My kids seem to be getting pickier and pickier. At the same time, my motivation to be in the kitchen has been lacking for a while, but I realize we've all got to eat. So, as (capital) MOM, I've got to make it happen. I went grocery shopping yesterday, and now my fridge and cupboards are stocked with everything we'll need for the next week (as an aside, I hope to get my eggs and beef locally, so I'm not yet FULLY stocked). Anyways, I've been racking my brain trying to think of meals I can make that these kids will eat, and they all came with me to the store last night to offer their input. I have the extra challenge in my house of feeding two vegetarian kids, one of them vegan, and the baby a breastfed omnivore. And mom and dad have to eat too. So here's what I've got in mind for dinners this week:
1. Bean burritos! (my favorite) - I soak the pinto beans overnight, and then boil them until they are soft, usually about four hours (don't let them run out of water, or they will burn). I have flour tortillas, avocados for guacamole, salsa, lettuce and bell peppers. To make guacamole, mash up the avocado, add lemon juice, salt, pepper, chili powder, and a little water to thin it out.
The best, and spiciest, guacamole I've had was really thin, not thick like we gringos usually eat it. It was in this little dive of a restaurant in a small town in southern California with the cheapest and best Mexican food I've ever had. As a matter of fact, I wish I could go there for lunch today. Wouldn't that be awesome?
2. Red lentils and brown rice - Here's an easy meal that is eaten often in India. They believe it helps settle an upset stomach, and it does! If you want to get fancy, you can saute onion, garlic and/or ginger for a few minutes, until translucent. Watch out! Garlic burns really easily. When you're done sauteing, put about 1 tsp of curry powder in with it. Use more or less depending on your family's tolerance. Frying the curry spice brings out it's aroma and taste, but don't burn it! Quickly add the rice and lentils, stir it up. If it's batsmati rice especially, cook it for a few minutes without water till you smell that popcorny smell, then pour in the water, 2 cups water for every 1 cup of rice/lentils, or more if you want it more soupy. You can make it a one pot meal by throwing in a peeled, chopped yam or some carrots. Cook it for 40 minutes to an hour, till it's soft. If you want to make it really tasty, squeeze the juice from an orange into it, especially if you've used fresh ginger. Yum!
3. Homemade (veggie) sushi - My kids have been complaining about brown rice lately (sigh), so I picked up some sticky rice and sushi nori. Sushi nori is flat sheets of dried seaweed, found in the ethnic food isle, and sticky rice can be found with the rest of the rices. I admit, I've never been brave enough to deal with raw fish, so here's how I make sushi. You'll need a bamboo rolling mat (I use a bamboo placemat I found at the dollar store). Make the rice according to instructions. Mix rice vinegar, water, sugar and salt to taste. You'll want about a half cup of this. Try about half and half for the liquids, a tbs sugar and a tsp salt. Transfer the rice to a non-metal mixing bowl and use a non-metal spoon to mix about half the liquid in (metal reacts with the vinegar and gives the rice a funny taste). Allow the rice to cool.
Put a piece of sushi nori on the rolling mat, and put a row of sticky rice across the bottom. Now you can add thin slices of cucumber, red pepper, grated carrots or avocado in a thin row on top of the rice. Roll from the bottom up, and seal the top of the seaweed to the roll by dampening it with the rest of your water/vinegar mixture. You can make big rolls, with lots of veggies in it, or small rolls with just one veggie. When your rolls are done, you can slice them with a sharp knife to make bite sized bits of yumminess. Dip 'em in soy sauce, eat 'em with chop sticks. Kids love chop sticks, even if they have no idea how to use them.
4. Black bean and corn salad - Here's a bit of tex-mex, southwestern style. It's super fast and easy. Drain and rinse a can of black beans, and put it in a mixing bowl. Add corn, from a can or from frozen (put frozen corn in boiling water for a minute or two, drain and let cool). Chop a red pepper and toss it in. You can use other salad veggies, too, like radishes, cucumbers, red or green onions or tomatoes. Fresh cilantro goes really well in this. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chili powder, lemon juice and olive oil and toss to coat. Slice an avocado and put it on top. Serve by itself, with rice, or in tortillas with lettuce or sprouts.
