Pica: Chalk Craving in Pregnant Women

Posted on 30 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

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When a woman, pregnant or NOT desires or craves chalk, for taste or the sensation of crunching, there is an iron deficiency in the woman and she is anemic (more tired, need energy building foods). Once she gets the iron balanced in her system, she will NO LONGER have the craving for the chalk.

When one supplement’s their diet with iron pills, it is important to take the iron pills with something acidic, like orange juice, BECAUSE it helps to ENHANCE the absorption of iron in your body.

rolaids1 When one takes rolaids, it is COUNTER PRODUCTIVE to the absorption of the iron in the body. Rolaids is an ANTACID, (not acidic) and you NEED acid to absorb the iron in your body. So, you are just canceling out the iron supplement each time a rolaid is taken. It doesn’t matter if one takes one or ten…IT IS NOT GOOD! Research shows if a pregnant woman has to choose between chalk and rolaids, the more favorable choice is the chalk. It doesn’t have the antacid element to it. STOP rolaids immediately if your doctor has suggested this as a solution away from the chalk.

Eating iron rich foods is imperative. If one needs to find foods that will satisfy a need to CRUNCH try something like ALMONDS or other kinds of seeds or nuts rich in iron. Leafy green veggies are high in iron and so are dried apricots which are ALSO high in Vitamin C, (an acidic source).

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Floradix is a liquid formula that will help to enhance the iron absorbtion in one’s body when eating iron rich foods.

Floradix Formula Iron (250mL) Brand: Flora

http://www.amazon.com/Floradix-Formula-Iron-250mLBrand/dp/B0002DUFKU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1254578184&sr=8-3

Uses: Energy, Anemia etc. The absorption rate of Floradix (liquid iron gluconate) is twenty-five per cent compared solid iron tablets that have an absorption rate of two to ten per cent. Floradix provides maximum absorption by using the most highly absorbable form of iron, iron gluconate. Floradix also contains B vitamins and vitamin C to enhance absorption, herbal extracts to increase digestion, and fruit juices to ensure proper stomach acidity. A twenty milligram dose of Floradix satisfies the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of fifteen milligrams of iron for women of child-bearing age.

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Homeopathic remedies to help get your minerals balanced in one’s body are:

1. Ferrous Phosphate: 6X or 12X strength, take 1-4 times per day, 4 pellets. This very useful cell salt is known as the “oxygen carrier”. It has the ability to carry oxygen to all the cells of the body for use in conversion to energy.

2, Bio-chemic Tissue Salts: take 5/6 of these COMBINATION 3-4X’s per day.

The 12 Tissue/Cell Salt Combination As the name implies, this is a combination of all 12 salts in a single tablet. This combination can be used daily in much the same way as you would take a vitamin or supplement. To treat specific conditions, however, select one of the single salts listed above. RECOMMENDED POTENCY – 6X is the most widely used potency. These are all the different MINERALS combined into the 12 Tissue/Cell Salts.Calcarea Fluoricum Calcarea Phosphoricum Calcarea Sulphuricum Ferrum Phosphoricum Kali Muriaticum Kali Phosphoricum Kali Sulphuricum Magnesia Phosphoricum Natrum Muriaticum Natrum Phosphoricum Natrum Sulphuricum Silicea (Silica)

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How Much Iron?
The recommendation increases to 27 mg for pregnant women.

http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml
Iron Rich Foods containing Heme Iron (Iron found in animal protein):
Excellent Sources               Good Sources
Clams                                       Beef
Pork Liver                                Shrimp
Oysters                                     Sardines
Chicken Liver                           Turkey
Mussels
Beef Liver

Excellent and Good Sources of Iron Rich Foods containing Non-Heme Iron:

Enriched breakfast cereals
Canned beans
Cooked beans and lentils
Baked potato with skin
Pumpkin seeds
Enriched pasta
Blackstrap Molasses
Canned asparagus

Warning: Pregnant women should not eat liver because of its very high Vitamin A content. Large amounts of Vitamin A can be harmful to the baby.

The absorption of Non-heme iron can be improved when a source of heme iron is consumed in the same meal. In addition, the iron absorption-enhancing foods can also increase the absorption of non-heme iron. While some food items can enhance iron absorption, some can inhibit or interfere iron absorption. Avoid eating them with the iron-rich foods to maximize iron absorption.

Iron Absorption Enhancers (GOOD to eat)
Meat/fish/poultry
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

Iron Absorption Inhibitors (BAD to eat)
Red Wine, Coffee & Tea
Vegetables: Spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato
Whole grains and bran
Soy products

Is Spinach a good source of Iron? Written by Gloria Tsang, RD Published in May 2006 (HealthCastle.com)

Spinach and Iron has been a highly discussed topic in our free nutrition forum. Many readers know that spinach is a source of iron. However they are confused that spinach is said to contain an iron absorption inhibitor as mentioned in our Iron Rich Foods article.

Spinach – a source of Iron
Spinach is a source of non-heme iron, which is usually found in vegetable sources. Unlike heme iron found in animal products, non-heme iron is not as bioavailable to the body.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of cooked spinach provides ~3.5mg of iron whereas a cup of raw spinach only contains 1 mg of iron.

Spinach – also inhibits (stops) iron absorption.
Spinach also contains oxalic acid (sometimes referred as oxalate). Oxalic acid binds with iron, hence inhibiting its absorption.

Spinach is not the only food containing high levels of oxalic acid. Whole grains such as buckwheat and amaranth, other vegetables such as chard and rhubarb, as well as beans and nuts all contain significant levels of oxalic acid.

So Should you or Should you not eat Spinach?
You do not need to give it up if you are a spinach lover! Simply eat spinach with any foods containing iron absorption enhancers. Here are some examples:

Iron Absorption Enhancers (Good to eat)
Meat, fish, or poultry
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit and other Vitamin-C rich fruits
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

Pelvic Bone Commentary

Posted on 30 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

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Pelvises I Have Known and Loved – by Gloria Lemay (Midwife)

(© 2003 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, you’ll enjoy Midwifery Today magazine! Subscribe now! [Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Midwifery Today Issue 50, Summer 1999 and is also available online in Spanish.])

