Glucose Tolerance Test & Iron levels

At my last appointment it was time to see if I'm at risk for gestational diabetes.  With my last two pregnancies, I've opted out of this awful-tasting, near torture test.  For those unfamiliar with it, it's a terrible tasting drink you drink then they measure your glucose levels in your blood a few hours later.  It doesn't sound that bad, but to me, it was.  

Anyhoo, it's not a terribly accurate test.  In fact, most pregnant women whose blood sugar levels measure high after this test do not, in fact, have gestational diabetes.  But gestational diabetes can be serious, and so it's good to get an idea of how your body is doing metabolizing sugar.

My midwife asked me if I wanted to take it two appointments ago, and I said NO!!! So instead, she does a finger prick test and measures my blood sugar with a glucometer (like a regular diabetic does many times a day).  She had asked me to eat 1.5 hours before I came, then not eat until after our appointment.  Easy peesy.  From the same finger prick, another drop of blood was squeezed out to measure my iron levels.  I was perfect on my glucose (meaning low- no high blood sugar here!) but my iron was low.  My midwife gave me some samples of Floradix, a liquid iron/herbal supplement that's easy on the tummy.  I really like it so far.

I wasn't terribly surprised about my low-ish iron levels.  It's something I've struggled with before, pregnant and not.  We don't eat a lot of meat in our house, and I take a prenatal without iron.  Iron supplements make me feel sick for an entire day after I take them.  Floradix hasn't, though.  I do eat many iron-rich foods, such as legumes, black beans, spinach, etc.  But since I'm in my third trimester, we will be eating more meat in our house.  Iron is just too important in the third trimester to my baby, and my iron levels will be crucial to me after delivery. (I talk about why in this post). So I want to do all I can to try to up my iron levels.  If that means changing my eating habits for a few months, so be it.  I also make this iron tonic syrup from a recipe in my favorite pregnancy book.  It's awesome and gentle on tummies! 

I don't mean we're going to be raving carnivores.  But we meat about once a week or less, and red meat hardly ever, so we'll probably be eating meat 3-4 times a week now, with red meat being one of those.  My hubby was pretty excited when I told him we'd be eating more meat for a few months, as were my steak-loving daughters.

But you don't have to eat meat to get enough iron.  Studies repeatedly show that vegetarians and non-vegetarians have similar iron levels.  But iron is also complicated.  Non-heme iron, from legumes and other non-animal sources is absorbed MUCH less efficiently than heme iron, which is found in animal flesh.  An interesting twist to this is that if your body's iron stores are low, your body will increase it's absorption of non-heme iron (or if your stores are high, it will absorb less non-heme iron), whereas for heme iron, the absorption rate stays the same independent of your body's iron stores. Pretty cool, huh?

There are also a few tricks you can use to increase your absorption of iron.  Vitamin C and carotenoids (think orange and red fruits and veggies and egg yolks) increase the absorption of iron.  In meat, there is an unidentified factor that increases absorption.  Conversely, calcium inhibits iron absorption.  So when I drink my Calcium/Magnesium drink (which I do for nighttime leg cramps and restless leg syndrome) I do it at night, whereas I take my Floradix in the morning.  If I took them at the same time, I'd be lessening the effectiveness of each.   

Iron stores take time to build up in ones' body, so that is another reason why I'm going to increase my consumption of meat.  It seems to be a bit more effective in a shorter time frame.  If I had been smarter, I would have been paying better attention to my iron levels throughout my pregnancy and then could've gotten away with sticking to primarily veggie and legume sources of iron.  My stores would still have built up, but it might have taken longer- which would have been fine if I had been on it. 

So if you're a strict vegetarian, don't despair and think you have to eat meat to up your iron.  You definitely don't.  But my iron has been low for awhile now, so I am willing to change my habits to see if I can change it for the better.  Don't be so stuck in a certain lifestyle that you're not willing to try something that will help you.  For example, if you're puking your guts out from morning sickness, try some chicken noodle soup and saltines.  You may be a strict vegan, but if that's what soothes your tummy, it's worth it.  Or maybe you don't eat anything that's not whole grain. Saltines are simple carbs with not much to offer nutritionally, but they just might get you through a few hours without throwing up.  So try them.  You can embrace your eating lifestyle again when you are feeling better. 

