Welcome back from your holiday weekend! In case you have not heard the wonderful news, the NY State Assembly has cleared the Midwife Modernization Act on July 1st. New York is now one step closer to granting women the right and access to midwifery care and home-births should they chose. With the passing of this act, it will no longer be a requirement for licensed professional midwives to have a “written practice agreement” with a physician or hospital as a prerequisite to practice. After the closing of St. Vincent’s, the only hospital in NYC to sign this agreement for midwives, women where stripped of their option to have a home-birth as the midwives were no longer legally allowed to practice homebirths.

Thanks to New York State Association of Licensed Midwives (NYSALM),Choices in Childbirth, BirthNet, Rochester Area Birth Network (RABN), Buffalo Birth and the various physicians including many OB/GYN physicians for spear heading the rally cry and for the thousands of people who signed petitions and called their legislators to overturn the WPA requirement and support the MMA.

Now, all that is needed for the bill to go into affect is Governor Patterson’s signature and 90 clearing days!

I will keep you all posted

I am sure you have heard of the term Green Washing. Well, I am starting to believe that a new term is in order, the term Breastmilk Washing. Though there are marketing guideline mandates which prevents companies from calling their product better than breastmilk, many companies are heavily emphasizing their products closeness to breastmilk. In cases where these are formula brands, I do believe there is room to develop the science of getting formula as close to breastmilk as naturally possible and encourage more bonding with infants (though I strongly believe that breastmilk is the best method for infants ideally up to the first 6 months to 1st year of their life). Today though as I was getting acquainted with some new Facebook friends and groups, I came across a group called “No, Baby Yoplait… Your Yoghurt is NO WAY NEAR Close To Breastmilk”. I saw this picture on their site and was dumbfounded.

I headed over to Yoplait’s site and it is in fact true that they are trying to position Baby Yoplait yogurt from the standpoint that it is close to breastmilk. How did the yogurt category even come to dare to enter the conversation of breastmilk? I have never heard of any particular culture fermenting breastmilk and serving it to babies on a spoon. It is quite ballsy for a dairy company to make such a claim and association. What do you think of this marketing tactic?

I often check out the many innovative and inspiring videos over on TED. Today I saw this amazing project and innovation created by Jane Chen. Her invention can keep millions of infants warm as the heal from premature birth — a design that’s safe, portable, low-cost ($25) and life-saving.

This month, when you purchase The Everyday Oils enrollment kit from the Verte boutique, $15 will be donated to V-Day and UNICEF’s City of Joy Project. The two non-profits, in partnership with the Panzi Foundation, are currently building a special facility for the survivors of sexual violence in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The City of Joy will support women to heal and provide them with opportunities to develop their leadership through programming in: group therapy; storytelling; dance; theater; self-defense; comprehensive sexuality education (covering HIV/AIDS, family planning); ecology and horticulture; and economic empowerment.

Just a few dollars have far-reaching impact and can provide much needed supplies that will make the City of Joy a comfortable, caring, and healthy place for women survivors of sexual violence to learn, lead, and inspire.

For example, $30 provides one woman with seeds for the City of Joy’s horticulture program for one year or $400 provides the salary of a local registered nurse.

On your behalf, Verte (The Green Doula’s Parent Biz) will donate $15 to one of the City of Joy’s registry category items which include:

Skills Training
Healing
Living
Education
Working
Nourishing
Or a Custom Donation

How Are You Able to Enhance Your Life While Helping to Build the City of Joy?

By incorporating “nature’s living energy” into your everyday lifestyle, you are bound to enhance your everyday life. How do you hone such energy? Well, you don’t have to for Young Living Essential Oils have already done it for you. It is Young Living’ mission to promote the ancient healing art of essential oil therapy. Offering a collection of over 140 therapeutic-grade single essential oils and unique essential oil blends, they are the world’s largest community dedicated to achieving wellness via nature’s purest, most potent gift, essential oils.

When used aromatically, applied topically, or taken internally, essential oils can calm, energize, balance, purify, and rejuvenate the mind and body. As well, such oils can be incorporated into your everyday (including pregnancy and childcare)lifestyle in areas such as:

air purification
aromatherapy + fragrance
cleaning
cooking
first aid
pet care

Your Everyday Oils enrollment kit will include the following oils and more for only $150; ideal to introduce you to the benefits and ease of incorporating essential oils into your life, receive discounts & rewards, and should you chose, the opportunity to generate extra income:

Everyday Oils includes:
(
1)- 5 ml Frankincense
(
1)- 5 ml Lemon

(
1)- 5 ml Lavender

(
1)- 5 ml Peppermint

(
1)- 5 ml Purification
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Panaway
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Peace & Calming®
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Thieves®
 Blend
(
1)- 5 ml Valor® Blend
As well

You can purchase the enrollment kit at any time through Verte, though the fundraiser for the City of Joy ends on February 28th. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and db@vertenyc.com.

Keep an eye out all this month for a variety of recipes incorporating essential oils that you can incorporate into your pregnancy and infant care regime. If you are not interested in purchasing therapeutic-grade oils, but still want to contribute to the City of Joy, please make your donation here

(Image courtesy of Getty Images)

Though the topic of contraceptives are not the most common talk points on this blog, I feel that this story is important to share with women. It was quietly reported in the New York Times that the popular birth-control-method, Depo-Provera( who conveniently is under going web construction upon this post) , has been linked to bone loss in women. The study referenced is featured in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The 2 year study reveals that 45 percent of Depo-Provera users experienced bone mineral density losses of 5 percent or more in the hip or lower spine. NYT reports that more than two million American women use DMPA, including about 400,000 teenagers.

