Man, Melissa Joan Hart can't seem to get enough of herself. She has now resorted to posting about her weight loss on her MySpace Blog.
Apparently, People mag forgot to mention the most important part of her post-baby weight loss:
"Hi all, Just want to explain a little more about things discussed within the People article. While the article is correct and properly quoted, I want to point out that I naturally have a small-frame body, being only 5'2" tall, so 155 pounds was an unhealthy weight for me, even with a baby. My "normal" healthy weight should remain under 120 lbs. More importantly, what was left out of the article was my body fat percentage, which is currently just under 18%, which I am extremely proud of right now. I am also fitting into my size 27 jeans. Stepping on a scale means nothing to me since muscle weighs more than fat. What matters is how I feel on a day-to-day basis. Thats it, just wanted to get that off my chest."
Um, narcissism much?
Kate Gosselin: bikini body
I still haven't really worked out who this Kate Gosselin character is, other than that she's on some wildly popular show called Jon & Kate Plus 8 (some couple with 8 kids now embroiled in all sorts of scandal). Anyway, mamma has had 8 kids a tummy tuck, one of the many perks she has received as part of the reality show.
Totally Tori makes her own baby food
One more reason to hate Tori Spelling...or perhaps a good reason to laught at her.....
Tori Spelling: What would fans be shocked to know?
Tori Spelling: What would fans be shocked to know?
New weight guidelines and preconception care
Oh man. As if woman needed another thing to make pregnancy and birth less than fun. Is it any wonder that just as the Institute of Medicine released its revisions of the 1990 guidelines for pregnancy weight gain (in a nut shell, continue to limit your weight gain and if you are already overweigh try not to gain any weight at all), as if on cue, Heidi Murkoff released her latest tome, What to Expect Before You're Expecting, which in the tradition of the other What to Expect books capitalises on telling women what to eat, how much weight to gain and how not to be a bad mother all BEFORE they even get pregnant.Seriously, if anyone could take the fun out of baby making, it would have to be Murkoff. Sure, while conception is by no means easy for everyone, come on. I think it's a pretty sad state of affairs when women are being told to monitor their weight gain before they are even pregnant and treating pregnancy as though it was a 2year process and not just nine months. As Murkoff writes:
"Before you're expecting--and before you even begin trying to expect--is the best time to get both your bodies into tip-top baby-making shape. And that's why I've written What to Expect Before You're Expecting--a complete, step-by-step preconception plan to help you and your partner prep for pregnancy. Whether you're hoping to fill your nest for the first time or the fourth (or more!), a little conception know-how--which lifestyle adjustments you should make now (cut back on caffeine and cocktails) and which you can hold off on (get your sushi while you can!); which foods are fertility-friendly and which are fertility busters (say yes to yams and oysters, so long to saturated fats); how extra weight can weigh on your fertility and his; how to track fertility and pinpoint ovulation--can help you fill that nest faster. What's more, the right preconception protocol can help ensure a healthier and more comfortable pregnancy (think less morning sickness, a lowered risk of premature delivery and gestational diabetes) and a healthier bundle of baby. And the plan doesn't end when you're finished with the prepping. It covers baby-making how-to's, do's, and don'ts--everything you need to know about conception sex (from timing, to logistics, to positions, and more)."
I think this is so dangerous. Some women do everything 'right'. They follow all of the preconception care, they see the best doctors and they still don't get pregnant. To suggest that eating healthy foods and tracking your ovulation will make you a better mother or even ensure that you will become one is ridiculous.
Sabrina the teenage witch: shameless self-promotion
Blah blah blah. Melissa Joan Hart is 'revealing her bikini body' after having two kids. It's taken her 14 months to get back to 113 lbs after seeing 'horrifying' photos of herself on the beach last year. "I still read blogs about me discussing how fat I've become," the former Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star tells PEOPLE in the new issue, available on newsstands Friday.
"Everyone still thinks I'm huge," says Hart, 33, whose post-pregnancy body was the subject of cruel Internet attacks after she gave birth to sons Mason, 3, and Braydon, 14 months, with husband, Course of Nature lead singer Mark Wilkerson, 32. "But I'm not anymore!"
And I'd like to ask her...has the loss of fat changed her life? Sure, she may say that she's happier, inspired, whatever. What really annoys me is this crap that is constantly fed to women and in particular, post-birth mothers, that suggests that weight loss makes life easier. Sure you can fit into smaller clothes but it doesnt ever change the fact that many women in this world are dealing with juggling a work/life balance and working out is only another pressure among a sea of already existing pressures. Getting into a bikini doesn't change any of that.
Boo to you, MJH.
"Hee hee hooo": breathing no good when it comes to birthing outcomes
A new Swedish study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveals that antenatal breathing classes have no measurable benefits. Couples that were taught relaxation techniques, massage and breathing fared no better than couples who were enrolled in standard antenatal classes. The researchers thought that relaxation techiques and breathing would help couples with the stress during birth, lower rates of epidural use and more pleasurable birthing experiences overall. They found, however, that the experiences in both groups were largely identical.
