Category Archives: Health

Gluten Free Banana Bread

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This recipe is gluten free, but does contain eggs and dairy. If you are also dairy free, you can substitute the milk with water (really – it doesn’t make a difference, or coconut or almond milk). If you also avoid eggs, you can substitute chia seeds, but I haven’t experimented with that.

Many people find tremendous health benefits from avoiding gluten. However, even gluten free processed flours should not really be a staple in most of our regular daily eating plans. However, it’s nice to have an occasional treat, or a way to spoil grandchildren when they come to visit!

I’ve made this recipe twice and it is really easy, moist, and delicious!

Also, I’ve NEVER had a loaf pop out of a pan more easily in one complete piece. That is saying a lot since I’ve been baking quick loaves for about 40 years! This recipe is based on another gluten free recipe, but I significantly reduced the amount of flour and increased the eggs. Perhaps every loaf I’ve ever made in the past was too dry because I had followed a recipe and put TOO MUCH FLOUR into it! Every day is another opportunity to learn.

 

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Liquid ingredients: Combine in a bowl (mash the bananas) or blend gently.

3
Medium
bananas (frozen and thawed works well)
2
Eggs
Organic* of course
3
Tbl**
Butter, coconut oil or a combination
½
Tsp***
Vanilla
2
Tbl
Maple syrup
¾
Cup
Milk (or water)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl:

1 ¼
Cup
Gluten free flour (½ cup each white rice & coconut, 1/8 cup each tapioca & potato flours)
1 ¼
Cup
Organic whole gluten free oats
1/3
Cup
Organic sugar
3
Tsp
Aluminum free baking powder
1
Tsp
Salt
1
Tsp
Cinnamon
½-1
Tsp
Turmeric (optional, but everything benefits from turmeric!)
¼ – ½
Cup
Chopped Walnuts
 **Tbl = Tablespoon. ***tsp = teaspoon, approximately 5 ml

 

Stir dry ingredients, then combine with the liquid ingredients and stir until just mixed (never over mix quick breads). Pour batter into a buttered loaf pan (I used glass). Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, turn down the oven temperature to 325 and bake for 15 more minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife (or Cutco spatula spreader) and remove from the pan onto a wire rack to cool. ENJOY! With butter or plain.

*I try to purchase and use only organic ingredients as far as I am able. A quick note on organic ingredients. The reason it is important to avoid non-organic foods is because of the glyphosate (which is in Roundup) is generally sprayed on all crops that are not organic. Most of us have a glyphosate burden that can wreak havoc with our longterm health. Eating organic only has been shown to significantly reduce the amount of glyphosate your body has to deal with and leads to robust health – mental and physical. Many people think organic is a fad, is too expensive, and one man I spoke to in the grocery store was repulsed by the idea of organic because he thought it would not be enjoyable to eat! The good news is 1) there is more and more organic options available in local grocery stores with better and better labels; 2) the price is not so much higher than non-organic brands, but when considering the cost we all need to realize that the cost of sickness today is extremely high; 3) organic actually tastes and FEELS better!

DSC_0062Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus, seeker of truth and health. Facing a world quite different from the one in which I grew up, I seek to research and understand the very real dangers threatening the health and freedom of today’s parents, providing information to navigate towards joyful family living!  Posted 31 January 2017

The Vitamin K PUSH

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Many parents find they are being pushed to accept the vitamin K shot for their newborn. A variety of claims are made by health care professionals, including “It’s just a vitamin” and “Your baby could die without the shot.” Parents are rightfully concerned. No parent wants to inflict harm on their baby, or deprive them from a life-giving procedure. But is vitamin K absolutely safe and absolutely necessary? Is there anything safer?

There are two versions of vitamin K given to newborns. One contains a preservative benzoyl alcohol and one contains polysorbate 80. These ingredients are of particular concern for those investigating the safety of this injection. “Polysorbate 80 is a surfactant known to facilitate access through the blood brain barrier and has been linked to sterility and other issues.” Benzoyl alcohol could contribute to neonatal jaundice.

Phytonadione by Hospira, Inc.

Version 1: The following information comes directly from the manufacturer’s information sheet for phytonadione by Hospira, Inc. which you can find in full HERE. Notice that this product contains 9 mg of benzoyl alcohol.

Pediatric Use

Hemolysis, jaundice, and hyperbilirubinemia in neonates, particularly those that are premature, may be related to the dose of Vitamin K1 Injection. Therefore, the recommended dose should not be exceeded (see ADVERSE REACTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).

Adverse Reactions

Deaths have occurred after intravenous and intramuscular administration. (See Box Warning.)

Transient “flushing sensations” and “peculiar” sensations of taste have been observed, as well as rare instances of dizziness, rapid and weak pulse, profuse sweating, brief hypotension, dyspnea, and cyanosis.

Pain, swelling, and tenderness at the injection site may occur.

The possibility of allergic sensitivity including an anaphylactoid reaction, should be kept in mind.

CONTRAINDICATION

Hypersensitivity to any component of this medication.

Warnings

Benzyl alcohol as a preservative in Bacteriostatic Sodium Chloride Injection has been associated with toxicity in newborns. Data are unavailable on the toxicity of other preservatives in this age group. There is no evidence to suggest that the small amount of benzyl alcohol contained in Vitamin K1 Injection (Phytonadione Injectable Emulsion, USP), when used as recommended, is associated with toxicity.

Link to complete drug insert: https://www.drugs.com/pro/vitamin-k1.html

Phytonadione by International Medication Systems, Limited

Version 2: The ‘preservative free’ version is manufactured by International Medication Systems, Limited and contains 10 mg of polysorbate 80.

The complete description with warnings and adverse events can be found here.

 

There is particular concern about the administration of either vitamin K shot prior to giving the newborn the CDC recommended Hepatitis B vaccine. There are many aspects of routine newborn care which have not been studied to determine if the combination could be dangerous or cause a reaction when given together. Please research every standard of care procedure for your precious baby to make sure it has been proven to be SAFE.

“Vaccines can have adverse side-effects, and these are predominantly associated with the inclusion of chemical additives such as aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. The objective of this study was to establish an in vitro model system amenable to mechanistic investigations of cytotoxicity induced by hepatitis B vaccine…” Hepatitis B vaccine induces apoptotic death in Hepa1–6 cells, Apoptosis, An International Journal on Programmed Cell Death
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10495-011-0690-1

What if the administration of the vitamin K shot containing polysorbate 80 provides greater permeability to the infant brain so that the aluminum contained in the Hepatitis B vaccine can cause greater damage? This is just a question. But these questions need answers.

Some perspective on the vitamin K injection by Theo Farmer . . . .

I’d like to provide some perspective on the use of the vitamin K shot with babies. In particular, when a doctor says “there is a chance your baby will bleed to death if they don’t get this shot…,” what does that mean?

If you study the attached paper [1] for a while, it seems to me that it boils down to this: if you don’t take vitamin K inhibiting drugs when you’re pregnant and your baby is adequately breastfed, then the chance of them developing a bleeding disorder is 1/15,000 or maybe 1/20,000. There are other factors mentioned, like the incidence goes up if the baby is not adequately fed, but if you’re healthy and the baby is healthy and eating, doctors can still say “there’s a chance” when there is a 1 in 20,000 chance. Also, the paper is ambiguous about how many cases are mild cases and how many result in damage to the child.

To put into perspective the chance “1 in 20,000”: if you had a room in a clinic where one baby was born per day, every baby born in that room for 54 years would be given a vitamin K shot in order to prevent a bleeding disorder in just one baby.

With this 54 year perspective in mind, parents should ask themselves these kinds of questions: in 54 years of giving vitamin K shots, how many of those shots will cause problems? How many will be contaminated in manufacturing? What are the other ingredients besides Vitamin K and what is the chance they cause issues? What are the complications that arise simply by poking babies with needles for 54 years? Are there psychological implications to the child later in life? And then the best question: is there a valid reason that human babies are born deficient in vitamin K (God doesn’t make mistakes)?
And all this leads to a pivotal question: If this doctor has been taught to push this shot for every baby for 54 years to prevent one from excessive bleeding, can he be trusted in general?

From Wikipedia: “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is a phrase describing the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments.”

Is there anything safer than vitamin K to protect a baby from brain bleeds?

Dr Suzanne Humphries explains clearly how the biggest factor involved in the vitamin K debate is the necessity of delayed cord clamping. When a baby’s cord is clamped immediately, it deprives baby of up to 1/3 of their total blood volume. By allowing the cord to stay attached at least until it stops pulsating, the baby receives all the blood they need. Additionally, baby receives essential stem cells which can move through the blood and initiate repair to any cells damaged from birth trauma. The stem cells are a brilliant heritage for baby and will contribute to longterm health. Stem cell therapy is a cutting edge field. Parents are often encouraged to harvest stem cells at the time of birth. Yet, very few doctors understand or explain to parents that the best heritage they can give their baby at birth is DELAYED CORD CLAMPING and successful breastfeeding. Additionally, mom can supplement her own vitamin K during pregnancy and after, by eating foods that supply this essential nutrient.

