What every parent should know about baby sleep

Erica Neser [22 June 2009] -

Compiled by Erica Neser, author of Sleep Guide for Babies and Toddlers

POINTS TO PONDER
Do you regard yourself as “spoilt” if you...

• Sleep in the same bed as your partner?
• Have a few sips of water during the night?
• Wake up if the covers fall off the bed and you become cold?
• Need three meals, two snacks, a cup of tea, three glasses of water and one glass of juice per day? (that’s 10 “feeds!”)
• Need lots of love, affection, hugs and closeness from your loved ones?

No? Then why do people think babies are spoilt for needing the same things...?

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Stating the case for the pelvis

Petro Pretorius [18 August 2009] -

I was forwarded an article which was written by a midwife based in Canada; where she outlines that we are all here based on our mothers ability to give natural birth – unless you were born in the last 30 years the chances of you being born via caesarian section is limited.

Now if we follow the idea of natural selection and the current state of affairs where we are seeing very few vaginal births would this impact on the future of our children to have the ability to give vaginal birth?

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Breastfeeding and Illness

Jack Newman [06 February 2010] - Over the years, far too many women have been wrongly told they had to stop breastfeeding. The decision about continuing breastfeeding when the mother takes a drug, for example, is far more involved than whether the baby will get any in the milk. It also involves taking into consideration the risks of not breastfeeding, for the mother, the baby and the family, as well as society. And there are plenty of risks in not breastfeeding, so the question essentially boils down to: Does the addition of a small amount of medication to the mother’s milk make breastfeeding more hazardous than formula feeding? The answer is almost never. Breastfeeding with a little drug in the milk is almost always safer. In other words, being careful means continuing breastfeeding, not stopping. The same consideration needs to be taken into account when the mother or the baby is sick. Read more »