Do I vaccinate?

I'm not trying to start a fight here.  You may totally disagree with me, and that's okay.  I know many people (homebirthers and others) who do not vaccinate their children.  And they are my friends.  My children play with their children.  But I choose to vaccinate my children. I believe in it passionately.  I honestly think vaccines are one of the greatest modern blessing we have available to us, and I'd be remiss not to embrace it.  Imagine how many mothers in history would have scrambled at the chance to protect their children from the numerous diseases that are a distant memory to our modern world.  Diseases that snuffed out the lives of millions of children. For centuries.  And all we have to do is get our children a little shot. Presto, worries gone, child protected.  Seriously one of the greatest, most amazing wonderful things about living in these modern times. 

When my 5-year old stepped on an old, rusty nail last summer it was a huge relief to call my pediatrician and ask what should I do? She checked her shot record and told me not to worry, her tetanus was up to date.  Just clean it well and it should heal fine.  Instant stop to my freak-out, all because my child had her shots.  

But many people assume that, because I have my babies at home, I don't vaccinate them. True, they don't receive those first few shots at birth that a hospital-born baby would receive (which, by the way, you CAN opt out of, but nurses and doctors may treat you like scum for doing so).  But I'm nursing, so they have my antibodies available to them and are thus protected.  I nurse about 6 months before my supply runs out and I have to start formula. But my babies receive their first vaccine before that.  The first time I take them to the pediatrician is somewhere in the 3-5 month range, for a well-check and to get started on vaccines.  I only get them one shot at a time, which usually is more than one vaccine because so many of them are combined nowadays.  But just one poke in their fat little leg is good for me.

I've never had raised eyebrows or condescending tones from my pediatrician about having my babies at home or the fact that they are usually a bit behind the immunization schedule.  Or sometimes a lot behind. But hey, my kiddos are all up to date by the time they are kindergarteners and off to school, so who cares.  The only reason my kids ever go to the doctor is for shots- they just don't get sick very often.  And when they do, I turn to my herbs and oils and that works for everything from fevers to earaches for my kids.  So remembering to take my kids in for their vaccines is a major victory for me, since who thinks about the doctor when everyone is healthy? But somehow, despite how behind I may be in getting their well-checks, the schedule always seems to pan out and my pediatrician has never had a problem with it.

When I do take them in, I acknowledge to my doctor that my kids' shots are behind schedule, so, I ask, by looking at their immunization record, what shot should they get next?  And my pediatrician will say, "Oh, let's do such-and-such today, and such-and-such next time."  I don't march into their office armed with "knowledge" I read online about this or that vaccine.  Recognize that your pediatrician is a smart person and knows what they are doing (or change pediatricians!).  Showing them that respect will ensure that you don't receive those dreaded condescending tones or raised eyebrows.  

And autism is present in my family. My brother has it.  A nephew has it.  But the science just doesn't support activist's claims about vaccines and autism.  Many people have many different reasons for not vaccinating their kids, but the alleged link with autism should NOT be one of them- because study after study has said there is no link. 

Last Sunday I was listening to an elderly lady at my church giving a talk.  She spoke of having polio when she was 12. She talked about how their town lost many, many people to polio during that particular outbreak.  And I couldn't help thinking, Wow. All I have to do is get my kids a shot.  A simple, easy, fast, shot.  And I've never had to give polio or whooping cough or anything else a second thought.  What a blessing. How could I not embrace it?  

...and a few thoughts about other "pokes" your baby gets at birth: 

 {Vitamin K Tangent}  The Vitamin K shot (which is not a vaccine) is given to your baby in the case they will need surgery.  It enables their blood to clot, preventing them from bleeding to death on the operating table.  On the 8th day of life, your baby begins to make their own Vitamin K, and no longer needs a shot after that day.  So for the vast majority of babies, it's an entirely unnecessary shot.  In the case that your baby does need a life-saving surgery in that first week and didn't get the shot, no problemo- they still have effective medicines they will give your baby to enable their blood to clot. So....really, I don't see the point of a Vitamin K shot as a standard procedure for every healthy baby.  So, even though my midwife can give this shot to my baby at home, I opt out of it. I simply don't see the need for it.

