Indiscreet Breastfeeding Manifesto

Posted on May 26, 2010 by

Indiscreet Breastfeeding Manifesto

  • I will nurse my child anytime, anywhere, no matter who is present or what I am wearing.
  • I will bare my breast with pride and confidence.
  • I will not apologize for nourishing and nurturing my child.
  • I will not smother my child with a napkin or blanket.
  • I will smile at everyone around me and ignore rude stares.
  • I will know that I am giving my child the perfect infant food from the most efficient, ecological, and economical delivery system.
  • I will know that I am giving my child the healthy start that is his or her birthright.
  • I will set an example for women and girls, educate the public, dispel breastfeeding myths, desexualize the breast, and make the world a better place, all through the simple act of feeding my child.

Sundae Horn lives on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, with her husband, Rob Temple, and their children, Emmet (6) and Caroline (3). She is the editor of The Ocracoke Observer, the island’s monthly newspaper. Although her own breastfeeding days are over, she remains an advocate for nursing mothers and is studying to become a breastfeeding counselor.

this is an excerpt from an article in Mothering magazine

http://mothering.com/bashful-brazen-indiscreet-breastfeeders-manifesto

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back to basics

Posted on May 26, 2010 by

Breastfeeding Baby

By Kittie Frantz
Issue 132, September/October 2005

from Mothering magazine

When I became a grandmother, I considered myself lucky. I was a practicing pediatric nurse-practitioner and teaching in a university; as new studies came along that suggested making changes in the way people parented, I could understand and accept them from a medical point of view without feeling invalidated as a mother. The trend that most disturbs me is the notion that it is unnecessary, almost wrong, to soothe your baby by breastfeeding. I am puzzled when I hear the advice to never breastfeed your baby to sleep. Mothers are advised to breastfeed 
babies only for nourishment, and to put babies down in the bassinet awake so that they learn to go to sleep by themselves. The rationale—the fear—is that if you don’t, you will condition your baby that only mother can put him to bed.

Funny—on PTA night, my husband had no trouble putting our baby to sleep. My friends who breastfed their babies until they fell asleep didn’t complain of problems. Have you ever fallen blissfully asleep in someone’s arms? As a baby, wouldn’t you love to fall asleep in your mother’s arms? True, some babies fall asleep with ease in anyone’s arms, and some seem to sleep only when mother nurses them. But to make your baby conform to another’s opinion of what a baby should or shouldn’t be doing seems to punish the baby for not being like all the other babies you may be currently reading about. Advocates might tell you to “train your baby to put himself to sleep.” However, the “training” part means you are changing or “correcting” a healthy natural behavior.

Then there are the advocates of “the self-calmed baby.” Somehow, your baby must learn to calm himself. Why? Is he doing something wrong? Is vocally expressing his needs such a bad thing? Erik Erikson, a classic researcher of child development, labels the first year of an infant’s life “Trust vs. Mistrust” and describes it as the development of the ego. If the infant’s needs are met, the infant feels worthy and develops into a confident, independent person. Roberta Winter, RN, a mentor of mine at William Carey International University, felt that trusting your parent to meet your needs in the first year is the basis of how we learn to trust God. Ah, but Roberta was my age.

One advocate of the “scheduled babies” ideal feels that the marriage is more important than the baby, and that the baby needs to learn his “place” in the family. When the infant is left to cry at night, to calm herself to sleep without the breast, what message does she receive? Are you telling your baby that vocalizing her needs will not get her any peace, relief, help, love? Crying signals need and is the beginning of language.

Some people describe “sleep-training” the baby and proudly state that their infant sleeps all night. But how do you know the baby is asleep all night? My opinion, shared by University of Notre Dame infant sleep researcher James McKenna, PhD, is that babies wake many times during the night. The “sleep-
trainers” should call it “training the child to know you’re not there” instead of fooling parents into thinking the baby has learned to happily sleep all night. The baby is indeed waking; she just knows you’re not coming. What if she is teething? Books with titles that include such phrases as “Help Your Baby Sleep Longer” lead parents to believe that there is something wrong with a baby who does not sleep for a specified amount of time. Even Dr. Richard Ferber recanted his stand on this in The New Yorker.

