The Myth of a Vaginal Exam

I found this article interesting, especially in light of my most recent post about all the alternative ways of assessing a mother's progress in labor. Apparently, cervical checks are not merely one of many comparable ways to check progress; they are actually inaccurate and unhelpful ways to attempt to check progress. These checks may give doctors and mothers a false idea of how soon labor may or may not begin and also introduce risks that are often not considered.

The Myth of a Vaginal Exam, by Robin Elise Weiss, on About.com

Vaginal exams can measure certain things: dilation, ripeness, effacement, station, position of the baby, and position of the cervix.

What this equation leaves to be desired is something that is not always tangible. Many people try to use the information that is gathered from a vaginal exam to predict things like when labor will begin or if the baby will fit through the pelvis. A vaginal exam simply cannot measure these things.

pregnancy.about.com/cs/interventions/a/vaginalexam.htm

Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy

I have been serving women as a doula for over a year and just had my first encounter with what is apparently an extremely common rash in pregnant women - Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. Or, much shorter, PUPPP.

I found info here: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/puppp.htm

photo from Wikipedia

more photos here: www.skinsight.com

Apparently the common treatment is steroids. But that sends up red flags for me... I am curious about what effects this might have on the baby and the mother's health.

While looking for alternative remedies, I found quite a strong consensus that Grandpa's Pine Tar soap does a superior job of diminishing the itch and clearing

away the rash.

Find it here: http://www.grandpabrands.com/pinetar1024.html

It seems that some women found other solutions, including nettle tea, dandelion root (as a tea or in capsules), flax seed oil, and aloe applied topically.
(Mothering magazine)

Newborn Babies Cry in Their Native Tongue

Here's an excerpt from an interesting news story about still another way babies are influenced by their mothers while in the womb...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33656622/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

"Prenatal exposure to language was known to influence newborns. For instance, past research showed they preferred their mother's voice over those of others.

Still, researchers thought infants did not imitate sounds until much later on. Although three-month-old babies can match vowel sounds that adults make, this skill depends on vocal control just not physically possible much earlier.

However, when scientists recorded and analyzed the cries of 60 healthy newborns when they were three to five days old — 30 born into French-speaking families, 30 into German-speaking ones — their analysis revealed clear differences in the melodies of their cries based on their native tongue."