What if there were no pelvis? What if it were as insignificant to how a child is born as how big the nose is on the mother’s face? After twenty years of watching birth, this is what I have come to. Pelvises open at three stretch points—the symphisis pubis and the two sacroiliac joints. These points are full of relaxin hormones—the pelvis literally begins falling apart at about thirty-four weeks of pregnancy. In addition to this mobile, loose, stretchy pelvis, nature has given human beings the added bonus of having a moldable, pliable, shrinkable baby head. Like a steamer tray for a cooking pot has folding plates that adjust it to any size pot, so do these four overlapping plates that form the infant’s skull adjust to fit the mother’s body.

Every woman who is alive today is the result of millions of years of natural selection. Today’s women are the end result of evolution. We are the ones with the bones that made it all the way here. With the exception of those born in the last thirty years, we almost all go back through our maternal lineage generation after generation having smooth, normal vaginal births. Prior to thirty years ago, major problems in large groups were always attributable to maternal malnutrition (starvation) or sepsis in hospitals.

Twenty years ago, physicians were known to tell women that the reason they had a cesarean was that the child’s head was just too big for the size of the pelvis. The trouble began when these same women would stay at home for their next child’s birth and give birth to a bigger baby through that same pelvis. This became very embarrassing, and it curtailed this reason being put forward for doing cesareans. What replaced this reason was the post-cesarean statement: “Well, it’s a good thing we did the cesarean because the cord was twice around the baby’s neck.” This is what I’ve heard a lot of in the past ten years. Doctors must come up with a very good reason for every operation because the family will have such a dreadful time with the new baby and mother when they get home that, without a convincing reason, the fathers would be on the warpath. Just imagine if the doctor said honestly, “Well, Joe, this was one of those times when we jumped the gun—there was actually not a thing wrong with either your baby or your wife. I’m sorry she’ll have a six week recovery to go through for nothing.” We do know that at least 15 percent of cesareans are unnecessary but the parents are never told. There is a conspiracy among hospital staff to keep this information from families for obvious reasons.

In a similar vein, I find it interesting that in 1999, doctors now advocate discontinuing the use of the electronic fetal monitor. This is something natural birth advocates have campaigned hard for and have not been able to accomplish in the past twenty years. The natural-types were concerned about possible harm to the baby from the Doppler ultrasound radiation as well as discomfort for the mother from the two tight belts around her belly. Now in l999, the doctors have joined the campaign to rid maternity wards of these expensive pieces of technology. Why, you ask? Because it has just dawned on the doctors that the very strip of paper recording fetal heart tones that they thought proved how careful and conscientious they were, and which they thought was their protection, has actually been their worst enemy in a court of law. A good lawyer can take any piece of “evidence” and find an expert to interpret it to his own ends. After a baby dies or is damaged, the hindsight people come in and go over these strips, and the doctors are left with huge legal settlements to make. What the literature indicates now is that when a nurse with a stethoscope listens to the “real” heartbeat through a fetoscope (not the bounced back and recorded beat shown on a monitor read-out) the cesarean rate goes down by 50 percent with no adverse effects on fetal mortality rates.

pelvis5 Of course, I am in favour of the abolition of electronic fetal monitoring but it would be far more uplifting if this was being done for some sort of health improvement and not just more ways to cover butt in court.

Now let’s get back to pelvises I have known and loved. When I was a keen beginner midwife, I took many workshops in which I measured pelvises of my classmates. Bi-spinous diameters, sacral promontories, narrow arches—all very important and serious. Gynecoid, android, anthropoid and the dreaded platypelloid all had to be measured, assessed and agonized over. I worried that babies would get “hung up” on spikes and bone spurs that could, according to the folklore, appear out of nowhere. Then one day I heard the head of obstetrics at our local hospital say, “The best pelvimeter is the baby’s head.” In other words, a head passing through the pelvis would tell you more about the size of it than all the calipers and X-rays in the world. He did not advocate taking pelvic measurements at all. Of course, doing pelvimetry in early pregnancy before the hormones have started relaxing the pelvis is ridiculous.

pelvis11 One of the midwife “tricks” that we were taught was to ask the mother’s shoe size. If the mother wore size five or more shoes, the theory went that her pelvis would be ample. Well, 98 percent of women take over size five shoes so this was a good theory that gave me confidence in women’s bodies for a number of years. Then I had a client who came to me at eight months pregnant seeking a home waterbirth. She had, up till that time, been under the care of a hospital nurse-midwifery practise. She was Greek and loved doing gymnastics. Her eighteen-year-old body glowed with good health, and I felt lucky to have her in my practise until I asked the shoe size question. She took size two shoes. She had to buy her shoes in Chinatown to get them small enough—oh dear. I thought briefly of refreshing my rusting pelvimetry skills, but then I reconsidered. I would not lay this small pelvis trip on her. I would be vigilant at her birth and act if the birth seemed obstructed in an unusual way, but I would not make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. She gave birth to a seven-pound girl and only pushed about twelve times. She gave birth in a water tub sitting on the lap of her young lover and the scene reminded me of “Blue Lagoon” with Brooke Shields—it was so sexy. So that pelvis ended the shoe size theory forever.

