Anyone know if WHITE raspberry leaf is as good as RED raspberry leaf?

And how would you go about preparing it fresh? Making a tea from the leaves. Should i dry them out in a dehydrater, boil them fresh?

My mom grows both red and white raspberries. The white plants are MUCH healthier then the red, so i wanted to see if anyone knows if they are effective like reds are, before i go and strip her raspberry plants.

The plants have NOT berried yet so i assume they are stronger. I know that many plants put all their energies into producing berrys/flowers and are better if you pick before they produce their "seeds". Raspberries the same?

And would it be as effective if i mixed the fresh leaves with actual berries, but frozen ones from last seasons harvest. Just for flavor.

Thanks :D

Hi all. Some of you may have seen me lurking around pregnant. I am not yet pregnant, but my fiance and I are actively TTC. I'm very interested in giving birth naturally, going into labor whenever baby is ready and avoiding a medical induction at all costs. I'm afraid I'll have a difficult time convincing my fiance that a natural birth is the best way to go; he's kind of got that mentality of why be in pain if you don't have to? I think if I can present him with enough facts, and throw in my deep desire to go drug free, then he'll be supportive in that decision.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi, and I look forward to reading all of your posts, and hopefully I'll join the ranks of pregnant ladies soon. :)

Ok, I went ahead and started the community I was hoping someone else would form ... winter2009_10 is a community for folks expecting sometime this winter (Dec '09 - Feb '10) who are interested in a natural pregnancy, birth and lifestyle. I'm still working on tags, interests, etc., but I hope interested folks will join up and start doing introductions!

x-posted a bit

I need to know what is going to happen after delivery with a baby who's momma has GD. She's determined to BF and she's having a VBAC. Baby is "already measuring" at 6lbs at 36 weeks. She's going to my OB who is a natural friendly OB. She also is going to a "baby friendly" hospital, where I had both mine and they're very BF friendly (rooming in, etc). She also has one of the most knowledgeable doulas in the area.

What does she need to know about BF and the sugar testing and the push for formula/sugar water etc.? I'm not putting this as a protected entry so I can send it to her.

Thanks in advance!

xposted to NB and BF

I realize I am asking this question to a community with a bias towards natural birthing and no interventions when/if possible. But that is okay, because I guess I just want to be reassured and know what you think.
My question is about the necessity of the strep B test. Did you take it? Is it recommendable? I am in Mexico and here it is apparently not standard procedure and my OBGYN (he is totally natural birth friendly- there are no midwives here) will not be prescribing it to me. He told me they don't do it here, but if I wanted to I could. He told me a story about a French couple he had that demanded an amnio-blah blah blah (a screening where they test the amniotic fluid) because they said that was standard procedure in France (I don't know if it truly is, but that's what he said they said). Of course, that sounded absolutely ridiculous to me to have that test done, and so I thought maybe the strep B could be unnecessary as well.
I have one American friend that also gave birth this past year here in Mexico. She told me the reason why the Strep B Test isn't standard procedure is because Mexican women are a lot less prone to having it compared to U.S. women. She vouched for the test and went to a lab to get it done. Of course, she also vouched for an episiotimy and I know that is unnecessary and for me, completly unwanted. So I'd appreciate more opinions on the matter to have or not to have the strep B test done.
Thanks for the help.

My husband and I were just sort of talking about this last night and he asked whether or not it would be a problem, of course I had no idea, so I figured I would ask around and see if anyone knew.

Up until I got pregnant, I had either a very short vaginal canal or a really low cervix. I've always been able to feel my cervix easily with one finger (And I have stubby fingers!). When we first got together, my husband wanted to know what he was hitting when we had sex. Apparently he'd never encountered a cervix before.

Now that I am 13 weeks along, my cervix seems to have retracted and I really can't feel it any more. I assume this is normal and the protect it.

So, I'm really just curious as to whether or not my vaginal length/typically low cervix could cause me any problems later in pregnancy or with labor/delivery?

I totally just bought this :http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=17544076

She has some really great stuff. I REALLY like the lactating one. I'm going to convince my boob loving hubby to get it for me =]

Good morning,
i have posted yesterday in pregnant. I really liked all the comments i got. i was thinking about x-posting.