Advocates of scheduling a baby’s feedings have been around for the last three generations, and come and go with the tides. My opinion is that some people can’t help but be controlling. They try a technique that seems to work for them, think that everyone should learn this technique, then write a book about it. Often, the best thing about babies is how they teach us things such as patience, flexibility, and unconditional love. When you’re a tired new parent, it is very seductive to think that you can “manage” your erratically and often frequently feeding infant by putting her on a schedule—especially if you’re a first-time parent and had time before the birth to read, imagine, and, unfortunately, plan how things would be once the baby was born. It’s not surprising that books on infant sleep are top moneymakers for publishers—in early infancy, every baby wakes in the night, so every parent will want such books. But the one thing such books and the erroneous advice they give do not seem to take into account is the baby. What works for one baby may not work for another. What works for a toddler won’t work for an infant. Here are the facts. Because babies grow in spurts, their needs will change throughout the day, the week, and the months to come. And because of this, their schedules change. A lot. The composition of breastmilk also changes throughout the day, week by week and month by month, to match the baby’s needs. This process of making different kinds of milk at different times may be initiated by changes in the way the infant suckles. Why mess up this symbiotic process by putting the baby on a schedule? Can you imagine being hungry because your body is signaling a change, and someone says you can’t eat now because she, not you, has decided it isn’t the “right time” to eat? The baby’s job is to double her birth weight in the first four to six months after birth. Restricting breastfeedings may make this task seriously difficult.

It is interesting that research by Arthur Parmalee, of UCLA, revealed that babies need to feed around the clock, and do not sleep for a consecutive six hours until they are 8 to 12 weeks old (just before they have almost finished the task of doubling their weight). He calls a six-hour sleep “sleeping through the night,” though this label should not be confused with some parents’ definition of the phrase as meaning 8 to 10 hours (which doesn’t come till much later in the first year). Research with similar findings was published by M. Shimada in the October 1999 issue of Brain Development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that newborns should feed 8 to 12 times within each 24-hour period. Note that it did not say “every two to three hours,” which is how some interpret this recommendation. The AAP phrases it this way because research has shown that babies 
vary their schedules to accommodate their needs.

Marshall Klaus found that during each 24-hour period, newborns have at least one “cluster feed”—several breastfeedings close together. Most experienced breastfeeding women know this and roll with it. How long a baby stays at the breast is related to how well she suckles. Slow sucklers need longer feeds; when schedulers restrict this time, the slower-feeding baby is out of luck. Renowned breastfeeding expert Chloe Fisher of Oxford, England, says to “finish the first breast first”—that is, let the baby feed until she lets go, signaling that she is finished.

I tell parents that a simple way to sort out conflicting advice is to see which basket it fits into: the good-for-the-parent basket or the good-for-the-baby basket. For example, into which basket would you put “You should put that baby on a feeding schedule”? This process will help you decide which advice feels best for you. Trust your gut—your first instinct. Don’t talk yourself out of it by believing that some advice you read must be good because it was in a book, or the person giving the advice has five kids, or was a nurse.

In my day, the support I wanted was someone to cook, do laundry, answer the phone, shop for food, run a vacuum cleaner, and take my toddler to the park so I could take a nap. I ask new parents, “Do you like your cleaning lady? Does she nurture your household? Hire her for more days and nurse the baby at night—your body produces the most prolactin, the milk-making hormone, between 1 and 5 a.m.” Babies nurse more at night in the first three weeks and tend to sleep more in the daytime.

The AAP’s statement on breastfeeding recommends that pacifiers be avoided until breastfeeding is “well established.” The AAP doesn’t define “well established,” but many feel that it takes at least the first six weeks. Still, what will Dad’s success with a pacifier, swaddling, loud shushing, and jiggling the baby away from his chest and onto his thighs do to the breastfeeding?

In my practice, when fathers were successful in calming their babies, I found that their infants fed only six of the needed minimum eight times in each 24 hours. This resulted in lower weight gain for the baby, more initial breast engorgement for the mother, and a slow start for the milk supply. The infant was missing at least two needed feedings. Patricia Franco published a study in the May 2005 issue of Pediatrics that shows that swaddling caused infants to spontaneously awaken less often. I often have to scramble to convince parents to hold off on the calming until after the breastfeeding. My generation didn’t have to calm our babies after feeding; we nursed them to sleep, which takes less time than bouncing, wrapping, shushing, and pacifying.