{PKU Tangent} Also not a vaccine, but is one of the things your baby will get directly after being born. It's a quick prick-of-the-heel for your baby, and absolutely CRUCIAL. My babies get it.  Every baby NEEDS it.  If your baby has this rare metabolic disorder, you need to know ASAP! Just want to make sure people know we homebirthers aren't THAT crazy- the PKU test is an essential, folks. Wherever you choose to have your baby. 

A quick note on birth certificates & SS cards

A few days ago a friend sent me a link from California Families for Access to Midwives, asking if I've ever had trouble getting my baby's social security card or birth certificate after a homebirth.  I scrolled through other readers' responses, and it seems as though many people have.  I never have.  I also don't live in California, and the state you live in will dictate much of the experience you will have in obtaining these crucial documents for your baby.

Getting my babies' birth certificates was super easy- my midwife submitted the paperwork and later I requested a copy of the certificate from the county recorder's office.  In fact, I thought it was better than the hospital way of doing it, where you *HAVE* to have your baby's name written in stone before you leave the hospital so they can process the birth certificate paperwork.  It's nice to have a few days to get to know your new baby, straight from Heaven, and play with the names that have been your favorites and see which one is hers or his.  My baby's social security cards came in the mail- so problemo.  Easy peasy, didn't have to do a thing.  But I live in Nevada, a pretty awesome state when it comes to things like taxes and red tape. (And not so awesome when it comes to things like education and health care- hence, homebirthing here is pretty common in some parts of the state.)

Do some research, talk to your midwife.  She will be intimately acquainted with the paperwork process after you birth your baby and be able to tell you what to expect.  Each state has different laws governing midwives who deliver at home, and you should know what your state requires.  California, for example, prohibits midwives from delivering breech babies.  (Super lame, right?) But that's the law.  Other states require midwives to operate under an OB/GYN.  If, for whatever reason, they don't have a doctor undersigning their practice, they are technically practicing illegally.  (California recently did away with this law for MOST midwives, but not all.)  Regardless of my (or yours, or the midwives') opinions about these laws, you should know them and find a midwife who abides by them.  Afterall, having a baby shouldn't be a legal issue!

Even if you live in a state where it will be more difficult than my experience, don't get too hung up on it.  Your baby WILL get a birth certificate and social security card.  I promise. They are a living, breathing person, and whether you have to wait longer, get paperwork from your pediatrician rather than your midwife, or make a few extra phone calls, they absolutely will get these essential documents.  Your baby is not the first, nor the last, baby in your state to be born at home.  So keep it in perspective and don't stress! Save your stress for parenting, not pregnancy!

Here's a great link to get you started researching midwifery in your state: 

 http://cfmidwifery.org/states/

Friends...with Placenta Benefits

After my first home birth, I bought a DIY kit from Placenta Benefits to process my placenta into capsules to take postpartum.  Awhile after that, I "friended" the Placenta Benefits page on Facebook.  My sister sent me an inquisitive message, "Carrie is now Friends with Placenta Benefits." Yeah, that DOES sound strange.  But the best kind of friends are those with whom you have placenta benefits!  I didn't process my own placenta after that birth.  A good friend of mine- a friend with placenta benefits, if you will- offered to do it for me. "Buy the kit (which was like $60ish), and I'll do it for you," she said.  That way, I didn't have to  pay the $275 to have someone come and do it for me.  And I knew it was completely unrealistic to expect that in Day 1 postpartum I'd be up, in the kitchen, with a few hours on my hands to properly process my placenta. 

So she did it all- took my placenta home, steamed it, sliced it, dehydrated it, ground it, and encapsulated it for me.  I was super grateful, and I loved taking my placenta pills.  

You get A LOT of pills from one placenta.  So many that you'll have some left over well after the postpartum period when you take them.  When it came time to have my next baby at home, I had plenty of placenta pills leftover from my previous delivery.  So I had my midwife put the placenta in my freezer and figured I'd get to it in a few months.  

Why bother to process it at all if I had plenty of pills, you ask?  I have this thing with wasting.  I hate, hate, hate, to see something useful going to waste.  My food scraps go my chickens.  I sweep out the ashes in my fireplace and add them to my compost pile.  Useful food cartons go in our "junk" box to be used later in kid crafts.  And lots of recycling goes on.  So to just throw away something like my placenta- something that my body made and that provided life to my baby- is just unthinkable to me!  

Waste not, want not. We take it pretty seriously around here. 

Anyway, so my baby was about 6 months old or so and I thought, "I'm going to get to that placenta."  So I took it out of the freezer and let it thaw in a bowl in the fridge for a few days.  Then I went to get it out and process it.  I took it out the fridge and uncovered it.  It was a bowl full of blood with the placenta in the middle of it.  I couldn't believe how bright and red the blood was.  And I knew I couldn't do it.  I just couldn't.  I'm not a squeamish person, I'm not a wimp, and I always thought I could do absolutely anything.  But I could not do this.  And I knew it the second I looked at the bowl full of blood.  

But there was no way I was just going to bag it up and toss it in the trash, either.  So I took it out in my backyard and buried it next to a dwarf pomegranate tree.  My "waste not, want not" obsession was satisfied- that little tree would be nourished for years in a way no fertilizer ever could- and I still had plenty of pills, so I was good. 

How on earth did my friend do it, I wondered later? She not only processed a placenta, but it wasn't even her own! And she had told me afterwards how she had really enjoyed doing it.  Wow.  I'm still in awe of my placenta benefits-friend!

I'll refer you to Placenta Benefits' website to fish through their great info.  Frankly, there's NOT a lot of hard core, scientific research about the validity of this practice.  It just hasn't been studied in a comprehensive, scientific way yet.  Hopefully that will change in the future as this becomes more popular.  There are plenty of anecdotal experiences, however, and many, many women have reported fewer baby blues, less anxiety, increased lactation, and better moods while using the pills.  Honestly, it COULD be a placebo effect.  Or not.  I don't know.  Science doesn't know (yet).  But even if it was just a placebo effect, I think it's worth doing.  New moms need all the help we can get- and if that comes in the form of a placenta pill, so be it.  

At the VERY least, you'd be giving yourself a much-needed boost of an amazingly bioavailable form of iron.  And, after your last trimester and then the delivery, and postpartum bleeding, putting some iron back into your system would do any new mom a lot of good.  (Just FYI, iron is the only nutrient for which your baby truly acts as a 'parasite'- it takes what it needs and you get the leftovers.  This happens primarily in your final trimester. For all other nutrients, your body makes YOU the priority, and baby gets what's leftover.  Breastmilk has hardly any iron in it at all, so your baby's body stores the iron it took from you in your 3rd trimester, and it lasts about 4-6 months- at which time you'll start introducing other foods (that have iron in them) into her or his diet. Pretty amazing, isn't it? The beautiful orchestration of it all- it's perfect!)  So odds are pretty good that you'll be iron deficient in those first few postpartum weeks.  And eating an iron-rich organ that your body made would be a smart move for any new mom. 

So what am I doing this time around? My amazing friend...(with placenta benefits) and I live in different states now and I have NO pills.  So actually I will be forking out the $275 or whatever it is to have it done for me.  My midwife's assistant will take my placenta home and deliver it to the 'placenta lady'.  She'll process it and deliver it back to me encapsulated and ready to go.  

And just for another look at human maternal placentophagy (the technical term. Log that away in your brain for a future trivia game), read TIME's Joel Stein's humorous experience with it. 

And here's a few more interesting websites about it (but not as funny as Joel Stein's commentary):

LoveLiveGrow

MSN- lifestyle

a scientific look at cultural practices

Las Vegas Sun Article

Bon Appetit!!!!