THE MIDWIFE'S WISDOM

This is a forum to share information from professional midwives. The tips and methods of care that have been passed on, to provide a wide range of solutions for the varied issues in supporting a healthy life Passage for mother and child. Midwives are invited to share their comments and ideas - their Midwifery Knowledge and Experience!

ANEMIA - various suggestions to help improve nutritional anemia.

  • Instead of recommending liver for my clients who are preferring to eat meat; I advise they try chicken hearts. These are not a filtration organ (as livers are), so the concerns related to possible contaminants is greatly lessened. Also, the meat is higher in iron than liver and the strong flavor of liver isn't an issue. Cost is often less than other meat cut's and if they are sauteed in olive oil with herbs and a tsp. of IMO or such then served over rice or noodles they can be quite tasty. [Lisa L. CNM]

  • Do not recommend ferrous sulfate as a supplement. It is the most poorly absorbed of the various formulations and often causes nausea. [Becky RD]

  • I have had the best results with women who will take liquid chlorophyll. This supplement gets a quicker change in improved hemaglobin or hematocrit values than any herb or iron supplement I ever used before. It may not be palatable to some women (I think, too, it may be hard to drink something that is green). Try mint flavored or it is also available in capsules. The possible reason this may be so effective is that the molecule is only one atom different from the hemaglobin molecule. So maybe our body can use it more efficiently to make what we need to carry oxygen. I know this is anecdotal but those lab values really jump quickly and the ladies report a definate boost in energy.[KatiAnn LM - Colfax]

    VARICOSE VEINS

  • Try advising a large increase of rutin and bioflavinoids. These nutrients are specifically supportive for improving the strength of vascular walls.[Becky RD]
  • If I have a lady who has a strong history for these - including vulvar varicosities - I have her wear prescription grade pregnancy support hose. These are most useful for prevention if used from the end of the first trimester (even sooner if she is one of those ladies in whom you are already seeing venous distention).[KatiAnn LM - Colfax]
  • Vit E supp at 400mg/day. But, stop in last month if she is prone to retaining the placenta.[Nancy R. CNM - Portland]

    INDUCING LABOR

    PRACTICING MIDWIVES...... PLEASE - send KatiAnn a message to share any of your ideas or answer questions.

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