Mitcham midwife Margaret Murphy celebrates 100th birthday

A woman who helped thousands of Mitcham mums deliver their babies has turned 100.

Former midwife Margaret Murphy, known to her friends and family as Peg, celebrated her birthday at the weekend.

The party and meal took place on Sunday in the hall of St Michael’s Catholic Church in Chesnut Grove, where Mrs Murphy is a member of the congregation.

Her niece, Mary Foster, said: “She was a local community midwife and served the Mitcham area for most of her working life. She is well known and loved in this area and has probably delivered more babies than we have had hot dinners.”

Mrs Murphy was born in Ireland. She comes from a medical family, and her son Raymond Murphy - a consultant in Dublin - flew over especially to take part in the celebration.

Original article written by Craig Burnett.

Three-Year-Old Saves Grandmother's Life

Before most kids can count, a 3-year-old dialed 911 and saved his grandmother's life.

A little boy did a very grown-up thing. Three-year-old Jaden Bolli dialed 911 after his grandmother had a seizure, saving the 54-year-old woman's life. Jaden had been taught to dial 911 just days before. Kids his age have been known to ring up a 911 operator now and then, says a 911 spokesman, but mostly by accident.

Jaden, you're our hero!


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A Week After Earthquake, 15-Day-Old Baby Found Alive

Surprise Survivor Is Just One of the Delayed Rescue Tales that Have Become Hallmarks of Haiti's Earthquake.



JACMEL, Haiti – Rescue teams found a 15-day-old baby alive in a crumbled house here Tuesday, after she'd spent nearly half her life without food or water amid the ruins of last week's earthquake.

A search and rescue team was demolishing the remains of the home of the mother, Michelene Joassaint, believing that there was no chance that her baby Elisabeth, eight days old when the quake struck on Jan. 12, could possibly be alive.

The rescue team found the baby in the same bed where she was napping when the earthquake struck. The bed had fallen to the ground floor, but the baby was not even injured.

The cousin of the 15-day-old Haitian baby who was found alive in a crumbled house Tuesday comments on her medical care.

"It was the mercy of God," said Ms. Joassaint, 22 years old, breastfeeding her daughter on a makeshift hospital bed next to the heavily damaged city hospital Tuesday evening. Ms. Joassaint was staying in a homeless camp set up on a soccer field when she learned the news. "I cried and then ran to the baby," she said.

Ms. Joassaint said that just before the quake she had fed Elisabeth on the second floor of her home and then went downstairs for a moment. When she felt the tremor begin she tried to run back upstairs for Elisabeth, she said, but the walls began to crumble. She had no choice but to turn and run out, she said.

"This wasn't the way Jesus wanted the baby to die," said Michelet Joassaint, the baby's grandfather, a 47-year-old fisherman who was at sea at the time of the earthquake. "Everybody knew the baby was dead, except the Lord."

More than 90 people have been pulled alive from the rubble by international rescue teams, according to U.N. figures. That figure doesn't include those saved by ordinary Haitians digging with their shovels, sticks and bare hands.

Hours after the baby's rescue, an international crew of rescue teams worked feverishly in the capital into the night on Tuesday to try to save a young woman called Natalie, entombed in the collapsed remains of a market but still alive.


WSJ's Charles Forelle reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with the latest on the relief efforts there. He says there is little evidence of aid to Haiti's newly homeless.

Rescuers passed a remote camera into the position where the woman was trapped. She reached for it. "That means she has enough power to grab. That's a good thing," said Dundare Sahin of Akut, a Turkish rescue service.

Minutes later, rescue workers were able to speak with Natalie. "She said she was fine," said Christian Mascaro of the French rescue group Rescuers Without Borders.

Some Haiti survivors may have lasted longer than is usual for several reasons, including mild weather. And construction materials used in Haiti's buildings may have helped: collapsed pre-pressed concrete slabs that tend to leave gaps when they crash down.

A family, including a young boy with a machete, guarded their store in front of a church in downtown Port-au-Prince Tuesday.

"It crushes some some people horribly, but it can leave gaps for people to survive miraculously," Sir John said.

While the story of the baby's survival was particularly dramatic, it echoes a very similar tale from the 1985 earthquake that hit Mexico City. There, some 13 babies were rescued alive from the collapsed maternity ward of a hospital, trapped over a period of one to nearly nine days. They were called "the miracle babies" and captured the world's attention.

