Outstanding Resource for Moms-to-Be

Pregnant women certainly can't complain about a lack of resources on the topic of childbirth and childcare. In fact, the number of books, magazines, websites and advice floating around out there is nothing short of overwhelming.



I did some research to find a good childbirth class. My husband and I wanted a class that wasn't necessarily about hospital rules or procedures, but rather that was about making informed choices. We wanted to learn about the natural birthing process, the pros and cons of all the various options, and what questions to ask our doctor.



An organization called Realbirth has provided all the information we were looking for! Instead of teaching only one method such as "Lamaze," "Bradley," or "Hypnobirth" strategies, the methodology is an “all-method” approach, because often women need more than one tool to move through labor.



Realbirth offers expectant mothers (and her support person) a wide variety of classes designed to inform and empower each couple to understand the labor and birth process, techniques and strategies to help feel in control, and enough knowledge to make decisions about pain-coping techniques and interventions during labor. Aside from childbirth classes, they also offer classes on breastfeeding, infant care, sibling preparation, and groups for new mothers and babies.



Realbirth is New York City's first comprehensive center solely dedicated to informing the pregnant consumer and supporting postpartum families. The organization was founded by Erica Lyon in 2003 who teaches along with an experienced staff, all certified through the CEA/MNY, Childbirth Education Association of Metro New York. Realbirth has locations in both Chelsea and Midtown, NYC.



Instead of courses offered through the hospital, I recommend trying Realbirth. They are a source you can trust, and they have your best interests in mind. My experience with this organization so far has been outstanding.



http://www.realbirth.com/



posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.

Aiyana Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs

212-894-0767

http://www.amazinghealing.com/

Dust off that Caddyshack DVD, Mom...

Laughter improves breast milk's health effect

From issue 2608 of New Scientist magazine, 18 June 2007, page 23

FAMED for its restorative powers, it now seems that laughter also helps breast milk to fight skin allergies.
Breastfed babies with eczema experienced milder symptoms if their mothers laughed hours before feeding them, according to a study by Hajime Kimata at the Moriguchi-Keijinkai Hospital in Osaka, Japan.
He showed breastfeeding mothers either a feature length Charlie Chaplin movie or bland footage of weather information, and took samples of breast milk at regular intervals afterwards. Two milk feeds later, he also measured their babies' allergic reactions to dust mites and latex. Those infants whose mothers had laughed had markedly reduced reactions (Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol 62, p 699). All participating babies and some of the mothers suffered from mild atopic eczema - the most common type.
Kimata also found significantly higher levels of melatonin in the laughing mothers' milk. The hormone is associated with relaxation, and levels are reduced in people with eczema.
"It would be good to investigate if 15 minutes of laughter a day can reduce allergies in mothers and infants in the long term," says Michael Miller of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, who studies the effect of laughter on heart disease.

Posted by: Michael Pingicer, M.S., L.Ac.

A Physical for the U.S. Health Care System

Michael Moore's new documentary, SiCKO, is out now in NYC, and it opens June 29th everywhere. Word is out that it is humanitarian and funny. Check it out!

Posted by: Michael Pingicer, M.S., L.Ac.

Spirituality in Birthing

Hi Everyone,
A fellow member of the Red Web Foundation, named Betsy Leighton, is taking a survey about women's spiritual connection to birthing. Interested in participating? The details she sent me are below.
Smiles, Juliette Aiyana, L.Ac.

Hello,

I am researching the subjective experiences of spirituality in
birthing women, and I have designed an open-ended survey to gather
women's feelings, stories and experiences on this topic.

The survey asks various questions relating to your feelings about
spirituality and birthing, from conception through delivery, and takes
about 5-10 minutes to complete online.

Here is the link to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DD4mjP6CXuauPNf_2bFKApng_3d_3d

If you are interested in learning about the results of the study,
please email me at betsy@mywomb.net.

Thank you in advance for your interest in this important work. Please
feel free to invite your contacts and friends to take part, as I am
seeking to reach as many respondents as possible.

Blessings,
Betsy Leighton

www.mywomb.net

Quiz: Are You Feeling Your Best?

Many people consider themselves "healthy" in the absence of disease or specific ailments. However, there are many aspects to health, and if basic bodily functions are not running smoothly, quality of life can be seriously diminished.

Take this short quiz to find out ... Are feeling your best, or could your health use a tune-up this season?

Best Sleep:
Do you fall asleep easily and sleep deeply throughout the night?
...OR...
Is your sleep disturbed by discomfort, pain, dreams, or bathroom trips?
Do you experience restlessness at night or hot flashes and sweating?

