CMI 2010 conference

I have just returned from the 2010 CMI conference that was held on north myrtle beach in South Carolina.                                                                                              Beautiful sunrises

Beautiful friends

       A chance to learn from some wonderful teachers...
Above Jill Whitfield teaches us about shoulder dystocia and ways to resolve the problem

Here are most of our wonderful instructors this year 

Back row left to right: Connie Mullen, Kim Brown, Maureen Brown (Carlotta's assistant), Kathy Nesper, Lori Lloyd, Kathryn Berkowitz, Ireena Keeslar (me)

Front row-Left to right: Carlotta Crawforn, Lori L

Not in the photo: Brandi Wood, and Jill Whitfield

Here are most of the conference attendees...

Jack from In His Hands shows us the updated web site...

Rebecca shops for supplies from Jack with In His Hands

Doreen was our MC this year, and she did a wonderful job!!!

Fun fellowship

great shopping (here are some women shopping from Doran with Blessing God's Way)

Shopping from Jill's Midwives Mercantile -Her husband Richard is a regular with our conference!  

And shopping with Precious Arrows..

We Hope that you will consider attending the CMI conference next year.

Check out the site here for more information, remember that new information will be added soon so check back by October for more information!

Were 'excited' and "jumping' for joy to have you attend next year with us~!

SALT

Salt aka Sodium.


A mineral that is needed by the body, but also over used.


Often when you experience health issues, the medical world will tell you to back off from the salt.  Why?  They say salt is bad for you-- in an excess.  


The actual problem?  


One of the problems is the salt we eat today is not natural.  Test your salt, place some in a glass of water, and set it out over night, if it dissolves it is considered natural- but if it does not, and you see it collect in the bottom of the glass, then it has been processed. 


Natural salt will not be totally dry- it will often hold its moisture, this is due to the minerals still in the salt-when you use it-it will often clump together so you think it is 'wet'.  Also with true natural salt the color will be from beige  or light tan to gray and light pink.  Not bleached white.  



 "In the 1940s the major salt producers in the USA began to dry salt at very high temperatures.  This changed the chemical structure of the salt.  These changes affect the human body adversely.  In order to make salt whiter, dryer and easier to pour they removed the minerals and other nutrients so that what was left was pure white sodium. Sodium is only one chemical found in salt but it is what we buy in our supermarkets and what we erroneously call salt. " 1


This processing is why the salt we eat today is not good for us.  
Salt processing removes many of the minerals in salt, and there are over 80 of them.  Processed salt is not healthy, and what they place in our processed food-is very unhealthy.
  

Salt is removed from the earth and sea by a mechanical method.  Bulldozing is not natural folks!  It is the often sent through metal pipes, or removed from the work site in trucks,  again not natural.  Then it is artificially processed -graded....and heated to extreme heat levels which 'cracks' its molecular structure.  They will then processes out the minerals from the salt.  (remember over 80 of them)  These are often removed and sold separately -which actually make more money than the salt does for the company.

  This is when other chemicals can be added, one chemical will make it pour easier, they bleach the salt and add iodine so it is now "iodized".  These are harmful chemicals used to bleach it, no organic iodine, and then the other chemicals to make it pour easier.  None of them are good for us.  Our body has to process these non-organic chemicals!

Even the salt sold in health food stores and labeled natural, is not actually natural, It too is processed.  Once of my concerns about sea salt (even natural) is the pollution.  The ocean is polluted, and now thanks to BP it is full of oil!  Folks, this will effect our sea salt over time!  It might not today, or next week, but over time, yes, everything will be effected by the biggest oil spill of our lifetime.

How much salt do we need a day?


The American Heart Association says we should eat less than 1,500 mgs a day.  This is just slightly less than 3/4 tsp of salt a day.  I don't know about you, but I like to add salt to my food when it is at the table.  I have learned to cook with herbs for flavor, and then I add salt if I want to and by doing that, I can stay below that figure.  The only time I go above it is when I am using processed foods.  Now lets look at why that is.