Another pelvis that came my way a few years ago stands out in my mind. This young woman had had a cesarean for her first childbirth experience. She had been induced, and it sounded like the usual cascade of interventions. When she was being stitched up after the surgery her husband said to her, “Never mind, Carol, next baby you can have vaginally.” The surgeon made the comment back to him, “Not unless she has a two pound baby.” When I met her she was having mild, early birth sensations. Her doula had called me to consult on her birth. She really had a strangely shaped body. She was only about five feet, one inch tall, and most of that was legs. Her pregnant belly looked huge because it just went forward—she had very little space between the crest of her hip and her rib cage. Luckily her own mother was present in the house when I first arrived there. I took her into the kitchen and asked her about her own birth experiences. She had had her first baby vaginally. With her second, there had been a malpresentation and she had undergone a cesarean. Since the grandmother had the same body-type as her daughter, I was heartened by the fact that at least she had had one baby vaginally. Again, this woman dilated in the water tub. It was a planned hospital birth, so at advanced dilation they moved to the hospital. She was pushing when she got there and proceeded to birth a seven-pound girl. She used a squatting bar and was thrilled with her completely spontaneous birth experience. I asked her to write to the surgeon who had made the remark that she couldn’t birth a baby over two pounds and let him know that this unscientific, unkind remark had caused her much unneeded worry.

Another group of pelvises that inspire me are those of the pygmy women of Africa. I have an article in my files by an anthropologist who reports that these women have a height of four feet, on average. The average weight of their infants is eight pounds! In relative terms, this is like a woman five feet six giving birth to a fourteen-pound baby. The custom in their villages is that the woman stays alone in her hut for birth until her membranes rupture. At that time, she strolls through the village and finds her midwives. The midwives and the woman hold hands and sing as they walk down to the river. At the edge of the river is a flat, well-worn rock on which all the babies are born. The two midwives squat at the mother’s side while she pushes her baby out. One midwife scoops up river water to splash on the newborn to stimulate the first breath. After the placenta is birthed the other midwife finds a narrow place in the cord and chews it to separate the infant. Then, the three walk back to join the people. This article has been a teaching and inspiration for me.

pelvis21

That’s the bottom line on pelvises—they don’t exist in real midwifery. Any baby can slide through any pelvis with a powerful uterus pistoning down on him/her.

Gloria Lemay is a private birth attendant in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Patients Bill of Rights: Coerced Medical Interventions

Posted on 30 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

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On the Birth Plan of all my clients, I suggest they write at the top of the page: ‘Nothing can be done to myself or my baby without my knowledge and/or permission.’ All too often women are coerced into medical interventions or they are just ‘done to them’ without a discussion or explaination. It’s time for we women to WAKE UP and STAND UP for our rights. Please read and pass on to ANYONE who might listen:

Coerced medical interventions on pregnant women:
http://advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/main/publications/articles_and_reports/
coercive_medicine.php

“Once a patient has been informed of the material risks and benefits
involved with a treatment, test or procedure, that patient has the right to
exercise full autonomy in deciding whether to undergo the treatment, test,
or procedure or whether to make a choice among a variety of treatments,
tests, or procedures. In the exercise of that autonomy, the informed patient
also has the right to refuse to undergo any of these treatments, tests, or
procedures. . . . Performing an operative procedure on a patient without the
patient’s permission can constitute ‘battery’ under common law. In most
circumstances this is a criminal act. . . . Such a refusal [of consent] may
be based on religious beliefs, personal preference, or comfort.”
ACOG. Informed refusal. Committee Opinion No 237, June 2000.

These legal and medical ethical principles make sense for both women and
children. Doctors are not infallible and their advice is just that, advice.
In addition to the consensus of medical organizations, courts, too, have
long recognized a patient’s right to make health care decisions free from
governmental intrusion. However, in the case of a pregnant woman refusing
potentially beneficial medical treatment for the fetus, the principle has
been too easily set aside, and for dubious reasons.

Maternity Mortality In USA

Posted on 30 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

Maternal Mortality in the USA

A Fact Sheet

• The World Health Organization reported in 2007 that 40 other countries have lower maternal death rates than the United States.

• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that there has been no improvement in the maternal death rate in the United States since 1982.

• The CDC estimated in 1998 that the US maternal death rate is actually 1.3 to three times that reported in vital statistics records because of underreporting of such deaths. (1)

• The CDC reported in 1995 that the “magnitude of the pregnancy-related mortality problem is grossly understated.” (2)

• The rate of maternal death directly related to pregnancy or birth appears to be rising in the United States. In 1982, the rate was approximately 7.5 deaths per 100,000 live births. By 2004, that rate had risen to 13.1 deaths per 100,000 births. By 2005, the rate was 15.1 deaths.

• The CDC estimates that more than half of the reported maternal deaths in the United States could have been prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. (1)

• Autopsies should be performed on all women of childbearing age who die if there is to be complete ascertainment of maternal deaths.

• Numerous studies have found that in 25 to 40 percent of cases in which an autopsy is done, it reveals an undiagnosed cause of death.

• In the 1960s, autopsies were performed on almost half of deaths.

• The United States now does autopsies on fewer than 5 percent of hospital deaths.

• Reporting of maternal deaths in the United States is done via an honor system. There are no statutes providing for penalties for misreporting or failing to report maternal deaths.

• In the United States, the risk of maternal death among black women is about 4 times higher than among white women. For 2005, the rate was 36.5 deaths per 100,000 live births.

• Most countries with lower maternal death rates than the United States use a different definition of “maternal death”, which, unlike the United States’ definition, includes those deaths directly related to pregnancy or birth which take place during the period between six weeks postpartum and one year after the end of pregnancy.

• Complete and correct ascertainment of all maternal deaths is key to preventing maternal deaths.

• The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), which has functioned since 1952, is the system believed to have achieved the most complete ascertainment of maternal deaths while guaranteeing utmost confidentiality. See www.cemach.org.uk

• The maternal mortality rate for cesarean section is four times higher than for vaginal birth and is still twice as high when it is a routine repeat cesarean section without any emergency. (3,4)

• There is currently no federal legislation mandating maternal mortality review at a state level.

• Fewer than half of the states conduct state-wide maternal mortality review.

• Hospitals do not release reports of maternal deaths to the public; hospital employees are required to keep such information to themselves.

• The Healthy People 2010 Goal is no more than 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. This is a goal that other nations have achieved.

Notes

1. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, September 4, 1998, Vol. 47, No. 34.

2. Atrash HK, Alexander S, Berg CJ. Maternal mortality in developed countries: Not just a concern of the past. Obstet Gynecol 1995;86:700-5.

3. Petitti D et al. In hospital maternal mortality in the United States. Obstet Gynecol, Vol 59, pp. 6-11, 1982.

4. Petitti D. Maternal mortality and morbidity in cesarean section. Clin Obstet Gynecol,Vol. 28, pp. 763-768, 1985.

5. The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom, www.cemach.org.uk

Prepared by Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, Coordinator for the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project, 149 Apple Orchard Lane, Summertown, TN 38483, www.rememberthemothers.net, www.inamay.com

Finding the ‘Empty Space’ in Labor and Birth

Posted on 27 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

In ancient tribal rituals and studies, women have been revered as the stronger of the sex because they have a womb. A womb signifies ‘creator of life’ or the ‘empty space’ of potential creativity. Everything that happens creatively occurs spontaneously in the ‘empty space’ where we have to go to, let go, give up, relinquish, until we are empty.

Men can also come to that place where they feel that ‘empty space’ in themselves.

How to do this? Focus on the breath OUT instead of the breath IN. Breathing in fills one up and breathing out ‘empties’. These are completely different effects. This will enable the mother all she needs to get the baby out by breathing out. When you are in labor or with someone in labor, BREATHE OUT with a focus and connection. Anything else is too much! In childbirth studies there are concepts of not pushing the baby out but rather, “breathe your baby out”. This process brings the body back to a place of receiving.

HeartKeepers™: Teleconference

Posted on 27 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

To purchase an mp3 and PDF’s of the Course, click here:

Why:

I am looking for a new and important school of thinkers. I would like to co-create like two peas in the same genetic birth pod, a new story about humanity’s future while focusing on the potential of our greatest good. Join me as you learn to do this by going beyond the traditional brain neurological science research and move into the pioneering study of heart coherence science and practices, related to the dynamics of birth.

As birth caregivers, pregnant women and their partners say “yes” to their inner wisdom, by remembering what they’ve forgotten, an actual change in DNA occurs as it is initiated from the heart and then travel to the brain.

When this voice reaches critical mass, a planetary “100th monkey effect” will occur as each “evolving self” changes the world. The influx of birth movements, organizations, films, methodologies, books, birth teleseminars and conferences are building the collective voice to an “Omega Point”: a synergistic awakening together in the “mind sphere” in consciousness.

What:

Learn simple, practical exercises to increase resiliency and bring your heart to a coherent state.
Find out what a meme is and how you can create your birth meme.
Become knowledgeable how our electromagnetic field affects others and is a critical component of the collective “Field” of energy around us.
Utilize developed technologies that help us stabilize ourselves in heart-based living.
Understand how challenges become “evolutionary drivers.”
Discover what comes first, thought or feeling and how science has proven this is an integral connection in the law of attraction.
Experience a revolutionary methodology; DreamBirth Imagery™, for self healing and increasing your practice by attracting clients from the inside out.

PDF’s:

Extensive Bibliography of books, films, websites which include heart coherence studies and conscious fertility/pregnancy and birth.
3 DreamBirth Imagery™ Exercises:
- Blue Vase – energizing and detoxification exercise for you and your clients
- Solar Plexus – building self confidence, enhancing personal power and bringing in clients and work
- Duality – taking two opposing perceptions and dissolving the illusion of separation into oneness.

Who:

This class is for:

Labor and Post Partum Doulas, Childbirth Educators, Midwives, Nurses, Doctors, Lactation Consultants, Baby Nurses, Body workers, Massage Therapists, Pre/Post Natal Instructors, Acupuncturists, Herbalists, Birth Counselors/Social Workers/Psychologists, Nutritionists, Homeopathic Specialists, Nannies, Babysitters, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Sisters, BFF’s.

Instructor:

Visionary, maven, leading edge thinker and DoulaTographer™, Judith Elaine Halek, Director of Birth Balance™, synthesizes 26 years of experience as a labor doula, childbirth educator, body worker, Calm Birth and DreamBirth Imagery™ practitioner, birth photographer, writer, speaker, filmmaker to 39 “alternatives to childbirth” documentaries.

When and Where:

March 27, 2011, 12pm – 3 pm EST. Telephone, from the comfort of your home.

Payment Fee: $60

(When registered, you will receive an email with details and a special code to participate in the teleseminar.)

Further Contact:

Judith Elaine Halek, Director of Birth Balance

212-222-4349 /Office 646-391-8308 /Cell
Judith@BirthBalance.com /Email www.BirthBalance.com /Web

Flu and Breastfeeding: Flu-Free Pregnancy With Alternative Preventative Measures

Posted on 26 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

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Whether you are pregnant, a medical or non medical caregiver, post partum doula, baby nurse or teacher, you know that immune systems are compromised during the winter months. Flu pandemics are valid concerns. Pregnant women are more vulnerable because their immune systems are suppressed during pregnancy so that their bodies don’t reject the baby.

The following piece is from Midwife: Gloria Lemay with her research on the H1N1 vaccine as well as preventative suggestions:

“The publicity for the H1N1 vaccine is pervasive. Pregnant women are being focused on as a group that should be first in line to receive the vaccine. The fact that the vaccine is highly experimental and contains mercury (thimerosol preservative) has not escaped pregnant women and childbirth workers.” (I, Judith, coordinator of this blog, have read on some sites one can request to have the vaccine WITHOUT the thimerosol preservatve in it. They may not have it at your clinic or doctor’s office.)

“When the public is polled about who will take the H1N1 vaccine, almost half the population say they will refuse it. Thanks to the internet and other people-centered media, the experts who disagree with this mass population vaccine program have gotten the message out that the vaccine is far more dangerous than the disease.

What can a pregnant woman do to protect herself from H1N1 if she refuses the vaccine program?

Again, the media suggestions of sneezing into your sleeve and washing your hands with toxic sanitizers don’t get to the heart of the issue. We all need to take charge of having the best immune response possible so these suggestions, although directed at pregnant women in the fall of 2009, are good lifestyle advice for everyone.

1. Go to bed at 10 pm or earlier in a very dark room. Healthy sleep is important. Get rid of lighting in the bedroom (nightlights, electronic clocks, etc.)

2. Change your bedding and towels once a week.

3. Eat foods high in Vitamin C. Grapefruit, oranges, kiwi fruit and red peppers. Get used to these fruits as dessert.

4. Eliminate white sugar and flour from your diet.

5. Eliminate caffeine (coffee, tea, colas, chocolate).

6. Buy a wool scarf and mittens and be sure to bundle up warmly when you go out into the cold. Scarves help maintain your body heat and can be unwrapped and stuffed into your pocket when you go into a store or office building to adjust your warmth level.

7. If you feel the first tickle of a cold or sore throat, cancel everything and go straight to bed with hot herbal tea and a bag of grapefruit. Nip it in the bud with rest, Vitamin C and inner warmth.

8. Here’s a link to herbs that are safe in pregnancy. Learn to love your herb teas.

9. Slow down and enjoy your pregnancy. This is a special time in your life. Say “no” to overbooking yourself and consider quitting work earlier than you planned.

10. Keep your partner healthy, too.

Your baby will thank you for adopting these measures and you’ll have more energy, too. The first 3 days are the hardest and, then, you’ll love this routine. I’m sure the comments will have lots more tips, too, read on.”

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One commenter who worked with twins said this, “I work with a lot of twins who are usually preemies and so the parents tend to be extremely concerned about germs and have had the vaccine pushed on them by their doctors. I have had a bad vaccine reaction in the past as an adult and so don’t get vaccinations but what I do is to take the homeopathic version of the vaccine which is called Influenzinum. It changes every year according to the new strain of the virus and this year also includes the homeopathic version of the H1N1 vaccine. I take it once a week October through June and am rarely sick even though I do not get good sleep. (I work mostly nights.) To get it just call your local homeopath (you won’t need a consultation) or you can order it online here:

http://drfeder.com/index.php?page=shop&action=viewProduct&itemID=124

This is where I get mine. When I tell my clients I am doing this they have all been fine with it. I think they just want to know I am being proactive about my and therefore their children’s health.”

Influenzium: Winter Tonic is a homeopathic combination of flu types from 1918 to the present. The combination of flu types is then combined with ingredients that help strengthen the immune system during the cold and flu season. Winter Tonic (4 pellets) can be taken once a week during the cold and flu season. For children a and adults. Contains: Influenzinum; Otitis; Sinusitisitum; Grippe; (All 6C) 4 dram bottle, 400 pellets Produced by NHP

Check out Dr Feder’s website at: www.dr.feder.com in general for his information on alternative immune booster suggestions. He also has an interesting article on H1N1 (Swine) Flu:

http://drfeder.com/index.php?page=articles&action=viewArticle&articleID=295

Three things that can’t hurt and may well help: Vitamin D-*3*, up to 10,000 IUs a day if the flu is coming on. Otherwise, 2,000 – 4,000 daily as a preventative. Vitamin D is not given in milligrams, but in IUs, which is a much smaller dosage. 250mcg or micrograms is equal to 50 IUs or international units. A microgram is 1/1000 of a milligram. The normal dosage of Vitamin D is about 2000 IUs.

Vitamin C, which most people are already taking in their prenatal vitamins, but maybe a larger dose of 2,000-5,000 mgs. per day. Vitamin C is water soluable so you will pee out whatever is too much for the system. Also, if you are taking too much your body will let you know through loose stools. Do not take anymore that day if this happens. Or, give your body a break and take some later during the day or night.

Resveratrol (that’s the good stuff in red wine) at about 250 a day.

THere is also another vital vitamin to take a look at and integrate into your supplements this season: Vitamin D Theory (Taken from www.foodconsumer.org)

“…Cannell has reported on Sept 16 in his newsletter that two physicians, one in Wisconsin and the other in Georgia, suggested that vitamin D supplementation can be the key to H1N1 flu prevention.”

“Norris Glick, M.D. of Central Wisconsin Center in Madison, Told Cannell in his email that the 274 residents at his health care facility took vitamin D supplements and where monitored regularly for their plasma vitamin D levels; as a result, only two residents developed influenza-like illness and had positive tests for H1N1 during a period of observation. This compares to 103 of 800 staff members during the same period who were not required for the supplementation. This huge difference may be due likely to use of vitamin D supplements.

Dr. Ellie Campbell, who also responded to Cannell’s vitamin D theory, told Dr. Cannell in an email of a similar observation. She said she told her patients to take 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D regularly and monitored their serum levels to make sure her patients had sufficient Vitamin D in their blood. Campbell shared office with another physician. Her office mate did not do the same thing to his patients. When H1N1 hit George, none of her patients came to see her for H1N1 virus infection while the other physician was seeing one to 10 cases per week of influenza-like illness.”

Not to be too obsessive about this, there’s also hand sanitizer, which is a really good idea. A little bottle in your purse, and then use it whenever you’ve been out anywhere. Most drug stores have the little bottles right by the check-out counter.

Another thing to do that can help to keep you healthy is nasal gavage. Use a Neti Pot once a day – every day. If you are around someone ill go home and use it. Many doctor’s particularly ENT’s for eye, ear, nose surgery comment, if all their patients used this every day they would be out of business. It helps to rinse all the allergens and germs out of your nasal passage. Learn about it at a local health food store or here online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8sDIbRAXlg or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8KOsNtpV8w.

It works great! But one caution – you need to use 1/4 t. of sea salt and 1/4 t. baking soda. If you don’t use the baking soda it burns like crazy – the baking soda acts as a buffer. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

Other ‘nasal washes’ you might look into are: NeiMed Sinus Rinse which one of my pregnant woman says is inexpensive and she uses it in the shower. Get it at a local drug store or online at:

http://www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Sinus-Rinse-Regular-Bottle/dp/B000RJGB5C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1256842484&sr=8-3-fkmr0.

Another, more sophisticated way to keep one’s nasal passages irrigated: Naväge Nasal Hygiene System, the world’s only nasal rinser using controlled light suction to gently wash the nasal passages. Devices like the neti pot and squeeze bottle push saline through the nose. Doctor recommended Naväge makes the innovative leap to light, powered suction and gently pulls saline through the nasal cavity. The result is an elegant new way to keep your nose clean. It’s easy to use, convenient, comfortable and safe. And it doesn’t make a mess! Please join us on the road to better nasal health starting today, and begin to enjoyimmediate sinus relief along with the lifelong benefits of superior nasal hygiene.

http://www.navage.com/?gclid=CKCYp_n14p0CFRBM5QodCmS-PA

Other suggestions to help prevent the spread of infection:

– Wash your hands frequently.

– Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue if you sneeze or cough.

– If you eat pork, cook your it thoroughly.

– Avoid travel. If you have any symptoms, stay home.

– If your symptoms are severe, immediately contact your healthcare professional.

– The following is a piece on You Tube entitled, ”Doctor Admits Vaccine Is More Deadly Than Swine Flue Itself and Will Not Give It To His Kids”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw&feature=player_embedded

This is another email to read for futher research on the subject, extensively backed up by studies and research: ”The Deadly Flu! The Vaccination Game! A Users Guide” October 2009: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs028/1101543244270/archive/1102738308154.html

This is a link to Dr. Oz and his feedback on the flu vaccine, “The Dr. Oz Bait for Vaccines: Why Did He Do It,” Posted by: Dr. Mercola October 13, 2009: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/13/Dr-Oz-Helps-Shill-the-Flu-Vaccine.aspx#

“Woman Says Flue Shot Triggered Rare Disorder,” (WUSA9.com): http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=92345&catid=158

“The H1N1 Primer for Pregnant Women” by Maryl Smith

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/preg_H1N1primer.asp

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Advice regarding breastfeeding for mothers with possible H1N1 infection

Ruth A. Lawrence, M.D., FAAP and John S. Bradley, M.D., FAAP Published on October 13, 2009 AAP News 2009, doi:aapnews.20091012-1 © 2009 American Academy of Pediatrics: http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/long/aapnews.20091012-1v1

Neonates and infants younger than 6 months of age are at risk for complications from seasonal influenza and presumably 2009 H1N1 influenza (swine flu), although the morbidity and mortality from this new virus have not yet been described.

While the advantages of breastfeeding are well-known, this close interaction of mother and newborn also can facilitate transmission of influenza virus. The benefits and the risks of close contact must be considered carefully.

To protect the infant from possible serious infection while allowing essential and encouraged mother-infant bonding to occur, a compromise is required until more data are available. The following precautions are suggested to minimize the risk of infection to the infant, particularly while still in the hospital and while the mother is symptomatic with fever and coryza:

– Pay careful attention to handwashing prior to any contact.
– Prior to breastfeeding, wash the breast with mild soap and water; rinse well.
– The mother should wear a surgical mask to prevent nasal secretions and the spontaneous cough or sneeze from inoculating the infant.
– Use clean blankets and burp cloths for each contact.
– Monitor the maternal-infant interaction on perinatal floors for compliance with the above precautions.
– Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
– Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

These precautions are designed to minimize the risk of transmission until mother’s immune response to H1N1 influenza is established, and increased, specific immune protection may be provided by breast milk. Note that influenza virus does not pass through breast milk.

Although the most effective way to prevent influenza transmission is complete separation from her infant when a mother is receiving antiviral treatment, separation may create more long-term problems in breastfeeding success and mother-infant bonding than any potential benefit achieved from avoiding infection in the newborn infant.

For any mother with H1N1 influenza infection who presents in labor to a health care institution, testing and empirically starting therapy for influenza with an antiviral is suggested. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) will hasten resolution of symptoms and infectivity, particularly if treatment is started within 48 hours of onset of illness. Neonatal exposure to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) excreted in breast milk is extremely low.

Immediately following delivery, the precautions listed above should be instituted as the newborn infant is first placed into mother’s arms. These precautions should be followed until mother’s illness is resolved, i.e., no fever, as measured without antipyretics, for 24 hours.

While no data exist to support these suggestions, it is believed that these represent an appropriate balance between the benefits of mother-infant interaction and the risks of serious neonatal infection. Institutions may wish to modify of these suggestions to address their needs and medical practices.

Dr. Lawrence is chair of the AAP Section on Breastfeeding executive committee. Dr. Bradley is a member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases.

_______________________________________________________________________

It is very important that you do your own research. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do. This is your body, your life, your children and it is important what ever you choose to do, not to judge someone else for their choice. We are here to learn to agree to disagree. Everyone’s level of development, fear, trust and preventative abilities is different. Don’t just do something bacause someone says it’s the best thing to do. Assume your power by gathering knowledge, going inside and making an informed choice.

Know the Difference between Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms

Symptom	Cold	H1N1 Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu.
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Severe aches and pains are common with the flu.
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu.
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	60% of people who have the flu experience chills.
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu.
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.	Sneezing is not common with the flu.
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.	A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.	Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu.
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.

Father Knows Best – Oprah

Posted on 20 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

On April 13, 2009, Oprah did a show on the challenges and wonders of fatherhood. While there are far more single mothers, there are about 2 million single fathers in the United States. They deal with all of the struggles a single mother does. Schedules, cooking, laundry, school activities. Oprah celebrated these ‘unsung heroes’ on her show. There were four rather unusual stories that will shock you, move you, bring tears to your eyes as these amazing men find the strength, stamina, heartfelt, selfless duty and love, to share with their children.

One father, Larry Shine, lost his wife, Kate, two and a half years after the birth of their first child. He went on to adopt eight more children from all over the world. Watch a typical day in a house of 10. Larry is a full time corporate attorney and he starts his day at 3 am. Not only would nine children be a challenge, but the household could not have been complete without their token dog, Betty the Bulldog.

Another father, Matt Logelin and his partner Liz, had just became a proud new parents with a beautiful baby girl, Madeline. Born in the morning and by the afternoon, Liz died of a blood clot no one knew she had. Matt had to mourn the loss of his wife and find and follow-through with a typical day of diaper changes and life moving on. Matt created a blog to help him cope with the pain (view his blog here). Thousands of people started reading Matt’s blog. This online community shocked him. Complete strangers were sending him money, toys etc. Matt believes in the ‘give back as much as been given.’ He’s been recycling the clothing Madeleine has grown out of, and has established The Liz Logelin Foundation which helps widows and widowers with children.

The next couple, Gregory Maguire and Andy Newman fell in love and adopted three children from Cambodia and Guatemala. While they might be judged as unconventional by some people…they believe their household is ‘just like any others.’ The names the kids have given their dads are: ”Dada” and “Ba,” the Khmer word for father.

Probably the most touching and heart wrenching story was of a couple Dana Canedy and Charles King. During Dana’s pregnancy, Charles was deployed to Iraq. Six months after Dana gave birth to their son, Jordan, Charles was give 2 weeks leave to see his new family. A full, whirl wind of a visit was to be his only visit with his son. Sadly, Charles returned to Iraq, he was killed in a roadside bombing. When Dana was five and half months pregnant, she’d bought a journal for Charles to record his notes to his unborn son, Jordan. Charles became obsessed with putting down on paper his deepest thoughts about what he wanted to say to his unborn son. After a long day, Charles would come back to his bunk and spend countless hours therapeutically, writing, releasing and sharing. He wrote about the power of God and prayer in his life. He wrote about his love for the military service and more than anything about his respect for women. What a gift this father gave to his son.

One note to Dana in his journal: “This is the letter that every soldier should write. I want to thank you for our son…I’d like to see him grow up to be a man, but only God knows what the future holds” (See what Charles wrote on his son here).

Men don’t typically keep journals. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they might take a lesson from Charles about the preciousness of life, teaching, learning, sharing and pick up that pen and write down in words, that which they might not say directly to their partners, children or family. The world would be a different place.

Conscious Parenting

Posted on 14 June, 2013 by Judith Halek

~ “The children desire freedom! And every particle of their being from their Source says, ‘You are free. You are so free, that every thought you offer, the entire Universe jumps to respond to it.’ And so, to take that kind of knowledge and try to confine it in any way, defies the Laws of the Universe. You must allow your children to be free, because the entire Universe is set up to accommodate that. And anything you do to the contrary will only bring you regret. You cannot contain those that cannot be contained. It defies Law.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, September 19th, 1999 #400

~ “The little ones still remember how to use the power of their imagination. They are still engaged in the utilization of their imagination — that is one of the reasons that keeps them so exhilarated.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Spokane, WA on Wednesday, July 7th, 1999 # 394.

~ “Babies Are Thinking and Attracting Before They Are Speaking… Even though you are only months old in your physical body, you are a very old and wise creator focused in that baby’s body. And you came with powerful intentions to experience contrast and to launch clear rockets of desire into your Vibrational Reality for the purpose of expansion. People often assume that because a child is not yet offering words, the child could not be the creator of its own experience, but it is our promise to you that no one else is creating your experience. Children emanate Vibrations which are the reason for what they attract – even from their time of birth.” – Excerpted from the book, The Vortex, Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships # 333.

~ “Parents don’t want their children to make the wrong decisions, so they don’t allow them to make the decision. And then the child becomes dependent, and then the parent resents that, and it gets off into a blameful thing early on. If you are encouraging children to do all that they can do — and not squelching the natural eagerness that is within them, so that they can shine and thrive and show you and themselves how good they are at adapting to physical experience — then everyone wins.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Dallas, TX on Saturday, March 13th, 1999 # 393.

~ “If we had a child, or anyone, and we caught them doing something inappropriate, we would not amplify it with our words. We would identify what it is we do not want, and then out of it would come the rocket of desire of what we do want, and then we would just visualize, visualize, visualize, until we find peace within our vision. When you make someone and their action the heart of a vision that you’ve spent time on — your relationship improves, your experience is better, and they receive the benefit of the experience. But if you catch them, and see them, and worry about it, and put mechanisms in place to prevent it, now you have not only amplified it, you have now made a commitment that is hooking you both into that, until usually it gets big enough that you break apart, and then you attract others to fulfill that role.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Chicago, IL on Sunday, April 25th, 1999 #588.

~ “The reason the grandchildren will benefit by the launched rockets that you’ve set forth; is because they’re born with no resistance to the rockets of desires that you’ve launched forth… You’ve seen those little ones on computers? They have no problem with that. They were born with computers in their life; they’re born cable-ready. They’re already up to speed with what you’ve launched into the vibrational future. And that’s one of the reasons that it’s nice when the old ones croak and the new ones come in, because it sort of dilutes the resistance factor that’s going on on this planet.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Tarrytown, NY on Saturday, May 14th, 2005 #504.

~ “Relative to our children or any children with whom we would interact, our one dominant intention would be to give them a conscious understanding of how powerful and important and valuable and perfect they are. Every word that would come out of our mouths would be a word that would be offered with the desire to help this individual know that they are powerful. It would be a word of empowerment. We would set the Tone for upliftment and understand that everything will gravitate to that Tone if we would maintain it consistently.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Chicago, IL on Saturday, July 19th, 1997 #469.

~ “Child of mine, I will never do for you that which I know you can do for yourself. I will never rob you of an opportunity to show yourself your ability and talent. I will see you at all times as the capable, effective, powerful creator that you’ve come forth to be. And I will stand back as your most avid cheerleading section. But I will not do for you that which you have intended to do for yourself. Anything you need from me, ask. I’m always here to compliment or assist. I am here to encourage your growth, not to justify my experience through you.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Seattle, WA on Sunday, July 4th, 1999 #453.

~ “Nothing is more debilitating than to care about something you can’t do anything about. And you can’t do anything about your adult children. You can want better for them, and maybe even begin to provide something for them, but in the long run, you cannot do anything about someone else’s vibration other than hold them in the best light you can, mentally, and then project that to them. And sometimes, distance makes that much more possible than being up close to them.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Ashland, OR on Saturday, July 19th, 2003 #437.

~ “Children coming forth today have a greater capacity to deal with the greater variety of information that is coming forward than you did. They deliberately are coming forth into this environment where there is more to contemplate. This generation gap that you are talking about, it has ever been thus. Each new generation, every new individual, that comes forth, is coming with you having prepared a different platform for them to proceed from. There is this thing that gets in the way of that that says, ‘I’m the parent. I got here first. I know more than you do.’ From the children’s perspective, and from the purity of their Nonphysical Perspective, what they are saying is, ‘You’re the parent. You got here first. You prepared a platform that I am leaping off from — and my leap will be beyond anything that you have ever known.'” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in San Rafael, CA on Saturday, February 27th, 1999 #395.

~ “The child is thinking, and receiving vibrational thought from you on the day that he enters your environment. That is the reason that beliefs are transmitted so easily from parent to child, from parent to child, from parent to child. The child is vibrationally receiving your fears, your beliefs, even without your spoken word… If you want to do that which is of greatest value for your child, give thought only to that which you want, and your child will receive only those wanted thoughts.” Abraham, excerpted from “The Law of Attraction, The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham” #385.

~ “The most important thing that you can teach your children is that wWell-being abounds. And that Well-being is naturally flowing to them. And that if they will relax and reach for thoughts that feel good, and do their best to appreciate, then they will be less likely to keep the Well-being away, and more likely to allow it to flow into their experience. Teach them the Art of allowing.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Milwaukee, WI on Wednesday, July 5th, 2000 #363.

~ “Parents can’t choose the mates of their children or the behavior of their children. You actually can’t choose anything for your children without disempowering them.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Syracuse, NY on Thursday, October 17th, 1996 #347.

~ “When a child has a dream and a parent says, “It’s not financially feasible; you can’t make a living at that; don’t do it,” we say to the child, run away from home… You must follow your dream. You will never be joyful if you don’t. Your dream may change, but you’ve got to stay after your dreams. You have to.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Asheville, NC on Sunday, May 1st, 2005 #330.”Most people don’t think that new-born children could be the Creator of their own reality because they are not even talking yet. But the Universe is not responding to your language, anyway. The Universe is responding to your vibration — and your vibration is about the way you feel.” – Excerpted from the workshop in Seattle, WA on Saturday, June 20th, 1998. Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham).

~ “Your child is naturally joyful. Your child is naturally tuned in to Source Energy. And as he is diving through and digging through contrast, it is natural that there would be some things that might disconnect him. Just don’t let his disconnection then inflame your disconnection. Many parents have discovered that their children, for the most part, feel good when they do — and the ornerier you are, usually the ornerier your children are. They are a strong reflection of the way you are feeling much of the time.” – Excerpted from the workshop in San Antonio, TX on Saturday, January 26th, 2002. Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham).

~ “If you encourage your children to stay connected to Source Energy, they will remain clear-minded; they will remain optimistic; they will remain enthusiastic. They will remain balanced; they will remain flexible. They will remain in a state of grace. They will remain in a state of Well-Being. And they will make wonderful choices.” – Excerpted from the workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Thursday, May 12th, 2005. Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham).

~ “The little ones still remember how to use the power of their imagination. They are still engaged in the utilization of their imagination — that is one of the reasons that keeps them so exhilarated.” – Excerpted from the workshop in Spokane, WA on Wednesday, July 7th, 1999. Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham).

~ “The most significant thing for a parent to contribute to anyone, is their own Connection and their own stability. An effective parent is a happy parent. An effective parent is a parent who laughs easily and often, and who doesn’t take things so seriously.” – Excerpted from the workshop in Albany, NY on Monday, October 1st, 2001. Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham).

~ “Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it catches fire again every time a child is born.” – George Bernard Shaw

~ “The question is, ‘Well, what about the little ones? What about the (unhealthy) babies?’ And we say they’ve been exposed to a vibration, even in the womb, that caused them to disallow the Well-being that would have been there otherwise. But once they are born, no matter what their disability, if they could be encouraged to the thought that would allow it, then, even after the body is fully formed, it could be regenerated into something that is well.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Ashland, OR on Tuesday, May 16th, 2000).

~ “There are three reasons for breast-feeding: the milk is always at the right temperature; it comes in attractive containers; and the cat can’t get it.” – Irena Chalmers

~ “Parents often think that they are here to guide the little ones. When – in reality – the little ones come forth with clarity to guide you.” – Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Orlando, FL on Saturday, February 15th, 1997.

~ “A baby is something you carry inside you for nine months, in your arms for three years and in your heart till the day you die.” – Mary Mason

~ ”A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination, prepared to be herself and only herself.” – Maya Angelou

~ “Who you are and what you know when you are born is everything that you need to know to thrive. You are born with a sense of self and a sense of wanting self to feel good, and the mechanisms to bring it about.” Abraham, excerpted from the workshop in Kansas City, KS on Wednesday, September 17th, 2003.