In the years since, Mexican newspapers have written stories to update the lives of the survivors as they have grown into young adults.

There was another dramatic rescue a day earlier on Monday, that of a woman who had been buried in her bed for six days under the rubble of her two-story home.

The woman rescued from her bed "was lying face down on the mattress with the first-floor ceiling pressing her down," said Brian Miura, an emergency room physician from Torrance, Calif., who was part of the Los Angeles Country team that saved the woman.

The rescuers used listening devices and dogs to triangulate her location. Then they cut a hole through the roof and, beneath that, the collapsed walls. Then they reached through a 2 1/2-foot gap and cut away the base of the bed to extract her.

Dr. Miura described the woman as "hysterical" when she emerged. The rescuers pumped her full of fluids and sent her to a Brazilian hospital. Dr. Miura expected her to survive the ordeal.

The crew had pulled two sisters out of a different room of the same house on Sunday.

After Monday's remarkable rescue, U.S. and other rescue teams continued search operations on Tuesday, despite what they admitted were ever-slimmer chances of finding survivors. "The window is shutting relatively quickly," said Mark Stone, a spokesman for a search-and-rescue team from Fairfax, Va. Still, "there might be a needle in the haystack, so don't give up," Rex Strickland, operations chief for the Fairfax team, told his 72-member crew Tuesday morning.

by Michael M. Phillips

Quake just a bigger reason to stay, says local midwife in Haiti

Sarah Wallace, a 24-year-old midwife from Devon, holds up baby Mirlanda, a malnourished baby who she cared for in Haiti. Mirlanda and her mother are missing.

Photograph by: Supplied, edmontonjournal.com

As Canadians are urged to head toward the embassy in Port-au-Prince and evacuate earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Devon-raised Sarah Wallace will stay amid the chaos in an isolated city to the south and search for survivors... continue reading

Help For Haitian Children!!!

Our immediate action required. Please go to http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/ and donate money to God's Little Angel! The money will be used to keep the orphanage running and to help the surrounding community!

GLA needs fuel to run their generator. They have babies who rely on that generator to run as they are on oxygen or in incubators!

GLA has people knocking at its gates for food, medical help, etc!

PLEASE GIVE NOW! GLA is already in the middle of this disaster zone...help them help those around them affected by this catastrophe!

About GLA

God’s Littlest Angels is a Haitian orphanage located in the mountains above Pétion-Ville, close to the village of Fermathe. The majority of the children brought to the orphanage are between the ages of newborn and 7 years old. We also have older children, sibling groups, and children with special needs waiting for adoptive parents.

God’s Littlest Angels has ministered to the children of Haiti since 1994 and has been involved in international adoptions since 1997. GLA is involved in several children’s ministries in the local community. In the year 2000, GLA implemented a school sponsorship program for children unable to attend school due to the lack of funds. Today, more than 200 children attend school sponsored by people in North America and Europe.

God’s Littlest Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian ministry incorporated in the State of Colorado. In 2000, GLA Canada was formed and is a registered Canadian Charity. All financial donations received in the United States, Canada, and France will receive a tax-deductible receipt.

Deepak's first children's book: You With the Stars in Your Eyes

Released on January 1, 2010, Deepak's first children's book is a sweet and poignant story that reveals a little girl's glimpse at cosmic consciousness.

On a cool summer's eve, five-year-old Tara takes a walk on the beach with her grandfather. When he is not quite sure how to answer her questions about love and life, the Moon herself joins in on the conversation. She tells Tara that the stars made our eyes so they could see themselves. She also explains that everyone we see is our own self in a different form.

Set of twins born in different years

TAMPA - Juan Velasco said he certainly didn't plan it this way, but he and his wife Margarita now have identical twin sons, born in different years.

It happened at Tampa General Hospital during emergency surgery.

The first of the twins, named Marcello, was delivered at 11:59:37 p.m. Thursday. He's the last baby born at TGH in 2009.

His brother, Stephano, was delivered at 12:00:02 a.m. Friday. He is the first baby born at TGH in 2010.

"We never think that we would be the first of the year, or the last of the year, nothing like that," said Velasco. "But I'm really happy."

The twins were born at 30 weeks' gestation, so they had to go to the neonatal intensive care unit, according to Catherine Lynch, the University of South Florida doctor who delivered the babies.

Lynch said the surgery was necessary because one of the babies was not receiving as much nutrition from the placenta as his brother. She expects both babies will be in the NICU about eight weeks.