Edited to add: If you decide you want to give vitamin K order the liquid form. Take it to the hospital with you. Even if you decide NOT to give any vitamin K and you are birthing in a hospital, it might be a good idea to have the liquid form with you to appease those who are pushing you. Whether you give it or not, you can explain that you have the liquid version and you prefer to use that.

Let’s research and get the FACTS so that we can make informed decisions for the longterm health of our precious babies. More info on vitamin K here and here.

Author: Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

 

[1]  Lippi, Giuseppe, and Massimo Franchini. “Vitamin K in Neonates: Facts and Myths.” Blood Transfusion, Edizioni SIMTI – SIMTI Servizi Srl, Jan. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3021393/. Accessed 4 November 2017.

Do Germs Make Us Sick?

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I’ve done a lot of research, reading, and personal experimenting with regard to health, and how to stay healthy. I’ve raised five children and have been blessed to have six grandchildren – so far. My quest for health was gradually awakened through a Nutritional Chemistry Course I attended at Vanderbilt University in 1979.

Over the years I’ve often heard of the ‘germ versus terrain’ theory and of the interactions between Louis Pasteur and Antoine Béchamp. Pasteur is credited with the germ theory which has been a dominant influence on medicine. Beauchamp maintained and demonstrated that it was not the germ that determines the extent of an  illness, but the terrain, or condition of the host, which determines the susceptibility and extent of an illness.

The video below contains one of the best explanations of the Germ versus Terrain Theory (Louis Pasteur Vs Antoine Béchamp) that I’ve heard. It is part of the story of Casi Renee, born 1995, died 1999 due to vaccine injury. I’ve cued the video at the point of describing an interaction between Pasteur and Béchamp, but feel free to watch the entire story. This mom used the tragedy of her daughter’s death to speak out and educate other parents on the potential harm of vaccines.

Our culture is phobic about killing germs – demonstrated by the use of hand sanitizers and other cleaning products. But what if the food we eat, the drugs we take, the vaccines we inject, and the chemicals we are exposing ourselves to through common household chemicals are actually making us MORE susceptible to illness? I’m all for washing hands. I wash mine after being out and about, before preparing food, etc. But how we get sick and how severely sick we become at any given time might be based on lifestyle, nutrition, and the environment of our body for the germs that are all around us. What kind of a host are you?

Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

 

Pushed to Accept Vaccines?

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Some people are told they must get a specific vaccine for a job. Parents are often told they must give vaccines to their children. This is a specific strategy[1] for when your doctor, employer, school, or others are pushing you to accept vaccines:

Tell you what, I’ll re-consider accepting your vaccines if you’ll sign this form to insure us against the risks. We both know there are risks involved with vaccines. In 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that vaccines were unavoidably unsafe. Your policy is seeking to force me to accept vaccines. Currently our family will carry the sole responsibility for any harm that is caused. So, if you really want me to consider vaccines, and if you are confident the risk is so low, then you should be willing to sign this document of insurance for me, accepting liability in the case of a vaccine reaction.

Here is the 6 page downloadable document

Vaccination Notice [.doc version]

Vaccination-Notice [.pdf version]

In this form there is space for many different parties to sign and agree to accept responsibility for the potential harm of the vaccine, including the manufacturer, government agencies requiring it, administrative office, actual administrator of the injections.

This document has 23 points which outlines the known harm of vaccines, the concept of informed consent, among other points.

While the possibility of getting the required signatures is extremely small, by NOT signing the document, there are consequences built in:

Refusal to sign this form is indication of deceit, bad faith and hypocrisy on the part of a vaccine administrator who may recommend vaccination as “safe”, but, at the same time, deny responsibility for the hazards. If vaccinations are “safe” then refusal or hesitation to sign this form is firm indication of misrepresentation with the assertion of “safety”.

NOTICE: If this form is refused or not signed by all vaccine administrators then refusal of vaccine is rightful and refusal must be presumed and honored. Vaccination does pose risks, therefore administration of vaccine without signature on this agreement by all parties called for herein or and/or without fully informed consent by all interested parties constitutes criminal assault, malpractice, intentional harm and violation of rights against the vaccinated parties and all other parties of common interest by the administrators and providers of the vaccine whether any harm is caused or not by the vaccination, therefore, without fully informed consent by all interested parties, major obligations arise from non-consensual vaccination whether or not the vaccination causes physical injury or disease.

NOTICE: Refusal to sign this form constitutes admission and warning to the prospective recipient of vaccination that vaccination may cause harm and should be avoided in order to protect the health and safety of those receiving treatment. This is separate and distinct from any benefit/s or “necessities” that may be attributed to vaccinations and vaccination programs.

[1] I give credit to http://freedomtaker.com for the majority of this form and strategy for giving vaccination notice.

Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

HIB & Meningitis

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I belong to a wonderful vaccine education Facebook group. Recently a young mom expressed her fear of meningitis and that she was wondering about giving her baby the HIB  Vaccine (Haemophilus influenza type B or HIB disease) which is recommended by the CDC to be given in four doses: one at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months old, and the final dose at 12 through 15 months old. Of course, many other vaccines are given by doctors at the same time during these ‘well baby visits’, and the safety of this entire schedule of vaccines has never been tested. In fact, “Today, in the USA, babies receive 46 shots before the age of 6. This combination has never been tested for safety and is creating a generation of sick children unknown to any previous generation.” (Which Vaccines are Safe?)

A cornucopia of responses were given to this young mom. So much good information that I decided I needed to compile it into a blog. I haven’t written about the HIB vaccine before. There is a LOT of information to go through, and I am still working my way through. This compilation is too good not to share.

Becky

Robert F Kennedy compares the risks and frequency of the actual illness with the risks and frequency of reaction to the vaccine.http://www.dailycamera.com/guest-opinions/ci_28283397/robert-f-kennedy-jr-doing-math-meningitis-vaccinations

The HIB vaccine killed almost 900 children and yet it was found to be a-ok. WHAT?https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25598306/

HIB is naturally controlled by breastfeeding. If you are nursing your child no need for the vax. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10365578/

Mom 1: “HIB put my daughter in the PICU for 9 days, diagnosed with meningitis.”

Mom 2: “Before vaccinating, the doctor told me it was 100% safe with zero adverse effects aside from mild fever and injection site pain. HIB vaccine put my 1st in ICU for 14 days with vaccine acquired sepsis. 1st test was for meningitis because HIB vaccine can cause meningitis. I never knew I was playing Russian roulette. Please keep researching. I wish I had. They did 3 spinal taps on her, a VCUG to see if she was having reflux into the kidneys and tested for UTI (no UTI no reflux) and a host of torture all to try and disprove vaccine causative. It was crazy the doctors where fighting with each other. The 1st wanted to send us home. My baby would have died. After all the tests however they all finally confirmed. 7 specialists and only 2 originally disagreed at original diagnosis and cause but they did all get their shit together after the 1st 4 days. This was in 2005 at a time that was less crazy pro-vax insanity. Can’t imagine being in that situation today.”

Mom 4: “I think what we need to say is…. yes meningitis is scary, yes it’s ok to be scared… but don’t use that fear to make a decision that is based all on fear. Statistically the vaccine does not cover the most common strain, and a side effect of meningitis is meningitis. We know a handful of people who were injured or died from meningitis… they were ALL vaccinated.”

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) these shots contain: formaldehyde, thimerosal (mercury), aluminum, & polysorbate 80 , to name a few. All exceedingly harmful.

Mom 5: “The vaccine only “protects”against a few strains…there are many other strains out there. This vaccine also has a lot of reported side effects on VAERS…and on average about 38 people die yearly after getting this vaccine according to VAERS (38 from the vaccine, just a few from the disease itself)…and remember, VAERS is severely under reported!”

VAERS received 29,747 reports after HIB vaccines; 5179 (17%) were serious, including 896 reports of deaths. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25598306

Adverse Reactions from the package inserts:
HIB+Hep B (Comvax)- irritability, somnolence, crying (unusual, high pitched, prolonged for more than 4 hours), anorexia, vomiting, fever over 103 degrees, diarrhea, upper respiratory infection, rash, rhinorrhea, respiratory congestion, cough, anaphylaxis, angioedema, urticaria, seizures, pruritus, edema, syncope, arthritis.

Haemophilus influenzae type B (aka HIB)
Pentacle HIB combo vaccine had a 1 in 25 serious reaction rate according to one of the studies. The top reported reactions were pneumonia, asthma, bronchiolitis, gastroenteritis, and dehydration. 1 in 1,196 died (they aren’t sure if its related or not, but that’s the facts and the potential risks).

