How common is the breech position?

Breech position (bottom first) is present in 3% to 4% of term pregnancies. Breech positioning is common prior to term - 25% are breech before 28 weeks, but by 32 weeks only 7% of babies are breech. The vast majority of breech babies in the United States are now born by planned caesarean. The use of a safe procedure to help turn breech babies into a head-down position (aka cephalic position) may help to lower the caesarean rate.

What is an external cephalic version?

External = from the outside, cephalic = head first, version = turning

An external cephalic version is when a care provider puts their hands on the outside of your belly and turns the baby, using either a forward or backward roll, into a cephalic (head-down) position. This is also called an ECV, version, or “hands to belly” procedure.

In part V of our six-part series with Dr Sarah Buckley, we discuss the sexuality of childbirth

Childbirth is Sexual?? Yes it actually is! There are so many parallels between sex and birth, and neither flow as well when we sterilize them. In this video, Dr Sarah Buckley explains how and why connection and intimacy can affect the experience of giving birth. Learn about the roles that hormones like oxytocin and endorphins play while making and birthing a baby. Also, find out why the effects of naturally produced hormones vary from those of synthetic treatments.

This brief report reviews findings from a longitudinal study of skin-to-skin contact with mothers and full-term infants and a follow-up study of these dyads when the children were 9 years.

Now a new small study of 9 breastfeeding women provides a fascinating insight into exactly how diet may affect the composition of a mother's breast milk. In particular, the study offers some insight into how the maternal diet can change the macronutrient concentrations in breast milk. For example, one of the main findings was that if a mum increased her sugar and fat intake even just for a day, this will affect the composition of her breast milk.

The Breastfed Baby

• Immune system – Breast milk helps to mature the immune system. Responds better to vaccinations. Decreased risk of childhood cancer
• Skin – Less allergic eczema in breastfed infants
• Joints and muscles – Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is less common in children who were breastfed
• Bowels – Less constipation
• Urinary tract – fewer infections in breastfed infants
• Digestive system – Less diarrhoea, fewer gastrointestinal infections in babies who are breastfeeding. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding reduces risk of food allergies. Also, less risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in adulthood

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling, walking, or jumping). In the first year, babies learn to focus their vision, reach out, explore, and learn about the things that are around them. Cognitive, or brain development means the learning process of memory, language, thinking, and reasoning

The effects of music on children are magical. Music can be both energizing and calming, and it can enhance bonding and help with transitions. Anyone who has sung a fussy child to sleep knows that music “hath charms to soothe a savage beast.” And as you’ve undoubtedly discovered while trying to wrestle your little savage into their clothes, singing to make the process fun also makes it a whole lot easier!

These benefits of music are a compelling reason for you to make every day with your child a musical one! And as it turns out, there’s a lot of learning involved, too

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., February 27, 2021 – Johnson & Johnson announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

We believe the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is a critical tool for fighting this global pandemic, particularly as it shows protection across countries with different variants. A vaccine that protects against COVID-19, especially against the most dire outcomes of hospitalization and death, will help ease the burden on people and the strain on health systems worldwide