Sweet video history of La Leche League

La Leche League International is celebrating 50 years of “mother to mother” support and education for mothers and the promotion of breastfeeding worldwide.

To seek a La Leche League group near you or to inquire about Leader accreditation to lead a group in your own community visit La Leche League International.

July 22, 2007 | Filed Under In the News, Lactation Education | Leave a Comment 

Beckett’s Birth

Here is a sweet slideshow of the planned home water birth of Beckett!

Thank you as always to all the families who share their home births with the world on YouTube!

July 13, 2007 | Filed Under Home Birth | Leave a Comment 

Bisphenol-A “free” baby products

A few entries back I posted a link to Environment California regarding toxic baby bottles containing bisphenol-A. The link was posted by a mom on a local email group for midwifery supporters (HAMS for all you Southern California moms and birth professionals) and another mother posted a source for baby bottles that don’t contain this chemical. The company is Born Free Natural Baby Products and they sell a variety of feeding systems for babies, including glass bottles.

Unnecessary disclaimer: Breast milk straight from the breast is best, but in the event a bottle is required to deliver nutrition for baby let’s make sure it’s a bottle that won’t cause health concerns!

July 10, 2007 | Filed Under In the News | Leave a Comment 

Sex, Drugs, and Soybeans: Politics and Power

This article about The Farm, home to midwife Ina May Gaskin and others, appeared at Vanity Fair’s website in April and it has just now made it’s way to me.

In 1970, pot-smoking guru Stephen Gaskin, a former U.S. Marine, led his band of acolytes on a mystic trip out of San Francisco and into the American heartland. But a funny thing happened on the way to enlightenment: Gaskin’s hippies learned the ancient virtues of hard work, good hygiene, and crop rotation. Deep in the Tennessee woods, they formed a spiritual commune called The Farm, which has morphed over its 36 years into a high-tech eco–think tank.

Read the full story and see a groovy slideshow of the The Farm’s early days at: VanityFair.com

July 8, 2007 | Filed Under In the News | Leave a Comment 

Toxic Baby Bottles!

From Environment California:

Executive Summary

Products marketed for infants and children are not always completely safe for their use. Many contain toxic chemicals that may have detrimental health impacts for children exposed during critical stages of development. In this report, we analyze the extent to which five popular brands of baby bottles leach bisphenol A, a developmental, neural, and reproductive toxicant, into liquids coming into contact with them. We found that all five brands leach bisphenol A at dangerous levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory animal studies.

California and the U.S. should reform chemical policy to ensure that all products on the market are safe for children. Read more

July 3, 2007 | Filed Under In the News | 1 Comment