And they'll always have different birthdays, even though they were born seconds apart.

"So they'll always be twins, but now they each have their own special day," said Lynch.

Lynch said this New Year's Eve was the busiest at TGH in recent memory, with five babies born in the three hours before midnight, and five more delivered in the three hours after midnight.

By DAVE BALUT

Natural Parenting

Ten Reasons to Make Time for Play

How children learn is as important as what children learn—and what children learn and take away from play experiences is endless!

1. Play nurtures your child’s healthy social-emotional development. Playing with peers helps children become more emotionally aware. Children also practice self-regulation, empathy and understanding during play, which leads to more independent group management strategies like sharing, taking turns, etc… (Honig, 2007; Hirsch-Pasek, et al, 2009).

2. Your child practices everyday problem solving skills during play. Problem-solving skills help determine goals and plan how to achieve them. Open-ended play experiences provide children with multiple opportunities to experiment, explore and manipulate objects and materials in different ways as they work towards a specific goal (AAP, 2007; Koenig, 2007).

3. Creativity and wonder spark from child-driven play. According to David Elkind, Ph.D, “Self-initiated play nourishes the child’s curiosity, imagination, and creativity, and these abilities are like muscles—if you don’t use them, you lose them” (2008).

4. Play is integral to your child’s academic success. Children’s language, early literacy, math and science understanding are stimulated from early play experiences. Block play and guided play provide children exposure to spatial and numerical concepts (Hirsch-Pasek, et al, 2009). Additionally, when a part of the child’s academic environment, play helps nurture learning readiness and learning behaviors (AAP, 2007).

5. Active play nurtures your child’s physical development. “In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies” (AAP, 2007). Play also provides children opportunities to practice balance, dexterity and other still developing gross motor skills (Koenig, 2007).

6. Play provides your child with an outlet to explore, create and learn at her own pace. Fred Rogers said, “When children build and make things, they can feel more in control not only of the outside world but their inner selves as well…they’re creating from their own ideas!” (2002). Play also often allows children the opportunity to learn in a more relaxed, less pressured situation or environment.

7. Spending time together during play helps nurture your parent-child bond. Elkind states that there are three basic drives that lead us to a full, happy and productive life. These are play, love and work. As you participate in your child’s play, you communicate support and unconditional love to your child. You also demonstrates care and reassure your child that what he is doing is important (AAP, 2007; Elkind, 2008).

8. Your child learns about himself and the world around him through play. Play allows children the opportunity to interact, learn and ask questions about the world around them (NAEYC, 1997; AAP, 2007). “When we offer our children opportunities to explore this new and exciting world in their own time and at their own pace, we open them up to powerful learning experiences they could not encounter in any other way” (Elkind, 2008).

9. See the world through your child’s eyes by simply watching her play. Put yourself in your child’s shoes. Observe your child as she plays to get a better glimpse of what her skills and interests are. As you watch, think about “why” and “how” questions you might ask to challenge your child’s thinking or help her problem solve.

10. Play is enjoyable and fun! Children learn best through play perhaps because “Learning and play are not incompatible—learning takes place best when children are engaged and enjoying themselves”

(Hirsch-Pasek, et al, 2009).

Babies 'cry in mother's tongue'

German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb.
The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to families speaking French and German. The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them. The findings suggest that unborn babies are influenced by the sound of the first language that penetrates the womb.

Cry melodies

It was already known that foetuses could memorise sounds from the outside world in the last three months of pregnancy and were particularly sensitive to the contour of the melody in both music and human voices.

Earlier studies had shown that infants could match vowel sounds presented to them by adult speakers, but only from 12 weeks of age.

Kathleen Wermke from the University of Wurzburg, who led the research, said: "The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their foetal life.

Newborns are highly motivated to imitate their mother's behaviour in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding
Kathleen Wermke, Unversity of Wurzburg "Contrary to orthodox interpretations, these data support the importance of human infants' crying for seeding language development."

Dr Wermke's team recorded and analysed the cries of 60 healthy newborns when they were three to five days old.
Their analysis revealed clear differences in the shape of the infants' cry melodies that corresponded to their mother tongue.
They say the babies need only well-co-ordinated respiratory-laryngeal systems to imitate melody contours and not the vocal control that develops later.

Dr Wermke said: "Newborns are highly motivated to imitate their mother's behaviour in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding. "Because melody contour may be the only aspect of their mother's speech that newborns are able to imitate, this might explain why we found melody contour imitation at that early age."

