If you are the parent of a young child, pregnant, breastfeeding or thinking of becoming pregnant, the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, should be of particular concern to you.
During a pandemic, children and pregnant women are at high risk of serious complications and even death if they become ill with the flu, according to the March of Dimes. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed extensive plans for minimizing the impact of the pandemic flu, and once a vaccine has been developed for the virus causing the pandemic, pregnant women and children from age 6 to …read more

I was well equipped to breast feed. (Um…) Having worked at the March of Dimes for the absurd number of months I was pregnant, I had the benefits of breastfeeding drilled into my brain. The organization also gave me a free Medela Breast Pump (value – $300) and a boxful of What to Expect books. They even had a breastfeeding consultant contact me and offer pep talks. Even then, I was half-hearted about the whole concept. My new pal Dr. Laura would shake a stick at me for that. But I was big and uncomfortable and looking forward to having …read more

My OB owned an upscale French restaurant where his family’s live-in chef made a lobster bisque so rich and lush you wanted to bathe in it. That French cuisine was paired with some lovely wines, as I recall. It was a short-lived business venture for my OB, but a pleasant one that provided my doctor and me plenty of conversation in the months leading up to the birth of my son. He knew, too, of my affection for wine and consoled me by saying it would just fine if I wanted to have 4 ounces of wine a day.
Four ounces? …read more

This PSA by the March of Dimes has been airing here in the US for a couple of weeks now. The first time I saw it I literally laughed out loud, because what pregnant woman hasn’t felt like this?