5. Mashed potatoes, chard and salmon - I'm sure everybody knows how to make mashed potatoes. I'm no expert on cooking salmon, but it's pretty straightforward. I like to buy the wild pacific salmon fillets. They come frozen in packs of 4 for $6-7. I found a really nice bunch of chard this week. It's a leafy green that's super high in vitamin and mineral content. Also, it's a winter crop in many places (including BC). I chop it up and saute it in lots of butter with fresh garlic and salt.
6. Spaghetti - Pasta is usually a big hit with my kids (except last week, when my six year old was complaining that there were bits of tomato in her tomato sauce! Sigh). It may not be the most nourishing meal ever, but it's quick and easy and they eat it, and sometimes that's what you need. We usually do spaghetti once a week. I try to add a veggie, like frozen spinach or steamed broccoli. I'll add ground beef in for those in my family who will eat it, and leave some without for the vegetarians.
7. Refried beans and rice leftovers - When I make the pinto beans, I'll make a fairly big pot, and have some leftover for later on in the week. Beans keep well in the fridge for about a week, and can also be frozen. Refried beans are just what they imply, beans that have been cooked a second time. Usually, we fry them in butter or olive oil. A traditional Mexican way of making them is to first fry chopped bacon and onion. Chop the bacon (food processors are handy for that), and cook till it's slightly cooked. Add finely chopped onion. Once the onion has turned translucent, add the beans, a ladle full at a time. Allow the beans to get good and boiling, and come back to that point before you add more. You can break the beans up as you go, using a potato masher, stirring them up from the bottom at the same time so they don't burn. You can keep a kettle of boiling water nearby, adding water as needed till the beans become the consistancy of a thick soup. You can do this for half an hour, or all afternoon if you want, as they might in Mexico. When beans are a little under done, they can be hard to digest, so cooking them a second time like this can make softer beans that are easier on the system. When the beans are done, let enough water evaporate to bring them to the consistancy you want, thicker for tortillas, thinner if you're pouring it over a bed of rice. Add a green salad and you're golden.
So, seven dinners for seven days, and I'm not even sure I could come up with anymore ideas. I've asked my kids for their ideas for wholesome, nourishing foods that they will eat. Feeding a family is not that easy. Add picky kids to the mix, and it makes me wonder if I'll get through the next 18 years with what's left of my sanity intact. How do people deal with it? Are your kids picky eaters? What are the dinners that go over well in your house?
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Is fasting REALLY dangerous?
I wonder why people say these things. I think it's because they are afraid. As The Chief ended her fast, I read an article, written by an Idle No More supporter, saying that fasting is extremely dangerous for humans. I've since read similar statements from the media camp and politicians. It seems the whole country believes fasting can kill you.
I wanted to clear up this disinformation. I have fasted before, and will do so again when I am no longer breastfeeding. It is spiritually enlightening. It quiets the mind. It forces you to transcend the body's nagging, to recognize that there is more to our beings than just flesh. Some of our greatest life lessons occur when we step out of our regular routine and change the habits we normally depend on.
Physically, far from being unhealthy or extremely dangerous, fasting is actually very good for your body. It can work as a cleanse, which gives us more energy and makes us feel more alive. Fasting can be done for any length of time, from one meal, one day, a week, up to 6 weeks.
There are many different types of fast. I've been on broth and juice fasts, raw food fasts, and water fasts. Sometimes people just fast meat or some other food they normally eat. Chief Theresa Spence chose a fast of fish broth and herbal tea. Fish broth is a traditional food in native culture for good reason. Traditionally made broths are the most nourishing liquid you can drink, and could probably keep a person alive for a long, long time.
Fasting is an integral part of many spiritual practices around the world, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and Buddhism. Both Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days. When I was a teenager, one of my pastors fasted for 40 days. I saw him regularly throughout his weeks of fasting. He may not have been his normal, energetic self, but he was certainly not close to death.
I will leave you with a few biblical verses about fasting that I thought were particularly applicable to Chief Theresa Spence and the elders who were fasting along with her.
Isaiah 56:6
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?"
Psalm 35:13
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
Please understand, I am not saying anyone needs to fast, or recommending that anyone do so. If it within your soul's journey to fast, then do so. If not, don't bother. Just be aware that people have been fasting since the beginning of recorded history and probably before. It isn't inherantly dangerous. It doesn't kill you.
I wanted to clear up this disinformation. I have fasted before, and will do so again when I am no longer breastfeeding. It is spiritually enlightening. It quiets the mind. It forces you to transcend the body's nagging, to recognize that there is more to our beings than just flesh. Some of our greatest life lessons occur when we step out of our regular routine and change the habits we normally depend on.
