Birth, Family & Faith
We just returned from a trip to the Keweenaw peninsula of northern Michigan. Calumet (the town where my father grew up) is now a part of the Keweenaw National Historic Park.
Copper World is on the main street of Calumet. The shop still sells my novel.
The Rosetta Cafe is a favorite stop for great soup at lunch time–and good coffee all the time.
Lake Superior is not far from Calumet.
Sharing this post with Seasons and Sue’s Wordless Wednesday
If you look up fear in a Bible concordance you will find hundreds of entries. Mentions of fear can be divided into two categories: things we should not fear and the instruction to fear God.
Recently the zika virus has been in the news. Photos of babies born with microcephaly are being shown on TV and social media. Pregnant women are being urged to avoid mosquito bites.
It is helpful to get a little perspective on microcephaly. Many people are unaware but the cytomegalovirus has been linked to microcephaly for decades. Because of my nursing knowledge I looked for recent articles about cytomegalovirus. This article was published in February of this year. You can read the complete article here.
In the US, about 1% of the 4 million babies born every year are infected with CMV, per the Congenital CMV Disease Research Clinic and Registry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. While most of them—about 90%—won’t show any symptoms, the rest may have at least one of a variety of abnormalities, including hearing loss and microcephaly. That’s around 4,000 affected babies.
For perspective, only 17 of the roughly 400 microcephaly cases confirmed by Brazilian health officials so far have conclusively tested positive for Zika infection, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization.
So what about all the media attention on zika and mosquitoes?
It makes sense to use mosquito repellent and to get rid of standing water around our homes. But we don’t need to live in fear. We still do not have a complete understanding of the zika virus and its role in birth defects. An article in the Tech Times suggests that the outbreak of microcephaly in Brazil could have been caused by the use of a neurotoxic pesticide that got into the water supply. Read the article here.
Suggestions are being made in the media that microcephaly is a reason to support late term abortion.
We live at a time when we value individual autonomy and complete control over the events in our life. The truth is that we don’t have absolute control. The Bible gives guidance for sanitary and dietary measures that support health. At the same time it teaches us that we don’t have absolute control.
We should be informed and wise in the actions we choose. For the Christian, security is found in God. We fear and trust God. If we are touched by disease or crisis, God will help us.
Here are the words of Isaiah:
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
Isaiah 35: 4-6
This post is being shared with Tuesdays with a Twist, Mom to Mom Mondays, Word of God Speak, Thought Provoking Thursday and the Christian Blogger Link-up
This week is World Breastfeeding Week. Since 1992 the benefits of breastfeeding, for women and their infants, have been promoted during the first week of August. I admit that I was fortunate. My mother breastfed all of her babies, even though formula feeding had become popular by the 1950s. So, I was on track to breastfeed my babies, too.
In the June 12, 2016 issue of the Wall Street Journal, an obituary for one of the founding members of the La Leche League appeared. Here is a quote from Mary White’s obituary.
In the 1950s, breastfeeding was widely considered backward and unsanitary. Around 80% of U.S. mothers chose formula instead, according to the league. Views gradually changed as researchers piled up evidence of the health benefits of natural feeding. As of 2012, about 80% of mothers were at least attempting to breastfeed, according to the latest government survey results.
The women pressed forward, learning and supporting each other. They were persistent when the medical field did not realize the benefits of breast milk. Eventually Mary White helped write The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
As a nurse I can attest to the challenge it has been to recover from the trend of offering formula to infants. Marketing and financial gain is involved.
In the years 1929 to 1932, formula companies were limited to advertising their product to doctors. A doctor needed to have a medical reason to substitute formula for breastfeeding. After 1932 advertising to consumers was permitted. The market grew and breastfeeding declined.
Before long formula companies were stocking hospitals with gift packs containing sample formula. According to an article in the American Journal of Diseases in Children(1991) the U.S. formula industry had developed into a $1.6 billion market. According to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control only 33.5% of babies born in 2007 were exclusively breast-fed for the first three months of life.
We have had to relearn trust in a woman’s body. We are still learning about the negative effects on breastfeeding caused by interventions in childbirth. Epidural anesthesia and cesarean section may have an impact.
Women need support and guidance in the days following birth. Here are some guidelines for successful breastfeeding:
Medical practice can never be static. It is both a science and an art. In health care, our medical system needs to assess current practice, change where necessary and continue to do research. Economic gain should never be the driving force of medical advice.
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Linking with Tuesdays with a Twist, the Art of Homemaking and Mom to Mom Monday
Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are familiar. We see them in the grocery store. God has created a multitude of other berries. I feel blessed to have elderberry bushes in my backyard. After reading about the benefits of elderberries I ordered bushes from nursery catalogues. Now I have four bushes and enjoy the different phases as these bushes produce fruit.
In June white lace flowers appear on the branches.
In July the berries begin to form.
The berry clusters ripen at a staggered pace. This bush has berries in different shades of ripeness.
When fully ripe the berries are a deep purple color—almost black.
When the berries are used for jelly or juice, all of the little stems must be removed first.
I pick the berries, remove the stems and freeze them until I have enough quantity to make a juice/syrup for the winter. My recipe for canning elderberry juice is here.
Linking with A Little R & R, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural, Tuesdays with a Twist, Sue’s Wordless Wednesday, Nature Notes and Seasons
