Micro Birth {Understanding how the small things impact baby for life}

Birth is a complex life event and mother nature is a beast! More often than not, physiological birth is best left undisturbed. However, in the United States, especially if you're considering a hospital birth, intervention free is not always the norm.

How is this impacting our culture?

More importantly, how is this impacting our species?

This film, Micro Birth is "a feature-length documentary asking if interventions in childbirth could be damaging the long-term health of our children with consequences for all of humanity."

For those of you reading this, I'd like to emphasize three smaller interventions - routine procedures - that you may not even think of as having impact on the human microbiome.

1. Swaddle Blankets

These seemingly harmless cute bundles have their place in creating a comfortable, secure feeling for our new babies - making the world seem a little bit smaller - but don't let swaddling interfere with valuable skin to skin contact!

2. Eye Ointment

Bacteria are good!

When babies pass through the vaginal canal they are colonized with our own flora, the bacteria that will start them off for life. When erythromycin or silver nitrate, which is much less commonly used but still around, is put in their delicate eyes unnecessarily, all of that bacteria will be lost. As the linked article goes into detail about, if the mother is infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea, treatment is used to prevent infection. In all other cases, I encourage you to reconsider and look at the evidence surrounding this routine procedure. 

3. Newborn Bath

Remember how we talked about that beautiful flora baby is colonized with? You might not want to wash that away just yet. Let it soak in! And let the vernix soak in. Mother nature is pretty awesome - babies are born protected from bad bacteria by their vernix, which is also a natural moisturizer, and they are born colonized and prepared for life with good bacteria! Take time to slow down and enjoy this bonding time with your newborn and enjoy that natural newborn smell. 

Slow down on the Journey of Life and enjoy a Micro Birth Premier near you!

The Importance of Baby Friendly Hospitals

What makes a hospital baby friendly?
Essentially, it understands, promotes and educates moms on the importance of breastfeeding.

The 10 steps are

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice “rooming in”– allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

 Get the details here. A baby friendly hospital strives to provide moms and babies with the best start possible. The hospital near to you may not be the best choice for your birth. Ideally, the new family will have immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact for at least an hour, if not two, after birth and be coached in breastfeeding.

Sounds simple right? So why aren't more hospitals in Arizona involved? And why is this so important? And scroll down to "because it does matter" in this post. Successful breastfeeding is found most easily in support; that support should begin at birth, if not before!

Don't have a baby-friendly hospital near you?
Don't fret! Just remember the rap ;-)

• skin-to-skin is best
• hold off visitors (especially well meaning family) until after The Magical Hour
• delay or forgo newborn procedures
• Is Erythromycin Eye Ointment always necessary?
• 10 Decisions for Parents of Newborns: Part 1 | Part 2
• delay or forgo the baby bath
• Why the newborn bath should wait
• resist artificial nipples
• room in and feed on demand
• join a local La Leche League 

This is the earth-side beginning of the Journey of Life. Why not give babies and moms the best start?  

What was your immediate postpartum experience like?