Debbie Mills, a reader in developmental cognitive neuroscience at Bangor University, said: "This is really interesting because it suggests that they are producing sounds they have heard in the womb and that means learning and that it is not an innate behaviour.

"Many of the early infant behaviours are almost like reflexes that go away after the first month and then come back later in a different form.

"It would be interesting to look at these babies after a month and see if their ability to follow the melodic contours of their language is still there."

Babies!!!

Everybody loves... Babies. This visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world - from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, Babies joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all.

Many Women Miscalculate Time to Full-Term Birth

Here is an insightful article written by Jennifer Thomas HealthDay Reporter, on the miscalculation of full term birth. Where 1 in 4 thinks it's as short as 34 weeks, potentially adding to preemie delivery rate.

Recent reports show that the rate of preterm deliveries continues to climb in the United States. Now, a new study suggests one reason why: Many women are confused about what constitutes a full-term birth in the first place.

About one-quarter of new mothers surveyed in the study considered a baby born at 34 to 36 weeks of gestation to be full term, while slightly more than half of women considered 37 to 38 weeks full term.

Though technically speaking, preterm births are babies born prior to 37 weeks, 39 to 40 weeks is optimal, according to the researchers.

Many women interviewed were also unaware that babies born even a little bit premature are at a higher risk of serious health problems compared to babies born at term, the new survey shows.

Misconceptions about what constitutes full gestation and how soon it's safe to schedule an elective induction or cesarean delivery are contributing to increasing numbers of premature births in the United States, said lead study author Dr. Robert L. Goldenberg, professor of obstetrics and director of research at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

"Clearly, the preterm birth rate is going up, as are early deliveries that are at term but are 37 and 38 weeks," Goldenberg said. "The data is becoming more and more clear that the outcomes of births at those earlier gestational ages are not as good as babies that are born at 39 or 40 weeks."

The study, which included 650 first-time mothers ages 21 to 45 from around the nation who had health insurance, is in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

When asked, "What is the earliest point in pregnancy that it is safe to deliver the baby, should there not be other medical complications requiring early delivery?", more than half chose 34 to 36 weeks, 41 percent chose 37 to 38 weeks and less than 8 percent chose 39 to 40 weeks.

However, experts warn that any delivery short of 39 weeks puts a baby at higher risk of respiratory distress, sepsis (blood infection) and needing to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to background information in the study. Only one-quarter of new moms realized 39 to 40 weeks was safest.

Premature births are a growing problem in the United States. In fact, the percentage of babies born preterm rose by more than 20 percent from 1990 to 2006, according to a report released in November by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Technically, the World Health Organization and other major medical organizations define preterm births as babies born before 37 weeks. But that definition was developed some 50 years ago and is outdated, said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director for the March of Dimes.

More recently, studies have shown that babies born even a bit too early -- at 37 or 38 weeks -- have a greater chance of chronic respiratory disease and learning disorders than children born at 39 weeks or later.

Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks are six times more likely to die during their first week or life and three times more likely to die during their first year than babies born at 39 or 40 weeks, Fleishman added.

"Everybody knows a baby who has been born a bit early who has done pretty well," Fleischman said. "But what we've learned is that, going backwards, there is increasing mortality and morbidity for every week prior to 39 weeks of gestation."

Many experts now refer to babies born between 34 and 36 weeks as "late preterm," while babies born at 37 and 38 weeks are "early term."

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the March of Dimes recommend against elective inductions or C-sections prior to 39 weeks.

In many situations, there is probably some medical reason for choosing to deliver early -- perhaps the mother has slightly elevated blood pressure, for example, Goldenberg said.

"I call them semi-electives," Goldenberg said. "I believe over the last 15 or 20 years, the practice is evolving to deliver those babies earlier and earlier when there is no evidence of benefits."

TV shows and news reports about very premature babies that survive may also be fueling misconceptions, Goldenberg said. Some women are left with the impression that if babies born before 30 weeks can survive, infants that are just a little bit premature should have no problems.

"Because the shows don't emphasize the bad outcomes at those ages, it's led not only women but doctors to conclude that by the time you get up to 34, 35 or 36 weeks, everything is fine," Goldenberg said. "But the recent research is showing it's not fine."

The last few weeks of gestation are critical to fetal development. All of the organs continue to mature in preparation for moving from the womb to the outside world, Fleischman explained. Between 35 and 40 weeks, the fetal brain grows by about 50 percent.