Menhibrix had a 1 in 54 serious adverse reaction rate within a 31 day period following vaccination. 1 in 20 had a serious reaction after a 6 month period.

A total of 443 cases of HIB infection occurred in children eligible for vaccination; 363 (82%) were fully vaccinated.

Meningitis is another name for polio. Don’t get your child vaccinated, no polio. Polio is vaccine and environment induced. Steer clear of GMO and processed foods, including infant formulas.

Meningitis = flu symptoms, stiff neck; usually caused by bacteria or virus; viral usually causes no symptoms and resolves itself; bacterial is spread through saliva (kissing, coughing); most people who ‘carry’ the bacteria never become sick.

Meningitis – High doses of Vitamin C (IV), Genistein, Essential fatty acids, Perilla leaf extract, Rosmarinic acid, & Superoxide dismutase.
http://www.lifeextension.com/protocols/infections/meningitis/page-06

Should a parent give their baby the HIB  vaccine? Mom 6: “No way. Listen to this doctor he was pro vaccine until he did the research. He discusses each vaccine.”

It was the high incidence of diabetes from the HiB vaccine which banned the shot forever from Finland. In the USA 4 doses are recommended for babies. And what is the incidence of childhood diabetes in the US in the last 15 years?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1116914/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12911277
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25598306
http://www.whale.to/v/four_infant.html
http://www.whale.to/m/hib23.html

An Australian National Health and Medical Council information sheet on HIB vaccine advises that HIB meningitis can cause brain damage with later learning difficulties and behavioral disorders (www.health.gov.au).

Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
Parasitic meningitis is not contagious.
Non-infectious meningitis is not contagious.

Viral meningitis. The enteroviruses that cause viral meningitis can spread through direct contact with saliva, nasal mucus, or feces. They easily spread through coughing and sneezing but you are unlikely to develop meningitis as a complication.

Bacterial meningitis is contagious but is less contagious than the germs that spread cold and flu. Meningococcal bacteria can’t survive outside the body for long, so you are unlikely to get it from being near someone who has it.

Frederick R. Klenner, M.D. of North Carolina has seen cures of diphtheria, staph and strep infections, herpes, mumps, spinal meningitis, mononucleosis, shock, viral hepatitis, arthritis and polio using high doses of vitamin C (Journal of Preventive Medicine, Spring, 1974).

Dr Cathcart http://www.orthomed.com
“This disease is made more deadly because of the “acute induced scurvy” involved. This means that intravenous sodium ascorbate and later bowel tolerance oral doses of ascorbic acid should be administered along with the appropriate antibiotic. Not only does the ascorbate broaden the spectrum of activity of the antibiotics against bacteria and works synergistically with the antibiotic, but it avoids allergic reactions to the antibiotic. The susceptibility of sick people to allergic reactions is because of the up-regulation of the immune system while you are sick. This up-regulation is caused by free radicals. If the free radicals are neutralized by massive doses of ascorbate, the immune system, as far as allergic reactions are concerned, is down-regulated so that allergic reactions to the antibiotics do not occur. However, unlike steroids that universally down-regulate the immune system, ascorbate up-regulates the ability of white cells to kill viruses and bacteria……The incidence of meningitis “surges” after the flu because the acute induced scurvy induced by the flu decreases the ability of the body to fight off the meningitis bacteria.”

A miraculous story of healing using high doses of vitamin C by Dr Kalokerinos MD: “The matron was convinced that the diagnosis was meningitis so she prepared a lumbar puncture. I had however, seen this problem before. Lumbar punctures performed by me had been negative and the infants died… the trauma of inserting a needle… might result in a hemorrhage that might cause spinal cord paralysis. So I decided to give an injection of vitamin C… I probably gave as many as 6 injections, each 100mg. After half an hour Mary was normal. It was hard to believe, but I had performed a miracle! …I found that any viral infection, including measles and hepatitis, could be dramatically ‘cured’ by administering Vitamin C intravenously in big doses–provided that treatment was commenced early.”— (Medical Pioneer of the 20th century p175)

“Meningitis is not a transmissible disease, we do not “catch” it from one another. My first lesson in vaccine propaganda is when I learned, back in the forties, that the “epidemics” of meningitis amongst military recruits were not epidemics but clusters, and the second thing I learned was that only the freshly vaccinated recruits “caught” meningitis. The mess sergeant didn’t, the drill sergeant didn’t, only the recruits did. Not even the girls who worked at the base exchanges and service clubs, with whom the recruits played kissy face “caught” meningitis – only the freshly vaccinated recruits “caught” it…….In over thirty years of clinical practice I have never seen an infectious hepatitis “caught” by another member of a household and believe me when I say I really looked high and low for one of those. If I found one I would look for a source of the poisoning, not for a germ or a virus”—Daniel H Duffy Sr. DC

Cases of meningitis and septicemia have fallen from about 4,000 a year in the late 1990s to 2,446 last year following the introduction of a vaccine against meningitis C in November 1999. But in a bizarre twist the number of deaths rose last year by 17 per cent from 317 to 370 and is not far below the level before the vaccine was introduced. [Media September 20, 2004] Meningitis vaccinations ‘blamed’ for rise in deaths

“When I was in high school, my parents had me vaccinated for meningitis. Following my meningitis vaccination, I ended up in the hospital with a major infection that attacked every area of my system. My parents told me that for the first two days that I was hospitalized I did not even recognize them. The doctors performed a lumbar puncture on me. This procedure involved freezing my mid-section so the doctors could insert a large needle into the pit of my spinal cord to withdraw fluid for testing. Their diagnosis was meningitis. I remained hospitalized for three weeks. They did not want to even consider that my meningitis vaccination could have caused my nearly fatal disease.” Vaccine Safety Manual by Neil Z. Miller. (p.337)

“When notifications of meningitis (from MMR vaccine) from physicians were included; when the vaccine records of hospital cases of meningitis were included; when cross linkage of vaccine records from laboratory reports (4 laboratories) was performed and included the figure was increased to 1 in 11,000. It should be noted that in the case of one particular laboratory, this was 1 in 4,000. “—– Paul Shattock and Dawn Savery, Autism Research Unit, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK

“When I heard about the 14 year old boy who died of group C meningitis I remember wondering how soon beforehand he had had his BCG vaccination (another vaccine with a ‘live’ organism).”—DrJayne L M Donegan

“Every time you hear of the tragic death of an infant, carried off in the first weeks of life by ‘viral meningitis’, you have the right to suspect that BCG is at work, even if the autopsy confirms a viral diagnosis. My wife lived through this tragedy in a major Swiss hospital where she worked. The autopsy of the child revealed the tubercular nature of the ‘viral’ meningitis following a BCG inoculation, but all the assistants and nurses had received very clear instructions to say nothing or risk terrible consequences. As with all secret societies, the law of silence is absolute among doctors!”–Dr Jean Elmiger (Rediscovering Real Medicine ISBN 1862041997)

“The use of HIB vaccines has displaced haemophillus as a cause of disease and death, but other organisms like the far more serious, and more untreatable pneumococcus or other bacterial meningitis types have risen to take the place of HIB as causes of meningitis.”—Hilary Butler

“In Minnesota, a state epidemiologist concluded that the HIB vaccine increases the risk of illness when a study revealed that vaccinated children were *five times* more likely to contract meningitis than unvaccinated children.” http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/18/vaccine_myths2.htm

“HIB is not a disease but a type of bacteria—defined by lab test….so hard to see if there is any disease decline…….Primary motive was to combat “invasive bacterial infections”, but no evidence this has been achieved. 3 major types of “ibis”–HIB, pneumococcal, and meningococcal. ..decline in HIB infections appears to have been accompanied by an increase in the other two…. there appears to be no evidence of a decrease in invasive bacterial disease overall…. in Australia notifications of meningococcal disease in 1995 was highest since 1979…this rise occurred in parallel with the fall in HIB disease, so what savings in illness have there been?….so, there seems to be no demonstrable savings in illness in children, on top of this there seems to be an association between DPT vaccine and invasive HIB disease.”–Greg Beattie

“The Government was last night accused of a cover-up over the safety of its mass meningitis immunization programme after The Observer obtained confidential documents that show at least 11 people have died after injections to prevent the disease.”–Media Aug 2000

“Classen’s data and other published data indicates the following vaccines are associated with an increased risk of diabetes (increased risk): hepatitis B (50%), hemophilus (25%), tetanus (20%), diphtheria (9%), pertussis (25%), mumps- rubella (23%). These findings are supported by a case control study performed in Europe. The cumulative effect of all these vaccines on diabetes is tremendous.”–PRNewswire

“I have published many articles linking vaccines and diabetes. In one study, a clinical trial on the hemophilus vaccine, I showed that the risk of the vaccine exceeds the benefit. This is published by the British medical Journal.”–Bart Classen

“Four of the medical experts advising the Government on whether the new meningitis C vaccine is safe have links to one or more of the drug companies that produce it……Professor Janet Darbyshire, a member of the Government’s Committee on Safety of Medicines, had received support for academic research from US firms Wyeth and Chiron, who produce the two main meningitis products being used on children in Britain….three members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation had declared interests in vaccine manufacturers…Dr David Goldblatt of the Institute of Child Health, has served on an expert advisory panel for Wyeth and received research grants from Wyeth and North American Vaccines, which produces a third meningitis C drug to be introduced this year. Another, Professor Keith Cartwright of the University of Bristol, received funding from the drug industry to ‘evaluate candidate meningicoccal vaccines’. “–Martin Bright and Tracy McVeigh, Sunday Observer, UK September 3, 2000

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the incidence and the characteristics of spontaneously reported aseptic meningitis (AM) in France following mumps vaccination with monovalent or multivalent vaccines containing the Urabe strain. Fifty-four cases of AM were reported to the regional drug surveillance centres or to the manufacturer from the time each vaccine was launched up until June 1992. Twenty cases were associated with the time off administration of a monovalent mumps vaccine and 34 with a trivalent measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). A mumps virus was isolated in four cases in the cerebrospinal fluid and an Urabe-like strain was characterised twice by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

A probable mumps origin was assumed in 17 other cases where the patients presented with other clinical or biological signs of mumps infection. The clinical outcome of AM was always favourable. The global incidence of mumps vaccine-associated AM was 0.82/100,000 doses, which is significantly lower than the incidence in the unvaccinated population. Even considering that the actual incidence of AM is much higher when assessed by active surveillance studies, the risk/benefit ratio of mumps vaccine remains in favour of vaccination. The incidence of mumps vaccines containing Jeryl Lynn (ROR Vax et Imu ORR) associated with AM needs to be evaluated. PMID: 9164005, UI: 97306738. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9164005

Saturday, March 5, 2011 The Japan Times
Four infant deaths trigger vaccines halt
Kyodo News
The health ministry has decided to suspend the use of two types of publicly subsidized vaccines following the deaths of four children.
Municipal governments were notified of the decision.

The two types are the HIB vaccine, which prevents bacterial meningitis, and a vaccine against streptococcus pneumonia.

The four children were a 3-month-old girl in Kawasaki who died Feb. 20, a 2-year-old boy in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, who died Tuesday, a 1-year-old girl in Nishinomiya, also in Hyogo, who died Wednesday, and a 6-month-old girl in the city of Kyoto who died Friday.
… All four children were administered a vaccine against streptococcus pneumonia made by Pfizer Inc., and all except the girl in Nishinomiya received ActHIB, an HIB vaccine made by Sanofi Pasteur Inc.
In addition, all except the boy in Takarazuka received a mixed vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus on the same day they received other vaccines.

The streptococcus pneumonia vaccine has been administered to an estimated 1.10 million people in 2.15 million doses since it went on sale in February 2010. The HIB vaccine has been administered to an estimated 1.55 million people in 3.08 million doses since its launch in December 2008.
Japan, known for being notoriously slow to accept new vaccines, approved the HIB vaccine in 2007, 20 years after the United States did so. Approval for the streptococcus pneumonia vaccine came in 2009, compared with 2000 in the U.S.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/03/06/national/four-infant-deaths-trigger-vaccines-halt/#.WfPa9EyZORs

[1999] HIB VACCINE MAY CAUSE JUVENILE DIABETES
by What Doctors Don’t Tell You (Volume 10, Issue 9)
Children who receive multiple doses of the Haemophilus influenzae b (HIB) vaccine are at increased risk of developing type I juvenile-onset diabetes, according to new American research.
When researchers in Baltimore compared children who had received four, one and no doses of the vaccine, the cumulative incidence of diabetes per 100,000 in the three groups was 261, 237 and 207 at age 7 and 398, 376 and 340 at age 10, respectively. This works out to be that the greatest increased risk is among children who receive the full quotient of the vaccine.
The incidence of diabetes among US children aged five to 10 had been stable in the 10 years prior the introduction of the vaccine.
The increased risk of diabetes – which is just one of the potential adverse effects of the HIB jab – certainly exceeds the benefits of the vaccine, say the Baltimore research team. The HIB vaccine has been estimated to prevent approximately seven deaths, and between seven and 26 cases of severe disability per 100,000 children who have been immunised (BMJ, 1999; 319: 1133).
* In another study, scientists have found that the routine vaccination of newborns with the hepatitis B vaccine increases the risk of fever (Arch Dis Child, Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 1999; 81: F206-7). A before-and-after study showed a link between the launch of the vaccination programme in Israel and the number of babies with unexplained fever in the first three days of life. As yet, the scientists do not know what significance this finding has for the short- or long-term health of the infants.

Can HIB Vaccine Cause Asthma?
by Heidi White
Can the Haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB) vaccine cause asthma or allergy? I am not aware of any human studies that have specifically looked at the effect of HIB vaccine on asthma. However, a Swiss study1 found that invasive HIB infection (epiglottitis) could possibly be linked to an increase in the rate of asthma and allergies (OR 4.8). There may be a few explanations for this. Firstly, the treatment of a HIB infection with antibiotics, such as cephalosporins (eg cefotaxime or ceftriaxone), may by itself increase the risk of asthma.2 And secondly, cell wall components from the HIB bacteria may also be a cause of asthma.

If invasive HIB infection is able to cause asthma then it may also be possible that the HIB vaccine could also have a similar effect. Animal studies have provided various mechanisms for why this could occur:
a) A nasal HIB vaccine has been shown to stimulate Th1 and Th2 cells in mice.3 If the Th2 side of the immune system is over stimulated, then this can increase the risk of asthma and allergy.

b) HIB vaccination in rats has been shown to enhance histamine levels with a corresponding increase in the number of eosinophils.4-7 Eosinophils (white blood cells, used to fight infection) will proliferate and accumulate in the airways under stimulation by interleukin-5 (IL-5), a cytokine produced by Th2 cells. Eosinophil accumulation is also evident in the dermis of the skin seen in people with atopic dermatitis (eczema).

c) HIB vaccination in rats has been shown to cause increased bronchoconstriction in response to histamine, possibly due to an increased reactivity of the para-sympathetic/cholinergic pathways.7,8
d) Studies in guinea-pigs have shown that HIB vaccination may impair the beta (b ) 2-adrenergic system by causing a blocking or desensitization of b 2 receptors, or by reducing the number of b 2 receptors in the lung.9-13 Inhibition of b receptors can lead to increased bronchoconstriction. It is thought that the polysaccharide component of the bacterial cell wall may be responsible for this effect.14 HibTitre vaccine contains purified polysaccharide (PRP), from the capsule of the HIB bacteria, which is linked to a diphtheria carrier protein. PedvaxHIB vaccine contains PRP linked to a meningococcal protein.

It would be interesting to see the results of a human study that specifically examines the effects of HIB vaccine on the incidence of asthma and allergy.
Heidi White
Hospital Pharmacist
September, 1999.

REFERENCES:
1. Muhlemann K et al. Risk factors for invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease among children 2-16 years of age in the vaccine era, Switzerland 1991-1993. The Swiss H. Influenzae Study Group. Int J Epidemiol 1996 Dec;25(6):1280-5
2. Farooqi IS, Hopkin MH. Early childhood infection and atopic disorder. Thorax 1998 November; 53: 927-932
3. Kurono Y et al. Nasal immunization induces Haemophilus influenzae-specific Th1 and Th2 responses with mucosal IgA and systemic IgG antibodies for protective immunity. J Infect Dis 1999 Jul;180(1):122-32
4. Nijkamp FP et al. Facilitation of histamine release in the Haemophilus influenzae vaccinated experimental animal. Br J Pharmacol. 1980 Jan; 68(1):147P
5. Raaijmakers JA, Terpstra GK, Kreukniet J. Mast cells as a possible source of Haemophilus influenzae-induced changes in plasma and lung histamine levels. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol 1980;61(3):352-7
6. Terpstra GK, Raaijmakers JA; Kreukniet J. Comparison of vaccination of mice and rats with Haemophilus influenzae and Bordetella pertussis as models of atopy. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 1979 Mar-Apr;6(2):139-49
7. Terpstra GK et al. Effects of Haemophilus influenzae vaccination on the (para-)sympathic- cyclic nucleotide-histamine axis in rats. Ann Allergy 1979 Jan; 42(1):36-40
8. Schreurs AJ, Nijkamp FP. Bronchial hyper-reactivity to histamine induced by Haemophilus influenzae vaccination. Agents Actions 1984 Oct; 15(3-4): 211-5
9. Terpstra GK, Kreukniet J, Raaijmakers JA. Changes in beta-adrenergic responses as a consequence of infection with micro-organisms. Eur J Respir Dis Suppl 1984;135:34-46
10. Schreurs AJ, Terpstra GK et al. The effects of Haemophilus influenzae vaccination on anaphylactic mediator release and isoprenaline-induced inhibition of mediator release. Eur J Pharmacol 1980 Apr 4;62(4):261-8
11. Schreurs AJ, Versteeg DH, Nijkamp FP. Involvement of catecholamines in Haemophilus influenzae induced decrease of beta-adrenoceptor function. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 1982 Sep; 320(3):235-9
12. Schreurs AJ, Terpstra GK, Raaijmakers JA, Nijkamp FP. Effects of vaccination with Haemophilus influenzae on adrenoceptor function of tracheal and parenchymal strips. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1980 Dec;215(3):691-6
13. Nijkamp FP et al. Inhibition of effects of isoprenaline and adrenaline by Haemophilus influenzae vaccination. Br J Pharmacol. 1980 Jan; 68(1):146P.
14. Schreurs AJ, Verhoef J, Nijkamp FP. Bacterial cell wall components decrease the number of guinea-pig lung beta-adrenoceptors. Eur J Pharmacol 1983 Jan 28; 87(1):127-32

Beware of HIB vaccine
by Dr Robert Mendelsohn MD
Just as with the older vaccines, the best advice I can give parents is to carefully read the prescribing information before permitting the doctor to use this new Hemophilus influenza b vaccine.