If the baby has true colic, Dad’s help is welcome when the baby is older than two weeks and is going through a fussy time, and especially when Mom has had it. In my day, we called this period a growth spurt—a time when the baby would begin to grow suddenly, therefore needed more food, and so nursed more often. We just nursed the baby a lot to get him or her through the rough spot. All that additional nursing of babies two to six weeks old—who are normally fussy in any case—really boosted and set the milk supply. The breast worked best to calm these fussy, more frequently feeding babies. We used to call this time of day, whenever baby was fussy and nursed a lot, Grandma’s Hour—this was when Grandma shone, taking care of dinner and the other kids’ baths while mom nursed. The baby loved it. Many think that pumping breastmilk is just as good a stimulus to lactation and the milk supply as a nursing baby. Perhaps. But most lactation specialists concede that a breast pump does not give the same signal to the breast that a baby does: to create an ongoing supply of milk. They also suspect that most breast pumps can’t get as much milk from a breast as a baby gets from direct nursing. Women pumping solely for hospitalized premature babies tell us that their supply dwindles after only six weeks of pumping, but zooms back up when the baby is put to the breast. Remember that lactation seems to be established in the first six weeks of breastfeeding. Why interfere with milk establishment in the first six weeks at all? Let baby do it!

In my day, the breast worked. Dr. Nils Bergman of South Africa has recently studied the infant’s response and the mother’s response to Kangaroo Mother Care—skin to skin on the breast, and breastfeeding. Mother and baby symbiotically adjust to each other in many ways to get exactly what they need: body temperature, heart rate, and breathing and hormone levels settle into a calm state of low energy consumption. When modern laypeople and books brag about how they can calm the baby, they can get the baby to sleep longer, they can get the infant on a schedule, they can feed the baby mother’s milk instead of the actual mother, I wonder if any of them think that the human breast even works anymore. Today, dads and hired folk can take care of this brave new baby. Yes, dads, grandmas, and baby nurses or doulas need to be supportive of and help the mother—but not to the detriment of the breastfeeding process. I, for one, know that the breast still works to meet all of a baby’s needs, including the need to be calmed. Remember: You’re not managing an inconvenience, you’re raising a human being.

See http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/breast-work-notes.html or call our resource editor at 505.984.6292 for the bibliography for this article.

Kittie Frantz is the director of lactation services at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center, and 
instructor in pediatrics for the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. This article relates the opinions of Kittie Frantz, and not necessarily those of her employers. See www.babysperspective.com for more information.

http://mothering.com/breastfeeding/doesnt-the-breast-work-anymore

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Search out peace

Posted on May 26, 2010 by

Bear Claw Mama

Bear Claw Mama: Yoga with a Youngster Teaches a Whole New Way to Relax
By Tracy Abell
Issue 91, November/December 1998

What would compel a woman to attempt yoga while in the same room with a toddler? I was motivated after treating myself to a total body massage and learning that in the massage therapist’s recent experience, the only body more tightly wound than my own had been that of a person confined to a wheelchair. The sad truth was that my body was taut in all the wrong places. And what was not taut was slack. In all the wrong places. For instance, I had finally faced the realization that not only had I given birth to a beautiful son two years earlier but I had also gained a third breast. I am referring, of course, to my abdominal breast. The saggy, baggy congregation of flab that bounced whenever I walked down the stairs or became even slightly animated.

My first thought was to pour all my energy and finances into the creation of something the fashion world is sorely lacking, i.e. an abdominal bra. But I got only as far as naming my unborn creation The Ab-Bra Cadabra before admitting that lingerie would not solve my gelatinous dilemma.

Determined to achieve calm beauty inside and out, I launched a Zen-like assault on the doughy, stressed-out flesh that housed my soul. I successfully completed Phase One by excavating my yoga relaxation videotape from the pile where it was buried beneath Dr. Seuss’s Butter Battle Book and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Phase Two presented more of a challenge as it required getting out of bed in the morning and putting in the tape. I sleepily staggered out to the dark living room and kick-cleaned a space free of all the toys and books that littered the floor. Because I wanted to get started before my inquisitive toddler came to investigate, there was the sense of “hurry up and relax.” I hoped that if I got at least partially into the workout before he joined me, I would be better able to cope with his interruption. I would grit my teeth and, dammit, keep relaxing no matter what.

mother and child doing yoga

The first few times my son brought toys and stuffed animals to me as I lay stretched out on the floor, my muscles tensed while I attempted to remain focused on the exercises. In a loud, frustrated voice I commanded Fletcher to give me space. I heard myself ranting and raving over the calm voice of the yogi, and eventually I had to laugh. So much for staying centered.

After several sessions characterized by brief periods of calm peppered with territorial warfare, I got smart and discussed with Fletcher his role in my exercise regimen before I started the tape. I explained that it was not okay for him to climb on me or drop wooden blocks on my stomach. I made it clear that it was unacceptable to pry my eyelids open, drive a truck into the side of my head, or pull on my toes.

Fletcher, in turn, negotiated a few alterations in the regimen by introducing hugs and kisses into our routine. Instinctively understanding that someone in search of inner peace rarely turns away a tender embrace, he expressed his love physically.

I began to understand that what I needed to do was to increase both my muscular and mental flexibility. Whenever Fletcher put a stuffed frog on my head, I tried to incorporate it into my routine. Start with your feet. Relax your toes, your instep, your ankles. Relax your shins, your knees, your thighs. Relax the frog. Let yourself go.

As we settled into our daily routine, Fletcher started recognizing yoga movements and imitating them throughout the day. He practiced “bear claws” and “lion face,” and whenever he saw me utilize a tension-reducing exercise, he would call out, “Yoga man!” Soon Fletcher began to act as my coach on those mornings when I was overwhelmed by the prospect of getting vertical. He crawled over me in bed whispering, “Mommy. Wake. Bear claw. Yoga man.”

This became our compromise, our special routine. Although the yoga sessions were not interruption-free, they were mostly peaceful episodes that soothed our collective beast. And, best of all, every time I reached the end of the tape where the yogi directed me to a positive visualization, I considered it a double victory that not only was I completely relaxed but that my visualization could show me the image of a happy, healthy, beaming Fletcher. And his frog.

Tracy Abell lives in Colorado with her husband Kurt and their sons Fletcher (3) and Harlan (8 months). She continues to strive for more physical and emotional flexibility.

http://mothering.com/health/bear-claw-mama

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Do beards make men more trustworthy?

Posted on May 26, 2010 by

The Trustworthiness of Beards

By Tom Bartlett

The way you gain people’s trust is to earn it over time by repeatedly proving that you deserve it. That, or grow a beard.

A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that men with beards were deemed more credible than those who were clean-shaven. The study showed participants pictures of men endorsing certain products. In some photos, the men were clean-shaven. In others, the same men had beards. Participants thought the men with beards had greater expertise and were significantly more trustworthy when they were endorsing products like cell phones and toothpaste.

But, oddly, men with beards were slightly less effective than smooth-cheeked fellows in underwear advertisements. Apparently we don’t want Zach Galifianakis selling us boxers.

The researchers say the implications of their findings could extend far beyond advertisements. For instance, male politicians might want to consider not shaving because the “presence of a beard on the face of candidates could boost their charisma, reliability, and above all their expertise as perceived by voters, with positive effects on voting intention.”

Former presidential candidates Al Gore and Bill Richardson didn’t put down the razor until they were already out of the running. Who knows how things might have turned out if they had had the power of facial hair working for them …

Important note: The study looked only at neat, medium-length beards. You can’t just go all ZZ Top and expect people to trust you.

(The study, which was conducted by Gianluigi Guido, Alessandro M. Pelusoa, and Valentina Moffa, is not online. Photo above is of the singer-songwriter/beard-haver Samuel Beam.)

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Trustworthiness-of-Beards/22581/

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beach workout

Posted on May 26, 2010 by
Here are some nifty workout ideas to add to your routine.
Some are just summer versions of stuff you already do…
try to learn something new.

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Use of Marijuana During Pregnancy

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

By Lynn Zimmer and John P. Morgan

marijuana plant

Warnings that marijuana causes birth defects date back to the late 1960s.1 Some researchers claimed to have found chromosomal abnormalities in blood cells taken from marijuana users. They predicted that young men and women who used marijuana would produce deformed babies.2 Although later studies disproved this theory,3 some current drug education materials still claim that genetic damage is passed on by marijuana users to their children.4

Today, researchers look for a direct effect of THC [for tetrahydrocannabinol, either of two physiologically active isomers, C21H30O2, from hemp plant resin] on the fetus. In animal studies, THC has been shown to produce spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, and physical deformities—but only with extremely large doses, only in some species of rodents, and only when THC is given at specific times during pregnancy.5 Because the effects of drugs on fetal development differ substantially across species,6 these studies have little or no relevance to humans. Studies with primates show little evidence of fetal harm from THC.7 In one study, researchers exposed chimpanzees to high doses of THC for up to 152 days and found no change in the sexual behavior, fertility, or health of their offspring.8

