At Isis, we’re here to teach families safer use of slings and carriers from birth and as their baby grows. It’s essential to ensure both a clear airway and correct positioning, especially for smaller babies and newborns.

In response to recent news reports regarding the safety of baby slings, we’ve prepared a short video demonstration of how to properly and safely position a baby in a sling.

text4baby is a free service.

Have you heard about the latest health application for mobile phones?  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources and Voxiva recently unveiled the free text4baby program in which expectant and new mothers receive at least 3 weekly text messages containing important maternal and newborn health information. These texts will include reminders to take prenatal vitamins, eat lots of protein, get a flu shot, set up pediatric appointments and more.   The messages are delivered throughout the pregnancy and until the baby turns one year old.  The goal of the program is to help reduce premature births and curb the United States’ embarrassingly high infant mortality rate compared to other industrialized countries–despite the fact that, in most cases, we spend much more on health care!    

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, “Only 31 % of the population making less than $35,000 a year has broadband, but 90% of Americans have mobile phones.” It is clear that this program is a great way to reach women who may not have easy access to health care or online information and may improve negative health trends that seriously threaten the lives of mothers and newborns.  To sign up for this free service, expectant and new moms just text “baby” (or “bebe”, in Spanish) to 511411.

She makes it look easy, but it's not.

After years of working with new moms and families, I find that childcare issues and logistical concerns are among the most prevalent topics creating anxiety and conflicted feelings as families contemplate the return to work after being home with their baby.

The majority of new parents are in the workforce. Some workplaces are parent-friendly and others are less so. “Mommy-tracking” is a term used to describe how workplaces treat mothers regarded as less dedicated or career-minded after starting a family. Is there a double standard? Do men receive the same attitudes after their babies arrive, or if they need to take time off to assist with family commitments?

Jamie Ladge, a professor in the College of Business Administration, who has done extensive research on pregnancy, parenting and re-entry back to work shares some tips for new moms returning  to the workforce.   Dr. Ladge is a nationally known researcher and expert on gender equality issues, pregnancy and parenting issues in the workplace and was a contributing author of the recently released groundbreaking study, The Shriver Report.

Dr. Ladge suggests:

1)  Figure out what you want  and don’t be afraid to ask for it from your employer. For example, most  women are afraid to request time off, reduced work hours or flexible work  arrangements but if you don’t ask, you won’t get it.  Employers would  rather try to retain women then having to train someone new so these  arrangements are often mutually beneficial
2)  Stay confident. Don’t let yourself  think you can’t balance work and family because of what the  media/books/friends and other outside sources say about it.  Ultimately,  every situation is unique and only you can determine whether you can or cannot balance your life and work demands.
3)  Use motherhood as a opportunity to evaluate your career and redefine your goals and aspirations to determine what is working and not  working in your current career.  It might be a good time to alter your  current role, move to a different position or even start your own  business.
4)  Try not to  let the opinions of others sway you…everyone has their own ideas about what a  good working mother means.  The most important meaning is the one you  hold for yourself.
5)  Join a new mother’s support group made up of other working mothers. Try to avoid groups with women who aren’t or haven’t gone back to  work.
6) Try to channel the  guilt of leaving your child in the hands of a caregiver other than yourself to something more productive – such as reminding yourself that it is quality of time spent with your child that counts and that you are a role  model for your son/daughter.

Isis is proud to assist Professor Jamie Ladge to recruit Boston-area families to complete a brief, online survey as part of a national study furthering the understanding of how parents manage work and non-work roles.

Please use the link below to complete Dr. Ladge’s survey, which takes less than 20 minutes to complete. We also request that you forward this link to your partner/spouse if applicable, as the study benefits from both partners’ point of view. Dr. Ladge knows your time is valuable. She is awarding ten $50 Isis Gift Cards to randomly-selected survey participants as a token of her appreciation.

Complete the Families in the Workplace Survey

Would you like to hear Dr. Ladge speak on Gender Equality and Parenting Issues in the Workplace? Join us this Sunday, 3/7 at 3 PM at Isis Needham for the Expert Speaker Series - space is limited and registration is required.

Hydrotherapy can promote relaxation and reduce pain during labor.

I remember my first labor all so well.  I arrived at the Cambridge Birth Center, moaning while in transition.  My midwife immediately filled the tub with warm water and encouraged me to get in.   Once I was immersed, my husband instinctively picked up the emesis basin, scooped up some of the tub water and began to pour it over my belly.  The gentle sensation of the water dripping over my skin immediately relieved the intensity of my contractions.  I felt so relaxed and told my husband to just keep doing what he was doing. 

I moved through transition within the hour and began to feel the urge to push.  I got out of the tub to push in the bed and had my baby 30 minutes later.  My daughter had her arm wrapped around her head, a complex presentation that typically would lead to a much longer labor and pushing stage.  I attribute my shorter and more relaxed labor to the home-like birth center environment, personal midwifery care, the use of HypnoBirthing and the benefits of hydrotherapy.

I found the labor tub so incredibly useful in my own labor and also in my experiences as a nurse-midwife.  Many of my patients chose to labor and/or birth in the tub with great success.  For these reasons, I am concerned that the Department of Public Health has recently banned the use of labor tubs unless the tub is accessible from 3 sides.   This decision was made for safety reasons which may be justified; however, most currently installed labor tubs are accessible from only one or two sides.  I worry that recently squeezed hospital and birth center budgets may not allow for the installment of new tubs and women will not have the same opportunity that I had to experience the pain-relieving effects of hydrotherapy.

The light touch of water on the skin causes a release of endorphins, hormones that promote relaxation and decrease pain sensation.  Water from a shower head can also create an endorphin release but I preferred the tub where I did not have to hold myself up while sitting on a stool or birthing ball.  Instead, I could completely give in to the total relaxation I experienced.

Hydrotherapy in labor tubs can be especially useful to those who are looking for a natural birth or trying to hold off an epidural as long as they can.  I hope that hospitals and birth centers are able to continue to provide this option under the new DPH requirements so women continue to have the choice to labor and birth in tubs.

Did you enjoy the benefits of hydrotherapy during your labor?

If you’ve been following the news, you probably saw reports on two hot-button topics that are of particular interest to new and expecting parents–Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and autism.  Whenever new studies are released on important topics, there is a great deal of media attention and we get lots of questions from concerned parents.  Parents are often overwhelmed with information, and we’d like to suggest that you take a look at these two articles from trusted sources.

SIDS and Seratonin levels.  Researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston have discovered a link between SIDS and a lower production of Serotonin in the brainstem.  These findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Feb. 3 issue.  Read a statement from Children’s Hospital Boston describing the findings.

MMR vaccines and autism.  The prestigious British journal Lancet has retracted a controversial 1998 study that suggested a link between MMR vaccines and autism.  This article in the New York Times describes the investigation that led to Lancet’s decision to retract the study and possible implications on both sides of the debate.

For more information on vaccine safety concerns, Isis recommends “Do Vaccines Cause That?!  A Guide for Evaluating Vaccine Safety Concerns” by Martin G. Myers, M.D. and Diego Pineda.  This book, available at all of our centers, gives straight science-based answers to questions about the safety of vaccines.