You then will learn that, in addition to the active agent or germ, the vaccine injection also contains lactose, thimerosal (a derivative of mercury) and sodium chloride. You might ask your doctor whether any studies have shown that the injection of these materials——sugar, mercury and salt——is safe. I know of none.

Be sure that your doctor has a second syringe available if he gives your child the shot. The prescribing information states that an epinephrine (adrenaline) injection should be available for immediate use if an anaphylactoid (shock—like) reaction should occur. Also, be sure he takes a careful history and performs a physical examination on your child, since any febrile illness (one that is accompanied by a fever) or active infection is reason to delay the vaccine.

If you decide to have the doctor inject the vaccine, watch that he injects it in the right place. The vaccine should be given under the skin (subcutaneously) and not intradermally (between the layers of the skin), intravenously or intramuscularly. The safety and efficacy of these other routes of administration have not been evaluated.

Where has the vaccine come from? Has it been sitting on a table or in a drawer? The prescribing information says the HIB vaccine should be refrigerated upon receipt and should be stored when not in use at 35 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure the vaccine is taken out of the refrigerator and not out of the freezer, since the prescribing information carries the warning——DO NOT FREEZE.

If you can, determine when the doctor mixed the vial of vaccine with the vial of diluting fluid, since, after mixing, the vaccine is stable for only 30 days when stored as directed. The date of mixing (reconstitution) should be recorded on the label of the vial containing the vaccine. Look at the label before the shot is given to make sure the expiration date has not passed.

Since the HIB vaccine first was introduced a few years ago, I have been warning people about the tendency of doctors to use a new medicine as fast as they can before all the adverse effects are known. Now, the darker side of this new vaccine, designed to prevent children from getting meningitis, is beginning to surface.

In an article entitled, “Meningitis Risk Seen from Use of Vaccine” (St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch, April 21, 1987), Minnesota state epidemiologist Michael Osterholm reported that, instead of protecting children from meningitis, the HIB vaccine increases the risk of illness. Speaking to physicians and health experts from around the United States who were gathered at the National Institutes of Health, Osterholm reported that a study of children who had received the HIB vaccine since its introduction in 1985 showed they faced a fivefold increase in the risk that they will be infected by the Hemophilus influenza type b bacteria (against which the vaccine is supposed to protect them). This Minnesota study found the vaccine has an effective rate of minus 86 percent, meaning the number of infected children grew. In Minnesota, many doctors have stopped administering the vaccine until they get a definitive response from the FDA.
In contrast, the original study of children in Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Dallas which was done by Dr. Eugene Shapiro of the Yale University School of Medicine, found the vaccine to be effective 89 percent of the time. The most startling revelation is that Shapiro excluded Minnesota from his study (even though that study used the same methodology) because the state’s results were so far out—of—line from the other areas examined. I hope every reader of this Newsletter, whether in the United States or in Canada, is aware of the almost uncontrollable tendency of researchers to throw out findings that don’t agree with their preconceived conclusions!
In view of this important news, every parent whose doctor recommends the HIB vaccine must ask the doctor if he knows what’s happening in Minnesota.

The authoritative Centers for Disease Control publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reported in its August 21, 1987 edition that invasive HIB disease was occurring in children who previously had been vaccinated with that immunizing agent.

When the vaccine was introduced in 1985, the FDA asked its manufacturers to conduct post—marketing studies. As a result, the FDA, CDC, vaccine manufacturers and individual vaccine investigators have received spontaneous reports of these vaccine failures.
The word “spontaneous” is important. It indicates that government agencies and vaccine manufacturers have depended on passive surveillance in their search for adverse effects. “Passive surveillance” is the epidemiological term used when there is only voluntary, spontaneous and therefore spotty reporting of adverse effects by patients and doctors to the government or drug companies. In contrast, “active surveillance” refers to a situation in which the company making the drug” or vaccine and the government’s health and watchdog agencies make an effort to check up on the patients to determine the extent of adverse effects.

For example, in active surveillance, a vaccine manufacturer or the FDA might keep a file card on each person who was given the vaccine during field trials. Then at some point——days, weeks, months or even years later—each vaccinee and his family would be contacted, examined and closely questioned to determine both the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

As you can see, from the scientific standpoint, active surveillance is vastly superior to passive surveillance. However, not too unsurprisingly, vaccine manufacturers are quite resistant to the idea of active surveillance. They claim it is too expensive, too time—consuming, etc.

I often have felt that a more basic reason for opposition to active surveillance is vaccine manufacturers’ fears of what such a scientific study might turn up. But even with inadequate, slapdash and sloppy passive surveillance, bad news about the HIB vaccine has surfaced. Investigators at the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Health Plan and the Minnesota Department of Health have reported some cases of invasive HIB disease during the one—week period following vaccination.

Last year, one investigator suggested in the New England Journal of Medicine that these vaccine failures might be due “to an inability to induce an appropriate antibody response.” Translating this into English, the vaccine might not work.

The CDC says further investigation is necessary to evaluate the meaning of HIB cases found soon after vaccination. They warn that physicians should be aware that “cases may occur in the week after vaccination, prior to onset of the protective effects of the vaccine.”

I will not argue with the CDC that physicians should be aware of the vaccine failure. But just in case your physician does not have time to read this weekly government publication, I think it important that patients get the message directly.

Loss of speech after HIB vaccine
Letter WDDTY April 2001

in 1992, immediately following a then new vaccination against Haemophllus influenzae type b (HIB) infection, my two-year-old granddaughter became unresponsive and regressed until she lost all understanding and speech.

She was finally diagnosed with the extremely rare childhood disintegrative disorder Heller’s syndrome.

An Australian National Health and Medical Council information sheet on HIB vaccines advises that HIB meningitis can cause brain damage with later learning difficulties and behavioural disorders (www.health.gov.au).

On hearing of US reports of an elevated risk of HIB disease in the week following HIB vaccinations, I sought as much information as possible. Through the US Freedom of Information Act (as WDDTY suggested), I was able to obtain adverse reports for 1988—90, when the vaccine given to my granddaughter was first used in the US. The reports showed clustering of meningitis on day two following vaccination, with an unexpected involvement of the MMR vaccine.

There are 140 serious outcome reports, with 24 cases of meningitis. Five meningitis cases occurred on day two following vaccination and one on day four; nine are classed as ‘no drug effect’ and nine had undefined timing. The ‘no drug effect’ cases must be vaccine failures, occurring at least a month, but up to two and a half years, after vaccination.
If the five day-two meningitis cases represent ‘background’ disease, there should have been comparable reports for all seven days of the week following vaccination. It seems most unlikely that ‘background’ disease cases could be so concentrated on day two.

Seven of the 140 serious outcome children also received MMR vaccine, probably representing those who missed this shot at one year of age. Three of these seven children had day-two meningitis. It is most unlikely that the involvement of MMR in day-two meningitis is a chance occurrence.

