 weeks of gestation, so unneeded worry if mums-to-be have been drinking lightly is really the key,” Helena Conibear, codirector of the forum and executive director of AIM, told Medscape Medical News.

Giovannie de Gaetano, MD, PhD, of the John Paul II Center for High Technology Research and Education in Biomedical Sciences, Catholic University, Rome, Italy, agreed. "At the moment, we should not encourage pregnant women to drink, obviously, without terrorizing those pregnant women who are occasional or light drinkers."

In the Australian study, Colleen M. O'Leary, MPH, PhD, of Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues examined associations among dose, pattern, and timing of prenatal alcohol exposure and birth defects.

The investigators linked data from a randomly selected, population-based cohort of 4714 nonindigenous women who gave birth to a live infant in Western Australia between 1995 and 1997 to birth defects registry data from Western Australia. Information about maternal alcohol consumption was collected 3 months after birth for the 3-month period before pregnancy and for each trimester separately.

The Australian Study


A standard drink in Australia contains 10 grams of alcohol. Low alcohol consumption was defined as fewer than 7 standard drinks per week and no more than 2 drinks on any given day, in line with recommendations set out by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council in 2001.

The moderate drinking category included women who consumed 7 drinks or less per week, with most consuming roughly 2 to 5 drinks per occasion; therefore, the quantity consumed per occasion discriminated moderate consumers from low consumers, the researchers explain in their report. Heavy drinking was defined as more than 7 drinks per week.

In the first trimester, 40.8% of women abstained from alcohol, 28.1% were low alcohol consumers, 10.8% were moderate drinkers, and 3.7% were heavy drinkers. In late pregnancy, these percentages were 40.8%, 38.1%, 10.8%, and 2.2%, respectively.

The study authors note that although a large proportion of women in this cohort drank alcohol while pregnant, the prevalence of any birth defect classified as alcohol related by the Institute of Medicine was "low." A total of 306 children (6.5%) were diagnosed as having any birth defect, whereas only 51 (1.1%) had birth defects deemed alcohol related.

"An interesting aspect of this study was that a large proportion of the alcohol-related birth defects (ARBDs) found in the children were unrelated to alcohol exposure so were in all probability misclassified as being alcohol related," said Dr. Ellison.

In the study, there was no association between low or moderate prenatal alcohol exposure before or during pregnancy and the occurrence of any birth defect or birth defects classified as alcohol related.

Heavy drinking in the first trimester (compared with abstinence) was associated with greater than 4-fold increased odds of birth defects classified as ARBDs. The adjusted odds ratio was 4.57 (95% confidence interval, 1.46 – 14.26). Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of the birth defects classified as ARBDs were ventricular septal defects, and 15.7% were atrial septal defects.

"Our findings are consistent with the fact that the first trimester is a period of rapid fetal development and the most vulnerable time for the occurrence of structural birth defects," Dr. O'Leary and colleagues write.

They also note that birth defects defined as ARBDs occurred in each drinking category, with 47% occurring in infants born to women who did not drink during the first trimester.

"This indicates the difficulty in reliably attributing these birth defects to alcohol in clinical settings, particularly because the dose, pattern, and timing of prenatal alcohol exposure are not recorded routinely."

The British Study — A Recap


In the previously reported British study involving more than 11,000 children, those born to women who drank 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages a week during pregnancy were not at increased risk for clinically relevant behavioral or cognitive problems at 5 years of age. Actually, these problems were less common among children exposed to “light” amounts of alcohol before birth.

Once again, heavy drinking while pregnant was clearly harmful, the study authors found.

In this study, 1 drink was defined as 1 glass of wine, a half pint of beer, or a single measure (25 mL) of spirit or liqueur.

Dr. Ellison noted that these and other recent studies on light drinking in pregnancy indicate that socioeconomic, education, and other lifestyle factors of the mother may have large effects on the health of the fetus, and these need to be considered when evaluating the potential effects of alcohol during pregnancy.