How do we read the labels?
First you need to know how to read the label.  Look for where it says sodium.

How does that translate?

Sodium equivalents

1/4 teaspoon salt	= 600 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt	= 1,200 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt	= 1,800 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt	= 2,300 mg sodium
1 teaspoon baking soda	= 1,000 mg sodium

What is the difference between sodium and salt?

 Salt is sodium and chlorine, and the sodium is the part that you have to watch out for.  So 40% of salt is sodium, and to figure out how much sodium is in that salt, you have to multiply the amount listed of sodium by 2.5 to get the equivalent of salt amount. chloride (sodium plus chlorine). The sodium in the salt is what you have to look out for. 40% of salt is sodium. For example, if a portion of food contains 1g of sodium per 100g, you will know it contains 2.5g of salt per 100g.   

Lets look at how much salt is in a few products:
Pop-


-Sierra Mist- one 8 ounce serving has 25 mg of sodium that means 62.5 mg of salt.


-Canada Dry Ginger Ale-one 8 ounce serving has 35 mg of sodium.  That means 87.5 mg of salt.


-Pepsi or a coke has 35 mg in an 8 ounce serving.


-Mt dew has 38 mg in an 8 ounce serving


-Mt Dew Code Red has 110 mg in an 8 ounce serving


-7Up has 50 mg in an 8 ounce serving


-Sprite has 45 mg in an 8 ounce serving


Breakfast Cereals:  
1 cup servings-(only listed a few here) sodium content is listed first so remember to x that by 2.5

*cap'n crunch 269 mg sodium so it is 672.5mg in salt this means over 1/4 teaspoon


*Cheerios-213 mg sodium/532.5 mg salt-  almost 1/4 tsp


*Honey Nut cheerios-269 mg sodium/672.5mg salt-over 1/4 tsp


*Corn Flakes 202 mg sodium / 505mg salt


*Golden Grahams 359 sodium / 897.5mg salt -almost 1/2 tsp


*Life 255 sodium / 637.5mg salt


Now try reading the label of a can of soup, or spaghetti sauce and a few other products.  See how you can get a lot of salt in your diet?  And all of this salt is unhealthy processed salt. 


 This is why your body sometimes can not handle the salt and responds with high blood pressure, which in itself is dangerous but during pregnancy it complicates your pregnancy.


Remember, fresh fruits and vegetables do not contain much if any salt at all!  Fresh fruits and vegetables!  Don't they just sound good?


Salt increases our appetite. 


 If it does this (along with sugar, high fructose corn syrup) then we will eat more.  So if you add these ingredients, and you eat more-that means you purchase more of the same product.  A marketing ploy to sell more products.  


Salt is important for the body


 It is a mineral that is important for the acid base balance in our body and body fluids.  Salt comes into the body by what we drink and eat, it is known as an electrolyte.  Once in the body, it is often called an ion, and as it functions, and ion helps move the water around in the body form cell to cell.


Where can we find good salt?  


What salt can we trust?  Well most will say if it says natural on the label- it is good for you.  Remember that I can fill bottles of water in my back yard and sell it to you labeled 'natural'.  
Our coastlines are not safe anymore, and neither are other countries coast lines.  What I have found is Celtic salt making, is prob the best way to obtain salt.    


You can also  try Piaute Indian salt- (named after the native American Indians who first mined it) it comes from an ancient sea bed that is dried up, and has been buried under the earth for years. This has protected it from toxins and poisons.  


Where can I purchase some salt that is better for me?  Try this site.  But do a web search, there are other sites out there too!


http://www.americanbluegreen.com/products.html
Here is a site for the Piaute Indian salt  http://store.agoodvitamin.com/depiinsa1lb.html

1. Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about Salt by Alternative Medicine Angel
2.  What is Salt?  How Much Should I Eat?  by Christian Nordqvist 

women smarts...

