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.

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

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.

Natural Pregnancy and Parenting: Our Innate Desire to Create Healthy and Happy Babies is a free 49-page e-book packed with information from a large variety of sources, all of which support a natural lifestyle.

The focus of the book is on proper nutrition, with sections covering nutrition from pre-pregnancy though lactation, nutrient deficiency, specialty foods, food to avoid, food synergy combinations and much more. Other topics discussed include morning sickness, miscarriage, child raising birth to 1 year, breast feeding, premature babies, schooling, disease and the role of fathers.

If you’re interested in having and raising your children in a natural way, you’ll want to read Natural Pregnancy and Parenting. You can read it on the web site or download the PDF version. Since links to the sources are included, you can use this book as the start of your own research into finding the lifestyle best for you and your family.

One of the books I’m currently reading is the Star Wars novel, Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno.

The story takes place shortly before Episode III, and this book has been billed as the first of a trilogy, followed by the Revenge of the Sith novelization and Dark Lord (which takes during and shortly after Episode III.)

Labyrinth is an entertaining and compelling book, giving insights into characters we know and events yet to come. However, as I read, I’m filled with a sense of sadness, for even as I watch Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi search for the mysterious Sith lord, I know they won’t find him in time. I know what will ultimately happen….

This doesn’t stop the book from being entertaining along the way. There’s one brief exchange when Anakin and Obi-Wan are in a bar in pursuit of a pilot who is the next link in the chain leading to Darth Sideous. They start talking about Zam Wessel, the shapeshifter from Episode II, and Obi-Wan tells Anakin he knew she would follow him. Anakin: “Implying that shapeshifters have a special fondness for me?” Obi Wan: “The way you were strutting around, what female could help herself?”

And I particularly enjoy the scene where Obi-Wan and another character disable a tractor beam. Obi-Wan makes a flicking motion with his fingers; this creates a noise which distracts the guards — sound familiar? Obi-Wan watches carefully as the other character disables the tractor beam. He obviously commits the procedure to memory, which serves him in good stread many years later on the Death Star. I chuckled when, a bit later, Anakin mentions disabling the beam and Obi-Wan says, “Not a skill I expect to draw on again.”

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is how it tells us something of the background of General Grievous. We learn who he was before he became a tool of the Sith, why he hates the Jedi and what really caused the accident that resulted in his half-mechanical existence. All-in all, it makes me much more sympathetic to him, although I still enjoy his demise at the hands of Obi-Wan in Episode III.

If you’re a breastfeeding mother, the food you eat can have a direct effect on your baby’s disposition. The Calm Baby Cookbook, by Dr. Melanie Beingessner, will help you avoid the foods that cause your baby to fuss or cry.

The book includes 85 recipes, instructions on how to convert your favorite recipes into breastfeeding-friendly ones, information on the foods that are mostly likely to cause your baby discomfort and more.

Learn more about The Calm Baby Cookbook and read a sample.

Read the articles about pregnancy and breastfeeding that she has on her site.

The loss of a much-anticipated and already-loved child is a dreadful thing, bringing pain that grinds the heart and bares the soul.

Forever Our Angels, by Hannah Stone, is a a collection of personal essays written by men and women who have suffered this loss and who were willing to share their pain and devastation in order to help others.

This book has been endorsed by several obstetricians, including Dr. Bernard Gonik, Dr. Christiane Northrup and Dr. Steven Klein.

If you want to learn about facts kept hidden from us by the medical industry, you’ll want to read Spontaneous Creation: 101 Reasons Not to Have Your Baby in a Hospital. This book is the result of seven years of work by Jock Doubleday. It’s available only by tax-deductible donation (no minimum) from the California 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.

You may read excerpts from the 350-page eBook on the Spontaneous Creation web site. The eBook is fully searchable, and you have permission to copy substantial chunks (chapters) to send to your friends and associates.

Here’s a except from the chapter “You Want to Eat During Labor”

If you give birth in a hospital, you will probably be allowed to eat nothing but Jell-O cubes during labor. These Jell-O cubes will be provided by nurses who believe that Jell-O is food.

Although the majority of hospital personnel consider Jell-O to be food (a nonpoisonous ingestible substance), other nonpoisonous ingestible substances that actually are food, such as avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, tahini, apples, oranges, pears, etc., will be denied you. Thus you will find yourself spinning down the vortex of the following Catch 22 oxymorons: nourishing nonfood (Jell-O), nonnourishing food (vegetables, fruit, etc.), and noncaregiving caregivers (nonfood-providing, nourishment-withholding, nonnursing nurses).

The justification for the oxymoronic behavior of giving solely Jell-O to a laboring woman is simple and straightforward in the hospital mind. It is the belief that, because Jell-O turns quickly into liquid, you won’t be likely to choke on it and die if you throw up.

Will you, by the same reasoning, be allowed to put your veggie sandwich in a blender and press “liquefy”? Sorry. Against hospital policy. What is hospital policy? A conglomeration of beliefs the majority of which have withstood the test of time but not science. (For an insightful treatise on the anti-scientific, anti-common sense nature of the Western hospital, see Robert Mendelsohn’s book, Confessions of a Medical Heretic, especially his chapter, “The Temples of Doom.”)

In short, although there is no reasoning behind it, Jell-O is your predictable fate in the hospital maternity ward.

Interested? Click here to read the rest of the chapter.

The next time you read a fantasy novel, consider how (and if) the author deals with the costs of doing magic.

Probably the most common way this is handled is to have magic use up the magic-worker’s physical and/or mental energy. After doing spells, the magician is tired and hungry. After doing long, hard and complex spells, she may sleep for days, have reaction head-aches and so on.

One of the more interesting variations of the idea of energy-use is found in the Frost Series (Demon Blade and Frost) by Mark A. Garland & Charles G. McGraw. In these books, all magicians are fat, because working magic literally melts the fat from your bones and the fatter you are when you start, the more magic you can do before you run out. Men are generally more powerful magicians than women simply because they have bigger frames to place the needed fat on.
(If you’d like to read either of these books, Demon Blade is out of print, but can be found in E-book form here in the Baen Free Library. Frost is available in paperback at Amazon.)

In Stranger at the Wedding by Barbara Hambly, using magic takes some energy and if you do a lot you get tired, but the real costs are social. Wizards are open to censure and prosecution (including burning!) unless they join the Wizard’s Council, but the Council has stringent rules of its own that wizards must follow.

Other possible costs that may or may not have actually been used in fantasy novels:

• The ingredients and paraphernalia of magic are so expensive that not many people can afford them.
• Spells are so complicated that it’s easy to make mistakes and have spells backfire (cost one), so it takes years and years of study to be proficient and not dangerous to yourself (cost two).