This is my first pregnancy so I am not familiar with a process, but that kind of makes me worry:
I went to a doctor and she right away suggested to schedule c-section. I am all for natural birth, don't have any medical conditions that would make me think i need one. So i switched her to alternative doctor in the same office. Later on i found out that from other women in the area that this particular doctor (there are not that many ob/gyn offices around) likes c-sections because of the insurance and convenience.
How common is it? how can one found out rate of c-sections that doctor performs? i've heard a lot about what insurances forces doctors to do because of the lawsuits, as far as i am concerned: c-section is a major operation and recovery from it can be longer and more painful then natural birth.
Don't get me wrong, if there is a medical reason: i am all for it! i will do too-too for the kid, but for insurance and doctor's comfort zone?!...

I'm thinking about becoming a Childbirth Educator.  We live in a decent sized city, and there are NO natural childbirth classes offered.  There are reasonable ones offered through the two big hospitals, but they aren't Bradley, or Lamaze, or anything like that.  They are DEFINITELY centered on a hospital.  (Not saying that's bad, and I had two great hospital births, BUT....lol) 
The nearest certified Bradley instructor is about two hours away (not really practical for twelve classes!) 

So my questions are:

1. Is anyone here a childbirth educator, and what do you teach?
2. What type of childbirth class did you take, and was it worthwhile?
3. For anyone who is bradley certified, how important is it to take the class BEFORE becoming an instructor? The website says I'd need to unless there are other circumstances.  But like I said, there aren't any classes near here to take!  lol

Thanks for the info ladies!

I've pretty much already made up my mind on this, but I'd just like to have some more input and perspective.

Before I really got into researching NCB, I checked out the classes available through the hospital. I picked 3 I thought would be useful to us: Intro to Breastfeeding, Prenatal Express (which is an 8-hour cram session and hospital tour), and Childcare and safety (which I thought I would need because I've never even held a baby, let alone taken care of one!). The total for all classes is $140.00. (btw, FH isn't too thrilled about the 8 hour turbo class, since it's on a saturday. I can't blame him!)

A few weeks ago, after lots and lots of research about NCB, I found a woman in our area who does a 12-week Bradley Method class out of her house. She sent me a class schedule that outlines what is taught at each class and to my surprise, she teaches breastfeeding and childcare/safety as well during that time! The important part of this to me is that these classes are tailored for a couple interested in NCB and husband-coached childbirth, so you don't have that hospital slant on things, and you get more one-on-one attention.

The total for this series is $275.00 and includes a student workbook, student folder, copy of "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way", and coach card. Plus individual attention and review sessions at no extra charge.

So, there's a $135 difference, BUT these classes will be far more beneficial to us (and a LOT closer to drive to!)

Have any of you taken NCB classes like this? Or even this particular course? What were your feelings on it?

So I received an email back from the Michigan Midwives Association and no reports have been made, and there is no reporting forum in Michigan (this is what the director of the Association said). I've also been speaking a lot with the midwife's assistant and she has been able to tell me about the 13 births she has experience since working with my midwife. So we are back to undecided....

Hi all... I have been researching doing this after I have my baby in September. I know this is getting to be discussed more in the U.S. so I compiled a list of a lot of the products and benefits of doing it... just thought I'd share:
http://westmama.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/postpartum-belly-binding/
x-posted

p.s. I don't remember if it was on here or the Home birth community, but the B6 vitamin tip for swelling/edema is working for me too... thanks!!

Hi all --

I'm hoping someone here might be able to shed some light on a new fun thing my body is doing. This is my first pregnancy so I don't have any frame of reference for it, and my mama says she didn't experience anything like what I described to her so she wasn't able to offer up any concrete ideas.

I'm 32 1/2 weeks pregnant and starting around the 30 week mark, I began randomly (and infrequently - once every couple of days) feeling a very intense pressure (slow to build, lasting about 15 seconds) localized solely where the opening of my cervix is. Last night I felt the pressure beginning again, but then it very quickly became so intense that it was painful, and the pain shot about half-way up my uterus for just a few seconds - honestly it felt like a little lightening bolt. This happened 3 times in about 10 minutes and then disappeared.

Google hasn't been much help and honestly, I'm not worried about it so I don't want to call my GP and be a bug but I am very curious about what it could be. So... any ideas?

Thanks! :)

For you ladies that measure your own fundal height, have you noticed a big difference between your first and second baby?