Caffeine and decaf which is best?

Caffeine -so many people just can not live without it.  It is like a drug for many ....and in pregnancy it is not a healthy thing.  
Caffeine constricts the blood vessels, and that includes the ones to the placenta.  So your baby can be deprived from enough blood rich oxygen.  


How much caffeine is too much?  Many suggest that anything over 200 mgs/daily is too much.  Here is a idea of how much caffeine there is in a few products:

Foods and Beverages Milligrams of caffeine (average) Coffee (8 oz) Brewed, drip Instant 137 mg 76 mg Tea (8 oz) Brewed Instant 48 mg 26-36 mg Caffeinated soft drinks, such as cola (12 oz) 37 mg Hot cocoa (12 oz) 8-12 mg Chocolate milk (8 oz) 5-8 mg Candy Dark chocolate (1.45 oz bar) Milk chocolate (1.55 oz bar) Semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/4 cup) 30 mg 11 mg 26-28 mg Chocolate syrup (1 tbsp) 3 mg Coffee ice cream/frozen yogurt (1/2 cup) 2 mg

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2000

So you can see how easy it is to get too much caffeine from just two cups of coffee!  

Remember it takes your baby longer to remove the caffeine from their small body, than your body does, so by consuming 2 or more cups of coffee a day, or 5 cans of soda-your baby will just be getting the former days caffeine out of its system and a new day will begin.  Then it starts all over again, will that little precious baby ever be able to catch up?  No.  Not at that rate.

"Pregnant women who drank the equivalent of at least two cups of coffee daily, or five cans of a soft drink with caffeine, were twice as likely to miscarry as women who consumed no caffeine, found results of the study reported online in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology". 1.

So what about decaffeinated? 

Well, lets look at how the beans of coffee


 become decaffeinated.

There are 5 different methods used to 


decaffeinate coffee. (that I have found)

1.  The Swiss method -using water extraction

2.  Chemical removal-using ethyl acetate

3.  Chemical removal-using methylene chloride

4.  carbon dioxide

5.  Sparkling water process

Swiss Method:  This is the process where they remove up to 99% of the caffeine from the beans via washing the beans in a water solution.  The process takes about 12 hours. They start with soaking the green coffee beans in hot water, then remove the beans, throwing away the first batch, and use the water to do the next batch the same way.  they then use activated carbon filters to remove the caffeine, and using the dame water (so more flavor in the next beans) they continue this batch to batch.

Ethyl Acetate and Methylene chloride: The direct method is when they soak the beans in the chemical and the indirect method is using water in the total process.
Indirect:  first soak the beans in the water which removes the caffeine and flavors, then using one of the chemicals to infuse the flavor back into the beans.  (yuk!)


Ethyl Acetate method - most sites say this is something that occurs naturally in fruit -like bananas and apples, but when you google it, this is one of the links that comes up-


  Ethyl Acetate.. 

 Methylene chloride.. 


These links do make me wonder, and a bit more research is needed.  (you should be looking stuff up yourself too!)

Co2 method: They soften the beans, thenpressure cook the beans in this gas.  The caffeine is then removed from the gas.  The caffeine is removed via activated carbon filters which they also re-use in the next batch of beans.  

Sparkling water process: This is like the co2 method, except the caffeine is not removed using the activated carbon filters, but instead using sparkling water.  The sparkling water solution is about 98% co2.  (not too sparkling in my opinion!)
  

Side effects of drinking decaf coffee.  

1.  Heart burn 

2.  Acid reflex.

3.  Increase risk of heart attacks

4.  Increased risk of higher cholesterol

5.  Increased risk of osteoporosis

6.  Increased risk of rheumatiod arthritis 

7.  Increased risk of glaucoma

8.  Increased risk of cancer

9.  Increased risk of organ damage  

 1.  Too Much Caffeine Raises Risks of 


Miscarriage.