Educating expectant mothers and their physicians about the risk of preterm births may help women to make more informed decisions about when to schedule elective inductions and C-sections, Goldenberg said. That includes setting up hospital policies that discourage elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks and enforcing it through peer review to help curb the practice.

More information

There's more on preventing premature births at the March of Dimes.

Do dads belong in the delivery room?

Do dads belong in the delivery room? Here is a story on one doctor's opinion.

Many new fathers are nothing short of awe-stricken by the birth of their child, and cherish their baby's first moments shared with the mother in the delivery room. In fact, ever since Dr. Robert Bradley introduced the concept of husband-coached childbirth in the early 1960s, fathers have been routinely encouraged to be present at their children's births. Yet, now, in what is sure to stir up some fatherly frustration, to say the least, French obstetrician Michel Odent argues that fathers specifically, and men in general, don't have a place in the delivery room.

According to Odent, not only are fathers in the way, but because their presence often makes the laboring mother anxious, they may be interrupting the production of a hormone critical to the birth process. The slowed supply of that hormone, oxytocin, may even increase the chances that a woman will have to deliver by Cesarean section. Odent, who believes that the safest birthing environment involves only the mother and a skilled midwife, told the Daily Mail:
"If she can't release oxytocin she can't have effective contractions, and everything becomes more difficult... Labor becomes longer, more painful and more difficult because the hormonal balance in the woman is disturbed by the environment that's not appropriate because of the presence of the man."

Odent will argue his views this week at a forum hosted by the Royal College of Midwives. He will be challenged in a debate by Duncan Fisher, an advocate for fathers, who believes that men should defer to the women's desire to have them in the room.
Yet, even before the debate, Odent's controversial perspective is likely to generate some opposing views, including those from fellow physicians who suggest that recent increases in C-section deliveries have no correlation with dads being in the delivery room. As Patrick O'Brien of the U.K.'s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists told Clare Murphy with the BBC:
"What we do know is that there are many reasons why the number of emergency cesarean sections has risen—including obesity, older mothers, and fear of litigation—none of which have anything to do with the presence of dads."

And while the birthing process has been known to make a few men feel squeamish (or even terrified), whether or not they are in the room should be a decision left to the fathers- and mothers-to-be, O'Brien says. He also told the BBC:
"Having a baby together is an intense, life-changing experience that most couples want to experience together. The father can be an immensely reassuring presence for the mother... And as for the suggestion that men won't cope with the so-called gore - well, most of his role can be carried out at the head-end, talking, mopping her brow, offering sips of water. Of course a man shouldn't feel forced to be there, but I have yet to meet one who said after the birth of his baby - 'I wish I'd stayed at home'."

Toddler Helps His Mom Give Birth.

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (Nov. 19) -- A 2-year-old in north Mississippi has done something few toddlers can: He helped his mother give birth to his brother.

Bobbye Favazza told The Commercial Appeal she went into labor Friday and gave birth on the family's living room couch in Olive Branch. She said her toddler, Jeremiha Taylor, got her a towel and caught the baby before firefighters arrived to cut the umbilical cord.

Favazza gave birth to a 7-pound, 4-ounce baby boy, Kamron Taylor. She had been scheduled for a Cesarean section Dec. 6. Not only was Kamron's timing a surprise, but Favazza had been told she was carrying a girl.

City emergency services supervisor Greg Mynatt said the 911 call about Favazza was probably the third this year about a woman in labor, but usually the mother makes it to the hospital before delivery.

Embedded video from CNN Video

New Study Says Cancer Can Pass from Mom to Womb

PhysOrg.com: A new study has provided genetic evidence for the first time that it is possible for a mother to transmit cancer to her unborn child via the placenta.

wikimedia commons
Cases have been reported on rare occasions where a mother and newborn child develop the same cancer, but there has never been proof until now that the mother passed the cancer to the child. In theory it should not be possible, since the infant's immune system should destroy the cancer cells.

The team of British and Japanese researchers studied a case in Japan in which the 28-year-old mother developed leukemia shortly after giving birth to a daughter. Eleven months later the baby developed a cancer with the same genetic markers as her mother's cancer cells.

Using advanced genetic fingerprinting techniques, the scientists were able to prove the leukemia cells in the baby were present at her birth, and that they could only have come from the mother, since the cancer cells had an identical mutation in the cancer gene BCR-ABL1.

