Is there a link between birth interventions and autism?

There are topics that are difficult to address, even within the relative safety experienced in a BaBs group, where women have learnt to listen to each other, and trust and respect each other. Vaccination is one such topic. It has the effect of polarising people into the yes and no camps like no other.

Recently a discussion about the risk of tetanus for unvaccinated children led on to an acknowledgment of concern that vaccination may cause autism. A parent who *believes* that their action (in this case, accepting vaccination of their child) may result in a tragic brain development disorder will do all she or he can to avoid that action. While I have seen no compelling evidence to support these fears, I am convinced of the seriousness of Tetanus as a life threatening infection that can be prevented by vaccination. Unlike airborne and contact infections such as Diptheria, measles, mumps, TB &c that are rarely seen today in the developed world, Tetanus will never be erradicated, and will continue to be a threat whenever contaminated deep cuts or puncture wounds are experienced.

Someone has observed that the Amish don't vaccinate, and their children don't develop autism. I don't know if this is true or not, but that's not the only difference between an Amish family and an ordinary family in Melbourne today. We have electricity, cars, computers, internet, fast foods, pollution, ... We have high rates of induction of labour and other interventions in birth.

A professional research paper published this week in the Journal Medscape Ob/Gyn & Women's Health asked the question Autism, ADHD, and Medicated Births : Relationship to Autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

The author reviews what is known and what is postulated, and states that "Two questions remain unanswered:
* Are pediatric developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum and ADD/ADHD, actually forms of perinatal brain injury?
* Is there a relationship between the increase in the active management of labor and the increased incidence of these brain disorders in children?"

As with many other questions, no clear answers are yet available. Medicated births may or may not contribute to developmental problems. It follows, therefore, to recommend "a precautionary approach to active management, emphasizing more physiologic protocols and advocating lower synthetic oxytocin doses and allowing more labor time -- rather than adding more oxytocin."

PETITION to support mothers to breastfeed and save the lives of babies

[Photo]

The voices of 45000 People Reach World Health Assembly with a Call to Save Newborn Lives:

Last week, IBFAN, the International Baby Food Action Network, made a clear call when it introduced its ‘One Million Campaign: Support Women to Breastfeed’ at World Health Assembly in Geneva. The IBFAN team submitted a petition to the President of 62nd World Health Assembly, Mr. NS de Silva, Minister of Healthcare Sri Lanka, signed by more than 45000 people from 161 countries.


TELL YOUR FRIENDS


We are now requesting you to Create a “WARM CHAIN OF SUPPORT FOR WOMEN” Motivate FIVE More Friends to sign up! We need to continue to have more and more people signed up and submit petitions to others global forums.

Thanks for your continued support to the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN- Support Women to Breastfeed


More than 47000 people have already signed, you can help increase the number of voices!



45 People to receive an AWARD from IBFAN

We are extremely thankful for your efforts to putting the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN well on its way to reaching a million voices. As a small token of appreciation, we are randomly picking up 45 people, one out of every thousand persons who signed up, for an award – a handcrafted pendant in traditional Indian design. The names of awardees will be put up on the campaign website next week. The recipients will also be informed individually by email

Mothers and the Budget

Visitors to this blog may have heard mention of changes to tax rebates for private health insurance, means testing for the Baby Bonus, and a new scheme of Paid Parental Leave. Another reform that could be of great significance to anyone who plans to have babies after 1 November next year 2010 is Medicare and insurance for midwives - see the village midwife blog and the MIPP blog.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Womens Action Alliance presents its response to the Budget:
"Any policy which encourages mothers to separate from their babies during the early years before they feel ready is a highly dubious policy indeed. In adopting the Paid Parental Leave scheme announced in the Budget Speech we detect a distinct antipathy on the part of your Government towards mothers who commit themselves full time to the care of their young children – even where that commitment is limited to the very early (pre school) years.

"If any mothers are to be excluded from taxpayer funded assistance given at the time of birth it should be on the basis of a means test only and not on the basis of their choice about paid workforce participation while their children are young.

"We listened with great interest to the Treasurer deliver the speech last Tuesday night. We were disappointed to find that the Paid Parental Leave model that is promised is, in essence, the same ‘exclusive’ one about which we expressed reservations in our submissions to the Productivity Commission. ie it excludes most mothers who have babies in Australia each year.