Physically, far from being unhealthy or extremely dangerous, fasting is actually very good for your body. It can work as a cleanse, which gives us more energy and makes us feel more alive. Fasting can be done for any length of time, from one meal, one day, a week, up to 6 weeks.
There are many different types of fast. I've been on broth and juice fasts, raw food fasts, and water fasts. Sometimes people just fast meat or some other food they normally eat. Chief Theresa Spence chose a fast of fish broth and herbal tea. Fish broth is a traditional food in native culture for good reason. Traditionally made broths are the most nourishing liquid you can drink, and could probably keep a person alive for a long, long time.
Fasting is an integral part of many spiritual practices around the world, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and Buddhism. Both Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days. When I was a teenager, one of my pastors fasted for 40 days. I saw him regularly throughout his weeks of fasting. He may not have been his normal, energetic self, but he was certainly not close to death.
I will leave you with a few biblical verses about fasting that I thought were particularly applicable to Chief Theresa Spence and the elders who were fasting along with her.
Isaiah 56:6
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?"
Psalm 35:13
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
Please understand, I am not saying anyone needs to fast, or recommending that anyone do so. If it within your soul's journey to fast, then do so. If not, don't bother. Just be aware that people have been fasting since the beginning of recorded history and probably before. It isn't inherantly dangerous. It doesn't kill you.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Food and Healing
I got sick shortly after Christmas. Probably bronchitis. We spent a couple days with a family, friends we have from out of town. She had been sick with bronchitis. Me, being the bold being that I am, told myself "I trust my body to fend off illness." Then was totally uncareful about germs, drinking from whatever water glass happened to be closest at the time.
It was miserable. The coughing, the aching in my lungs. Totally congested, trouble breathing. Fatigue, lethargy. I got to feeling pretty sorry for myself. Of course, when you're sick, and tired, and have so much to do, you don't feel like spending extra energy in the kitchen.
So we were eating the bare minimum, quick and easy meals, plenty of carbs, with sugar and chocolate boosting my moods.
Carbs and sugar act the same way in our bodies, filling our minds with dopamine, making us feel temporarily happy, but ultimately more sad and feeling the need to eat more sugar and carbs. Doesn't help that our days are still quite short, and I get a lot less sunlight in winter.
After two weeks of being miserably sick, I had enough. I knew I had to change some things and get better before I had a real breakdown. A full trip to the grocery store this week was a real treat, since funds have been tight lately, and I've really been too sick to shop much. Before I went, I made a meal plan for the week. I pulled out one of my old cookbooks and went through it, looking for recipes to change things up, get some healthy food into us, provide some kitchen inspiration.
I should probably mention that meal planning in my house is a little more complicated than most. The baby and both parents are omnivores, one kid is a vegetarian, the other is a vegan. Cooking vegan or vegetarian is actually easier for me than the alternative. I was a vegan for 8 years. At the time, I was fully satisfied with my vegan diet. I ate mostly whole foods, very little foods with preservatives or additives, and plenty of raw fruit and veggies.
Then a miscarriage turned my life upside down. In searching for answers, I came across the Weston Price Foundation and the book Nourishing Traditions. The ideas, though actually quite ancient, are revolutionary in today's modern world. They advocate whole foods, presoaking grains and legumes, raw milk, grass fed meat and free range eggs. They claim that most of what we've been told about cholesterol and saturated fat are a result of propaganda from agri-business, trying to convince us to exchange our traditional fats for processed vegetable fats. It turns out, our bodies need cholesterol and saturated fat, just as we need salt, another ancient food that has been stigmatized in modern times. Raw milk, and especially cream, from small farms where animals are grass fed and raised on pasture has many health benefits, but the milk we are sold in stores is corrupted, the enzymes we need to digest it have been killed in the heating process, as well as many of the nutrients. Homogenization, a process that divides the fat cells into smaller cells so that they stay suspended in the milk rather than floating to the top as natural cream does, creates milk that isn't easily digested by our bodies and can create scarring of the arteries and heart disease. Sugar, it turns out is one of the most toxic substances to our bodies, and causes all manner of illnesses. If you are interested in learning more about these ideas, I highly recommend the book Nourishing Traditions. It is a cookbook with half historical and nutritional information and half recipes, and is a very interesting read.