I am asking because though I am only 10w6d when I have a full bladder (typically first thing in the morning, though I just felt it again and it's midday) I can feel my fundus 3cm below my belly button! I am sure it is my uterus as I only recently was pregnant and had lots of fun feeling for it.

I am concerned that it's so high but is it normal to be so high since I was only pregnant a year ago?

Should I make an appointment for a scan or not worry about it?

I do want to thank everyone for all of your comments to my previous posts, while I know my decision may not have been the decision made by everyone, it's the decision that my husband and I feel will work best for us. We have started to look for a doula to attend our hospital birth with us and have a meeting set up next week.

We met with our midwife this weekend and spoke to her about our concerns and just that our complete trust in her was shaken. She even suggested looking for a new midwife as she feels trust is obviously a huge part in a stress free environment. She didn't blame the OB and even spoke highly of the ob that I will have, as far as not pushing interventions, etc. She was able to recommend another midwife who serves our area, but we had met with her previously and just didn't click. So, I feel as though we are making the best decision for our family and do plan on having a doula with us for the hospital birth and post partum.

Thank you again for all the comments of support/constructive criticism :)

If this isn't appropriate, please let me know.

Has anyone ever flown with a 4- to 8-week-old baby? My MIL has set up a baby shower/meet the baby party at her church in Tennessee for Labor Day weekend. Yes, without checking the date with us first. :p

I'm due July 25th, but this is my first, so we have no way of knowing if baby will come late, early, or right on time.

We can drive if we must, but it's a 10-hour drive.

Hi! I've never really introduced myself, I'm a complete lurker and I don't think I've even posted before. Meh. I'm Rebecca, I'm 23, and 29 weeks into my first pregnancy. Hi!

I had a question about RRL supplements. I've read the taking RRL in pill form isn't quite as effective as tea or tincture, but pill is what I've got and I'm wondering what the dosage should be. How much should I be taking, and how often? Does anyone know?

TIA!

A friend of mine just had a natural VBAC on Tuesday morning -- hoorah! She came home from the birth center on Wednesday and in addition to taking care of her newborn and her two year-old, she has already managed to take studio quality photographs of her new babe and post her birth story on her blog. She gave me permission to share the link here. It's an awesome story of a difficult pregnancy, followed by a beautiful birth, and I thought you all might enjoy it!

Cyprus Que's birth story here.

So my husband and I spent the night talking about the decision that we need to make and have decided after speaking with family members, midwifes in the area, etc that we are going to have a hospital birth with our OB. Obviously going to design our birth plan and are still planning a natural child birth. Thank you to everyone who commented on my other two posts, it was a rough night, trying to decide what was best but our major reasons for choosing this route were:

- The fact that our trust is shaken in our midwife
- We have contacted members in the natural birth community in our area and haven't been able to get any "straight" answers, it appears that there is almost a cover up of some sort, no one will give us a definite answer
- We don't have any other options for a midwife in our area, there is one other midwife who services my county but she is full and can not take another mother in the month of September
- Knowing that there may be some kind of safety concerns with her care and that if we continued with her and had a baby and something went wrong, I don't think that my husband and I could forgive ourselves, due to the controversy that has been brought up. While I understand that all births are not perfect and that anything can happen, I can't knowingly deliver with someone who I can't get straight answers about.

I posted earlier and wanted to thank everyone for the responses. I did indeed call another midwife who we interviewed and mentioned she had worked with ours previously. She would NOT give me a straight "yes, I heard this happened" and beat around the bush. I called my midwife directly and spoke to her. I told her I needed a straight answer and this is what I got...yes two babies passed, no mothers were in a coma. I asked her to explain the situation around the two babies, she stated that the first mother was 36 weeks and she was going there for a routine prenatal, she could not find the heart beat so immediately transferred the mother to the hospital. The baby was stillborn. She says that the mother is awaiting answers from the doctor as to what could have caused this, and is seeking her to be her midwife again. The second was not her client but her partners. She received a call from her partner when the mother was in labor (this is an amish mother and it is typical for them to refuse to transfer or any medical tests/ultrasounds, etc). My midwife arrived and the mother had a fever. She suggested a transfer the mother declined, they continued to press for transfer, the mother agreed. The baby was born with fluid on the brain, also stillborn (cerebral palsy) which could have been identified if the mother was having OB care and had an ultrasound. The mother stayed for three days in the hospital. Also, this stillborn occurred in August of 08, the first occurred in April of 2009. Both prior to when I first met with my midwife.