Dozens of studies have compared the newborn babies of women who used marijuana during pregnancy with the babies of women who did not. Mainly, they have looked for differences in birth weight, birth length, head circumference, chest circumference, gestational age, neurological development, and physical abnormalities. Most of these studies, including the largest study to date with a sample of over twelve thousand women,9 have found no differences between babies exposed to marijuana prenatally and babies not exposed.10 Given the large number of studies and the large number of measures, some differences are likely to occur by chance. Indeed, researchers have found differences in both directions. In some studies, the babies of marijuana users appear healthier and hardier.11 In others, researchers have found more adverse outcomes in the babies of marijuana users.12

When adverse outcomes are found, they are inconsistent from one study to another, always relatively minor, and appear to have no impact on infant health or mortality.13 For example, in one recent study, researchers reported a statistically significant effect of marijuana on birth length. The marijuana-exposed babies, on average, were less than two-tenths of one inch shorter than babies not exposed to marijuana.14 Another study found a negative effect of marijuana on birth weight, but only for White women in the sample.15 In a third study, marijuana exposure had no effect on birth weight, but a small negative effect on gestational age.16 Overall, this research indicates no adverse effect of prenatal marijuana exposure on the physical health of newborns.

Researchers have also examined older children for the effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana. A study of one-year-olds found no differences between marijuana-exposed and nonexposed babies on measures of health, temperament, personality, sleeping patterns, eating habits, psychomotor ability, physical development, or mental functioning.17 In two studies, one of three-year-olds,18 the other of four-year-olds,19 there was no effect of prenatal marijuana exposure on children’s overall IQ test scores. However, in the first study, when researches looked at Black and White children separately, they found, among Black children only, slightly lower scores on two subscales of the IQ test. On one subscale, it was children exposed to marijuana only during the first trimester who scored lower. On the other subscale, it was children exposed during the second trimester who scored lower.20 In neither case did the frequency or quantity of mothers’ marijuana use affect the outcomes. This makes it highly unlikely they were actually caused by marijuana. Nonetheless, this study is now cited as evidence that using marijuana during pregnancy impairs the intellectual capacity of children.21

Also widely cited are two recent case-control studies describing a relationship between marijuana use by pregnant women and two rare forms of cancer in their children. A case-control study compares people with a specific disease (the case sample) to people without the disease (the control sample). Using this method, researchers identify group differences in background, environment, lifestyle, drug use, diet, and the like that are possible causes of the disease.

http://www.mothering.com/pregnancy-birth/use-of-marijuana-during-pregnancy

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Medical Marijuana: A Surprising Solution to Severe Morning Sickness

Posted on May 25, 2010 by



By Erin Hildebrandt

from Mothering magazine
Issue 124 May/June 2004

http://mothering.com/medical-marijuana-surprising-solution-severe-morning-sickness-0

The author and her daughter Jessie.

As is the case for many young women, my indulgence in recreational drugs, including alcohol and caffeine, came to an abrupt halt when my husband and I discovered we were pregnant with our first child. To say we were ecstatic is an understatement. Doctors had told me we might never conceive, yet here we were, expecting our first miracle. I closely followed my doctor’s recommendations. When I began to experience severe morning sickness, I went to him for help. He ran all of the standard tests, then sent me home with the first of many prescription medicines.

Weeks passed, and, as the nausea and vomiting increased, I began to lose weight. I was diagnosed as having hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe and constant form of morning sickness. I started researching the condition, desperately searching for a solution. I tried wristbands, herbs, yoga, pharmaceuticals, meditation—everything I could think of. Ultimately, after losing 20 pounds in middle pregnancy, and being hospitalized repeatedly for dehydration and migraines, I developed preeclampsia and was told an emergency cesarean was necessary. My dreams of a normal birth were shattered, but our baby boy, though weighing only 4 pounds 14 ounces and jaundiced from the perinatal medications I’d been given, was relatively healthy.

When, six months later, I again found myself pregnant, I was even more determined to have a healthy and enjoyable pregnancy, and sought out the care of the best perinatologist in the area. At first, I was impressed. This doctor assured me he had all the answers, and that, under his expert care, my baby and I would never experience a moment of discomfort. However, as my belly swelled, I grew more and more ill, and my faith in my dream doctor began to falter. What convinced me to change healthcare providers midstream was this doctor’s honesty. He admitted that, due to constraints imposed on him by his malpractice-insurance company, some routine procedures that he knew to be harmful would be required of me. We left his office that day and never went back.