This was a hard road for me to take, because I didn't become a vegan with the thought that animal products were unhealthy, or that veganism was the healthier option. Nevertheless, I had been far healthier as a vegan than I was before. I learned to cook because of veganism, fed my children because of veganism, learned about nutrition because of veganism. We ate grains and legumes, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. A world of variety opened up to us when we became vegans, Indian curries, Mexican burritos, South American, Asian, Indonesian, African. Learning about food from around the world and how to make it was thoroughly exciting and tasty.
But I had become a vegan to reduce the suffering in the world, if even just by one person or one family. The industrial model of farming is so full of cruelty and total disregard for the life of the animal, it's comfort or it's natural state. I didn't want to be causing death or suffering by the foods I choose to eat.
So, in a sense it was an ethical decision, but it was also intricately tied to my spirituality. For eight years, as most of my religious indoctrination faded, I held on to two verses, Genesis 1:29-30. " Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” This was the description of the Garden of Eden, a perfect place with no death. It was later part of the covenant of the Nazarene, a tribe of Israel dedicated to be priests, that they should not touch any dead thing. I made a point of touching no dead thing, as much as was possible. For a long time I even boycotted leather shoes. The final decision came after a dream I had in which I encountered a horse in the forest who conveyed his feelings to me about man hunting his brothers (the cow, elk, deer and moose).
But a little over two years ago, I decided to again change what I ate. I wanted to increase my fertility, my strength and preserve my health through food, but more importantly, I wanted to contribute to my children's heath and that of my grandchildren and great grandchildren, to reverse the trend of chronic illnesses that humanity seems to be sliding towards (coincidentally, cultures that did not have access to modern processed foods were proven to have almost no tooth decay, no cancer, no diabetes, no heart disease).
That brings me to now. Having been sick for two weeks, struggling to keep my work done and everybody fed. I decided to make a meal plan. Basically, I went back to veganism (almost). I am eating two meals with meat, one with wild Pacific salmon and the other with local organic ground beef. Some free range farm eggs will get used in my baking, pancakes, etc. And of course we use butter now instead of margarine. Other than that, it bears a great resemblance to how we ate when we were vegans, with an emphasis on veggies and fruit, including some raw every day. I also bought some medicinal tea, an echinacea blend, which I am taking at least twice a day with honey and fresh lemon.
The day after I started changing my food, I started feeling better. Now I'm almost completely better and so glad about it! I should mention that I added positive thinking to the mix, since feeling sorry for one's self doesn't exactly aid in healing. So every time I coughed, I told myself "I'd rather be healthy that sick." That was the best mantra I could come up with at the time, since telling myself "My body is perfectly healthy" would just seem like a lie. I think mantras have to be believable to work.
Needless to say, my kids are happier, too. I guess they were getting bored with the same old, same old. Most of the meals have been a big hit, things like the rice pudding breakfast, the spinach scrambled tofu lunch (yes, we eat tofu sometimes), and the curried squash soup dinner. I took a lot of recipes this week from a cookbook called How it All Vegan, which is an excellent vegan cookbook with lots of variety and many simple recipes with simple ingredients.
The meal plan has revolutionized my week, and I think I'm going to try it again next week. For those of you with hard to please kids, or those with the winter blues that have started to think "I'm so bored I don't even want to eat", I encourage you to try it. If you have any questions about nutrition, wonder where to get started, or want some healthy advice or kid friendly recipes, please comment below. I'd love to help out in whatever way I can. If you have anything to add about food or meal planning, please contribute or share your experience. I'm interested to hear how you're all doing with it.
It was miserable. The coughing, the aching in my lungs. Totally congested, trouble breathing. Fatigue, lethargy. I got to feeling pretty sorry for myself. Of course, when you're sick, and tired, and have so much to do, you don't feel like spending extra energy in the kitchen.
So we were eating the bare minimum, quick and easy meals, plenty of carbs, with sugar and chocolate boosting my moods.
Carbs and sugar act the same way in our bodies, filling our minds with dopamine, making us feel temporarily happy, but ultimately more sad and feeling the need to eat more sugar and carbs. Doesn't help that our days are still quite short, and I get a lot less sunlight in winter.
After two weeks of being miserably sick, I had enough. I knew I had to change some things and get better before I had a real breakdown. A full trip to the grocery store this week was a real treat, since funds have been tight lately, and I've really been too sick to shop much. Before I went, I made a meal plan for the week. I pulled out one of my old cookbooks and went through it, looking for recipes to change things up, get some healthy food into us, provide some kitchen inspiration.