They also looked at how the cancer cells from the mother could have avoided being destroyed by the infant's immune system, and discovered that the baby's cancer cells lacked part of the DNA that would have indicated to the immune system the cells were foreign. The leader of the team, Professor Mel Greaves of the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, UK, said the cancer cells were in effect invisible to the immune system and therefore were able to implant without being attacked.

The transfer of cancer from mother to unborn child is rare, with only around 30 cases known, and the mother usually has a melanoma or leukemia. Professor Greaves stressed that even if the mother has cancer it is still extremely unlikely she would pass it on to the child, but if pregnant women with cancer are concerned, they should seek the advice of their specialists.

Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK, Professor Peter Johnson, said the research was important because it shows that for cancers to grow they need to elude the immune system. This means we might be able to develop new treatments that help alert the patient's immune system to the presence of cancer.

The research findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

© 2009 PhysOrg.com

Dr Oz's Children Will NOT be Receiving H1N1 Vaccine!

Four Perspectives on the H1N1 Virus and Vaccine

The following article is taken from Healthy Child, Healthy World. It has become especially important with the pandemic spread of the H1N1 virus. Parents are scared and I want to help. I don’t have a recommendation for whether you should vaccinate or not, but I do believe you should have easy access to expert insights that can help you make an informed decision. Here are four perspectives you should take into consideration.

Dr. Robert Sears:

Dr. Sears’ position on the issue is emblematic of the entire discussion. He states that in general, he doesn’t “have a recommendation one way or another.” He acknowledges H1N1 to be a serious illness that is potentially life-threatening, noting that “seasonal flu in the U.S. causes about 20 infant and 100 total pediatric deaths each year. The swine flu has so far caused 112 pediatric deaths.” In light of the 36,000 Americans who die of the flu every year, he believes that “the shot helps protect against the flu and lowers this risk.” But he also acknowledges the risk inherent, stating that “there hasn’t been a lot of research on safety and efficacy of flu shots”.

Though that fact is less than a comfort to both patients and physicians, Dr. Sears doesn’t “see any reason to doubt that our immune systems won’t respond to this vaccine the same way they respond to regular flu shots.” He also covers potential side effects, which he doesn’t predict to be any different from those experienced from regular flu shots.

So what really concerns Dr. Sears then?

“(W)hat I DO worry about is that infants will be getting FOUR (count them, FOUR) flu vaccines this year – two doses of the regular one, and two doses of the swine flu vaccine. That’s unprecedented. We’ve never given anyone four doses of a flu vaccine in one year.

There is no way to predict what the side effects might be.” His other major concern is that despite a complete lack of testing to determine if there is any harm to fetuses or young babies, both the regular flu and H1N1 vaccines are recommended unequivocally for pregnant and nursing mothers.

He advises getting the shots alone, as far apart as you can from any other shots. And he urges parents “to delay any vaccines for diseases that don’t pose an immediate danger to a baby’s or child’s life and catch up on those vaccines in February or March, a couple months after finishing the flu vaccines.” Consult your physician for which diseases pose an immediate risk and which can be delayed.

Dr. Jay Gordon:

Dr. Gordon seeks to quell the widespread alarm about H1N1 and discourage a knee-jerk impulse to vaccinate. He advises that winter flues are unavoidable, and integral to strengthening proper long-term immunity. “Children, in particular,” he says, “must suffer through a lot of winter illnesses because their immune systems are so inexperienced. New viruses get more people sick than older ones and this year the H1N1 virus is the newest common infection.”

Dr. Gordon believes the media are responsible for creating more anxiety about winter illness than at any time in recent memory. They are taking advantage of this situation to drive up TV viewership, increase web page visits, and sell more newspapers, he says, citing the SARS scare, the Bird Flu scare, and the West Nile Virus scare as examples.

He also includes the potential mortality risk as part of a broader scare tactic:

“The CDC released fatality data this past week and were quite clear in their assessment of this relatively non-virulent strain of influenza: 75-80% of the 76 children had significant or severe underlying medical problems.

Any child's death creates an extremely difficult public discussion but of the 300,000,000 Americans there are 45,000,000 children and teens and there have been 76 deaths of younger people. About 15 of these deaths occurred in seemingly healthy children and teens.

Please put all of these numbers in the proper perspective and realize that there are many important lifesaving topics for the media to publicize but none which sell papers and create TV viewership quite as well as this new flu…the science is terrible but the publicity is geared towards increasing fear, selling vaccines and Tamiflu and keeping us all on edge.”

