Where to Have Baby – Natural Childbirth Options and Birthing Plans

Giving birth naturally can be quite an achievement. Natural childbirth is where a pregnant woman experiences labor and delivery without the use of pain medication. A woman’s body is pre-programmed to handle childbirth and the labor pains that come along with it. If women knew all of their options when it comes to giving birth naturally, then maybe the rates at which women receive epidurals would go down. If women were properly educated on the facts of natural childbirth, how they might feel after birth, how their recovery would go, maybe fewer women would be afraid to take this route and begin to feel more empowered.

Women know that there are some risks when it comes to giving birth. Some women can develop complications that need to be addressed and, if possible, corrected. According to the American Pregnancy Association (2012), there are roughly 37 different complications that a pregnant woman could encounter sometime during her pregnancy. The most common complications are RH Negative Disease, Group B Strep, Preterm Labor, Gestational Diabetes and Low Birth Weight. These complications can lead a low-risk woman to being high-risk and needing care that could prevent her from being able to give birth naturally.
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Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

My introduction into the health benefits of coconut oil came while researching dental procedures and treatments while spending time observing how patients are cared for in a holistic dental office. Seeing many books on display in the doctor’s private office and reception area dealing with fluoride, mercury amalgam fillings, root canals, implants etc was not surprising. What did surprise me was the numerous books about coconut oil on display.

My first reaction to seeing coconut oil related books was, What in the world does coconut oil have to do with the health and well-being of teeth and gums? Having written down the titles and authors of all the books displayed in that office, I proceeded to buy them all and began reading in earnest. Even though I may have been able to find the books in a library, I much prefer to buy books so I can underline, highlight, turn down page corners, as well as make notes in the margins.
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Foods and Habits to Prevent Tooth Loss, Crooked Smiles and the Need for Orthodontic braces

A child is full of potential- the potential to learn, to explore, to develop. This potential is also inherent in the way they grow, which involves everything from their ability to fight diseases to the strength of their teeth.

Eating the right foods and practicing the right habits have always been part and parcel of good health, but what are the best methods to prevent childhood tooth decay and tooth loss?
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Natural Health, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, and Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

What does consuming coconut oil have to do with overall good health, physical degeneration and dental health? Coconut oil? Really?! That question was my initial reaction to seeing several books about coconut oil, “oil pulling”, and the health benefits of consuming coconut oil on the shelves in some holistic dental offices recently.

Readers may recall my mentioning some of the many natural health and holistic nutrition books I’ve been reading over the last few months, discovered during the time I spent as a dental professional observing and watching the methods and dental protocols used in a variety of local holistic, fluoride free and mercury free dental offices. In one holistic dental office in particular, the book shelves in the doctor’s private office was filled with books on natural health and nutrition, books about coconut oil and its many health benefits, and the dental office reception/waiting room had many of those same books on display.
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A Child Psychologist’s Top 10 Wishes for Parents in 2012

Tolstoy famously wrote “Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Modern psychological science supports this wisdom in findings that extend back for decades and traverse the globe. My work has focused on trying to distill this research into 10 effective and time-efficient strategies that hectic parents can use to promote wellness, happiness and resilience in their children and themselves.

So, my wish for parents in 2012 is to practice these 10 strategies (each of which constitutes a chapter in my parenting book Working Parents, Thriving Families: 10 Strategies That Make a Difference). Here they are:
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Fluoride is a Poison – How Does Fluoride Affect Health

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, fluoride IS a toxic poison. Fluoride added to water supplies is NOT pharmaceutical grade fluoride. Not even close. The negative health affects of consuming fluoride via water fluoridation, fluoride toothpastes, mouthwashes, rinses, fluoride supplements, vitamins etc etc, are well known and proven to be a fact.

Just a few days ago I happened to notice the cover story of a dental magazine by the ADA called “ADA News”, mentioning how a town in Florida had recently voted 3-2 to keep their municipal water supply fluoridated. See it here. What do the two people who voted against continuing adding fluoride to the town’s water supply know about fluoride that the other three do not know or choose to ignore? What about all the people that live in that town? Do the citizens not have a right to choose if they want toxic chemicals forcibly added to their water supply against their consent, and perhaps even without their informed knowledge?
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