I should probably mention that meal planning in my house is a little more complicated than most. The baby and both parents are omnivores, one kid is a vegetarian, the other is a vegan. Cooking vegan or vegetarian is actually easier for me than the alternative. I was a vegan for 8 years. At the time, I was fully satisfied with my vegan diet. I ate mostly whole foods, very little foods with preservatives or additives, and plenty of raw fruit and veggies.
Then a miscarriage turned my life upside down. In searching for answers, I came across the Weston Price Foundation and the book Nourishing Traditions. The ideas, though actually quite ancient, are revolutionary in today's modern world. They advocate whole foods, presoaking grains and legumes, raw milk, grass fed meat and free range eggs. They claim that most of what we've been told about cholesterol and saturated fat are a result of propaganda from agri-business, trying to convince us to exchange our traditional fats for processed vegetable fats. It turns out, our bodies need cholesterol and saturated fat, just as we need salt, another ancient food that has been stigmatized in modern times. Raw milk, and especially cream, from small farms where animals are grass fed and raised on pasture has many health benefits, but the milk we are sold in stores is corrupted, the enzymes we need to digest it have been killed in the heating process, as well as many of the nutrients. Homogenization, a process that divides the fat cells into smaller cells so that they stay suspended in the milk rather than floating to the top as natural cream does, creates milk that isn't easily digested by our bodies and can create scarring of the arteries and heart disease. Sugar, it turns out is one of the most toxic substances to our bodies, and causes all manner of illnesses. If you are interested in learning more about these ideas, I highly recommend the book Nourishing Traditions. It is a cookbook with half historical and nutritional information and half recipes, and is a very interesting read.
This was a hard road for me to take, because I didn't become a vegan with the thought that animal products were unhealthy, or that veganism was the healthier option. Nevertheless, I had been far healthier as a vegan than I was before. I learned to cook because of veganism, fed my children because of veganism, learned about nutrition because of veganism. We ate grains and legumes, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. A world of variety opened up to us when we became vegans, Indian curries, Mexican burritos, South American, Asian, Indonesian, African. Learning about food from around the world and how to make it was thoroughly exciting and tasty.
But I had become a vegan to reduce the suffering in the world, if even just by one person or one family. The industrial model of farming is so full of cruelty and total disregard for the life of the animal, it's comfort or it's natural state. I didn't want to be causing death or suffering by the foods I choose to eat.
So, in a sense it was an ethical decision, but it was also intricately tied to my spirituality. For eight years, as most of my religious indoctrination faded, I held on to two verses, Genesis 1:29-30. " Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” This was the description of the Garden of Eden, a perfect place with no death. It was later part of the covenant of the Nazarene, a tribe of Israel dedicated to be priests, that they should not touch any dead thing. I made a point of touching no dead thing, as much as was possible. For a long time I even boycotted leather shoes. The final decision came after a dream I had in which I encountered a horse in the forest who conveyed his feelings to me about man hunting his brothers (the cow, elk, deer and moose).
But a little over two years ago, I decided to again change what I ate. I wanted to increase my fertility, my strength and preserve my health through food, but more importantly, I wanted to contribute to my children's heath and that of my grandchildren and great grandchildren, to reverse the trend of chronic illnesses that humanity seems to be sliding towards (coincidentally, cultures that did not have access to modern processed foods were proven to have almost no tooth decay, no cancer, no diabetes, no heart disease).
That brings me to now. Having been sick for two weeks, struggling to keep my work done and everybody fed. I decided to make a meal plan. Basically, I went back to veganism (almost). I am eating two meals with meat, one with wild Pacific salmon and the other with local organic ground beef. Some free range farm eggs will get used in my baking, pancakes, etc. And of course we use butter now instead of margarine. Other than that, it bears a great resemblance to how we ate when we were vegans, with an emphasis on veggies and fruit, including some raw every day. I also bought some medicinal tea, an echinacea blend, which I am taking at least twice a day with honey and fresh lemon.
The day after I started changing my food, I started feeling better. Now I'm almost completely better and so glad about it! I should mention that I added positive thinking to the mix, since feeling sorry for one's self doesn't exactly aid in healing. So every time I coughed, I told myself "I'd rather be healthy that sick." That was the best mantra I could come up with at the time, since telling myself "My body is perfectly healthy" would just seem like a lie. I think mantras have to be believable to work.