If no one can say which brain damaging illness caused a particular child’s autistic regression, greatest suspicion must fall on the most common illness with features consistent with parents’ experiences.—BG, Canberra

Parents demand answers as children fall ill after meningitis jabs
(Western Daily Press, June 12, 2000)
Case 1
Father’s fears over tot’s reaction
TERRY Meredith’s daughter has never been an angel but the change in her behaviour since having the meningitis C vaccination has left him worried about the long-term effects.
Amy, who is almost three, has been acting differently since her injection two weeks ago.
“The day she had the jab she went absolutely loopy. It was like she was on Ecstasy or something,” he said.
“She is normally boisterous but she has been particularly bad since the injection. Her behaviour has deteriorated and she has been violent towards her mother and her 13-month-old sister Stacey. We have had to discipline her and tell her off more than ever before.”
Mr Meredith, who lives in Tidenham, near Chepstow, said friends had also reported strange behaviour among their children since the injections.
“One of our friends has a little boy and he has gone stubborn and is shouting and has been violent, he said.
“Two others have also said they have seen a marked change in their children’s behaviour since they had it.
“Amy has never been as good as gold, but since the day she had it she has been hyperactive,” he said.
“We all want to know whether any damage has been done, if it is temporary and whether something should be done about it.”
He said the family’s experience had put them off taking their children for any more injections.
Case 2
Black-outs ‘not treated seriously’
KEVIN and Nicola Hall say they are still waiting for an explanation of their daughter’s sudden illness.
In the weeks after her vaccination at Norton Hill School in Midsomer Norton, near Bath, Rebecca suffered ten blackouts, severe headaches and other symptoms.
The 12-year-old collapsed two hours after receiving her injection at the 1,250-pupil school on March 29.
She was taken to Royal United hospital and kept under observation for a night.
But since then she has collapsed at school on two other occasions and reported to the nurse seven times with headaches, dizziness and weakness.
She has also been sent home from school ten times and advised not to take part in PE lessons after collapsing on the playing field twice.
Mr Hall said he wanted to know if she had suffered any lasting damage.
“Before she had the vaccination she was fit and healthy but the doctor and paediatrician are treating it as if it is a migraine and giving her tablets,” he said.
“She has not had a history of migraines and there is no history of it in the family and from what we know her symptoms are not even the same.
“I don’t feel her case has been treated seriously. We certainly want the health authorities to be more aware of the side effects that some people are having.
“I am not in favour of the immunization programme being stopped but we don’t want these side effects being treated as if is just a migraine.”
http://www.wellwithin1.com/meningitisc.htm

Please let me know how you enjoyed this detailed collection of information on the HIB vaccine.
Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

A compendium for my expectant friends

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Our oldest grandson born to our oldest son and his wife in 2012.

Dear Friend

I’ve got so much on my heart to share with you. I’ve been working on presenting information for new parents, especially moms, since 2013. I’m not sure I’ve got the presentation exactly right. I don’t know everything. I struggle to adequately share the passion of my heart. Sometimes I feel I might be too passionate. I don’t want to alienate new parents, but perhaps I have.

It’s just that the stakes are pretty high. Listening to the wrong advice can impact our whole life. I try to avoid giving advice. I urge new parents to investigate and understand everything – from car seat safety to medicalised births, and all procedures that are recommended for new babies. Don’t take anything for granted, especially when there are major industries involved.

Since my first baby was born I have been passionate about breastfeeding, one of the most empowering acts a woman can do.

The wonders of breastfeeding are far-reaching and well documented, yet, despite what we know, the actual breastfeeding rates are quite low. Woman are not getting helpful information or the support they need to be successful in breastfeeding their babies. I truly don’t believe it is a failure on the part of women, but a failure on the part of our culture and society. Many times a new mother’s attempts to breastfeed can be complicated by standards of care for pregnant, laboring, and new moms. Misinformation abounds in our society. If every mother and father fully understood how breastfeeding impacts life-long health and well-being, they would be far more committed to searching out information on how to be successful. Listening and following the wrong information could sabotage your best attempts in breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is a learned art. Breastfeeding is best learned from someone who has been successful at breastfeeding, has helped other mothers reach their own goals for breastfeeding, and has enjoyed the process. All five of my babies and all six of my grandchildren have been breastfed. My daughter-in-law has told me many times that I need to write a book for young moms who are trying to navigate the world of motherhood.

Here are some of my blogs I’ve prepared for someone just like you. I pray you will browse, check out my sources, dig a little deeper, and come to your own conclusions. I am always available to discuss anything. I try to keep an open mind and dig for the truth. I share with you because I care about you and the health and happiness of your future babies.

Our oldest granddaughter born to our second son and his wife in 2010.

Many friends have shared information with me along my journey of motherhood which began in 1982. I am thankful they did. Motherhood is perhaps the most difficult yet most significant job we will ever have in life. I’ve never met anyone who wanted to be a bad mother. I’ve never met anyone who wanted a miserable baby. Yet I’ve met many mothers who face profound discouragement and when they trace back their journey they often find it was because of poor advice they were given early in their motherhood career. I pray you will find strength in your motherhood journey and have wisdom to discern what is best for you and your baby.

Blessings,

Becky

Here are some suggestions on places to start on specific topics. You could consider it something like a table of contents in a book.

Author: Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

Dear Soon to be New Mom

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Dear mom to be,

I’m older than you; probably a lot older. I even have children who are older than you. You know many people like me and you take our words with caution – because we can’t possible know or understand your reality. You might be bombarded with well meaning advice.

I pray you will take a few minutes and try to understand my heart. I truly want only the best for you. I am older, but I have learned a lot in my many years and would love to share what I have learned with you – both from my mistakes and from my learning.

I’ve always tended toward being a trusting person. I have been duped many times because I put trust in the wrong place. My life was forever changed when I made the choice to anchor my trust in Jesus Christ alone. My wholehearted desire to seek a growing relationship with Jesus, my Savior, has led me to investigate all the decisions I make differently, especially for my babies.

When I was a very young expectant mother, God brought several wise women across my path who provided input and wisdom beyond my years. They urged me to investigate:

  • Childbirth options and drug free childbirth;
  • Drugs given to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding and what impact they might have on the developing/new baby;
  • Procedures common for childbirth and newborns like episiotomies and circumcision and whether they were the best thing for long term health;
  • Routine standard of care procedures for newborns and babies like vaccines, vitamin K injections, and prophylactic eye ointment, and if they were safe and beneficial for newborns.
  • Breastfeeding and how to be successful – learning through the vast experience of other mothers.

I totally believe in your ability to be an amazing mother. However, there are forces at work in our society which are going to make it a lot harder for you to achieve your own expectations. There has never been a more difficult, more confusing time to be a mother.

When I was younger I couldn’t imagine a world where harm would be done to babies just for the sake of making a profit. Unfortunately, as I have learned more about the world, I’ve seen it happening in far too many arenas; confirmed by far too many moms. I don’t enjoy being skeptical and suspicious, but as a mother who desires only the best for her babies, it pays to be vigilant about everything.

Most parents are quite concerned about car seats, mattresses, diapers, and other basic baby items. I encourage you to be even more vigilant about the health choices you make for your baby. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t wait until you are in the hospital or doctor’s office to investigate the many routine procedures they now perform on newborns or recommend during pregnancy. Don’t be afraid to hold a different opinion than the doctors or nurses. They probably have blindly accepted the information put out by the CDC. Their position and the pressure of insurance companies requires them to adhere to “routine standard of care” procedures, but that does not mean these practices are best for you and your baby. There are many highly intelligent members of the medical community who actively question and disagree with a lot of standard of care practices.

Making choices that go against mainstream recommendations can be a scary road to travel. I believe God gives mothers basic intuition on how to protect their baby and my desire is to nurture your intuition so that you can be a powerful advocate and warrior momma, doing everything you need to do to protect your baby from anything that could cause harm.

That is why I write. I am passionate about healthy empowered moms with healthy babies. I don’t make money! I have been researching many of these topics since I was newly pregnant 35 years ago. I have linked many of my previous blogs about these topics throughout this text. I encourage you to take a serious look at this information. I’d love to discuss any aspect of mothering with you. I realize you may make choices different from mine, and I respect your right to those choices. However, I urge you to make fully informed choices. Investigate, ask questions, dig deeper. Your baby will thank you.

All my love,

Becky

Author: Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five naturally born breastfed babies, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a volunteer breastfeeding counselor since 1993, Becky is devoted to helping parents, especially mothers, make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

Woman to Woman on Motherhood

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Just part of the family. Full family get-togethers become increasingly difficult!

Originally published on January 2017

No longer in the stage of life of having small children – with all the joys and tasks they create – I now have the blessing of grandchildren! This allows me time to think about the significance of motherhood and seek to encourage moms in the most important role they could ever have. Seeking wisdom through the Bible daily, God sheds light in my heart and I desire to share this light with others.

Peter speaks directly to leaders in chapter five of his first letter, “Shepherd God’s flock. Not for the money, but eagerly.” These words powerfully impacted my heart one morning. Who are these words directed to? Leaders. Who is a leader? Parents are leaders. Mothers are leaders. We are entrusted with the leadership of our children.

What does it mean to shepherd a flock? I’m no expert in sheep, but my guess is the obvious things – take care of them. Make sure they have safe food, a safe place to eat and protect them from forces that might attack and harm them. David is a great example of a committed shepherd. He tells us that he actively protected his sheep by killing a lion and a bear. He didn’t abandon his sheep. He didn’t expect anyone else to come in and do his work for him. He was ready. He was alert. He was practiced. He attacked the enemies that sought to attack his flock.