Professor Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said: "The findings of this study are contrary to what many of us would expect."
"The lack of benefit from psychoprophylactic techniques is disappointing, and suggests that parents' experience of childbirth is affected more by their personality and previous psychological orientation than by the relatively limited training that is possible during pregnancy. An alternative view is that standard antenatal classes are 'good enough' and therefore represent an effective use of limited resources
What are your thoughts? Did any of you use breathing or relaxation techniques during your labour?
Professor Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said: "The findings of this study are contrary to what many of us would expect."
"The lack of benefit from psychoprophylactic techniques is disappointing, and suggests that parents' experience of childbirth is affected more by their personality and previous psychological orientation than by the relatively limited training that is possible during pregnancy. An alternative view is that standard antenatal classes are 'good enough' and therefore represent an effective use of limited resources
What are your thoughts? Did any of you use breathing or relaxation techniques during your labour?
Depression test for new Australian mums
It won't be long before new Australian mums will be screened for postnatal depression thanks to the work of the national depression group beyond blue. The group is in talks with the federal government to introduce the test and also to support a British study of 1400 women that has revealed that mothers of twins and triplets are almost twice as likely to become depressed. According to recent stats, almost 16% of Aussie mums develop some form of depression and for the most part, help only comes when women are already depressed. A measure to screen new mums nationally would be a step in identifying the triggers for depression and getting women help much earlier. The truth is that many women become depressed antenatally (during pregnancy) but the depression is never identified until postpartum. Based on the results of the British data, beyond blue deputy chief executive Nicole Highet has said that Australian mothers of multiples are at a greater risk of becoming depressed often because of the trauma or challenges involved in getting pregnant (complications with IVF, for example) and in getting the babies into the world safely (caesareans, separation after birth, etc). This is aside from the fact that while having one baby is exhausting, having two or three newborns can be even more so. On top of this, the unrealistic pressures placed on mothers today only makes for a perfect platform for emotional collapse. Highet argues:
"Long-term untreated PND can cause delayed cognitive and emotional development in the baby. The benefits of picking up PND early are immense."
Postnatal depression especially effects the partners of women: Highet notes that 50-60% of partners are also depressed.
Help can not come soon enough. It's amazing: for all of the technology that has managed to save babies in the long run in the US and Australia, for instance, at the same time, technology has also managed to fundamentally change the ways in which women get pregnant, give birth and do motherhood. It is frustrating that with all of the changes that have come to maternity since the rise of hospital birth and obstetrics as a legitimate profession during the Industrial Revolution, there have been very few measures enacted that are solely designed to support mothers emotionally and psychologically. Up until now, we have been very focused on outcomes, making sure the 'products' of birth (e.g. babies) are healthy and that mothers come out on the other end alive. While this is an obvious mark of progress historically (especially in light of my recent post about birth in Tanzania), at the same time, if our mothers aren't happy and well, there is little chance that our babies will also remain healthy and well. Women who are supported (by partners, friends, families, midwives, etc) do much better statistically than women who go at pregnancy, birth and motherhood alone (and this is not implying that all women need to have partners to be good mums). Historically, it has been much more intellectually satisfying for medical professionals to focus on the physical problems associated with pregnancy and birth. Yet, the pastoral care for the mother is extraordinarily important perhaps even more so than the intensive care of infants. The people that ultimately care for babies are parents, and by and large mothers.
If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
"Long-term untreated PND can cause delayed cognitive and emotional development in the baby. The benefits of picking up PND early are immense."
Postnatal depression especially effects the partners of women: Highet notes that 50-60% of partners are also depressed.
Help can not come soon enough. It's amazing: for all of the technology that has managed to save babies in the long run in the US and Australia, for instance, at the same time, technology has also managed to fundamentally change the ways in which women get pregnant, give birth and do motherhood. It is frustrating that with all of the changes that have come to maternity since the rise of hospital birth and obstetrics as a legitimate profession during the Industrial Revolution, there have been very few measures enacted that are solely designed to support mothers emotionally and psychologically. Up until now, we have been very focused on outcomes, making sure the 'products' of birth (e.g. babies) are healthy and that mothers come out on the other end alive. While this is an obvious mark of progress historically (especially in light of my recent post about birth in Tanzania), at the same time, if our mothers aren't happy and well, there is little chance that our babies will also remain healthy and well. Women who are supported (by partners, friends, families, midwives, etc) do much better statistically than women who go at pregnancy, birth and motherhood alone (and this is not implying that all women need to have partners to be good mums). Historically, it has been much more intellectually satisfying for medical professionals to focus on the physical problems associated with pregnancy and birth. Yet, the pastoral care for the mother is extraordinarily important perhaps even more so than the intensive care of infants. The people that ultimately care for babies are parents, and by and large mothers.
If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
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