"It has been well demonstrated in numerous studies," Dr. Ellison noted, "that women with less education, lower income, less access to prenatal care, etc, are at higher risk of having children with abnormalities even though they may report only light if any alcohol intake during pregnancy. A number of lifestyle factors, including smoking, drug usage, binge drinking, underreporting of alcohol use, are thought to contribute to their higher risk.

"Studies suggest that women with higher education, income, and other measures of socioeconomic status are much less likely to have infants with abnormalities, and current data do not suggest that light alcohol intake among such women in an important factor in leading to birth defects in their children," Dr. Ellison added.

The Bottom Line

Summing up, he said, the Australian and British studies join "a number of other recent studies that have not shown abnormalities in newborns or in older children that relate to occasional or light drinking by the mother during pregnancy. We realize that residual confounding is always a possibility in observational studies, and there is no way that a randomized controlled trial can be done to deal with these questions. Hence, we are forced to use our best judgment in reaching conclusions."

We realize that residual confounding is always a possibility in observational studies, and there is no way that a randomized controlled trial can be done to deal with these questions. Hence, we are forced to use our best judgment in reaching conclusions.

Currently, most countries, including the United States, Canada, France, and Italy, recommend that women planning to conceive or who are pregnant abstain from drinking alcohol.

In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) currently recommends that women avoid alcohol during the first trimester because it may be associated with an increased risk for miscarriage.

Women who choose to drink alcohol during pregnancy are advised to drink no more than 1 to 2 UK units of alcohol once or twice a week. "Although there is uncertainty regarding a safe level of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, at this low level there is no evidence of harm to the unborn baby," the guidelines state. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' stance echoes the NICE guidance.

In the United States, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) told Medscape Medical News it continues with its long-standing position that no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy. The bottom line, according to an ACOG statement, is "women should avoid alcohol entirely while pregnant or trying to conceive."

None of the researchers has disclosed any relevant financial relationships.

Pediatrics. 2010;126:e843-e850.

Medscape Medical News © 2010 WebMD, LLC
Send press releases and comments to news@medscape.net.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Freedom Fiesta, November 6

Local Care Midwifery is one of the sponsors of the Freedom Fiesta. Hope to see you there! 

May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com



                                                Celebrating
National Midwifery
Week
and the
Effective Date of the
Midwifery
Modernization Act!
  A party with dancing, live music, stories,
laughter, cash bar, and light refreshments.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 6pm to 10pm
Program and Presentations start at 7pm

BPO Elks Brunswick Lodge
 665 Brunswick Road
Troy, NY 12181

FREE! (donations encouraged)
All proceeds from entry donations will go to the New York State Association
of Licensed Midwives.

In addition, baby blankets and diapers will be collected to Unity House in Troy, NY. (Please bring new or gently used baby blankets or a pack of disposable diapers)

Sponsored by ACNM Chapter II-06 Eastern NY Chapter with support from
BirthNet, Family Life Center, Local Care Midwifery, Safe Passage
Midwifery, Sage-Femme Midwifery, St. Peter’s Family Health Midwifery
Service, Seton Health Midwifery, Tender Care Doula Services, and Three
Sisters Doula Care
For more information, please contact
BirthNet at 518-482-2504 or birthnet@birthnewyork.org.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sweet Adeline

Glory Be, Adeline is here!

 (For more pictures and text, see Adeline's Daddy's blog.)




May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Stella Sunshine

Miss Stella Sunshine arrived on Friday October 15, 2010. She is beautiful, strong and the delight of her parent's hearts. Shhh.... Sunshine and her mommy are napping. It is hard work getting born.



May all babies be born into loving hands...

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Friday, October 15, 2010

Oct. 15 2010, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day of Remembrance

Guest post by an LCM Mom


Several days ago, for the first time in a long time, I opened the large manila envelope tucked between books and other papers on my bookshelf, always in the back of my mind.  Containing the only pictures I have of my daughter's twin who passed away while still in utero the envelope is always there, quiet but ever present.  Inobtrusive, but always on the edge of my awareness.