These findings raise significant concern amongst researchers for recovering bone mass can take a long time. The hip bone, an unfortunate ironic collateral victim of the drug’s effect, is the most common bone which women are prone to fracture as they age. The thought of teenagers taking this contraceptive for 15 years or so, raises extreme alarm in my conscience.

If you are currently using Depo-Provera or have used it as your birth control method, make sure to up your calcium. Especially if you are planning to have children in the future. If you are interested in learning about natural birth control methods and alternatives, please visit this link.

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Every once in a while I come across one of those books that I can absolutely not put down. To be quite frank, in the past, those books have been in the likes of historical fiction or Harry Potter (my literary guilty pleasure). Though I have come across several books about birth which I have found very informative, I had never felt the extreme urge to carry such a book with me everywhere I went till I finished its 300 pages in one weekend. That changed this weekend.

Author Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D. has unknowingly recruited me as her new enthusiastic fan. In her new book, Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth From the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank, Epstein weaves together a collection of well researched historical facts, fads, and tales into a very eye opening chronological history of Western birthing and women’s health care. I am often asked, “If the Midwifery Model is the ideal model, why are hospital births so popular? Didn’t obstetricians help make birthing easier at the turn of the century?”. This book answers those such questions and more in a shear way that neither left, right or middle wing can deny. This is not a book that dives into the history of midwifery. It is a definite eye opener bound to captivate its reader on the history of obstetrics and the unfortunate altered perception of “mainstream” birth today. I even believe that the male audience will find this book just as enjoyable/shocking as Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. There are a lot of interesting parallels between the two books (I coincidentally started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel first till I saw this book in B&N on Thursday night) . It will be clear after reading this we must fight harder for better birth choices ones based on respect and time based models such as midwifery. The case is undeniable. Why continue to let the legacy of characters like the J.P. Morgan and James Marion Sims reign (read their back stories in this book) over the ancient wisdom and traditions of woman’s past when it comes to our most cherish power and gift as women? Why continue with the sabotage?

This is definitely not a how to book or what to expect book, it is a full on historical book. But unlike our society, Epstein does not leave the important facts out ( no matter how hard they are to swallow). She puts them front and center. I do feel that this book should be read by women and men alike to fully understand the foundation in which women’s health care (under the Western Model) was constructed under. This book will empower you to ask questions that you may have never even thought to ask and answer some questions that have been lingering for generations.

Epstein, a medical journalist for the New York Times, Washington Post, and more, has a refreshing talent for conveying weighty facts in a humorous digestible manner. She will also leave you with your jaw on the floor as a side effect of disbelief. Next time you walk by the Who Knew Section at Barnes and Nobles or are browsing on Amazon.com, pick up this compelling, powerful thought provoking must read.

10 years ago, when I first started design school, there were two things that never crossed my mind. One, I would eventually become a doula and a designer and two; one of my design idols Karim Rashid would design baby bottles. People, anything and everything is possible.

The world’s leading industrial designer, Karim Rashid has partnered up with the team at iiamo, founded by Rasmus Schmiegelow and Nikolaj Leonhard-Hjorth, to design a new self-warming feeding bottle. Based in Denmark, iiamo’s product, iiamo go, is the only feeding bottle in the world which will warm up 180 ml milk to the recommended 37°C (body temperature) in only about 4 minutes – without the use of electricity. No power, no cord, no limitations. It’s secret element, the iiamo warm, contains only salt (CaCl2) and water and causes a natural heating reaction.

All iiamo products are without BPA, parabens, phthalates, perfume and other harmful substances. As where as I believe the concept of this bottle is so close to being a brilliant design, I do hope that the iiamo team arrives at a reusable version of the iiamo warm. The disposable warmers are only good for a one time use. Perhaps, if the warmer evolves to incorporate cradle-to-cradle principles, and then one can just toss the warmer into one’s garden, this will truly be a phenomenal design.

The founders at iiamo have great intentions as they are both parents as well. They adapted the philosophy into their design practice “happy mom = happy baby”. “They discovered that it is important – really important – to have a Life After Birth.” I will be checking in on this new company often.

$50 for the bottle $12 for the warming cartridges(six a pack)

Happy Baby, the leader in premium organic baby & toddler food and Healthy Child Healthy World, the nation’s nonprofit innovator in preventive health education for children, has announced an exciting partnership. Happy Baby will be contributing articles and nutritional information for HCHW outreach efforts.

“Educating parents and caregivers about food grown without GMOs, hormones, and chemical additives is more important than ever in light of the increasing rise in childhood illnesses, such as food allergies, early onset obesity, and ADHD,”

-Healthy Child’s CEO/Executive Director Christopher Gavigan

This logical yet respected partnership will make it easier for parent to research, compare and orchestrate their child’s nutritional wellness. Make sure to frequent both companies’ websites for valuable information.

Happy Baby’s complete organic line of fresh frozen baby food, cereals, finger foods, yogurt snacks, and grab-and-go pouches provides healthy yet convenient options for parents.