Needless to say, my kids are happier, too. I guess they were getting bored with the same old, same old. Most of the meals have been a big hit, things like the rice pudding breakfast, the spinach scrambled tofu lunch (yes, we eat tofu sometimes), and the curried squash soup dinner. I took a lot of recipes this week from a cookbook called How it All Vegan, which is an excellent vegan cookbook with lots of variety and many simple recipes with simple ingredients.
The meal plan has revolutionized my week, and I think I'm going to try it again next week. For those of you with hard to please kids, or those with the winter blues that have started to think "I'm so bored I don't even want to eat", I encourage you to try it. If you have any questions about nutrition, wonder where to get started, or want some healthy advice or kid friendly recipes, please comment below. I'd love to help out in whatever way I can. If you have anything to add about food or meal planning, please contribute or share your experience. I'm interested to hear how you're all doing with it.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
42 Weeks is Not That Bad
It can be a little socially isolating. Most of the time, if people don't avoid me completely (like my mother has done for the past few weeks), the only thing they have to say is "No baby yet?" or some equally obvious question. My mother in law keeps asking us that, and if I thought she'd see the humor in it, I'd answer with "Oh yeah! We forgot to tell you! We DID have a baby!" Even my own husband, who is completely aware that the baby will come when it's good and ready, often greets me with questions like "Any contractions?" Sigh. I can't make myself have a baby today, no matter how much I may want to get this show on the road.
That being said, I haven't tried everything in my power to make it happen. There are some home remedies that are decidedly unpleasant. Castor oil, for example, beyond tasting disgusting, begins your labor by either causing you to puke or get the runs, neither of which are my idea of a good time. I have tried a few things, eating pineapple, a glass of wine, a long walk, sex. The bottom line is: it will happen when it happens.
Some people have tried to make me feel better, or appease their own nervous tension by insisting that I must be wrong with my dates. Everyone that knows me knows how much I hate to be wrong, but that's not the only reason this bothers me. Since my last daughter was born, I have used fertility awareness as a method of birth control successfully for four and a half years. This requires women to keep track of their cycles and know when they ovulate. For anyone who would like to do the math, my last period happened on Christmas day, and I ovulated on day 18 of that cycle. 40 weeks from Christmas gives a due date of October 1st, which I adjusted for the later ovulation.
A friend and midwife/TBA I know insists that we ought to be counting 40 weeks from our ovulation day, rather than our period, so I looked up the history behind how we measure due dates. It seems around 1850, a doctor determined that the average length of a human pregnancy is 266 days from conception or 180 days from the first day of the last period (assuming ovulation on day 14). But in modern times, the length of human pregnancy is being extended due to better prenatal care, nutrition and education on risk factors. It is suggested that, for Caucasians, we add 15 days for the first time mother and 10 days for subsequent pregnancies. So coming up with an actual "due date" can be a bit ambiguous. Besides that, 40 weeks is an average. Both midwifery and modern obstetrics recognize that a normal pregnancy is anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks for most women. Technically, a women is not considered overdue until after 42 weeks.
If all this is true, why does being post EDD make people so nervous? Why are we all so impatient, and quick to assume that something is wrong or more likely to go wrong? Unfortunately, the medical system has overblown the risks of going overdue, and minimized or completely ignored the risks of induction. As a pregnancy extends, the placenta can become less effective at doing its job. This happens gradually, and begins at about 42 weeks. This is a problem in about one percent of women over 42 weeks. But about 35% of women are being induced, or having labors augmented with pitocin. Even non-chemical forms of induction, such as the cervical stretch and sweep or artificial rupture of membranes, are not without risks. "An induced labor forces the baby out before the body is ready, before the complex hormone interaction has primed the cervix and often before the baby has reached his full intrauterine maturity." (Gail Hart, The Postdates and Postmaturity Handbook) With an induced labor, there is an increased risk of ineffective contractions, fetal distress, meconium aspiration, shoulder dystocia, vacuum or forceps extraction, and cesarean.