She did say that the doctors reported her to the midwife association, so I do plan to follow up with them. I still have strong doubts, why didn't she acknowledge these to me especially if these were the scenarios? She also mentioned several times that she has never lost a baby or a mama....am I wrong but aren't these still considered losses?

I haven't made any decisions at this point, but do have strong doubts. I wish that she would have been straight forward with me from the beginning and said, I have experienced ____still births or whatever information instead of me hearing about it in this way.

Any advice on where to go from here? My plan is to email the midwife association in Michigan to see if they can give me any additional information and then go from there.

I have been seeing an OBGYN and a midwife, planning a homebirth. Well today I met with my obgyn who I have a good relationship with. I told her today about my desire to have a homebirth with my midwife. Well...this is when shit hit the fan, not that she was yelling at me or screaming but the information she gave me scared the "shit" out of me.

First of all, I said "I respect you and wanted to let you know that my husband and I are planning to have a homebirth with a midwife". Her immediate reaction was, Amanda if you are using two midwifes in the local area, please do not, two babies have died this year and we almost lost one mother due who were in their care. So we had a discussion and she knew my midwife by name and informed me that she and her practice have reported my midwife and partner. Also I asked if the infant deaths were preventable and she said absolutely. I then learned that she practiced in Wisconsin (I think) at a hospital with CNM and that she believes that certified nurse midwives are amazing, but that this midwife is not safe.

So...I left my appointment nauseated. I like my midwife, but was told that she has never had any infant or maternal deaths. I plan on doing some research to see if she has been reported, but the part that made my stomach drop was that she knew the name without me saying it, knew she serves the amish in my area and other details.

What would you do? and how do I bring this up? My obgyn has always been supportive of a natural birth and spoke to me about protcols at the hospital, laboring at home, and working with me to write a birth plan. I'm just sick, I obviously think the obgyn had my child's best interest at heart and she was not claiming that midwifes are crazy, etc. Just the experiences with my particular midwife. Also stated that she has many failed deliveries that end up dropped off in the ER and she does not come in with them.

Last week I posted about my OB wanting me to schedule a c-section for my "huge" baby. Today I saw a new doctor who spent about half an hour (a LONG time for a normal visit!) discussing with me why that's completely unnecessary. He apparently uses AGA guidelines that don't recommend inducing based on fetal size estimates, and don't recommend c-section for size estimates unless the baby is more than 12 pounds, and even then he's not so keen. The best thing he said? "EVERYONE deserves to attempt a vaginal delivery." His primary C-section rate is under ten percent.

What a relief! I have officially switched to his care. He is very supportive of my desire to have a natural birth and happy that I'll have a doula present.

In two weeks I'll have the Group B Strep test. I hope it's negative, because he does want me to have an antibiotic IV if it's positive and my water breaks before contractions start. He was apologetic, and said he hopes I test negative so I can go without an IV.

He also mentioned that I have ketones in my urine. I'd had breakfast and urinated a couple of times before I gave my sample. Looks like I'll just have to stay hydrated. The doc also said I should eat as much as I want, which is refreshing after hearing my other OB congratulate me on gaining very little weight and advising me to "eat carefully" to avoid having the baby gain excess weight. I'll be purchasing ice cream that is NOT sugar free this afternoon!

Thanks for the advice last time - I'm really glad I got a second opinion.

I come from a christian background. Not your normal one but still my faith is strong and all encompassing I just have different views about God then your average bible thumper.

That being said there is a verse in the new testament that talks about a woman being saved in childbirth. This has held true for me with each of my births. I have had significant changes in how I view God and religion with each one and I have grown closer to God each time.

Has this held true for anyone else of any faith (not just my own of course)?

Are there any communities for healing emotionally after a failed natural birth attempt?

My son's birth was over a year ago, and it really wasn't that bad. I didn't receive a C-section or have overly pushy doctors. I actually had a GREAT hospital that really supported med-free deliveries and a staff that was very gracious and didn't push the interventions too much, which makes it even worse. I feel like I failed myself. Even though its been so long ago, I am still beating myself up over it and just looking for support. I wasn't sure if I could post about it here.