He does not predict disaster from this year's pair of flu vaccines, but doesn’t think that they're a good use of our health care dollars, saying, “They are definitely not worth the amount of media and medical attention they've received and continue to receive.”

Jackie Lombardo, Sierra Club National Toxics Committee and SafeMinds.org:

Ms. Lombardo brings up questions about levels of mercury in the vaccine, and the contentious use of the preservative thimerosal. She provides a comprehensive breakdown of all of the ingredients used in the four different manufactured versions of the vaccine, and confirms that some do contain thimerosal, which is 49% mercury by weight.

The dangers, especially the risk of brain damage, associated with mercury are well established in scientific literature. So concerns over mercury exposure for infants, children, and pregnant women are no small matter. She points out that, “reviews in the medical journal The Lancet found a lack of health benefit of the seasonal flu vaccine for children under two and significantly increased rates of vaccine related adverse events in children.”

She recommends reading the package inserts very carefully, paying special attention to risks and safety studies, and insisting on a mercury-free version if you decide to get the shot. Refer to her complete list of ingredients before getting vaccinated.

Dr. Greene:

Dr. Greene emphasizes how little we know about the potential severity of the H1N1 flu, but he does believe it’s likely to be several times worse than usual flu season illness, with children, college and grad-school age adults and pregnant women most vulnerable. Interestingly, he points out that boys who catch H1N1 seem to get a lot sicker than the regular flu.

Overall he feels positively about the prognosis for the vaccine, though he admits that we don’t know the whole story. Though no serious side effects have been noted so far, he warns, “I expect we'll see some side effects emerge when larger populations are immunized. After all, if we gave enough people bananas or spinach we would see a few serious side effects and allergic reactions.” But he does feel that the benefits outweigh any risks.

He also quells a persistent rumor: that people will get the flu from the H1N1 vaccine. Not true, he says: “Unlike some other vaccines, this one is not a live virus; it's bits and pieces that recombine in the body and then prompt it later recognize and attack the flu virus.”

He prefers the versions with no added mercury as a preservative (the ones that come in single dose vials), and he reminds parents that no infants under 6 months should get the vaccine.



What You Can Do:

1. Carefully consider all of the perspectives we’ve presented here. Consider your child’s unique risks (e.g. children in day care are more at risk for catching H1N1 than children who are at home most of the time). Make an informed choice for your child. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that you’re taking a risk either way.

2. Stay as healthy as possible during flu season. Use our 10 Tips for Flu Season Super Defense, and practice vigilant but common sense prevention.

3. If you’re feeling ill, use Microsoft Health Vault's at-home tool designed to help people decide whether their symptoms indicate heading to a clinic or hospital or staying home in bed. This may help alleviate the strain on hospital emergency departments and help limit the number of people exposed to this life-threatening illness.

4. Still have more unanswered questions? The New York Times recently ran a comprehensive Q&A that covers more obscure concerns.

Editor's Note: Dr. Greene's quote says that the vaccine does not contain a live virus. This is true for the shot, but not for the nasal mist - which does contain the live virus.

10 flu-fighting foods

Got the sniffles?

Buried in the controversy over whether to get the H1N1 vaccination (or even where to find one), is that one of the best ways to ward off any flu is to build up your overall immunity. Dave Grotto, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, reveals 10 foods that provide top doses of the vitamins and nutrients you need to protect and defend against illness.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms used to get overlooked as a health food, but they possess two big weapons you need this flu season: selenium, which helps white blood cells produce cytokines that clear sickness, and beta glucan, an antimicrobial type of fiber, which helps activate “superhero” cells that find and destroy infections.

Fresh garlic
Strong smelling foods like garlic can stink out sickness thanks to the phytochemical allicin, an antimicrobial compound. A British study found that people taking allicin supplements suffered 46 percent fewer colds and recovered faster from the ones they did get. So start cooking with it daily — experts recommend two fresh cloves a day.

Wild-caught salmon
In a recent study, participants with the lowest levels of vitamin D were about 40 percent more likely to report a recent respiratory infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D. Increase your intake with salmon, a 3.5-ounce serving provides 360 IU – some experts recommend as much as 800 to 1000 IU each day.