2.  All of the other links are within the article, just click on one of the above links.  Also if you want more information, google it!  If you really want to know, there is a lot of information out there available for you to read and do your own research.


So my opinion?  I think that 1 at the most 2 small cups of coffee a day is -ok.  Just ok.  Better to go without any caffeine at all!


  Pop is not a good substitute-due to the high fructose corn syrup (and diet pop is NOT healthy at all).  But in my opinion, decaf coffee is not the best -health wise. (also many people will drink more than 2 cups of decaf coffee and with the small amount of caffeine in decaf, it will often equal up to the caffeine cups anyway!)  So go ahead, enjoy your coffee --have 1-- 8 ounce cup of good quality coffee, and enjoy it. 



 In the afternoon, enjoy a cup of herbal tea instead of more coffee!



Hint about coffee:::- reheating coffee in the microwave is NOT healthy-it changes the acidity in the coffee, and microwaves are NOT  totally safe anyway...

New Born Screening aka PKU

NOTE: THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN MANY YEARS AGO.  PLEASE SEE UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.  Thank you!

Did you know that your personal freedom to make choices with your baby has been avoided, possibly -on purpose?  

This is about the New Born Screening ~ aka ~ PKU.  
I personally think this test is important to do.  With that said, over the past I have known parents who refused to have this newborn blood work done.  Although the states say that this test is mandatory, I personally feel that all parents have the right to say NO to anything, including tests or medical attention that others try to mandate onto them for their child.  It is our right to refuse things even if others think they should have it done.  

    

    Well one concerned parent I know-chose not to have this test done, and shared with me why.  I have to admit prior to this, I really did not research why they were not having it done.  Their reason amazed me.  

   First- lets go back a few years -about 3-4 years ago. (about the year of 2005). While at a state midwifery conference, I attended a session done by the New Born Screening lab.  It was informative, explained about the tests that were done.  Then they sent around photo copies of samples of the blood work that had been sent to them- over the past 5 or so years.   

   When you do a PKU (newborn screening) test, you fill the circles which are about the size of a dime to a nickel --with the babies blood.  It is a special paper, that the test is done on.

   So, the blood is put on this paper, it is absorbed thru the paper and you will see the blood on the front and back completely filling the circles.  You are to do this in one big blood drop for each circle.  

The test is painful to the baby, because any poke in the skin is painful- but a person trained well can have enough blood for the whole test--in less than a minute or two-thus not putting the baby thru too much trauma.  

For these samples -some people have a problem getting enough blood, or not getting enough blood fast enough,  it may be the device they are using to prick the heel or their skill level.(often it is their skill level).  Most of the time the state lab will not accept that test card if the  spots are not filled, and require you to re-test.  

   So during this class, they passed around photocopies of some of the circles  that have been filled -thru the years --not very well.  This was to show us bad examples vs good examples. It showed over spotted, spots that were overlaid, under filled etc... One had a small amount of blood in the center of each circle about the size of a small hole punch.  They called it 

                ~*"the lucky one"*~.

Well, I always remembered that.  The "lucky" one.

     They explained they had just enough blood to do the test. I wondered then -what did they do with the rest of the blood?  Why did we have to fill 5 larger circles if that small amount was enough? 

   Fast forward to the client who shared the information with me.  Wow!  I had no idea.  The government was saving the 'leftover' blood, saving your babies DNA and using it for what? They were (at that time) not telling the parents this and what they were doing with it.

     I am not against the actual PKU/New Born Screening test, actually the opposite---I really believe that it is a good thing to do, it is the most inexpensive test that you will ever have done (average of about $1.00-2.00 a test).  The disorders are very important to identify if your child has any of them--- but lying to parents about what they do with the leftover blood samples is NOT acceptable.