We also read many of David’s psalms and we know God asserted that David was “a man after God’s own heart.” David was certainly not perfect. He committed adultery and murder and sought to cover it up. He married many wives and didn’t have a great track record as a father. However, God continues to affirm that David’s heart was directed toward God. I believe part of this comes from his occupation during the boredom of looking after his sheep. Let’s face it, when you are looking after sheep, there are times of boredom – when everything seems to be going well. David used this time to exalt in God. He wrote down praises to God and he memorized them. He used his down time to extol God and bask in who God is.

As mother-leaders we are to be prepared to actively protect our flock – the children we are blessed to bear and raise. We can also use the times of boredom to dig deeper into knowing God, knowing His word, memorizing His word and exalting God in our lives.

In 2017 we need to know exactly what dangers our sheep are facing. We need to have an awareness of the very real dangers in our world so that we can expose them and help our children avoid being consumed by the enemies they will encounter. I don’t believe we are called to push for a better world, or even hope that there will be a political solution to the evil we see around us. But, as a vigilant shepherd, as a mother today, we seek to protect our babies. God has entrusted them to our care; we must be aware and warn them of danger. An alert shepherd will investigate potential danger before advancing to a new area. Shepherds should be able to understand, point out, and explain the reason a particular path holds danger.

For me personally, as someone who has been blessed to get support and information that enabled me to have natural births and breastfeed the five children I was blessed by God to bear, the world of childbirth and early parenting are close to my heart. Knowing how empowering the act of giving birth naturally was for me, knowing how empowering the act of nurturing a baby exclusively at the breast is, and watching with delight as baby grows and thrives on breast milk alone is an unparalleled experience.

I believe the enemy wants to rob women of this empowering experience. Further, the enemy seeks to sow discord in the hearts of children and break the bonding process experienced easily through natural birth and breastfeeding. I am not trying to criticize anyone who has had a different experience, but the reality is, bonding is more difficult when there are complications in childbirth and when early breastfeeding is a struggle. These are not insurmountable challenges, but require much more effort and determination to get through. As a breastfeeding counselor for 23+ years I have seen women overcome incredible challenges to successfully breastfeed, but my heart aches to watch completely unnecessary complications develop because of lack of support, or poor recommendations to unsuspecting women.

I believe the medical establishment has so medicalized the childbirth experience that most women are deprived of the support necessary to watch their body give birth. A woman is designed to give birth and her body is the most amazing part of the process. Our modern medical practices often unnecessarily complicate the process and serve to DISempower women of their biological strength. Again, this is not meant as a criticism to specific women, who generally do the best with the situation they face, but to the system. Medicalized births often lead to increased trauma to both mom and baby and can make breastfeeding more difficult. Additionally, standard hospital practices, such as early cord clamping, routine vitamin K injections, eye ointment, and some of the well meaning advice given by staff can adversely impact bonding and breastfeeding. Medical personnel who are ignorant of breastfeeding can create many obstacles for a brand new mother trying to get breastfeeding off to a good start. Routine circumcision of male newborns can seriously impact breastfeeding – yet mothers are not warned.

As a breastfeeding counselor, nothing hurts my heart more than watching innocent, but ignorant, parents, blindly follow medical or cultural advice and end up actually harming their own child. They do not intend harm to their precious baby, but the system has ensnared them into decisions that are not in their baby’s best interests for lifelong health.

How? The list is long. Giving pregnant women vaccines which are known to harm the developing baby, giving many ultrasounds in pregnancy, routine birth practices (such as routine inductions or quick C-sections) designed with the doctor or hospital in mind but which put baby at greater risk of harm, vaccines given to baby, circumcision, allergy shots for children, Tylenol, screen time for babies and children (more addictive and damaging than some drugs), GMO food, processed foods, blindly trusting public schools or curriculum, Disney movies, etc.

I was once in darkness about most of these things. I didn’t know how harmful they were. But, having researched and now understanding the danger, I can no longer blindly continue these harmful practices for myself. As an “older women” I can no longer stand idly by and watch younger women get sucked into very dangerous fields where the enemy stands ready to devour both them and their young lambs.

So, I must speak out and warn others, despite the risk of being dismissed as crazy, or ridiculed by what I point out. I am encouraged by Paul’s admission of craziness,

“For if we are out of our mind (super crazy), it is for God, and if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels, us because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all that those who live, no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake, died, and was raised.” 2 Corinthians 5:13-14

Peter warns us that we need to ‘”Be serious. Be alert. Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

This is why I started this blog. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing.

Author: Becky Hastings, wife to John for 36 years, mother of five, MIL to two, grandmother of six, passionate follower of Jesus Christ. A full time truth seeker, especially in the areas of health and children. Navigating our present day world can be challenging, God’s timeless truths in the Bible are my guide.

Reasons for Circumcision

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Botched circumcisions are a reality. Circumcision, which should more appropriately be referred to as ‘complete foreskin amputation’, as performed in the US on infants, often goes wrong. You might not have heard about it. Parents don’t talk about it. Boys and men experience so much trauma and pain that they rarely discuss it. Yet it is a reality that has negatively impacted the lives of thousands. Circumcision is a risk. It is a risk to lifelong sexual satisfaction; a risk of functional use of a healthy specifically designed part of the body. And there is a risk of death – far more often than parents are told about.

“The hundreds of boys I have seen who needed surgery to repair problems caused by their circumcisions are real. The men who lost more parts of their penis than the foreskin are real. The thousands of adult men saying they wish they hadn’t been cut are real. Not recognizing that circumcision is harmful is either ignorance or denial.” Adrienne Carmack, M.C., urologist https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/complications/#anchor-02

Please inform yourself of exactly what the procedure entails BEFORE you are in the hospital faced with the question of whether to keep your son intact or not. This is elective surgery. It is a choice for parents to make, yet often parents are not fully informed.

I urge you to dedicate at least 2 – 4 hours researching circumcision before you make an irreversible decision for your son’s genitalia. If you still decide to do the surgery, at least you will make an informed decision that you won’t later go back to and say, “I wish I knew better before I had made this permanent decision for my son about his genitals.”

The most important thing for you to do right now is to decide why you might want to have this surgery done to your newborn son.

The most common reason given for circumcision is because they want their son to look like everyone else, so they won’t be teased or embarrassed. The truth is ALL penises look different – whether intact or cut. Over 80% of adult men in the world have intact genitalia. Many experts in the US now admit that there is no need for circumcision and recognize it as purely cosmetic surgery. Because of that, insurance doesn’t always pay for it, and many parents are now skipping the procedure. As a result, fewer and fewer infants in the US are having this cosmetic surgery so the locker room issue will not arise. In 2010, the CDC reported that 41.70% of baby boys left US hospitals intact! Would you endorse cosmetic surgery on your young daughters genitals or breasts to conform to other girls? Could we give our sons the same consideration?

Some moms want to circumcise their newborns because they don’t like the way an uncircumcised man looks. Maybe their son’s future wife won’t have that same opinion. Intact men are satisfied with their genitals. When asked, most intact men say they would rather face teasing than have their forsaken amputated. Adult men will have the opportunity of having a circumcision – with true informed consent – if they desire.

Other people opt to circumcise because of the religious connection. In the book of Genesis, Abraham was told to circumcise all the males in his household. When Jesus was eight days old, his parents took him to be circumcised. This procedure, given to the Jewish nation before running water, was symbolic in nature and had no value except to mark someone as a Hebrew person that placed their faith in God. Biblical circumcision was a cut. A small blood sacrifice; a mark on the skin. It was not a complete amputation of the foreskin. Only a very small bit of the excess foreskin was removed. It never involved forcibly tearing the protective skin away from the glans (head) of the penis, which is adhered at birth like a fingernail is to a finger. Additionally, there are many New Testament examples that clearly show us the need for a blood sacrifice has been finally fulfilled in Jesus’ death and circumcision is no longer necessary. See Galatians 5 & 6 or look up circumcision in a concordance.

Here are a few links that I urge you to look at BEFORE making any kind of irreversible decision for your precious son.

There is a lot of discussion on whether a baby can feel the pain of this traumatic surgical procedure, or if that pain makes a difference in his life. Anesthesia … http://www.drmomma.org/2008/11/the-effectiveness-of-anesthesia-for.html?m=1

Why did circumcision became so mainstream in the US? These excerpts from medical journals from the late 1800’s and the 1900’s provide the answers. http://www.drmomma.org/2007/05/circumcision-brief-history-in.html?m=1

This EXCELLENT video, Child Circumcision: An Elephant in the Hospital, looks at the topic through both a review of scientific literature and a discussion of the human cost of the procedure, this presentation explores these questions from the perspectives of the child, the adult survivor, the parent, and the practitioner. Ryan McAllister, PhD, is a parent, a biophysicist, an Assistant Professor of Physics and Oncology at Georgetown University, and also a volunteer who supports parents and families. Over the last 10 years he has been studying the medicalization of childbirth in U.S. hospitals.

