Pre and Post Natal Motor Development

This quarter, I have some great classes. One I am especially excited about, is my Motor Development class. The first few weeks of discussions are devoted to pre and post natal motor development, which happens to be of great interest to me. I wanted to share the first topic we discussed, and that is the importance of lipids, or fats, in pregnant women and newborns.

Just prior to delivery, lipid count is at its highest in women. This is due, primarily, to develop the myelin sheath around nerves. 80% of myelin is made from these lipids. Subsequently, without adequate consumption of dietary fats, there is a very real danger of lowered myelin production in the unborn fetus. Thus, nerve connections, neural junctions, signals, etc. are at risk of misfiring. In addition, psychological and physical complications can arise, such as, autism, ADD, ADHD, Tourette's, seizures, and so on.

Innervation is required for muscles to work properly, since they are electrical conductors. Myelin's job is to compartmentalize the electrical signals. Without these compartments, the electrical currents trigger the entire body, rather than a particular area. The brain, especially, needs many compartments in order to relay messages accurately to the rest of the body and maintain a level of control.

Studies introduced to this discussion, postulate that the spike in neurological and neuromuscular disorders are due to the low and non-fat craze. We went from being a society thriving on rich fats in good quality butter, cream, milk, cod liver oil, and so on, to one obsessed with getting rid of fat in everything. Margarine, skim milk, vegetable oils, low fat snacks...all of these substandard products swarmed the shelves of local supermarkets and landed in American pantries.

I think it's important for all of us to remember that nature is complex. Mankind still underestimates nature and overestimates its own abilities to mimic it or even to improve upon it. We are constantly patting ourselves on the back for advances made, like with baby formula. It was not too long ago that a concoction of powdered milk and caro syrup was used as a substitute for mother's milk and was considered adequate nutrition of newborns. Now we understand that many other nutrients are necessary for the development of a complex human being.

While the store-bought formulas have come a long way since the first rudimentary ones, we should never stop asking ourselves what will mankind find out tomorrow that they didn't know today? What have we overlooked? As usual, we rely too much, suppose too much, to our own detriment. Let us break that cycle, learn from our mistakes, and always remember to embrace nature.

Midwifery and Homebirths

Anybody who has witnessed or experienced the birth of a newborn child knows that it truly is a miracle. Birth is sacred and beautiful and should be celebrated. Midwife Shafia M. Monroe says:

My role as a midwife is to help a woman and her partner celebrate her newness and embrace her sensuality. The Western culture has taken birth from our view and put it in a place that is hard to find. On television, we see birthing women often in hysteria, sweating profusely, out of control and not looking pretty. Pregnancy has been mystified as nasty and not a nice thing; it is thought of as a shameful and an unclean act.

I have heard many stories of hospital births from friends and family members. Each woman described their experience with some margin of disappointment; something still left to be desired. Yet the majority of them fear the thought of having a natural childbirth, let alone a homebirth. Why? Because we live in a nation of fear. Women have been told for far too long that hospital births are the only safe births. That doctors should control and decide every factor of pregnancy and labor. Women have effectively been silenced.

The reality is that hospitals have never been proven to be a safe place for delivery. The 2002 statistics, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ranks the U.S. as 28th among industrialized nations for healthy births at 7 infant deaths per 1000 births. Furthermore, a study reported in the BMJ Medical Journal in 2005, stated that homebirths have been proven "very safe and successful for women who have been helped to stay low-risk through nutrition and good prenatal care."

I feel incredibly fortunate that my first birthing experience went well. I owe it all to the loving guidance, support, and expertise of my midwife. She inspired me to trust in my own body, forgo drugs, and to feel my birth. She told me that I did not have to wait until I was 10 cm dilated to start bearing down. I was only 5 cm dilated when I began to have strong urges to push. Initially I was frightened to let go and the pain became intense. When I finally relaxed and let my body respond with each contraction, I became fully dilated quickly. 20 minutes later, my first son was born: healthy and beautiful.

My dream is that women everywhere begin reclaiming their womanhood. I want them to let their voices be heard. I wish that their fear would dissipate and be replaced with confidence of self and of faith in the miracle of birth so that birth customs will once again become a family affair, rather than one of solidarity and segregation. Husbands, fathers and mothers, and other siblings will be full participants and be filled with feelings of compassion and togetherness. After all, the delivery of a child should always be special and the experience, one to look back on and smile.