Tea
Researchers at Harvard University found that drinking five cups of black tea a day quadrupled the body’s immune defense system after two weeks, probably because of theanine. Tea also contains catechins, including ECGC, which act like a cleanup crew against free radicals. Grotto suggests drinking one to three cups of black, green or white tea every day.

Yogurt
The digestive tract is one of your biggest immune organs, so keep disease-causing germs out with probiotics and prebiotics, found in naturally fermented foods like yogurt. One serving a day labeled with “live and active cultures” will enhance immune function according to a study from the University of Vienna in Austria.

Dark chocolate
Nutrition experts agree that dark chocolate deserves a place in healthy diets, and a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition says it can boost your immunity, too. High doses of cocoa support T-helper cells, which increase the immune system’s ability to defend against infection. Sweet!

Oysters
Zinc is critical for the immune system — it rallies the troupes, or white blood cells, to attack bacteria and viruses like a flu or cold. One medium oyster provides nearly all of the zinc you need for a day, while a portion of six gives you over five times the recommended amount.

Almonds
Heart-healthy almonds boast immune-boosting antioxidant vitamin E, which can reduce your chance of catching colds and developing respiratory infections according to researchers at Tufts University. You’ll need more than a serving of almonds for your daily dose though, so try fortified cereals, sunflower seeds, turnip greens and wheat germ, too.

Strawberries
Even though vitamin C-rich foods (hello oranges!) are probably the first thing you think of when you feel a cold coming, Grotto says the illness-preventing power of the antioxidant is debatable. That said, some studies show it can reduce the intensity and duration of cold and flu, so it’s worth a try. One cup of strawberries provides 160 percent of your daily needs.

Sweet potato
Beta-carotene improves your body’s defenses. It’s instrumental in the growth and development of immune system cells and helps neutralize harmful toxins. Sweet potatoes and other orange foods like carrots, squash, pumpkin, egg yolks and cantaloupe are top sources.

Prenatal Education and Yoga Series

Pregnancy is a profound journey and a meaningful time to commit to a practice of self-nurturing. Yoga Goddess offers a prenatal class unlike any other because it includes practical labour preparation, prenatal yoga poses, and calming meditations in each class - so you're preparing physically, emotionally and spiritually for childbirth.

The next 4-week sessions begin on:
Tuesday October 20th
Tuesday November 17th
and
Tuesday January 12th

Classes take place at the gorgeous ravine studio called The Yoga House at Danforth and Coxwell.

Follow this link to learn more and register on line:
http://www.yogagoddess.ca/Prenatal-Yoga-Toronto.html

H1N1 Prevention

Historically, alternative preventative treatment has been utilized successfully in times of epidemic flu outbreak. Although there is an option to vaccinate oneself with this new H1N1 vaccine, I would argue that the current global situation warrants a more serious search for safe, non-invasive alternatives. The inherent risks of vaccinations can serve as a reminder for midwives to return to the basics, creating and maintaining a healthy immune system.

One alternative approach being considered in countries such as India and France is nationwide homeopathic vaccination. Homeopathy as we know it today was founded by Samuel Hahnemann, although the principle dates back as far as Hippocrates. In essence, homeopathy is based on the concept that a disease can be cured by infinitesimal doses of a substance that in larger quantities mimics disease symptoms. It is governed by the principle that "like cures like"—if a substance can cause symptoms in a healthy person, then it can cure similar symptoms in a sick person. In sections 100 and 102 of his "Organon," Hahnemann describes the use of homeopathics in relation to epidemic disease.

A "Times of India" article from August 2009 explores the link between homeopathy and epidemic outbreaks, historically and today.

"Well-known Delhi-based homeopath Mukesh Batra cited the instance of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 in which more than 50 million people were killed worldwide. He said the mortality rate of people given allopathic treatment was 28.2 percent, while [in] those given homeopathic treatment [it] was 1.05 percent at that time." In the case of the 1918 flu, the most common homeopathic remedies were Gelsenium and Bryonia, both 30C.

Oscillococcinum was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus similar to the swine flu of today. This multi-center study examined the effect of Oscillococcinum (200C) on the early symptoms of flu. Results were published in the peer-reviewed "British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology." More patients in the treatment group recovered completely in the first 48 hours than the control group (17% of patients with active treatment compared to 10% of controls). More patients in the treatment group also judged the treatment as better compared to the placebo, 61% versus 49%.

— Jeramie Peacock
Excerpted from "Pregnancy and the H1N1 Flu Virus." on the Midwifery Today Web site.