As I searched for a new doctor, I ran across information about midwifery and homebirth. At first, I thought this was simply crazy. Have a baby at home, with no doctor? No way! I thought. But, as I began examining the statistics, I discovered an unexpected pattern. In studies comparing planned home versus hospital births, planned homebirths, with a midwife in attendance, have lower rates of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Not only that, but midwives’ rates of such invasive procedures as amniotomy and episiotomy are much lower. Everything I had believed about birth and medicine suddenly came into question. I located a midwife and made an appointment to see her.

We were very impressed with this woman’s education and experience, and were delighted to invite her into our home to share in our second birth. She gave me many new ideas to try to abate the morning sickness, which still plagued me. But despite her best efforts with herbs, homeopathic remedies, and even chiropractic care, my illness remained intractable.

About this time, I ran into an old, dear friend from college. When Jenny came to visit me one particularly awful day, we shared stories of the old days, and I soon found myself laughing as I hadn’t laughed in years. Despite being interrupted by numerous trips to worship the porcelain god, it felt wonderful to share some time with her. But when we began talking about my burgeoning belly, I broke down in sobs. I told her about how I was desperately afraid of what this malnutrition was doing to my baby. I explained how my midwife had told me that preeclampsia appears to be a nutritional disorder of pregnancy, and I didn’t know how I could avoid it if I couldn’t eat.

Jenny listened and cried with me. Then, she tentatively produced a joint from her jacket pocket. I was shocked. We had shared a lot of these in college, but I had no idea she still smoked. Slowly, she began telling me that she knew some women who smoked marijuana for morning sickness, and it really helped them. She hadn’t known anyone with as severe a form of the illness as I had, but reasoned that if it works to quell the side effects of chemotherapy, it must work well.

Understandably, I was concerned about what kind of effect marijuana might have on my baby. The only information I had ever heard on the subject was that it was a dangerous drug that should not be used in pregnancy. We discussed for some time the possibility that it could be harmful, though neither of us had enough information to make any sort of truly informed decision. What finally convinced me to give it a try was Jenny’s compelling reasoning. “Well, you know that not eating or drinking more than sips of tea and nibbles of crackers is definitely harmful, right? You might as well give this a try and see what happens. You don’t have much to lose.”

She was right. I was 32 weeks along and had already lost 30 pounds. I had experienced four days of vomiting tea, broth, crackers, and toast. Nothing would stay down long. In an excited, giggly, reminiscing mood, I told her to “Fire it up!” I took two puffs of the tangy, piney smoke. As it took effect, I felt my aches and nausea finally leave me. Jenny and I reclined against my old beanbag, and I began sobbing again and unintelligibly thanking her—here was the miracle I had prayed for. A few minutes later, when I calmed down, we ordered a pizza. That was the best pizza I had ever tasted—and I kept down every bite.

It was sad that I had to discover the benefits of this medicine late in my second pregnancy, through trial and error, and not learned of them long before—from my doctors. This experience launched a much safer and more intelligent investigation into the use of cannabis during pregnancy.

I spent hour after hour poring over library books that contained references to medical marijuana and marijuana in pregnancy. Most of what I found was either a reference to the legal or political status of marijuana in medicine, or medical references that simply said that doctors discourage the use of any “recreational drug” during pregnancy. This was before I discovered the Internet, so my resources were limited. The little I could find that described the actual effects on a fetus of a mother’s smoking cannabis claimed that there was little to no detectable effect, but, as this area was relatively unstudied, it would be unethical to call it “safe.” I later discovered that midwives had safely used marijuana in pregnancy and birth for thousands of years. Old doctors’ tales to the contrary, this herb was far safer than any of the pharmaceuticals prescribed for me by my doctors to treat the same condition. I confidently continued my use of marijuana, knowing that, among all options available to me, it was the safest, wisest choice.

Ten weeks after my first dose, I had gained 17 pounds over my pre-pregnant weight. I gave beautiful and joyous birth to a 9 pound, 2 ounce baby boy in the bed in which he’d been conceived. I know that using marijuana saved us both from many of the terrible dangers associated with malnutrition in pregnancy. Soon after giving birth, I told my husband I wanted to do it again.

Not one to deny himself or his wife the pleasures of conception, my husband agreed that we would not actively try to prevent a pregnancy, and nine months after the birth of our second son, I was pregnant with our third child. This time, I had my routine down. At the first sign of nausea, I called Jenny, who brought me my medicine. In my third, fourth, and fifth pregnancies, I gained an average of 25 pounds with each child. I had healthy, pink, chubby little angels, with lusty first cries. Their weights ranged from 8 to 9 1/2 pounds. Marijuana completely transformed very dangerous pregnancies into more enjoyable, safer, and healthier gestations.

