No Fear Birth

Over the holidays, my husband went with a friend to the movies. He came back so excited to tell me, not so much about the movie he saw, but about the trailer for a new film executive produced by Ricki Lake, the former talk-show host, who made a documentary about the business of hospitals and doctors in delivering babies. “It’s right up your alley, Jen,” he said. So, I checked out the film’s website for myself and it seems interesting. I’d like to see it. In a nutshell, it’s Michael Moore meets the delivery room. But thank the Good Lord, it doesn’t include Michael Moore. Check out The Business of Being Born and let me know what you think in the comments area. It’s theatrical opening is January 13 in NYC.

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We know we should be careful about what we eat and drink, but did you ever wonder about what you put on your face and body? Be it a dab or a slather, what is safe for you and your baby? Your skin, of course, is the largest organ. It is porous and efficiently absorbs what we put on it into our bloodstream.

While we’re taking about blood, did you know what your breast milk really is? Blood. Blood is miraculously transformed into milk by the glands in your breasts. I stopped drinking cows milk for a while after learning this. It just grossed me out: a good reason to buy organic milk. So, remember, whatever gets into your bloodstream can pass to your baby in utero or nursing.

Freaked out now? Grab all of your lotions, soaps and make-up, and check out the online Cosmetics Database that rates cosmetics for safety. It used to be called Skin Deep. Anyway, it’s “a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group… and it pairs ingredients in nearly 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

Quick note: Acne is a common problem in pregnancy and even afterwards, so I was surprised to learn that retinoids and salicylic acid are no-nos for preggers. High doses of salicylic acid in oral form has shown in studies to cause birth defects and various pregnancy complications.

And sign-up today for No Fear Birth email updates. This way, you’ll get all of our great information sent fresh off the keyboard into your in-box.

Cheers and Blessings,
Jennifer

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Got a prescription and concerned about its safety? You’re not alone. Millions of women will be prescribed some kind of drug while pregnant or breastfeeding. But how can you know if it is safe? I found a site that gives a lickity-split letter grade, from A (safest) to X (do not take), to thousands of prescription drugs. Just enter the trade name or generic name, and in a click, you’ll learn the potential risk according to the FDA. You are also given the risk of the drug on the fetus, if used during pregnancy; and its effect on breast milk, if taken during lactation. For example, a common antibiotic prescribed for urinary tract infections is Macrobid. It gets a B, which is the best grade I’ve seen for preggers or breastfeeders. I highly suggest bookmarking the site on your computer for easy access if you need it in the future. It’s www.SafeFetus.com.

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