Saturday, January 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Healthy Toys
Easy website for checking the toxicity levels of your kids' toys.
http://www.healthytoys.org/index.php
http://www.healthytoys.org/index.php
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hospitals
Good for the Quaids...
Dennis Quaid Settles With Cedars Over Twins' O.D.
Natalie Finn – Mon Dec 15, 11:58 pm ET
Los Angeles (E! Online)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is looking to clear up any bad blood with Dennis Quaid. According to court documents obtained by E! News, Quaid and his wife Kimberly have accepted a settlement of $750,000 from the Los Angeles hospital, which last year took responsibility for giving the babies a life-threatening overdose of blood thinners.
Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone Quaid, now both 1, were being treated at Cedars for staph infections in November 2007 when an employee accidentally administered dosages of heparin (commonly used to flush out I.V.s) that were 1,000-times the recommended amounts for newborns, 10,000 units per millileter apiece instead of the standard 10.
Cedars was fined $25,000 earlier this year by the California Department of Public Health for "multiple failures by the facility to adhere to established policies and procedures for safe medication use."
Though they never sued Cedars, the Quaids, blaming poorly labeled bottles, sued heparin manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corporation for negligence last December.
Quaid also testified before Congress in May against a proposed statute that would make it more difficult for patients to take pharmaceutical companies to court.
Once a judge signs off on the Quaids' deal with Cedars, the couple will no longer be able to pursue litigation against the hospital as part of a good-faith stipulation in the settlement, although they could sue on their children's behalf for future consequences of the accident.
The Cedars settlement does not affect the Quaids' lawsuit against Baxter.
Dennis Quaid Settles With Cedars Over Twins' O.D.
Natalie Finn – Mon Dec 15, 11:58 pm ET
Los Angeles (E! Online)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is looking to clear up any bad blood with Dennis Quaid. According to court documents obtained by E! News, Quaid and his wife Kimberly have accepted a settlement of $750,000 from the Los Angeles hospital, which last year took responsibility for giving the babies a life-threatening overdose of blood thinners.
Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone Quaid, now both 1, were being treated at Cedars for staph infections in November 2007 when an employee accidentally administered dosages of heparin (commonly used to flush out I.V.s) that were 1,000-times the recommended amounts for newborns, 10,000 units per millileter apiece instead of the standard 10.
Cedars was fined $25,000 earlier this year by the California Department of Public Health for "multiple failures by the facility to adhere to established policies and procedures for safe medication use."
Though they never sued Cedars, the Quaids, blaming poorly labeled bottles, sued heparin manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corporation for negligence last December.
Quaid also testified before Congress in May against a proposed statute that would make it more difficult for patients to take pharmaceutical companies to court.
Once a judge signs off on the Quaids' deal with Cedars, the couple will no longer be able to pursue litigation against the hospital as part of a good-faith stipulation in the settlement, although they could sue on their children's behalf for future consequences of the accident.
The Cedars settlement does not affect the Quaids' lawsuit against Baxter.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Most Beautiful Thing
Cullen Peter Gerace
November 16, 2008
4:02am
6 pounds 10 ounces
19" long
13.5" head
November 16, 2008
4:02am
6 pounds 10 ounces
19" long
13.5" head
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Induce!!
In USA Today, on 10/8/2008, the paper quoted University of Wisconsin’s Douglas Laube, a former president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who blames “very significant external forces” for the overuse of expensive technologies in maternity care.
“I don’t like to admit it, but there are economic incentives” for doctors and hospitals to use the procedures, says Laube, who reviewed the new report before its release. Dr. Laube goes on to say that some doctors might get bonuses for performing more labor inductions, which adds costs and increases the risk of C-sections, which, in turn, increase hospital profits because they require longer stays. In addition, some doctors order unnecessary tests and procedures to protect against malpractice suits, Laube says.