But I was caught in a catch-22. Because my providers of perinatal health care were not doctors, they had no authority to issue me a recommendation for marijuana. In addition, I chose not to tell them I used cannabis for fear they could refuse me care. Finally, even if I could get a recommendation, I knew of no compassion clubs (medical marijuana cooperatives or dispensaries) in my area. I had to take whatever my friends could find from street dealers.

Many times I would go hungry, waiting four or more days for someone in town to find marijuana. I became so desperate for relief that I would contemplate driving to a large city like New York and walking the streets until I could find something. Fortunately, each time I almost reached that point, some kind soul would show up with something to get me through. What else is a sick person supposed to do when the only medicine that helps, and is potentially life-saving for her baby, is unavailable? I would much rather go to a store and purchase a product wrapped in a package secured with the seal of the state in which I live than buy from some guy on the street.

Along the way, I discovered the benefits of using marijuana to treat other disorders. At times, I have been plagued by migraines so severe I would wind up in the emergency room. I would receive up to 250 milligrams of Demerol, and sometimes, when Demerol failed, even shots of Dilaudid. Thanks to my sporadic use of marijuana and a careful dosing regimen, I have not been to an emergency room in more than three years. [In September 1999, the Food and Drug Administration approved an application for a rigorous study designed to investigate the medical efficacy of marijuana on migraine headaches.—Ed.] In addition, I was diagnosed as having Crohn’s disease. After months of tests and treatments for my symptoms, I began using a dosing method similar to what I’d used for migraines, and I found that, once again, marijuana provided more relief than anything else. All in all, I’ve been prescribed more than 30 truly dangerous drugs, yet the only one that has provided relief without the associated risks is one many doctors won’t even discuss, much less recommend.

My history with medicine and with marijuana has been more extensive than average. It is my sincere belief that if the American public were told the truth about marijuana, they could not help but support an immediate end to cannabis prohibition. Even I believed it was dangerous, until I began researching the issue. What I discovered is that not one person has ever died from smoking marijuana. The same cannot be said for the results of the misuse of some of our most commonly used substances, such as caffeine, aspirin, or vitamin A. In addition, marijuana is no more a “gateway drug” to other substances than is caffeine or alcohol. Most kids try these things long before they experiment with cannabis. And, finally, unlike such legal drugs as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, marijuana is not addictive. As with Twinkies or sex, a user can come to psychologically depend on marijuana’s mood-altering effects; however, no physical addiction is associated with cannabis.

Now I find myself mother to five beautiful, intelligent, creative children for whom I would lay down my life in an instant. I have been blessed with the challenge of helping them grow into responsible, hardworking, and loving adults. I have also been blessed with the challenge of protecting them from a world fraught with dangers. There are those who would have me believe that, in order to protect my children from drug abuse, I must lie to them; that I must tell them that marijuana is dangerous, with no redeeming qualities. Some say I should go so far as to tell them that it couldn’t possibly be used as a medicine. Then there are those who would say that if I ever find out that my child has experimented with marijuana, I should turn her over to expert authorities in order to impart a lesson. While this does send a message to the child, it is not the message I want to send.

What I teach my children, ages nine and under, about drugs is that medicine comes in many forms, and that children should never touch any medicine (categorized broadly as a pill, liquid, herb, or even caffeinated beverage) unless it is given to them by a trusted adult. My cabinets are full of herbs, such as red raspberry leaves and rosemary, which I use in cooking and as medicines. I have things such as comfrey, which I use externally, that could be dangerous if taken internally. Like all responsible parents, my husband and I keep all medicines, cleaning products, and age-inappropriate items, such as small buttons, out of the reach of our kids and safely locked away.

However, I am aware that the day may come when my kids figure out the trick to the lock, so I add an extra measure of safety by educating them about the honest dangers of using medicines that are not needed. In addition, by sharing my views about the politics behind the issues, I am teaching them another, equally important lesson. As Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Gerald Uelmen stated last year at the medical marijuana giveaway at the City Hall in Santa Cruz, California, “We are teaching our children compassion for the sick and dying; only a twisted and perverted federal bureaucrat could call that the wrong message.”

I have also tried to impart a deep respect for natural healing. By using cool compresses and acupressure for headaches before grabbing a pharmaceutical such as acetaminophen, I’ve taught them the importance of avoiding dependence on drugs. I have also shown them the benefits of the wise and careful use of pharmaceuticals by using them when they were my best choice. I try to instill in them a sense of reason and resourcefulness by honestly presenting the answers to their questions and admitting what I do not know, but searching until I find the answer.

