5 Insane Fads New Parents Swallow
Sporting her usual bubbly demeanor, the midwife strolled into the kitchen and announced she had a special gift for the new mom. She held out a clear bag filled with hundreds of capsules. The emotion on my daughter-in-law’s face fell somewhere on the scale between utter disgust and sheer astonishment.
“It’s your placenta!” she explained.
“I dried and capsulated it. It works wonders for post partum depression. Take two everyday as a precaution, or just when you feel the need.”
As repulsive as it sounds, rumors of the benefits of eating one’s own placenta have floated around the natural mothering crowd since the days when we still called them hippies. Believe it or not, today many of these trends are making a comeback.
January Jones, who plays Betty on Mad Men, doesn’t have a problem eating her afterbirth, or apparently discussing it in public.
She told People.com:
Your placenta gets dehydrated and made into vitamins. It’s something I was very hesitant about, but we’re the only mammals who don’t ingest our own placentas.
Old hippies have spawned a new hybrid generation of parents that’s three parts high-tech and one part organic. The new “Crunchy” or “Natural Mamas” have inherited some ideals once considered “out there” for we Boomers, like nursing and laboring in water.
The next four extreme trends could become the new norm.
Worshipping the Devil is reportedly good for headaches and staying away from the miasma’s that float off of swamps is good for malaria.
Swimming in pools with no water is proof against drowning and wishing all Liberals would be magically transported to Mars is a nice way to dream we’re not all going to Hell in a handbasket, where we at least won’t have any headaches.
Thank you, laughter is good for the soul!
Aw, hell! If anyone in this culture of abortion is still willing to give birth I applaud them! A little loony theory here and there is a small price to pay.
There is no greater joy than watching my oldest daughter make thoughtful choices for her first birth and raising a baby and making all (almost) of the same choices I did and wanted for her. Midwife, passing on drugs during delivery(with option if necessary, but didn’t need) breastfeeding, staying home,researching vaccines. I guess the best way to affect the next generation is to be a good role model and be a happy thankful person in all things.
Applause!
The goal of the Babywise method isn’t getting the parents a full night’s sleep as soon as possible, it’s establishing a flexible routine for the child. We did not try to force uninterrupted night sleep on our son, we maintained his night feedings until he was ready to drop them, which was around four months.
He is now eight months old, a healthy moose of a kid (right in the middle of his weight percentile and taller than average). He takes four bottles a day and three solid meals, two naps a day, and is extremely flexible with his schedule. He sleeps twelve hours a night without a peep. If we want to take a day trip to see his grandparents, he may not sleep while he’s there, but he’ll nap in the car and goes right back into his routine the next day.
The reason it gets such a bad rap is because it works in polar opposite to the attachment parenting/on demand feeding method, which has its own problems. The least of which is failure of parents to learn how to interpret different cries and the failure of the child to receive the more nutritious hind milk, which can lead to failure to thrive and weight issues.
Babywise also works in conjunction with the CIO (Cry It Out) method, which some people are horrified of. Here’s the secret though…you learn how to interpret your baby’s cries, how and when to react (if at all), and they learn how to soothe themselves.
Amen and amen. BabyWise is so counter to the cr*p theories that continue to destroy the parent as authority.
Yes, because baby wise is simply a crap theory. That’s what sets it apart.
All I know it works extremely well for my kid, and for the children of nearly every parent I know that uses it.
When I see comments from parents who have tried it and failed, it is usually from the mother who can’t stand the thought that their baby would show any sign of being able to function independently of mom. It’s the mothers that understandably love having their child fall asleep on them instead of soothing themselves to sleep in their own crib, or mothers who are unusually attached to co-sleeping.
I think the point here is that not all theories work with all children. What worked with my first daughter didn’t work with my second. If you find a method that works well for you and your child, great! If you try to force a parenting method on your child that isn’t working, you need to stop and try something else.
He sleeps twelve hours a night without a peep *and* takes two naps a day? When is the kid awake?
Having BF all four of my boys, who self-weaned as well (all four before the age of two), I can tell you learning the difference between their cries is *not* a difficult task. Seeing how I addressed them all as needed — and trust me, babies let you know when you get it wrong… if you listen — it was a breeze for me.
I had chickenpox when I was a baby, then I had shingles when I was 57, and I was told to absolutely stay away from pregnant women- I bet I didn’t miss them all.
The chickenpox vaccine insures you never get chickenpox which can turn into shingles later in life. Having a chickenpox party instead of the vaccine is actually harmful just like most “natural” medicine quackery gibberish.
That’s exactly backwards.
The chickenpox vaccine is ASSOCIATED with shingles.
Ihttp://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/09/01/12896.aspx
Having chickenpox naturally is associated with NO shingles.
Also, the vaccines doesn’t always work, and the US vaccine uses aborted fetal tissue cultures to create the vaccine.
In short, lots of moral problems, lots of medical problems, and the natural solution works a lot better than the vaccine solution.
In fact, it is quite possible that the problems with the vaccine INCREASE the dangers to pregnant women and newborns. Vaccine immunity can wear off in as little as 6-9 years. Immunity from normal infections is life-long.
Thus, a heavily vaccinated population is actually at paradoxically higher risk of passing the disease on to pregnant women and newborns, since fewer people have life-long immunity in such a population.
That is exactly wrong. Chickenpox virus remains dormant in nerves, kept at bay by the immune system. As people age, their immune system becomes less effective, and the virus can reactivate.
There is a shingles vaccine which can prevent or reduce the severity of shingles.
My son’s doctor told us that the increasing prevalence of “flesh eating” bacteria made chicken pox more dangerous. Children scratch the itchy red bump, comes in contact with the bacteria and WHAM-O! Chicken pox is suddenly the least of your worries for your child.
Free advice for new young parents out there: Don’t read books about parenting. PhD’s don’t know sh*t about anything that matters. Just do what seems right, and enjoy your kids. Done, and done.
Couldn’t agree more. As a new dad I have to say that there is no shortage of those willing to give opinions on how to best feed, change, hold, not hold, and so on my son. Some opinions we follow and others…not so much. I truly enjoy my son and while I can’t wait to watch him grow up.
As a young father (now with two children), I’ve found it helpful to read up on parenting for general ideas and guidance. That said, I’ve stayed away from any book that claims to have all the answers and the things that I do read, I take as advice, not doctrine.
I’ve learned from my own children and from their numerous friends and cousins that every child is different. If you try to impose a specific regime on your child, it may work wonderfully or it could backfire horribly. It’s best to get to know your child as an individual and figure out through trial and error what works best for him or her.
All three of my children sleep (and have slept) through the night since they were 3 months old. That’s because my wife and I both READ BabyWise. And if you have at least half an Occupier brain, then you’ll do what’s best for your child. In no way shape or form does the book say NOT to feed your child…EVER.
Want to take a shot at parenting advice that not only DOESN’T work but is just plain dumb? Try “Love and Logic”. Give the La Leche League a call.
BabyWise is for parents that want to enjoy their child and remain sovereign individuals. But, it requires WORK and DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY. Most new parents fly by the seat of their pants and, not surprisingly, their children don’t sleep through the night. Which is the catalyst for all types of problems later on.
What other normal, earth based human being thinks it’s ok for a child (a 6 year old child) to wake at 4 am every day? Oh, let’s see, my brother and the majority of other parents and the half baked theories (liberal theories by the way) they buy into. But, of course, I’m the crazy one for thinking it’s possible to train your child to sleep through the night.
Please read the book before lumping it into truly faddish ideas – like placenta eating. Until then, you can keep your manic, neurotic children. I have to deal with them enough as it is.
Back in 1993 when our youngest daughter was 8 my wife actually did this. When a friends child got the chicken pox she had our daughter visit and spend half a day with the sick child. Our daughter was and had always been a healthy little girl. It worked our daughter got chicken pox. Now for the rest of the story. The resulting fever cost our daughter her hearing in her right ear (complete lost of all hearing and there is not solution, earing aids, implant etc). She got shingles for the first time at age the highly unusual age of 24. For those who dont know Shingles is a extremely painful condition caused by the Chicken Pox virus. Everyone who has had the Chicken Pox still has the virus in their bodies. In some the virus will awaken causing Shingles. Most people who experince this very painful condition do so in their senior years. As with all viruses there is no cure.
So for those considering exposing your child to the chicken pox in order to get it over and done with know that your are introducing the virus into your childs body for the rest of their lives. It is not simply and single one time event. And in addition to possibly subjecting them to continuous outbreaks of the Shingles the virus can cause, as in my daughter, earring lost, vision problems to name just two.
“…but we’re the only mammals who don’t ingest our own placentas.”
That’s because we’re the only mammals who don’t have to worry about predators and/or scavengers trying for a two-fer meal — the placenta and the newborn.
And the mom. Yes it has many good minerals and vitamins and all that but we already get that if we eat right. There is no medical reason to eat or not to eat your placenta in a properly nourished woman.