"Those who have not returned to paid work after the birth of an earlier child, those who are unemployed or have small amounts of casual employment, those who are recently employed, employed on contracts or self employed, those who resign during the pregnancy not always of their own choice. These will all miss out and they include many low and middle income women. While they will receive the Baby Bonus and Family Tax Benefit Part B the difference is substantial and discriminatory.

"The figures provided on Page XXV1 of the Productivity Commission’s interim report showed that only 140,000 of the approximately 285,000 mothers who give birth each year will be eligible for the payment. ie most mothers will miss out. ..."


While the ACTU has proclaimed the budget a victory on behalf of working mothers in its press release, our society has yet to set a real value on the work a mother does with her babies and young children.

Are dads undervalued and underrated?

[Pic: Paul and Poppy]

The Age blogger Sacha Molitorisz of Who's your Daddy?, has written today:
"A recurring theme of this blog - an obsession, you might say - concerns the way dads are undervalued and underrated. In our society, I reckon, dads (and men) are often about as feted as skydivers among agoraphobics. Dads are becoming increasingly involved, and this should be recognised and encouraged.
[... continued]


We would love to hear your views on the role of the daddy today.

Perhaps as BaBs groups get established we should be asking the men amongst us to set up DADS-BaBs groups or events?

Box Hill Timetable - term 2

29/4 - What's the point (What do we want from our birth experience? A discussion about normal birth)

6/5 - Free Discussion

13/5 - Prenatal Testing (What tests are available. Why are they important? What is necessary, what isn't?)

20/5 - Free Discussion

27/5 - Being a student midwife (A student midwife will tell us about needing to follow women through their pregnancy and attend a certain number of births. What mothers can do to help student midwives and what they can expect from a student midwife following their pregnancy).

3/6 - Free Discussion

10/6 - Breastfeeeding discussion (Sharing milk, particularly with regard to having surgery when still nursing a baby or toddler).

17/6 - Free Disussion

24/6 - Know Your Midwife Program at Box Hill (we're hoping to have a guest speaker from Box Hill hospital to tell us about the KYM program)

Conference call for BaBs leaders

Today BaBs had a conference call meeting, with leaders coming together by telephone or Skype. We had people at Melbourne sites, as well as Mt Macedon (Vic), and Stanthorpe (Qld).

The meeting was called to hear from facilitators and other group leaders, and to identify any issues that need further work in some or all of the groups. These include:

Preparing and supporting new group facilitators, as facilitators step down and move on from babs
Attracting midwives and encouraging them to be involved
Protecting people from conflict of interest issues
Maintaining the focus of babs on peer support for mothers during pregnancy and the first year
Sharing plans and processes between groups.

As an outcome of todays meeting, we plan to review guidelines and revise to reflect the current expressed needs of group leaders.

We look forward to future conference calls for babs leaders.

Wagga BaBs

Wagga Birthing and Babies Support Group (BaBs) offers discussion, information, education and support for people in our community regarding the issues of pregnancy, birth and parenthood.

Everyone is welcome to join us at our friendly, informative meetings. If you are pregnant, a new mum or dad, or seeking information about your birth choices, please contact us or come along to a meeting to share and learn in a supportive environment about birthing and baby topics.

We meet each month in the Parents as Teachers Centre, Tolland Public School, cnr Raye and Parkhurst Sts, Tolland. Upcoming meetings for 2009 include:

Date: Wednesday 25 March
Time: 12pm to 2:45pm (approx)
Topic: Special screening of the documentary “The Business of Being Born”

Date: Tuesday 28 April
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (approx)
Topic: Preparing for Birth

Date: Tuesday 26 May
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (approx)
Topic: Writing a Birth Plan – Help or Hindrance?

Date: Tuesday 23 June
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (approx)
Topic: Natural Birth – Why Bother?


Further information about each session may be obtained via our Facebook site (search for Wagga BaBs), by emailing waggababs@gmail.com or calling Kirsty 0401 523 121 or Jenny 0418 205 262. Please RSVP via phone or email by 5pm on the day prior to each meeting to help with our planning.

Wagga BaBs is an initiative of the Wagga Birth Choices Action Group, affiliated with the Maternity Coalition: www.maternitycoalition.org.au.