When our oldest child overheard my husband and me discussing marijuana prohibition, it opened up a wonderful line of communication about the subject. I gave him a very basic explanation: that marijuana is a plant that can be used as a medicine. I explained that it could be overused and abused, as well. Then I told him that this plant is illegal, and that people who are found to possess marijuana can go to jail. The question I found myself floundering to answer, however, was when he asked, “Why would the police put someone in jail for using medicine?”
It is long past time parents stood up and took notice of the abuses being leveled on our children by well-intentioned but misinformed governing officials. We need honest and responsible drug education that treats children as intelligent pre-adults who are learning how to live full and healthy lives in a dangerous world.

They need every shred of information we can give them, so that they do not choose to huff butane or snort heroin simply because they survived smoking the joint we told them was dangerous, and because they therefore assume we must be lying about the rest. We need to provide an open line of communication so that, if they ever have to face areas of ambiguity or situations we have neglected to discuss, they will feel comfortable coming to us, and not friends or the Internet, to advise them when they need it most. In order to do this, we must first educate ourselves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bolton, Sanford, PhD, and Gary Null, MS. “Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse.” Orthomolecular Psychiatry 10, no. 3 (Third Quarter 1981): 202–211.

Campbell, Fiona A., et al. “Are Cannabinoids an Effective and Safe Treatment Option in the Management of Pain? A Qualitative Systematic Review.” British Medical Journal 323, no. 7303 (7 July 2001): 13–16.

Conrad, Chris. Hemp for Health. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1997.

Department of Health, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Rota. “The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study.” American Journal of Public Health 82, no. 3 (March 1992): 450–453.

Duran, AM. Dreher, Melanie C., PhD, et al. “Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study.” Pediatrics 93, no. 2 (February 1994): 254–260.

Grinspoon, Lester, MD, and James B. Bakalar. Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine, rev ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997.

Hall, W., et al. The Health and Psychological Consequences of Cannabis Use. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series 25. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1994.

House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology. “Cannabis—The Scientific and Medical Evidence.” London, England: The Stationery Office, Parliament (1998). Cited in Iversen, Leslie L., PhD, FRS. The Science of Marijuana. London, England: Oxford University Press, 2000: 178.

Joy, Janet E., et al. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 1999.

Munch, S. “Women’s Experiences with a Pregnancy Complication: Causal Explanations of Hyperemesis Gravidarum.” Social Work and Health Care 36, no. 1 (2002): 59–76.

Nettis, E., et al. “Update on Sensitivity to Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.” Current Drug Targets: Immune, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders 1, no. 3 (November 2001): 233–240.

Randall, Robert C., and Alice M. O’Leary. Marijuana Rx: The Patients’ Fight for Medicinal Pot. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1998.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Dept. of Health and Human Services. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse 2000. Washington, DC: SAMHSA, 2001.

Tramer, M. R., et al. “Cannabinoids for Control of Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Quantitative Systematic Review.” British Medical Journal 323, no. 7303 (7 July 2001): 16–21.

US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. “In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition.” Docket 86-22 (6 September 1988): 57.

“Vitamin A Toxicity.” The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, Sec. 1, Ch. 3, “Vitamin Deficiency, Dependency and Toxicity.” www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section1/chapter3/3c.htm.

Woodcock, H. C., et al. “A Matched Cohort Study of Planned Home and Hospital Births in Western Australia 1981–1987.” Midwifery 10, no. 3 (September 1994): 125–135.

Zimmer, Lynn, PhD, and John P. Morgan, MD. Marijuana Myths Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. New York: The Lindesmith Center, 1997.

Zimmerman, Bill, PhD, et al. Is Marijuana the Right Medicine for You? New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, 1998.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
See www.mpp.org/legislation/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws.html for details of each state’s medical marijuana statutes.

Americans for Safe Access: www.SafeAccessNow.org.
Coalition for Medical Marijuana: www.MedicalMJ.org.
Drug War Facts: www.DrugWarFacts.org.
Marijuana Policy Project: www.mpp.org.

For more information about nausea or marijuana, see the following articles in past issues of Mothering: “Nausea During Pregnancy” no. 52; “Marijuana in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding,” no.42; and “Coping With
Nausea in Pregnancy,” no. 30.

Erin Hildebrandt is a writer, an activist, and a happily married, suburban mother of five. Her website is at www.parentsendingprohibition.org.

Photo by Lloyd Wolf.

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