Best Energy:
Do you wake up in the morning refreshed and energetic?
Does your energy last consistently through the day?
Do you have enough energy to exercise regularly?
... OR....
Do you frequently feel tired, lethargic, or exhausted?

Best Digestion:
Do you have a healthy appetite for quality foods?
...OR...
Is your appetite too weak or too strong?
Do you experience, bloating, reflux, gas or cramping after meals?
Do you regularly have constipation or loose stools?

Best Body:
Does your body feel relaxed and pain-free?
...OR...
Do you have muscle tension, soreness, pain or injuries?
Do you regularly get headaches or migraines?

Best Emotions:
It doesn't mean being "happy" all the time! A healthy, balanced individual will experience a range of all emotions, but
will not become "stuck" in any one emotion consistently. Does that describe you?
...OR...
Do you easily become frustrated, irritated, or angry?
Do stress/anxiety/depression affect your daily life?
Do your moods swing up and down frequently?

If your answers were "yes" to any of the questions following the word "OR," it means you are not feeling as well as you could feel! Although sometimes easily ignored, minor symptoms of imbalance in your health can be signs that you need to pay attention to before they worsen.

For more information on how acupuncture or Chinese herbs can help you, or to schedule a consultation, call Aiyana Acupuncture.
Why wait any longer to feel your best?

Posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.
Aiyana Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs
212-894-0767
www.amazinghealing.com

Local Yokel

The movement of eating only local food (cutely tagged as being a “locavore”) is gaining popularity each day. This movement contributes to environmental sustainability by consuming food products that are locally grown. The local food movement is an important and exciting development because it creates less dependence on industrial farming and on the gas used to transport the food. It also helps diversify species of food. But really, the main draw, in my opinion is that local food is tastier and keeps you more in balance with your environment, meaning better health.

You can set personal mileage limitations about how far the food you consume is grown in relation to your house, but this does not mean everything available at the local grocery store only 2 blocks from your house is fair game. Eating local means that if those strawberries come from California and your NYC mile limitation is 300 miles, then sorry Charlie, move along, there's nothing to consume here. It also means that you can eat what is growing within your mile radius during any season, a.k.a., “in season.” Eating locally means you can enjoy sweet corn-on-the-cob in the summer and then savor squash in autumn.

The local food movement will be fueled by the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle written by the popular author Barbara Kingsolver along with her husband and daughter. She and her family move from Arizona to Appalachia and begin a year-long experiment of eating only local food, which she documents and enlivens by adding the spice of a novelist's knack for weaving a great story. They have the benefit of living on a small farm and growing vegetables and raising livestock and also frequent the local farmer’s market to supplement what they can’t grow or raise. Her descriptions of the day-to-day life allow the reader to openly see the ups and downs of eating local for a whole year. Her biologist husband, Stephen, provides sidebars of resources to help the reader increase her/his knowledge about the subject, and her daughter Camille provides recipes and menu planning based around the foods in season. Kingsolver provides the local food movement with the exposure that it needs in a way that is accessible and usable to the general public. They have also created a website with more information and a look into their farm. I highly recommend this book as a nice starting point for learning about local food.

Living in NYC, it is near impossible to have a farm. Here are some tips and links to working local food into your life:

• Join your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for farm-fresh food delivered from a local farm to your area each week!

• Shop mostly at your local farmer’s market/greenmarket, located throughout the 5 boroughs.


• Read up on Slow Food and heritage breeds.


• Learn what types of foods are local to your area and what is in season.


• Grow herbs in a container in your apartment.


• If you have a small outdoor area or backyard, grow some of your own veggies! Have a fire escape? Grow a few veggies in a container.


• Set a general mile radius where your food can originate from.

• Know yourself and your limits. Allow some exceptions to the local rule when you start. This should be fun, not stressful.
  
  Good Luck!

Posted by: Michael Pingicer, M.S., L.Ac.

Take a walk!

In addition to giving you the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful summer days and nights, taking a walk or bike ride after you eat can also help burn bonus calories!

A June 4th article by BBC news reports some interesting health benefits of post-meal exercise. A small study showed that a half an hour after eating breakfast, people who exercised for one hour burned more calories than people who sat quietly for an hour. Such results are not surprising, but the study also presented participants with more food to eat after the hour or exercise or rest. Interestingly, those who had exercised ate more food, yet took in fewer overall calories than their sedentary counterparts. Read the entire article here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6712923.stm

So, whether you explore your neighborhood, enjoy the park, or climb onto an exercise machine, get moving after your meals!


Posted by: Renee Rallo, AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor