Here is a slide show I made of some of the most recent Midwifery Today covers.

And here is a list of back issues.

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the birth jewelry available from Midwifery Today.

Since red is my favorite color, one of my personal favorites is the Mother Christmas Necklace. It’s made of hand-torched lampworked glass and each piece is unique.

If you’d prefer another color, the Mother of Seasons Necklace is available in translucent blue, bright green and chocolate brown.

And here the Womb with a View Pendant, the Crowning Earrings and the Baby’s Joy Earrings:

When: October 21, 2008. 7:30 pm
Where: Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tea Room, 114 S. Main St. Ann Arbor, Michigan
For more information: 734-665-2757 or rachel@crazywisdom.net

Come to this book signing to meet Mickey Sperlich MA, CPM and Julia Seng PhD CNM, authors of Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering, and Healing after Sexual Abuse.

Survivor Moms is a must-have book for anyone works with pregnant women. It includes excerpts from the heart-breaking stories of 81 women who have suffered and survived childhood sexual abuse. It also includes information from a wide range of professional sources that will help you learn to recognize and help women who have this problem.

Survivor Moms was published by Motherbaby Press, a division of Midwifery Today.

Full disclosure: I’m the Marketing Director at Midwifery Today.

When: September 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Where: Shaman Drum Bookshop, 311-315 South State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. 734-662-7407

Mickey Sperlich MA, CPM and Julia Seng PhD CNM will signing copies of their new book, Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering, and Healing after Sexual Abuse.

If you work with pregnant woman, Survivor Moms should be in your library. The book features excerpts from the stories of 81 women who have suffered and survived childhood sexual abuse, along with information from a wide range of professional sources about how adult women are affected by childhood maltreatment and sexual trauma. Included is an overview of diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with illustrations of psychiatric terms with the women’s own words about PTSD.

Survivor Moms was published by Motherbaby Press, a division of Midwifery Today.

Full disclosure: I’m the Marketing Director at Midwifery Today.

When: October 17th, 2008
Where: Midwives Alliance of North America Conference, State Theatre, Traverse City, Michigan

Mickey Sperlich will be one of the authors featured at a book signing event at the 2008 Midwives Alliance of North America Conference. Mickey and Julia Seng are authors of Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering, and Healing after Sexual Abuse. This book was written to help break down the isolation pregnant women and their caregivers often feel–as though they were the only ones having to cope with these challenges. It includes excerpts from 81 women’s stories as well as information from a wide range of professional sources.

Survivor Moms is published by Motherbaby Press, a division of Midwifery Today.

Here is information about the MANA conference.

Full disclosure: I’m the Marketing Director at Midwifery Today.

When: October 7, 2008, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Where: 2239 Lane Hall, 204 S. State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1290

Do you work with pregnant women? Do you know a woman who has been sexually abused? Then you need to attend this event to hear Mickey Sperlich and Julia Seng read from their recently published book, Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering, and Healing after Sexual Abuse.

Survivor Moms features excerpts from the stories of 81 women who have suffered and survived childhood sexual abuse, along with information from a wide range of professional sources about how adult women are affected by childhood maltreatment and sexual trauma. It was published by Motherbaby Press, a division of Midwifery Today.

This talk is part of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender’s Perspectives on Healing Series. and is co-sponsored by School of Social Work. For more information: (734)764-9537, or irwg@umich.edu

Full disclosure: I’m the Marketing Director at Midwifery Today.

Here are some recent recalls issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For details, including information on what you should do and picture of the recalled items, please use the links provided.

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards Cribs: Recalled due to fall hazard. The cribs fail to meet the federal safety standards. The distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches, posing a fall hazard to children who climb over the railing.
Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards Cribs Recall Information

Baby Appleseed Cribs: Recalled due to fall hazard. The cribs fail to meet the federal safety standards for cribs. The cribs have a two mattress support system. The secondary mattress support, used for the lowest position, does not meet the full 26 inch minimum height in its lowest position, allowing children inside to crawl over the railing, posing a fall hazard.
Baby Appleseed Cribs Recall Information

Wooden Toys by Earthentree: Recalled due to choking and strangulation hazards. The recalled toys contain small parts or can break into small parts, posing a choking hazard. The recalled rattles violate the federal rattle standard. Some of the toys also have a string longer than 12 inches, which can pose a strangulation hazard to young children.
Earthentree Wooden Toys Recall Information

Kids II Infant Rattles: Recalled due to choking hazard. The tip of the rattle’s antenna, which is attached to a bee figure, can detach and pose a choking hazard to small children.
Kids II Infant Rattle Recall Information

When: August 14th, 2008
Where: Center for the Childbearing Year, 722 Brooks St, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Presenters: Mickey Sperlich MA, CPM and Julia Seng PhD CNM

Attend this workshop for an overview of post traumatic stress, trauma and the evidence-based studies of the effects of sexual abuse on childbearing. You’ll learn about confidentiality and the importance of boundaries. You’ll also learn how maternity and mental health professionals can collaborate to facilitate healing and post-traumatic growth.

Onsite sales of the presenters new book, Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering, and Healing after Sexual Abuse will benefit the Doulas Care Program.

This workshop is part of a quarterly educational series “With Women.” It is approved for 1.5 nursing and doula CEUs. Fee $10; 1.5 Nursing and Doula CEUs approved; add $20 to fee for CEU processing; free to Doulas Care Volunteers. To register, call 734-332-8070 or doulascare@center4cby.com.

Survivor Moms is published by Motherbaby Press a division of Midwifery Today

Trauma from sexual abuse can have a profound effect on a woman during her childbearing years, disrupting pregnancy and influencing her ability to mother. Yet this connection is often ignored by the people in the best posttion to help: the woman’s midwife, doctor, doula, or counselor.

As part of an effort to get workers in various professions talking together about this common problem and working toward solutions, Midwifery Today is putting on a conference: “Hope and Healing—Collaborating to Bring Midwifery and Mental Health Care to Women Who Are Survivors of Sexual Abuse.” It will take place May 7-10, 2008 in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, and is open to anyone who cares about this topic, including abuse survivors and their supporters.

The conference will also offer a variety of courses on midwifery, such as Beginning Midwifery, Herb Workshop, Shoulder Dystocia and Prolonged Labor. For more information, please visit the Hope and Healing web page.

Full disclosure and personal note: I’m the Marketing Director at Midwifery Today and part of my reason for posting this is obviously to promote this conference. My other reason, far more important, is that I believe this is an important issue and that this conference is a good step in the right direction.

Did you know that sparkers burn at a temperature of about 2000 degrees? This is hot enough to melt some metals, and could severely burn your child. I wasn’t aware of this until I read this article about firework safety on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) site, and I shudder to think of the many times I’ve watched children happily waving sparklers in the air. Serious burns were just a spark away.

Please practice these fireworks safety tips:

• Make sure consumer fireworks are legal where you live. Be aware that M-80s, cherry bombs and quarter sticks are so highly explosive that they have been banned by Federal law since 1966.
• Read and follow all warnings and instructions.
• A responsible adult should closely supervise all fireworks activities. Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Be sure other people are out of range before lighting fireworks.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Only light fireworks on a smooth, flat surface away from the house, dry leaves, and flammable materials.
• Light one item at a time, then move back quickly.
• Never try to re-light fireworks that have not fully functioned.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them in metal or glass containers.
• Keep a bucket of water or a hose handy in case of a malfunction or fire.

CPSC also has a fireworks safety page especially for children.

Cesarean section is major abdominal surgery. Like any major surgery, it can have major complications including hemorrhage, blood clots and serious infections of the uterus, kidneys, lungs, or other areas.

Despite this, about 3 women in 10 now give birth by having their bodies sliced into, rather than using the outlet that nature provided. Sometimes C-sections are necessary and life-saving, but often they’re done for reasons that have nothing to do with the health of mother or baby, such as scheduling the baby’s birth date at a time convenient for the mother or caregiver.

Childbirth Connection has an excellent area devoted to questions about cesarean section. Be sure to read the information about the safety and effectiveness of different birth choices. Among other things, you’ll learn about the physical and psychological effects of cesareans on mothers around the time of birth, the ongoing effects of cesareans on mothers, the effects of cesareans on babies and the effects of vaginal birth on mothers and babies.

For other resources, check out my Squidoo Lens: Just Say No to Cesarean Section.

Summer is fast approaching (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), so I thought it would be helpful to share a few warm weather safety tips based on information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Be sure to wear a helmet and other safety gear when biking, skating and skateboarding, and when riding scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and horses. Studies on bicycle helmets have shown they can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent. However, these helmets should not be worn while on the playground, climbing trees and similar types of play. The strap can become caught on play equipment or branches, possible choking your child.

If you have a charcoal grill, never use it indoors. Burning charcoal produces deadly carbon monoxide.

Make sure your home playground is safe. Falls cause 60 percent of playground injuries, so having a safe surface is critical. Concrete, asphalt or packed dirt surfaces are too hard. Surfaces around and under playground equipment should be covered with at least 12 inches of loose-fill surfacing materials such as wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or be made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.

Don’t allow a game of hide-n-seek to end in tragedy. CPSC has received reports of children who suffocated when they crawled inside old cedar chests, latch-type freezers and refrigerators, iceboxes in campers, clothes dryers and picnic coolers. Be sure to childproof old appliances and warn children not to play inside them.

Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of open windows. Guards should be installed in any room where young children spend time. You could also install window stops that permit windows to open no more than 4 inches. Whenever possible, open windows from the top—not the bottom. And keep furniture away from windows to discourage children from climbing near windows.

For more summer safety tips visit the CPSC site.

One of the nicest ways to spend a cold, rainy or otherwise miserable day is to curl up with a good book. And sitting outside reading in the shade is a nice way to spend a warm, sunny day! Encourage the love of reading and of books in your children and grandchildren.

Start reading to your children when they’re tiny babies. They may not understand all the words, but they’ll enjoy being cuddled next to you, hearing your voice, and looking at colorful pictures. (And you’ll be surprised how much they do understand.) While there are plenty of board books designed with the very young child in mind, anything with nice pictures will do. (When granddaughter Olivia was a baby, we looked at a lot of craft catalogs.) You don’t have to actually read the words on the page, you can talk about the pictures and name things, colors and shapes. Before long, you’ll be able to ask your baby “Can you find the kitty?” and she’ll find it!

Children who know how to read themselves still like you to read to them. Pick a good children’s story or series, and read a few chapters every night. I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia to my daughter when she was in grade school, and she’s read them all to herself at least twice since then.

Have regular family reading nights, a time when family members can read aloud and share their thoughts about their favorite books. Exactly how you structure this would depend on the reading skills of your children, but be sure even the youngest readers have out-loud reading time.

When you read out loud, make the words sparkle! Don’t drone everything in a boring monotone, but use expressive tones of voice and different voices if you can (I love doing wicked witch voices!). Also use gestures, body motions, and easy sound effects. Kids books are fun to read out loud, so have fun doing it!!

Many children’s movies are based on classic children’s books. If your child likes the Mary Poppins movie, she might enjoy the 8 Mary Poppins books by P.L. Travers, all packed with wonderful magical adventures. Do you have a The Wizard of Oz movie fan in the house? There are 14 Oz books by L. Frank Baum, plus many more by other authors, including several wonderful original graphic novels by Eric Shanower. (I highly recommend his The Enchanted Apples of Oz and The Ice King of Oz.) Many other movies are also based on children’s books, such as Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland. (The Disney movie actually combines both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.)

What interests your child? Medieval warfare? Barbie dolls? Rock collecting? Jungle animals? Whatever his or her interests, there are sure to be books, magazines, and/or web sites with information to read and lots to learn.

If you’re a baby sling enthusiast, consider attending the Babywearing Conference, August 3-6 at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. The aim of this event is to bring together parents, manufacturers, educators and retailers — anyone involved in any way with baby slings.

There will be classes and events for both new and experienced babywearers, as well as exhibits, networking opportunities and the fun of getting together with people who are excited about the same things that excite you.

Look here for information about the Babywearing Conference, including rates and accommodations.

If you live in or near New York city, plan to attend the 3rd Annual “Celebrate Birth Picnic” June 18th from 12 pm - 4 pm in Central Park. The picnic will be held in the East Meadow at 97th Street and 5th Avenue (just to the right of the East 97th St. entrance) and there is a $10 suggested donation per person.

The afternoon will be full of games, music, activities, and birthday cake. Friends of the Birth Center and the former staff of Elizabeth Seton will provide the cake and entertainment for the kids. Ongoing demonstrations and activities including homeopathy, massage, chiropractic, yoga, capoeira, cooking, nutrition, crafts, music, and more

Visit www.friendsofthebirthcenter.org for more information.

(This sounds like fun! Too bad I’m on the other side of the country.)