Isla Fisher

Isla is the cute crazy red-head from Wedding Crashers, who is also married to Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) in real life....(learn something new every day, right?)

Isla Fisher on

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin

(from O Magazine)

"Women are happy to tell you their terrifying birth stories, but nobody tells you the positive ones. So if you're going to have a baby, you have to read this - its a collection of stories of women's birth experiences plus loads of practical information. In today's world of modern medicine, it's so easy to have the experience of pregnancy and birth taken out of your hands: You're measured and blood-tested and ultrasounded. Sometimes it feels as if the whole experience is happening to you. But women have the right to have the birthing experience we desire - whether it's a Cesarean or a natural birth - and to have the fear of pain removed. A friend, Naomi Watts, gave me this book when I was pregnant. It was such a special time for me, and it was such a relief to read these stories."

So, I don't necessarily agree that Cesareans should be provided upon request, and I think that women need to do their own mental cleansing and exorcising in order to "remove the fear of pain"....but otherwise...I'm so happy she found peace in Ina May's book and is sharing it with O Magazine readers.

Introducing Barbara Harper!!!

I was about to PASS OUT yesterday (okay, it could have been the coffee) when I learned that Barbara Harper was coming to little 'ole Myrtle Beach to give a conference on water birth.

From the moment my tired, unmedicated, contracting little body melted into the warm water of my birthing tub, I've been in love with this woman and all the work she has put into educating the world about how gentle and safe birth can be.

Barbara is the founder of Waterbirth International with the overall mission to enhance the well-being of women and children during pregnancy, birth, and early childhood experience, and the specific mission to ensure that waterbirth is an available option for every woman.

She produced this gorgeous documentary (Birth Into Being) about the beauty and spirituality of birth. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this from my best friend in the world and I truly treasure it.

It's just COMMON SENSE PEOPLE. WATER HELPS.

It reduces pain, allows for mobility to achieve the most beneficial birthing position (the WORST being ON YOUR BACK), the bouyancy to relieve the pressures of gravity, the lubrication to help stretch out skin and reduce tearing of the perineum, and sooo much more.

The cost/benefit and pain reduction comparison between epidurals and birthing tubs are something every woman should thoroughly educate herself on before she gives birth. Of course moms do have to do the work to ensure that they are low-risk pregnancies, or those surgeons will be more than happy to strap you down, hook you up to monitors and cut you open one way or another.

I'm so excited that Barbara will be coming to provide her expert insight and eloquence to our little community. You can find the details here.

Friday January 23 6-9pm at the Sands Ocean Club at 9550 Shore Drive off of Lake Arrowhead Road in northern Myrtle Beach. Map here.

On Saturday and Sunday, they will be providing training for nurses, doctors, midwives, doulas and any other professionals who want to be certified in this beautiful art.

I'm in Love with BOB

BOB Revolution to be clear....sssssigh....

Healthy Toys

Easy website for checking the toxicity levels of your kids' toys.

http://www.healthytoys.org/index.php

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.

Ani D on Birth

"The memory of pain recedes.
The memory of triumph does not."

The Most Beautiful Thing

Cullen Peter Gerace
November 16, 2008
4:02am
6 pounds 10 ounces
19" long
13.5" head