“I don’t like to admit it, but there are economic incentives” for doctors and hospitals to use the procedures, says Laube, who reviewed the new report before its release. Dr. Laube goes on to say that some doctors might get bonuses for performing more labor inductions, which adds costs and increases the risk of C-sections, which, in turn, increase hospital profits because they require longer stays. In addition, some doctors order unnecessary tests and procedures to protect against malpractice suits, Laube says.
Monday, November 10, 2008
A Nurse Speaks
This was posted on the *Business of Being Born* website. It is a great summary of why I am SO passionate about non-hospital, non-surgeon births (in the case of a low-risk pregnancy).
Written by a Labor & Delivery Nurse
November 9th, 2008
I am a labor and delivery nurse and I must say that I see all too often women coming in who want a natural birth and are not being supported in their decision. A women comes in labor and we strap them to the bed so we can see the babies every heart beat. They want to move to their side or sit up but then we lose the heart beat and have to reposition them in sometimes uncomfortable positions. Women who are healthy and want a natural delivery should go to a birthing center or deliver at home where they can walk around and get into comfortable positions that make laboring bearable. If they come to the hospital doctors are all too eager to rush things along one intervention at a time.
First we break the water which puts you at greater risk for infection and fetal heart decels. Then we check you every couple of hours which after rupture of membranes further increases the risks of infection. If no progress is made we start pitocin which dramatically increases your risk of cesarean. Pitocin also makes contractions more intense and makes it very unlikely that you will be able to deliver without having an epidural. An epidural can lower your blood pressure which makes it hard for baby to get the oxygen it needs from your blood which very often turns into a stat cesarean. An epidural also decreases your urge to push and guess what…doctors don’t let you push for more than two hours…so if baby is not out you have a cesarean.
Its a snowball effect that I see all to often and I can’t help but wish these women had known about alternatives to hospitals. I’ve seen doctors lie to patients and say that the baby is in danger when it’s not and tell them that even if they don’t agree they will do a cesarean to save the baby. NOT TRUE. You cannot do a cesarean or start pitocin without written and verbal consent from the patient. If anybody tries to tell you otherwise, tell your nurse you want to speak to the hospital’s patient advocate. If you want a natural vaginal delivery and have had a healthy uneventful pregnancy with no past medical problems, I strongly urge you to consider your options. If however you have had increased blood pressure or sugar issues or any other health problems you should not attempt to deliver at home.
Heather
Written by a Labor & Delivery Nurse
November 9th, 2008
I am a labor and delivery nurse and I must say that I see all too often women coming in who want a natural birth and are not being supported in their decision. A women comes in labor and we strap them to the bed so we can see the babies every heart beat. They want to move to their side or sit up but then we lose the heart beat and have to reposition them in sometimes uncomfortable positions. Women who are healthy and want a natural delivery should go to a birthing center or deliver at home where they can walk around and get into comfortable positions that make laboring bearable. If they come to the hospital doctors are all too eager to rush things along one intervention at a time.
First we break the water which puts you at greater risk for infection and fetal heart decels. Then we check you every couple of hours which after rupture of membranes further increases the risks of infection. If no progress is made we start pitocin which dramatically increases your risk of cesarean. Pitocin also makes contractions more intense and makes it very unlikely that you will be able to deliver without having an epidural. An epidural can lower your blood pressure which makes it hard for baby to get the oxygen it needs from your blood which very often turns into a stat cesarean. An epidural also decreases your urge to push and guess what…doctors don’t let you push for more than two hours…so if baby is not out you have a cesarean.
Its a snowball effect that I see all to often and I can’t help but wish these women had known about alternatives to hospitals. I’ve seen doctors lie to patients and say that the baby is in danger when it’s not and tell them that even if they don’t agree they will do a cesarean to save the baby. NOT TRUE. You cannot do a cesarean or start pitocin without written and verbal consent from the patient. If anybody tries to tell you otherwise, tell your nurse you want to speak to the hospital’s patient advocate. If you want a natural vaginal delivery and have had a healthy uneventful pregnancy with no past medical problems, I strongly urge you to consider your options. If however you have had increased blood pressure or sugar issues or any other health problems you should not attempt to deliver at home.
Heather
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