Tips for Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Lactation

Getting ready for a home birth? Even if you are going the hospital route, these guidelines will help prepare you for the momentous event and afterwards. If you are just thinking about getting pregnant, now is the time to start implementing tactics for an easy and healthy delivery.

First off, exercise. Most people know, at this point, how beneficial daily exercise is, especially for the expectant mother. Exercise helps improve muscle strength, flexibility, and emotional well-being. Try yoga, walking outdoors, swimming, and weight training. There is no need to meet specific goals in strength, and definitely not weight loss, but doing various exercises, daily, will help prepare the body and mind for an easy delivery.

Next, dietary concerns. Getting adequate protein is necessary, yet it is a macronutrient that many women tend to be deficient in, especially if you are vegan or vegetarian. Protein, including a good amount of red meat, will help boost muscle repair and increase muscle tone and strength. Minerals and electrolytes should be consumed daily in absorbable food forms, such as blackstrap molasses, dolomite powder, nuts and seeds, fruit, vegetables, fresh-squeezed juices, celtic grey sea salt, eggs (with yolks), chicken and bone broth (in soups, sauces, or just sipped), and lacto-fermented condiments and beverages (see article on lacto-fermentation).

In addition, fatty acids are critical for an infant's neural, visual and nervous systems. Even a mild deficiency in essential fatty acids (EFAs) may limit fetal growth, whether the baby is inside the womb or out! Good sources are found in unprocessed flax seed oil, fatty fish (like ocean-caught salmon and tuna), cod liver oil, coconut oil, and high-vitamin butter from pastured cows.

One thing I cannot stress enough is on the matter of fasting prior to delivery. I have never understood this suggestion by convential practices. We would never think of doing a major event, like a triathalon, while in a fasted state, yet we recommend that mothers do just that! Does this make any sense? Of course not. The body will be incredibly depleted and have a difficult time, if not properly fed ahead of time and during the vigors of labor. Guidelines include having a proper meal and keeping fresh orange juice by the bedside with 2 to 5 grams of l-glutamine added (for energy and recovery), as well as a few drops of a good quality liquid electrolyte supplement (like Trace Mineral Research). Avoid at all costs: caffeine, junk food, white and refined foods, and alcohol (yes, even wine).

Courtney's Birth

The following is the story of my birth, written by my mom: Marie Holley Meshkin:

About 2am, Sunday May 22, 1977, I couldn't ignore the labor pains anymore. Finally, I got up, showered, and checked again to make sure everything was prepared for this home birth. The spacious master bedroom with its hardwood floors, gas fireplace and beautiful upstairs view was the perfect place to have our ninth child. Most days, a pair of Red Cardinals' could be seen from the large window of our Lumberport, West Virginia home.

I shook Jim awake and had him shower while I prepared the bed for the birth and placed the plywood at a forty-five degree angle at the head of the bed. After this, I called the doctor who lived 45 minutes away. I hesitated calling her because it was the middle of the night and I knew she had given birth to her own baby just a little over a month earlier. There weren't any midwives in the area and no other doctor would do a home birth. My doctor was an intern who had agreed to come to deliver our baby.

I had waited too long to call the doctor and was a bit uneasy, but Jim helped me breathe. A few more pushes and our baby was born with intact water, or "born in the caul", at 4 am.

Between my contractions, Jim had called our neighbor, who was a doctor from France. He and his wife, my doctor, her husband and new baby, all showed up soon after the birth. Our other children were awakened and filed in to see their new little sister. After they all went back to bed, we noticed Matt, over in the corner, watching the new baby with furrowed brows. After a short while, he left to join his other siblings, and I forgot about it...until the following day.

It was Monday morning, May 23^rd. Matt was sitting on the corner of the secretary's desk where a crowd had gathered to listen. Four year old Matt was describing the events of the previous morning, "The doctor brought two babies to our house. One was dressed in pink pajamas and the other one wasn't wearing any clothes and had a night crawler coming out of her tummy. Mom must have felt sorry for the one without any clothes, because she picked that one to keep."