So with all this in mind, it is clear that routine induction at 41 weeks, as is common now in hospitals, is a pretty irresponsible practice. Obviously, the safest and healthiest thing for me and my baby is to wait for labor to progress naturally. In the meantime, my baby is kicking (often) and moving around like crazy. My belly has dropped, and I'm getting a lot of infrequent contractions and menstrual-like cramps. My cervix is mostly effaced and about a centimeter open. These signs of early labor have been going on for about a week now. I am not really bothered by the duration of this pregnancy so far. My last labor started 2 weeks and 2 days after my due date, so I am not really surprised either. For now, I feel just fine. I am a bit uncomfortable, and it's taking me longer to get around, but I can still do what I need to do. For the most part, I can't really complain. 42 weeks isn't that bad.
That being said, I haven't tried everything in my power to make it happen. There are some home remedies that are decidedly unpleasant. Castor oil, for example, beyond tasting disgusting, begins your labor by either causing you to puke or get the runs, neither of which are my idea of a good time. I have tried a few things, eating pineapple, a glass of wine, a long walk, sex. The bottom line is: it will happen when it happens.
Some people have tried to make me feel better, or appease their own nervous tension by insisting that I must be wrong with my dates. Everyone that knows me knows how much I hate to be wrong, but that's not the only reason this bothers me. Since my last daughter was born, I have used fertility awareness as a method of birth control successfully for four and a half years. This requires women to keep track of their cycles and know when they ovulate. For anyone who would like to do the math, my last period happened on Christmas day, and I ovulated on day 18 of that cycle. 40 weeks from Christmas gives a due date of October 1st, which I adjusted for the later ovulation.
A friend and midwife/TBA I know insists that we ought to be counting 40 weeks from our ovulation day, rather than our period, so I looked up the history behind how we measure due dates. It seems around 1850, a doctor determined that the average length of a human pregnancy is 266 days from conception or 180 days from the first day of the last period (assuming ovulation on day 14). But in modern times, the length of human pregnancy is being extended due to better prenatal care, nutrition and education on risk factors. It is suggested that, for Caucasians, we add 15 days for the first time mother and 10 days for subsequent pregnancies. So coming up with an actual "due date" can be a bit ambiguous. Besides that, 40 weeks is an average. Both midwifery and modern obstetrics recognize that a normal pregnancy is anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks for most women. Technically, a women is not considered overdue until after 42 weeks.
If all this is true, why does being post EDD make people so nervous? Why are we all so impatient, and quick to assume that something is wrong or more likely to go wrong? Unfortunately, the medical system has overblown the risks of going overdue, and minimized or completely ignored the risks of induction. As a pregnancy extends, the placenta can become less effective at doing its job. This happens gradually, and begins at about 42 weeks. This is a problem in about one percent of women over 42 weeks. But about 35% of women are being induced, or having labors augmented with pitocin. Even non-chemical forms of induction, such as the cervical stretch and sweep or artificial rupture of membranes, are not without risks. "An induced labor forces the baby out before the body is ready, before the complex hormone interaction has primed the cervix and often before the baby has reached his full intrauterine maturity." (Gail Hart, The Postdates and Postmaturity Handbook) With an induced labor, there is an increased risk of ineffective contractions, fetal distress, meconium aspiration, shoulder dystocia, vacuum or forceps extraction, and cesarean.
So with all this in mind, it is clear that routine induction at 41 weeks, as is common now in hospitals, is a pretty irresponsible practice. Obviously, the safest and healthiest thing for me and my baby is to wait for labor to progress naturally. In the meantime, my baby is kicking (often) and moving around like crazy. My belly has dropped, and I'm getting a lot of infrequent contractions and menstrual-like cramps. My cervix is mostly effaced and about a centimeter open. These signs of early labor have been going on for about a week now. I am not really bothered by the duration of this pregnancy so far. My last labor started 2 weeks and 2 days after my due date, so I am not really surprised either. For now, I feel just fine. I am a bit uncomfortable, and it's taking me longer to get around, but I can still do what I need to do. For the most part, I can't really complain. 42 weeks isn't that bad.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Healthy Moms Grow Healthy Babies
I still haven't taken a pregnancy test, but I am certain I am pregnant. My body has given me several signals that this is the case. First, my period is nine days late, when they are usually very regular. This puts me at 5 weeks along. Although in the past I didn't wear maternity pants till the end of the first trimester, I am already having to unbutton my jeans when I sit down. I am finding it increasingly uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach. My womb is definitely growing.
