|
recent posts
----------
Fashion and Expectations
Before You Think, We Anticipate
Flickers of Interest
Babble Pondering
Broadcasters
Dairyland
Older Eggs
Silent Katie
Recycled
Kid Tunes
|
 |
You've got questions, she's got answers. Be among the first to read Elise Mac Adam's new etiquette guide.
Pre-order from:
- Simon & Schuster
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
Undercover Sleep Rebels
Late in my pregnancy, my husband and I decided to take a birthing class but finding one proved tricky because while we were interested in natural childbirth, neither of us has any patience for: birthing art projects, excessive homework, new-age spiritualism, complicated diets, yoga, and husband-coaching. . . I love my husband too much for that. Someone would have lost an eye.
In the end I found a really great, non-doctrinaire birth class from RealBirth in Chelsea. The center is the education and post-partum support branch of what was formerly the Elizabeth Seton Childbirth Center that was forced to close a few years ago because of the cost of insurance premiums. Our teacher, Erica Lyin, the director of the center, was wonderful and I'm thinking about her because she is quoted in the New York Times today.
The itchy subject in today's Health section is about SIDS and how some people abandon the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations and put their children to sleep on their stomachs, because when they're on their bellies, they actually sleep. Parents are extremely anxious about ignoring these protocols and tend to lie, if only by omission, about these tendencies.
This is one of the countless intractable problems of having a baby. No one wants to be "bad" and go against protocol. People are just desperate. There's no special kick in the transgression, unless it is the relief of finally getting a little more sleep.
The Times interviews a number of people who attest to the hand-wringing, doctors who explain why back sleeping is preferred, one doctor who talks about plagiocephaly (flat head from back sleeping), but Erica's comment is at once smart and comforting- a rarity in the world of infant advice which thrives on scare techniques. As if new parents weren't having enough little thrills.
"I'm very sympathetic to the mother who is so sleep-deprived that she puts the baby on its belly knowing that all the experts recommend not to... The role of the professional is to say 'these are the recommendations and this is why.' The role of the parent is to think critically and apply those recommendations in a way that makes their life manageable."
As a point of interest, the pediatricians I see recommend back sleeping until the babies themselves figure out how to flip themselves around on their own. Once the infants are doing that, they say, all bets are off.
On the other side of things, the Times also reports that if your kid drinks coffee, his growth won't be stunted. But it will be that much harder to get him to sleep on his back.
posted by Elise at 5:06 AM
........................................................
........................................................
<< Home
........................................................
|