    There is a chart where you can see what your state does.  Indiana saves the blood for 23 years, while Michigan saves it Indefinitely.  (per this chart)

                         Warehousing Baby DNA

"This nationwide collection of newborn DNA has been called a "national treasure"by Sharon Terry of the Genetic Alliance and referred to at the December 2009 forum as a "scientific goldmine" by Amy Gaviglio, a genetic counselor at the Minnesota Department of Health. 

Increasingly, state health departments have begun to store newborn blood spots (Baby DNA) and newborn genetic test results and claim them as state government property. The test results are placed in a state laboratory database (genetic registry) and the blood spots are warehoused in the state health department or elsewhere by contract."

Hundreds of dried blood samples have been turned over to the federal government to build a database of DNA.  This is all without parents consent.  

So, for all of you parents who want to know that your choices are honored about your child, there is more to this DNA saving than what you know...more than what is even told here or the links I have in this blog-  


Some people and groups are fighting this...in the courts. (UPDATE: they won and now parents get to choose what is done with their childs left over blood).

UPDATE:  The state of Michigan and Indiana now requires the parents to sign an informed consent form--giving permission for the state to use the 'extra' blood after the newborn screening test is done for research.  Good job Michigan and Indiana for giving informed consent!  

As I said above, I am not against the New Born Screening test, in fact I think its a wonderful test and I encourage all of my clients to have this done and I offer to do the test for families.  (they only have to pay for the card, I do my part for free). So far 99% of my clients do this test/screening.
  I have had parents whose babies have been identified with a disorder, and if they had not been diagnosed early, perhaps would have died. That is scary! They had no idea they had that genetic disorder in their family. 
     Which ever you choose to do-- test or not--you are to be given full informed consent and make your choice accordingly. Here is a link about the tests that are done with the NBS. You can click on each test and then another page opens up that explains the test-what it is, what it causes and other information.  It is a good link. (click here)
Parents, continue to do your own research on everything.  You have the internet now, (I did not when my children were born) so use it, research, read, ask questions. Its your child, you have to fully understand things offered in order to make decisions that are right for you and your family.  

Remember, with the tests done for NBS, there are NO signs or symptoms that you 'see' or notice, until often, it is too late-if your baby has a disorder.  So I do encourage the testing to be done. 
But read and learn.  What the states use to do, they are not doing now, and it is all because you -the families- across America spoke up and  complained. That was the right thing to do.  BUT please have the test done!  Now you get to sign on the  back of the card if your baby's left over blood us saved and used or not.  Informed consent! 

http://www.cchconline.org/pr/pr240610.php


http://www.cchconline.org/pdf/S_1858_NBS-DNAWarehouseFINAL.pdf

http://www.cchconline.org/pdf/NBS_EUGENICS_REPORT_Apr2009_FINAL.pdf

http://www.cchconline.org/pdf/50_States-Newborn_Blood_Retention_Policies_FINAL.pdf

http://www.cchconline.org/issues/Warehousing_Baby_DNA.php

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-state-agencies/department-of-state-health-services/dshs-turned-over-hundreds-of-dna-samples-to-feds/

http://www.cchconline.org/pr/pr022410.php

http://www.cchconline.org/issues/NewbornGeneticTestingMN.php

http://www.genomicslawreport.com/index.php/2010/02/02/newborn-blood-spot-litigation-70-days-to-destroy-5-million-samples/

http://parental-rights.suite101.com/article.cfm/newborn-blood-samples-subject-of-litigation

http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=3826

http://www.bioethics.iu.edu/body.cfm?id=133

National Day of Midwives

Well tomorrow in the "International Day Of The Midwife". It is not a biblical holiday or celebration, but organized by man kind to bring awareness to the profession and calling of midwifery.
Midwives have been serving women since the beginning of mans existence.

Exodus 1:13-14 says:13 "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."