Gingerly, I opened the envelope and looked over the images of Baby A and Baby B, and when looking at the Baby B we named Nicholas once we became aware of his passing, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.  For the very first time, I saw feet.  Small and not well formed yet, but feet nonetheless.  My son's feet.  And they made me smile.  After a few smiles mixed with tears, I put the pictures back in their envelope, tucked them back in between the books on my shelf and went on with the rest my day.  But those feet stayed with me.

It's been almost a year since we lost Nicholas, but when my eyes and heart are open, his footprints are ever evident in our hearts and our lives.  Tiny feet with me when I cradle his twin sister.  Tiny feet when I pass that bookself, when I look at my other sons and wonder what Nicholas's smile would have been like.  The weeks we shared when my body contained his entire life were far, far too short, but he remains a part of my heart and our family just the same.  For as long as I remember him, he will always be with me, and in those moments I know that we are not so very far apart and that I'll see my son again someday.  And until that day, I have a tiny set of footprints walking along with me, always by my side and on my heart.


- Nicholas' Mom



Today (October 15th) is the day of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.   Pregnancy loss is a deep but too often private pain.  Today we remember all those babies held in our hearts but never met, those born sleeping, and those whose lives ended in infancy. 

We invite you to contact us by email if you have an addition you would like us to make to our pregnancy loss Page of Remembrance.  Whether actually named or simply carried in your heart as, for example, "our first pregnancy," we would be honored to hold your babies in our hearts and on our memorial page.

Tomorrow, October 16, in Saratoga Springs at the Saratoga Spa State Park the Annual Angel Names Association Memorial Walk will take place from 12-4pm meeting at the Columbia Pavilion.   This event is free, will include children's activities, and is in honor of all children lost through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death. 


May all babies be born into loving hands...




K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Rose's Famous Apple Butter

If you made it to the Local Care Midwifery Open House and had some yummy Apple Butter, this is the recipe. If you didn't make it to the Open House, the apple butter is still yummy : )


 
May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com


Apple Butter 
(Recipe from Michelle Doyle, originally from her mom, Rosemary Vorih)


8 cups apples -cooked, pureed, apples (think applesauce, I use a Foley Food Mill to make mine)
3 cups sugar (okay, mom's recipe actually called for 6 cups)
2 teaspoons each: cloves, allspice, nutmeg
2 tablespoons cinnamon


Add everything together, stir well, cook on low (!) until thick. (I use a crock pot on low setting for 8 hours and if that is not enough, do it again). If cooking on the stovetop, be careful of the bottom of the apple butter scorching. Pour into clean, scalded jam jars, top with new lids, seal.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Baby Sammy, 10/9/10

Little Sammy is not so little. Weighing in at 9 1/2 pounds, he is both big and sturdy. We pray that he will always be healthy and strong, and never too big for his momma's kisses.


May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Monday, October 4, 2010

Wonderful book we all should read

Someone Knows My Name, by Lawrence Hill is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. Historical literature is not my usual genre of choice but the book grabbed me at the library (the main character is a midwife after all) and would not let me go. This book is the fictional life story of Aminita Diallo,from her dying days in London in 1802 looking back over her long, stirring and dignified life. From a small village in Africa where she lived as a 'freeborn muslim', learned to read Arabic from her father and learned midwifery from her mother, Aminita is kidnapped and sold into slavery. This is a story that affects us all and does so with honesty, dignity and even moments of humor. It took me weeks to finish (sorry to whomever had it reserved) because I did not want the story to end. However, Mr Hill is an accomplished and kind author; by the end of his novel, I was finally ready to let Aminita Diallo go.


May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com

Friday, October 1, 2010

Arabelle is here!

Arabelle Elisabeth is as beautiful as her name. She came dancing into the world tonight, welcomed by grandma and grandpa, a big sister and two big brothers, several friends, one sleeping baby and two midwives. After all that excitement, it was time for some quiet snuggling with mommy and daddy. Ahhhh...





May all babies be born into loving hands... 

K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com