The actual procedure: An infant’s penis is very small making such surgery difficult and delicate. There is a very small surgical field and no way to know how the penis would normally grow, which can and does result in devastating outcomes. In fact, some men have painful, tight erections because too much foreskin is removed in infancy. Any parent considering allowing such a surgical procedure on their son should at the very least, watch a video that shows what happens during the procedure. This video is a US style circumcision using a plastibell device. [Edit: the original linked video vanished so I found another one. It is age restricted so you will have to click on it to watch on YT.]

From a nurse…

…the first circumcision I saw was in nursing school. I asked the doc if he would use something for pain. He said, “No, topical meds won’t be enough before hand and if I give him injections I’ll have to give 9-12 injections, which will make the pain worse at first. No, it’s better to just do it quickly. Get it finished. Apply topical pain relief and give him to his mom to nurse or feed.”

The nurse took the baby back to mom after he had stopped crying. She told mom, “He did great…” and mom smiled. She never knew what the experience was like for her son. It was heartbreaking. I asked the nurse how she felt about it and told her I felt sick. I was shaking. She said, “Yeah it’s one of the worse parts of the job…” and that was it. She walked off. Later she told me she wished it didn’t happen and her own son was intact. I said, “Well, yeah, because you’ve seen it happen – how awful it is. These parents, here, never see behind the scenes.”
Alicia J.

I hope these resources help you get started in learning about the details of making this important decision for your precious son. This is my second blog on this topic, you can read my first blog here.

Edit: I just found 2 more thorough sources of information published by GreenMedInfo on this topic:

Ji, Sayer. “Infants Deeply Traumatized By Common Medical Procedures, New Study Suggests.” GreenMedInfo – The World’s Natural Health Resource, 30 July 2016, www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/infants-deeply-traumatized-medical-procedures-new-study-suggests-1.

Quine, Spoony. “The Foreskin: Why Is It Such A Secret In North America?” GreenMedInfo – The World’s Natural Health Resource, 2 July 2015, www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/foreskin-why-it-such-secret-north-america.

Author: Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a breastfeeding counselor for over 23 years Becky is devoted to helping parents make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.

10 Not so frequently shared facts regarding Circumcision

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Circumcision is a very hot topic. So hot, in fact, that many parent health forums on Facebook completely ban it from discussion and all posts using the word are deleted. Discussing the genitals of males seems to elicit strong emotion from all angles. For this reason, I believe a lot of people have never really taken a serious look at the discussion — have never investigated the true facts for themselves. My toddler grandson was able to get away from his mother during a diaper change at a church social gathering and enjoyed the freedom of walking around naked. There were several young fathers who noticed him and remarked amongst themselves, “He must be European.” Between them they had seven sons. They totally accepted that the American way is to cut off the foreskin.

1. Circumcision practiced today is NOT the same as Biblical circumcision. Firstly I want to address the actual word. The word circumcision is a familiar term to Christians and people familiar with the Torah or religious practices of Abraham’s descendants. The use of the word in our modern context is not at all the same. The procedure performed on infants today, predominantly in the US, should more appropriately be known as foreskin or prepuce amputation. Many people refer to it as genital mutilation.

Language is critically important in this discussion. The practice introduced to Abraham was not the same practice performed in US hospitals today. During Abraham’s time no one could imagine the complete amputation of an infant’s foreskin. This is part of the reason that ancient artistic depictions of the infant Jesus show him to be intact. (http://www.drmomma.org/2009/11/jack-black-on-circumcision.html) Of course the fact of Jesus’ circumcision according to the Jewish law was never questioned, but the procedure was one of a slight cutting of the foreskin which left the appearance of an intact organ. Biblical circumcision was a cutting of the foreskin, not a cutting off of the entire prepuce.

2. Rate of death from the modern practice of foreskin amputation is approximately one infant every two days in the US. According to those who have researched documented cases of death where the stated cause is circumcision, approximately every second day a baby boy dies as a result of circumcision complications. The actual number may be far higher, as circumcision is not always listed as the cause of death. Deaths may be attributed to a secondary cause such as infection or bleeding, which would never have occurred without the surgical procedure of cutting off the foreskin. Parents are rarely warned that there is a real risk of death from the trauma, or from the bleeding.

MORBIDITY: Deaths from circumcision and its complications are estimated at 229 per year based on a ratio from a British study. There are about 178 times the number of circumcision deaths than schoolyard violent deaths each year.   http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/bollinger2004/

3. The US is the only country with high rates of routine infant foreskin removal. Prevalence of circumcision in other countries according to the WHO is ±30% of the total male population. Parents in the US are completely oblivious to the rate of circumcision throughout the world.

“The strange truth is that the U.S. is the sole country in the world where a large majority of its male population is routinely circumcised at birth for non-religious reason.”

“The neonatal circumcision rate peaked in the U.S. in the late 1960s, at around 80-90%. Since then, the procedure has been slowly declining—in part due to the skepticism of parents who no longer place blind faith in the medical establishment and in part due to the profession’s own writings.”

https://matthewtontonoz.com/2015/01/05/why-is-circumcision-so-popular-in-america/

Good news: “The intact rate among newborn males in the U.S. has increased from 15 percent in 1965 to 44.5 percent in 2006. This is an increase of 294 percent.”  http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA//

4. The positive role of the foreskin. The foreskin is an organ that the majority of men in the US have not experienced. “Removing this healthy, vital, fully functioning organ from a non-consenting person will forever change the sexuality of this future adult man and his partner.” The intact foreskin provides external protection, self-cleansing, internal self-protection, immunological protection, antibacterial function, coverage during erection, erogenous sensitivity, sexual functions, and self lubrication. Foreskin removal deprives a man of these benefits. http://www.drmomma.org/2009/09/functions-of-foreskin-purposes-of.html

5. There are no health benefits from routine infant foreskin removal. Circumcision has no justifiable benefits and is in fact harmful – from pain and suffering to surgical botches to reduced maternal-child bonding and interfering with breastfeeding. Medical authorities throughout the world consider circumcision medically unnecessary and unethical. Botched circumcisions can cause trauma for boys and men throughout their lives.  https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org

6. Blood loss is a serious risk of routine foreskin amputation, especially for infants. Parents are not adequately warned of this danger. Losing a small amount of blood results in a significant loss of a baby’s total blood volume. “An eight pound baby only needs to lose 1 ounce of blood to hemorrhage, and just 2.3 ounces to die as a result of this blood loss. It can, and does, occur at a frighteningly quick pace.” Smaller babies are even more at risk. http://www.drmomma.org/2010/05/death-from-circumcision.html

7. Baby Foreskin is a highly profitable commodity. Infant foreskins are sold at considerable profits for scientific research, vaccine development, and other consumable uses. Details of the many uses and how to harvest the highly valuable fibroblast cells are discussed here. https://vactruth.com/2017/09/28/foreskin-used-in-vaccines/

8. Baby boys should be like their fathers/brothers/etc.? Performing a surgical amputation is not justified because of a surgical amputation performed on the infant’s father, siblings, or other males. Most of us were taught as children, Two wrongs don’t make a right.

9. Male infants are not able to give informed consent AND the experience is painful and traumatic. The most popular surgical procedure performed on male babies is profoundly stressful, provides no medical benefit, and can impair breastfeeding and thus long-term health, yet it is completely cosmetic.

10. There is no current Biblical imperative for Christians to circumcise their infant. In fact, the imperative is to love and treat others the way you would want to be treated. Part of the parental role is to investigate every single medical procedure recommended for your baby and ask questions. Any procedure that provides an income stream to hospitals, doctors, and research labs is going to be promoted. Get the facts. I encourage you to read the entire letter Paul wrote to the Galatians, especially chapter 5 and 7. Here are the highlights:

“But if I still proclaim circumcision … then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.” 

“I wish that those who are pushing you to do so would mutilate themselves!”

“And even those who advocate circumcision don’t really keep the whole law. They only want you to be circumcised so they can brag about it and claim you as their disciples.” 

“For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.”

Galatians 5:11, 12; 6:13, 15

“Cutting off a functional, protective, and sensitive body part is a far-reaching decision that the vast majority of Europeans believe should be left to its owner when he becomes old enough to understand the consequences. Despite the recent, backward-looking statements by U.S. medical organizations, more and more Americans are beginning to agree.” Morten Frisch, M.D., Danish epidemiologist

“Genital cutting and the amputation of a healthy, functioning body organ from a non-consenting human being is a severe violation of human rights. If we did such a thing to a dog, we would be charged with animal abuse.” http://www.drmomma.org/2010/07/biblical-circumcision-information.html


Author: Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus and truth. As a breastfeeding counselor for over 23 years Becky is devoted to helping parents make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies.