News you can use

Monday news roundup:

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada says a C-section should not be offered to a pregnant woman unless there is a valid medical reason to perform one. But, a University of British Columbia study found that 2 per cent of obstetricians were in favour of a woman's right to choose a C-section for herself, even in the absence of a medical indication.

Speaking of caesars, Charlotte Church says giving birth naturally was pretty rough: "It's absolutely, disgustingly horrendous.It's shocking I tell you that. I had both babies at home, two home births, just with gas and air. It was horrendous. I mean it was amazing and awesome and crazily whatever, a completely different experience but you know, I might do it again because I'm a little bit of a sadist that way."

Over in supermodel preggo land, the maternity style wars were on as Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen tooled around town with their bumps in all their glory

In case you missed it, Shiloh Pitt, 3, lost her front tooth. This has prompted such heated internet discussion, forcing Brangelina to issue a press release answering questions about the obvious gap in Shiloh's smile. Most people think Shiloh is too young to start losing teeth, so most of the web is settled on the idea that Zahara either clocked her in the face or she has been eating skittles for breakfast.

Speaking of half-pint celebs, Suri Cruise is not only a style maven for other three year olds, her mother, Katie Holmes points to Suri as her inspiration for her new fashion line she is launching with her stylist Jeanne Yang: "It has been my dream forever to be in fashion and I'm truly inspired by my daughter Suri. She just loves dressing up so I decided to launch this exciting venture with Jeanne." Um, let's just hope that her new line doesn't include sparkly shell shaped handbags or kitten heels.

Oh, and Nicole Richie has snapped back into her size zeros in just under 2 weeks. Ho Hum.

This and that!

OMG. You are probably so cross with me for disappearing for a week without warning. Well, let me tell you, it's been one busy week for me and pretty slow week for pregnancy news. I'll save the details for another day and get on with what I do best. Here is a smattering of things on my radar:

So, I'm amused to see the US News and World Report's 7 Strategies for a Successful Maternity Leave. What I find particularly funny (or perhaps ironic?) is that strategising about your maternity leave is really only necessary when you actually have maternity leave. Even more amusing is the tip to 'Find Good Child Care' while you are on maternity leave. If any woman here in Melbourne actually waited until her baby was actually born to work on childcare, no one would have care until the kid was three. Ladies here get on the waiting lists at the first whiff of pregnancy.

And if this isn't a cautionary tale, I don't know what is, in spite of the researcher's warning that the research should not be used to prevent women from choosing to terminate their pregnancies. I can just see the pro-life lobby falling over themselves to find a way to use this new 'risk' to challenge choice.

Australian obs are pissed off with Health Minister Nicola Roxon after accusations that they have been raising their fees as much as 20% by taking advantage of the existing Medicare safety net. Come January, however, Roxon is cutting them off when Medicare refunds are capped. According to new reports, the increase in charges helped turn obstetricians into millionaires with the highest earning 10 per cent of obstetricians now earning $1.8 million a year - $1.1 million of which comes from Medicare. Perhaps another reason to go with a midwife!

And finally, while I'm happy that Kim Clijsters made such a spectacular 'comeback' to tennis this week winning the US Open, I'm annoyed (again) that the fact that she is a mother somehow makes this astonishing victory more astonishing. Clijsters is a great player; why are our expectations so low for women when they rebound from motherhood?

Standing up is better for labour

"A review of 21 studies involving almost 4,000 women concludes there is no risk to pregnant women from standing up when they start the delivery process and it may actually be harmful to lie flat."

Duh! Midwives and homebirthers have been saying this forever. The only reason women have been encouraged to lie down with their legs up (the lithotomy position) historically is because doctors it helped early obstetricians to see women's bits. Laying down works against gravity whereas walking around, squatting and standing help move things along. If you have an epidural, obviously, you have to lie down but it also raises your risk of having a caesar.

Read more: Taking a stand

Caesars high in Canada

Turns out the caesar rate is not just high here in Australia where almost one-third of mothers have their children via caesarean section. Caesarean rates have risen in Oz from 18 per cent in 1991, to 30 per cent in 2005.

Canadian women are jumping on the caesar train as rates of obesity and 'older' motherhood are increasing. According to new reports, 1 in 4 Canadian women are having caesars. From 1993 to2006, Canada's caesarean rate increased from 17.6 percent to 26.3 percent. For Canada - one of the safest places in the world to givebirth - this rising rate is alarming. According to The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, more caesars puts more pressure on a maternity system that is already over-stretched.

We are seeing the future and it is not good.

Source: www.sogc.org