Apart from that, I feel great! I'm not terribly tired or nauseous, which I experienced a lot with my other two pregnancies. The reality of what my body is going through is setting in, and I am taking steps to be as healthy as I can. Not only do healthy moms grow healthy babies, but they have an easier time with birth and recovery. So I am eating whole foods, with lots of raw fruit and veggies, and lots of lettuce. The raw fruit and veggies are good for vitamins, antioxidants and fiber, while the lettuce is for folic acid, which is present in all prenatal vitamins. I intend to start using flax seed oil in my salad dressing, which will provide the essential fatty acids that babies need for brain development. I don't believe in taking synthesized supplements. I think that if we eat mindfully, we should be able to get all of our nutritional requirements from food.
Throughout pregnancy, birth, parenting and life, a woman's mind is her most powerful tool. I find that especially in pregnancy, our minds can run away with us. We often get worried or fearful, or stuck in patterns of negative thinking. This takes it's toll on our bodies and can be a hindrance for birth. This characteristic is present in all mammals. When an animal is in labor, if she senses a dangerous situation and feels fearful, her birthing hormones stop and adrenaline is releases which stops labor and allows her to flee the dangerous situation. This is behind many instances where woman have been labeled with failure to progress. Whether the factors causing fear, worry or stress are real or perceived, their bodies are doing what they have been designed by Nature to do as a survival mechanism.
This is one of the reasons why, in my effort to be as healthy as I can be, I am paying close attention to my thoughts. If I can keep my thoughts positive during my pregnancy, it will be much easier to keep positive thoughts during labor. I also believe that, to some extent, our thoughts create our reality. Women's bodies are perfectly designed to birth their babies. Our bodies are not defective, or incapable of doing what nature intended. When I give birth, I am doing what women have been doing throughout human existence. I am strong, healthy and knowledgeable enough to listen to my body's signals and birth my child naturally and easily. Any thought that suggests otherwise is simply not welcome.
So, this is my approach to holistic health during pregnancy, and I think it works for the rest of the seasons in our lives as well. I recently read the statement that you are your own primary health care provider, meaning that we are each responsible for our own health. We can't expect someone else to do that for us. I made myself a little list of things to do while I'm pregnant:
1) eat well
2) exercise
3) rest
4) keep your thoughts positive
Doesn't sound that hard, does it?
Apart from that, I feel great! I'm not terribly tired or nauseous, which I experienced a lot with my other two pregnancies. The reality of what my body is going through is setting in, and I am taking steps to be as healthy as I can. Not only do healthy moms grow healthy babies, but they have an easier time with birth and recovery. So I am eating whole foods, with lots of raw fruit and veggies, and lots of lettuce. The raw fruit and veggies are good for vitamins, antioxidants and fiber, while the lettuce is for folic acid, which is present in all prenatal vitamins. I intend to start using flax seed oil in my salad dressing, which will provide the essential fatty acids that babies need for brain development. I don't believe in taking synthesized supplements. I think that if we eat mindfully, we should be able to get all of our nutritional requirements from food.
Throughout pregnancy, birth, parenting and life, a woman's mind is her most powerful tool. I find that especially in pregnancy, our minds can run away with us. We often get worried or fearful, or stuck in patterns of negative thinking. This takes it's toll on our bodies and can be a hindrance for birth. This characteristic is present in all mammals. When an animal is in labor, if she senses a dangerous situation and feels fearful, her birthing hormones stop and adrenaline is releases which stops labor and allows her to flee the dangerous situation. This is behind many instances where woman have been labeled with failure to progress. Whether the factors causing fear, worry or stress are real or perceived, their bodies are doing what they have been designed by Nature to do as a survival mechanism.
This is one of the reasons why, in my effort to be as healthy as I can be, I am paying close attention to my thoughts. If I can keep my thoughts positive during my pregnancy, it will be much easier to keep positive thoughts during labor. I also believe that, to some extent, our thoughts create our reality. Women's bodies are perfectly designed to birth their babies. Our bodies are not defective, or incapable of doing what nature intended. When I give birth, I am doing what women have been doing throughout human existence. I am strong, healthy and knowledgeable enough to listen to my body's signals and birth my child naturally and easily. Any thought that suggests otherwise is simply not welcome.
So, this is my approach to holistic health during pregnancy, and I think it works for the rest of the seasons in our lives as well. I recently read the statement that you are your own primary health care provider, meaning that we are each responsible for our own health. We can't expect someone else to do that for us. I made myself a little list of things to do while I'm pregnant:
1) eat well
2) exercise
3) rest
4) keep your thoughts positive
Doesn't sound that hard, does it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)