The placenta is very nutritious, so I’m told. If you’ve just given birth in the wild, it makes a very convenient meal. It’s much easier than trying to run down a gazelle right after giving birth.
You know what else makes a convenient, nutritious meal? The hospital cafeteria. It may not be the greatest thing you’ve ever eaten, but it sure beats bloody placenta in my book. (Or in my wife’s case you can send your husband down the street to get some Middle Eastern cuisine after the baby arrives.)
After 6 kids, let me tell you these so called experts don’t have a clue.
We did the every 2 hour feed on my oldest did not work out well on the rest we let them sleep until they woke on their own and it worked out fine.
Note:
Popular studies are not clinical studies. A popular study is essentially nothing more than a survey, with the results run through statistics analysis… and such studies can be horribly misleading, even giving results that indicate the exact opposite of reality. There is no double blind, no overview of the population studied, and most importantly no way to discern between causation and correlation or even just outright coincidence.
The study about ceasarian births vs. “natural” births by its nature is a popular study.
More telling, “three times more likely to DIE….” 1)scare quote. 2)how likely is the child to die in the first place? If it’s .0001%, an increase in risk to .0003% isn’t that significant a factor. That this researcher does not TELL us this detail outright is a warning flag for the work of a bad statistician.
Yes, I’m sure that it’d be great to go back to the good old days when women gave birth right at home with no advanced medical gimcrackery. And wouldn’t it be wonderful to go back to the days of removing an appendix without anaesthetic or hygeine?
Great comment! She wants us to believe her own poorly researched ideas? C-sections are popular in part because they increase the health and chance of survival of the mother. So I’m sure your 3x death increase can be accounted for by the fact mothers are alive to have more children. I’m glad you didn’t have that problem with your 10 children.
Although Ms. Robinson presents these as “trends” none of these ridiculous practices is anywhere close to being mainstream nor ever will be. On the other hand, I remember when breast feeding was considered fringe.
As a physician I have witnessed many maternal and fetal tragedies resulting from starry-eyed Kumbaya Mom mis-adventures. When midwife deliveries get into trouble, the Doctor gets brought in. When the Doctor’s delivery gets in trouble, there aren’t any midwives rushing in.
It may be worth pointing out that the switch to C-sections was partly driven by the esteemed John Edwards (and confrers), who made his millions by suing obstetricians for cerebral palsy in infants delivered vaginally. Despite the turn to C-sections, the rate of CP has not changed. The birthing costs have obviously gone up. A lot.
And scheduled C-sections are so much less inconvenient for the mamas-to-be and their obstetricians; they’re not done at night or on weekends.
For somebody who never had kids of his own, Dr. Spock sure did spawn a lot of loony offspring.
The truth is, some babies need the on demand feeding some will adjust just fine. Some will do fine with CIO (Cry it out) others need to be held early on to fall asleep. If you are looking for an answer in one book, or one technique, or one web site, then just consider all the genetic possibilities there are for your baby….personalities, hurts, and levels of need. If you are a new parent or soon will be, rest assured you will do the wrong thing sometimes but love will more than make up for your shortcomings.
Amen.
I could mention a few more, some of them not exactly new:
“baby-wearing”…WTF??? When I was a young’un, girls and women…and occasionally even boys and men who just couldn’t help it…would stand in line for the chance to hold and cuddle someone else’s adorable baby. Of course if the baby started fussing or crying it was immediately given back to mom, but at least the baby was given a chance to get used to the idea that mom is not the only trustworthy adult in the world. Selfishly tying your baby to your body is not exactly conducive to social bonding.
“the nursery”…what a pretentious term; why not just call it “the baby’s bedroom”, in which he or she is probably never going to spend a full night sleeping for at least two years?
SIDS hysteria: first pillows went, then quilts (“they can create pockets of carbon monoxide, which is a factor in crib death” my best friend knowledgably informed me to explain why the patchwork quilt I had painstakingly and lovingly handcrafted for her newborn daughter never went near the crib), then finally blankets. And don’t even mention soft cuddly toys. Babies’ cribs nowadays are as barren and inviting as a gulag. No wonder modern babies spend so little time sleeping in their own beds; who the hell would want to?
“Gender neutral” parenting: where to even begin?
I tried out the nursing program at the local college and before I could take the classes I had to get some vaccinations. I had to have the chickenpox vaccination too.
I noted you say you are a “natural immunity” proponent. That is fair. I agree. However, the chickenpox vaccine is made from a live virus, so it is pretty darn close to being “natural.” I did not break out with bumps, but believe it or not, MY DAUGHTER CAUGHT CHICKENPOX FROM ME (she was 18 at the time).