Birthing Wisdom

The Boppy Company is recalling nearly 3.3 million of their newborn loungers, which have been linked to 8 infant deaths. Parents should stop using the loungers immediately, officials said.

4 years ago I posted these words and they still need to be said. A parent commented to me today that she found it odd that doctors don’t look in a baby’s mouth... to hunt for tongue tie. The comment I made was that they will often briefly look if the baby is crying, but the vast majority of doctors won’t try to lift the tongue up to check for tongue tie. They’re often satisfied if the baby can stick out the tongue (which is irrelevant for breastfeeding), which gives parents the false idea that tongue tie doesn’t exist. Of the doctors who do check for tongue tie, the overwhelming majority don’t check correctly (for my method, read http://www.drghaheri.com//how-to-examine-a-baby-for-tongue). How can we explain to medical professionals why physically using their hands is important during an examination? Let’s turn to an example: If you had knee pain and went to the doctor and said Doctor, I have knee pain. When I do X and Y it hurts and then it gets swollen and I can’t do X and Y or it hurts more and doing X and Y make it better then the doctor would have an idea what was going on. What is the logical next step? a) The doctor should lean back in his/her chair, stroke their chin, and say Well, the knee sure looks good from here so give it some time and not do a physical exam? b) The doctor should lean back in his/her chair, stroke their chin, and say Well, what’s important is that you can walk, and as long as you can walk, I think your knee is fine and not do a physical exam? c) The doctor should lean back in his/her chair, stroke their chin, and say I understand you’re having symptoms. I believe you. Here’s a brace for you to wear and as long as the brace helps you, you can keep using it and not do a physical exam? d) The doctor should lean back in his/her chair, stroke their chin, and say Here’s some Advil to help you with that symptom and not do a physical exam? Is it ever ok for the doctor in this instance to NOT do an exam? Of course not. The same thing goes for shortness of breath, chest pain, abdominal pain, etc. We are *supposed* to do a physical exam. It’s the first thing we learn in medical school, but for some reason, we as a medical community have decided to skip that step with our babies and rely on nipple shields and referrals to lactation consultants (and then dismissing their reports if tongue tie is suggested) and all purpose nipple ointment and focusing on good weight gain as the only thing that matters and skipping the PHYSICAL part of HISTORY AND PHYSICAL. Let’s get back to basics. Let’s listen to our dyads and then look and hunt for the reasons why the dyad is struggling. It really doesn’t have to be controversial. The real controversy is why medicine is failing at this problem.

This is all that matters to me you all are the sweetest people and I truly have the best followers! Thank you all so much

RECALL ALERT!!!! PLEASE SHARE TO SPREAD THE WORD Maxi-Cosi Is recalling 83,000 of their Pria 85 seats. "The Dorel Juvenile Group has recalled 83,000 Maxi-Cosi P...ria 85 convertible child car seats because they may not adequately protect larger children in a crash. According to documents posted on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), children who weigh 65 pounds or more could suffer a head injury in a crash when the seat is in the forward-facing position and secured using the lap belt without also using the top-tether strap. The child’s head could come in contact with the vehicle interior during the crash, which could result in potential head injuries, the NHTSA notice says. This noncompliance recall is because in testing the seat failed to properly restrain the test dummy, thereby not conforming to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213, which covers child restraint systems." ***EDIT: according to the Maxi Cosi IG this affects Pria 85 AND Pria 85 Max seats*** https://news.yahoo.com/dorel-recalls-83-000-maxi-165500793.