Why Wait to Cut the Cord? | Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping

This article is great (snippet of content below) but the VIDEO embedded is amazing!
BENEFITS of Delayed Cord Clamping

• baby receives up to 20-50% more blood (54-160ml) than if clamped prematurely 
• boosts iron levels and prevents anemia up to the first year of life
• baby receives all their stem cells
• better oxygen levels, decreasing need for supplemental oxygen
• no need to worry if baby isn't "breathing" immediately because the placenta/cord is supplying oxygen to the baby
• reduces incidence of bleeding in the brain (intraventricular hemorrhage) and the need for blood transfusion
• decrease risk of Birth Injuries, specifically those associated with the brain/IQ
• decreases risk of maternal postpartum hemorrhage and retained placenta  Read more...

The Sleep Hormone 

"Everyone warns new mothers about the sleep deprivation, yet it still comes as a shocker because you simply can’t fathom what it means to get up every couple of hours with a newborn night after night. Luckily, breastfeeding provides a secret weapon for sleepy mothers: the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK)." See more...

The Ties that Bind
How Belief Creates Birth Realities

"Women always have a choice. The question is not whether they have a choice, but are they willing to make a choice. Changing a belief system, especially one that's held collectively, like ideas about birth in the U.S., is a subject too complex for one article. I spend a great deal of time discussing how to identify our faulty assumptions so that we may make better birthing decisions in my book, Mother's Intention: How Belief Shapes Birth (To be re-released digitally by year's end, 2011).

Even if a woman doesn't instantly revise her beliefs about birth, the only factors that should have any importance are these: whether her choices arebased on fact, if they are in her best interest and if they affect her experience positively or negatively. She need not concern herself with what is good for the hospital or doctor. Her only responsibility is to look out for the child, and by extension, herself." See more...

HypnoBirthing: You're Becoming Very Drowsy 
RelaxedMind-over-matter to help reduce the fear and pain of childbirth

"When people think of hypnosis many may imagine a swinging pocket watch--but HypnoBirthing is nothing like that." See more...

Pitocin induced labor doubles the risk of ADHD

"In April 2011 Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Colorado State University published a study showing a strong relationship between pitocin induction and the incidence of ADHD. Labor induction has been linked in previous studies to increased risk of c-section, instrumental delivery, shoulder dystocia, NICU admission, and respiratory problems in the baby, among other complications. Elective induction of labor should be brought into question as research continues to increase indicating significant health risks without adequate benefit." Read more...