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U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer

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DangerMouse
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
I still can't drink beer until they make one without hops! Yippee is allergic to them. Keep trying, science, and I'll keep cidering in the meantime.
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JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
and is planning on making an Obama cake with two ingredients of "hope and change."

Is that like how Egyptian Magic cream used to have "love" listed on the ingredients?
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
I find it so weird that we can be accosted with breasts in our everyday lives, yet people still seem to find breastfeeding in public an icky subject, despite that being their primary purpose.

I understand the awkwardness for some people of being around an exposed breast that is being used as a nutritional food source, but honestly! It's getting harder and harder to fight for the right to abort, and once you finally give birth, you can't feed that precious little life in a public space for fear of offending some prick's delicate sensibilities!
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/12/08

@Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith: And to rant further, it's not even as though all these breastfeeding women are running around in their maternity bras and lactating all over the show; they're usually pretty low-key about the whole thing.

(No, I have not had children. Yes, my mother did belong to La Leche League.)
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rosasparks
11/12/08

@Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith: I breastfed minisparks b/c she was a preemie and I made sure she had all the good stuff. It was so important. I breastfed her whenever I had to; I never once encountered anything awkward. We lived in Brooklyn and were in Europe, quite a bit. But, I carried her in a sling, and no one ever saw shit when she was in there. The sling was a godsend.

When we visited anyone outside of NYC, I was hyper-aware of when I needed to feed her. I usually hid in a public restroom or somewhere with a closed door b/c it was clear that breastfeeding at the mall in Cincinnati was not the norm.
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DangerMouse
11/12/08

@Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith: The article wouldn't open for me, but was she actually trying to do it *in* the pool or just in the pool area? Because I'm totally cool about breastfeeding in public, but I can imagine that it's a bit odd to do it *in* a pool--I'd just be afraid of the baby/water combo.

Not that I'm an anxious person, no, not me.
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/12/08

@rosasparks: My mother breastfed me as a child, as well as my younger siblings, and she didn't do it in places like McDonald's for instance, she was still able to do it in places like the park and public swimming pool while supervising the rest of us play without fear of discrimination. I understand the notion of appropriate locations, but if places are going to take issue with women breastfeeding, then it is fair to expect them to provide a suitable venue (public bathrooms are kind of scungy). Like you said, breast milk is important for babies, and mothers cannot pick and choose the moments to feed their babies, especially if they have older children, also requiring supervision, in tow.

I personally have encountered women breastfeeding on the bus before, and while it has made me feel slightly uncomfortable, I can separate my feelings on the subject (mostly awkward because of the intimacy between mother and child) from the actual issue at hand. Plus, I'd rather the child was fed than having to sit through a bus ride of screaming baby agony.
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Liz11685
11/12/08

@rosasparks: I was a preemie and my mother couldn't breastfeed because she had to go back onto her asthma medications that would have been dangerous to me. I realllly bulked up on soy formula.
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water baby
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
I want to love BioBeer, but let's face it, it's just gonna be another excuse for people to avoid eating vegetables or whole grains or anything else that might be even slightly good for them all while guzzling Coke with vitamins & Biobeer and proclaiming, "LOOK! IT'S HEALTHY!"

Of course, Americans avoid that stuff anyway, but I'm just sayin'.
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LovelyHue
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
I'm not informed. How would you prevent premature birth, exactly? In my situation, I would have been born stillborn had birth not been medically induced. I had always assumed this was the situation for most kids. What's the deal?
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
11/12/08

@LovelyHue: I imagine that better prenatal care would help some mothers/ kids develop to a normal birth.
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
Okay, that picture is about to give me an anxiety attack. I took a tour last month of the Neonatal ICU at the hospital where I work and it was so heartbreaking, even without knowing only one in eight child born into those circumstances will survive.
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rosasparks
11/12/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god.prepares.to.welcome.her.new.ovumlord: minisparks is super mini, as she was a preemie. She was 7 weeks preemie and the entire experience led me to therapy. I'm sure it contributed to my PPD.

My pre-natal care was great, I was the healthiest I have ever been, but she still came early. I will not go into the specifics with her health, but let me say, we are all SO LUCKY to have minisparks in our lives.

ps it also may explain that I regularly grab minisparks and kiss & hug her to death. Every day with her is just awesome.
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
11/12/08

@rosasparks: Thank you for sharing that, since I feel like every story I hear gives me more and more perspective on all the experiences that can come with motherhood. I'm really diligent about my prenatal care so far (which is a huge change from how I usually don't care about my heath) and stats like this scare the bejesus out of me.
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mcdougalwitz
11/12/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god.prepares.to.welcome.her.new.ovumlord: I'm pretty sure they meant that one in eight babies is born premature, not that one in eight preemies survive
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rosasparks
11/12/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god.prepares.to.welcome.her.new.ovumlord: They are scary as hell, but if you take care of yourself, that's the best thing you can do for the babe, and ultimately, for your recovery. I did all the "right" things and it still happened. After I came apart and put myself back together, I just realized I couldn't have changed anything else.

Not that the statistics are bunk, and not that women in the US probably need much better pre natal care, but my experience is contrary.
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
11/12/08

@mcdougalwitz: Okay, I think you're right. My brain, it has been scrambled all day.
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Magnakai Haaskivi
11/12/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god.prepares.to.welcome.her.new.ovumlord: My wife's also a member of the "optional third trimester" club; both of my daughters were preemies. Like, 27 weeks, one pound thirteen ounce preemies two years apart. Both are okay now...the weirdest part of the NICU experience was the first time coming down to see my second daughter. It was the same nursing staff, same doctors, same place...you start reading monitors, looking at charts, and feel like you've never really left.

For me, both stays were actually therapeutic; my wife was exceptionally unhealthy for both pregnancies, and the NICU gave me an illusion of control (Look! I know her oxygen saturation! She must be fine!) that I was missing. On the other hand, my wife really wanted one of her pregnancies to be "normal", and really mourned the loss of a natural child birthing experience.

Sorry, that was a little long...but I've got six months of NICU experiences that I could draw from for this.
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HannahBethD
11/12/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god.prepares.to.welcome.her.new.ovumlord: My youngest nephew (now almost 4 months old) was about 6 weeks premature.

I was so terrified, as were his parents. He's doing great now, he chubby and coos and smiles and laughs his little butt off and has a massive temper.

But premature birth has to be the scariest thing ever.
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gobblegirl
11/13/08

@Magnakai Haaskivi: Not too long, thanks for sharing! I'm glad that everyone's healthy and happy now.
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Her Grace
11/13/08

@rosasparks: Same thing happened with my girlfriend and her mom. Her mother was in great health, good care, but Kit still came very, very early (29-30 weeks, if I remember right, so 10-11 early) and has CP. Her mother was on bedrest with her other two pregnancies because of it. Some preemies you can't prevent, just do the best you can after.
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Gretchen is a new kitten mom!
11/12/08

In reply to U.S. Gets A "D" For Preemies • Scientists Design Healthy Beer
My dogs (and cats) get premium, organic grade-A food that has no chemicals or fillers. In other words, human grade food.

I don't know if I would eat it but I can tell you it costs more per pound than the food Mr. G and I eat. Just sayin'.
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veronykah
11/12/08

@Gretchen: My dog eats meat, yogurt, and vegetables I buy at the grocery store. So yes, I would eat my dogs food...
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gobblegirl
11/13/08

@veronykah: I would eat the individual components of my dog's food (like you, yoghurt, eggs, meat, veg, a lot of sweet potatoes, etc), but after I mix it all together with fish oil....no thanks.
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