So GODS people were in bondage being used as slaves, and the king had heard of the promised coming of a MESSIAH from the people for the people-that would set the Hebrew people free. He wanted to try to avoid that from happening so he set a plan into motion. He thought if he had all the baby boys killed then this 'promised KING' would not be alive for the salvation of the people. What the king did not understand is that the salvation of the Hebrew people did not mean physical as much as for our souls. So the king spoke to the midwives who served the Hebrew women.


15 "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live."

The midwives were asked to kill the babies. If your a midwife of GOD/YHWH, if you have TRUE fear of the one true GOD/YHWH then you can not possibly kill a newborn baby! 

   

17 "But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?"

Midwives from as far back as this time in history have been called before the authorities for what they do or do not do. In this situation it was for failure to obey the king of the land, who had ordered the midwives to do something that could be considered (in my opinion) to be the law-issued by a king to the midwives- A LAW- to kill which the midwives refused to do.

19 "And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them."

Now, you might say (and some have said this) that the women really were hard workers as slaves thus they did deliver easier. We midwives know that those who are in good shape, often deliver a bit easier.  But I personally have seen women who in today's standards would not be considered to be in 'good shape' deliver even faster so I am not sure that this is true.  If it is,I say, good. If that is what really happened then GOD/YHWH worked it out so that the midwives had a 'way out' from the order/law that the king had issued to them.

    I have also heard some say that the midwives lied. That there was no way that every boy baby delivered -the midwives missed the delivery for. Well, I tend to agree with this version. I do believe they lied. Many christians have a real hard time with this theory, but remember: they lied to an ungodly leader, not to GOD/YHWH.  
    As a midwife, there is no way that they could miss that many births. 
 
    IF that was true, I bet that the women would probably stop calling them to their births,the women would be unable to trust that they would even be of assistance to them. Eventually the midwives would not be of any service because the women would stop calling them to their births, and we do not see that in scripture-so I do not believe this to be true.

     
    Another theory is that the Hebrew people knew of the kings order/law issued to the midwives and thus did not call for the midwives until they were about ready to deliver so that they would happen to deliver just prior to the midwives arrival. Well, this sounds good, it cold be what happened to some, but most women do not want to have an unattended birth. I could believe this to be true except for that. Also due to the culture beliefs (if you are Jewish and know different  please contact me and let me know) but my understanding of birth, it was attended by women, not men, due to  'being clean and unclean'.  
 
No matter the reason, GOD dealt with the midwives in a positive way. HE blessed the people they served, again-HE blessed the people they served...
interesting....


20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

Fearing GOD-what is that? Does that mean be afraid? To be scared? Well, in a way it does, but it means respect, honor, to be in a place of submission to -as I fear GOD --I honor HIM, I am in submission to HIM, in HIS will, doing HIS will, as HE wants me to be. As we do that HE will honor us- Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”  We need to have a reverence for HIM, we need true wisdom that comes from that reverence.  That is fearing the LORD GOD YHWH.

" And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?"  Deuteronomy 10:12-13


21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. 22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Because the midwives refused to do what the king ordered them to do-he required his people to do the job of killing the baby boys...

So tomorrow is the day of the midwife. What can you do?

Thank your midwife.  Thank your doula.  Thank your child birth instructor.  Thank your care provider and supporter of your birth.

Support the ministry of midwives, contact your state legislator and representative and tell them you want your state to support access to the Certified Professional Midwife and the Certified Nurse Midwife for out of hospital births. Remember, this is about your freedom, your freedom to choose not only where you give birth but about who attends your birth. If your freedom to birth as you want to, with who you want to attend your birth is not 'allowed' then your other basic freedoms are also in jeopardy of being removed from you...

The government can not , I repeat, can not be trusted with the decisions for you and your family...So get involved and make a difference!

http://www.internationalmidwives.org/CongressesEvents/InternationalDayoftheMidwife/tabid/327/Default.aspx

http://cfmidwifery.org/index.aspx

http://mana.org/response.html    This is worth the reading again, even though it is a year old-it is a letter from the president of MANA...