I read a story in passing awhile ago about mothers who are saving their placentas and eating them. I didn't take it seriously until I recently ran across New York Magazine's extensive look at the practice.

The author interviewed a half dozen mothers who say eating placenta could starve off postpartum depression, improve their moods and help with breastfeeding. There is a growing number of placenta specialists who prepare placentas for eating by transforming them into pills or other forms.

Besides the gross factor for some mothers, the science doesn't appear clear. The article notes:

In 1930, the researchers Otto Tinklepaugh and Carl Hartman described a female macaque monkey eating her placenta. “After licking the afterbirth, she begins the grueling task … of consuming this tough fibrous mass,” they wrote. “Holding the organ in her hands, she bites and tears at it with her teeth.” Tinklepaugh and Hartman could not determine the precise reason why macaques—and virtually every other land mammal—eat their own placenta. To this day, the reasons remain unclear.

Mark Kristal, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Buffalo, is the country’s leading (and quite possibly only) authority on placentophagia, the practice of placenta consumption. He has been researching the phenomenon for twenty years, and concludes that it must offer “a fundamental biological advantage” to all mammals. What this advantage is, he writes in one of his papers, “is still a mystery … in fact, a double mystery. We are not sure either of the immediate causes … nor are we sure of the consequences of the behavior.” But placentas have carried a special spiritual significance in some cultures. In ancient Egypt, it had its own hieroglyph, and the Ibo tribe in Nigeria and Ghana treats the placenta like a child’s dead twin. In traditional Chinese medicine, small doses of human placenta are sometimes dried, mixed with herbs, and ingested to alleviate, among other things, impotence and lactation conditions. And in modern medicine, doctors often bank umbilical-cord blood to treat genetic diseases with harvested stem cells.

The article also points out that there is few laws governing a patient's access to her placenta. Only three states -- Hawaii, New York and Nevada -- have guidelines on allowing women to take placentas home.

It's a fascinating topic and the article, while long, is worth checking out. What do you think of this practice?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Parenting in general
        

I was so nervous that daycare would be closed Monday morning. Luckily, all was well and I didn't have to scramble to find alternative care or stay home with Jake.

Other parents weren't so lucky when most local school systems canceled classes due to Hurricane Irene-related power outages. With Baltimore City and Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Harford counties canceling school for the second day, what are parents to do?

The Sun reports:

The widespread outages and resulting school closings sent parents around the region scrambling to find high school-age baby sitters (who, luckily, were available because their schools had closed as well), swap shifts with co-workers and find creative ways to entertain their stir-crazy offspring.

Some parents took their kids to the mall or any place with electricity and entertainment, while others ventured to the Inner Harbor and other tourist spots.

How are you keeping your children entertained? How are you coping?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: School's Out
        

Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday

Hurricane Irene closed area schools on Monday, but the storm has taught my kids some valuable lessons. For several days they studied meteorology as they watched the Weather Channel to monitor the hurricane as it came toward us. On Saturday, as the rains descended, they were able to study psychology as mom fretted about the possibility of a flooded basement. Then Sunday morning we lost power and the education really began. Here’s what the kids have learned:

1. Science lesson, part 1. When a neighbor’s tree falls on an electric wire, it causes a big explosion.

2. Science lesson, part 2. Almost all the fun things you want to do run on electricity—that includes the TV, computer games, and yes, the beloved Xbox.

3. History lesson. Listening to the Orioles game on a battery-operated radio is very much the way granddaddy used to listen to sports back in the 1940s.

4. Home economics. Honey chicken nuggets fried in a skillet over a propane stove do not taste the same as they do in a toaster oven.

5. Social studies. The generator has two outlets. If one outlet is used to run the refrigerator, you must negotiate with everyone else in the family to use the second. (Note: Mom’s coffee maker gets priority in the morning.)

6. Physical education. Picking up sticks in the yard exercises the backs, stomach, legs and arm muscles.

7. Mathematics. Calculate how many hours the generator can operate on one gallon of gasoline. If the gas costs $3.64 a gallon, how much does it cost to run the generator each hour?

8. Language arts. Books don’t require electricity and with no TV or Internet, there is plenty of time for reading whether you want to or not.

Yes, my kids are learning valuable lessons as a result of the storm, but we’re all getting tired of hurricane school. I’m more than ready to hand over their education to the capable teachers of the Baltimore County Public Schools.

What lessons did you kids learn during Hurricane Irene?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Teens
        

I love the fall and there's nothing that spells the new season than back to school. (When I was in school, I used to pick out my first-day-of-school outfit the night before with anticipation.)

For parents, it can be daunting, trying to prepare their children for another school year, getting them out of vacation mode and establishing a new routine.

Check out The Sun's latest Ask the Expert, which features Dr. Julie Yeh, a pediatrician at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

Here are some excerpts:

What are some tips for ensuring my child eats a healthful lunch at school?

When packing lunches, try to include healthy options such as whole-grain breads, fresh fruit and low-fat snacks like popcorn, pretzels or dried fruit. Keep an eye on portion size as well. Water is always a good choice of beverage, but low-fat milk is much preferred if possible. Avoid sugary juices or sodas. If your child purchases lunch at school, preview the lunch menu, which is often provided in advance, and discuss with them what they will choose for the day. Most public school lunches include two fruit or vegetable options as part of every meal; review those options with your child as well. Also, have your child pick low-fat white milk as a beverage. At the end of the day, stay involved. Ask your child what he or she ended up buying for lunch.

What are appropriate actions to share with my child if they are being bullied at school, on the school bus or on the walk to school?

Bullying is a serious problem. Children should understand that bullying is never OK. If your child is being bullied, encourage them to speak up in a calm manner and ask the bully to stop. He should then walk away if possible. If it persists, the child should feel comfortable telling a responsible adult figure, such as a parent or school official. Discuss in advance with your children what they would do in such a scenario, so they are prepared if it ever happens to them.

How do you prepare yourself and your child for another school year?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: School's In
        

Labor is hard enough but imagine an earthquake hitting at a crucial moment during delivery.

That's what happened to a mother during delivery at Greater Baltimore Medical Center on Tuesday when a 5.8-magnitude quake shook Baltimore.

The Sun's Andrea Walker reports:

She had endured 33 hours of labor when her baby's head finally appeared Tuesday afternoon.

Then the floors at Greater Baltimore Medical Center started to shake, the blinds began to sway and the medical instruments commenced clanking on the table.

She heard someone outside the delivery room shout: "Oh, my God! I think it's an earthquake!"

The mother, Jennifer, safely delivered baby John, who was born at 8 pounds, 11 ounces, less than an hour after the quake.

The interesting twist to the story is husband, Tom, is an architectural engineer whose firm had designed the maternity ward where his wife was delivering.

"I was certain the building was sound and everything would be OK," he told The Sun.

Congratulations to Jennifer and Tom.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Expecting
        

There are a host of reasons why teenagers use alcohol, drugs and other not-so-great substance: Peer pressure, experimentation, problems at home, among other influences. It's a complicated issue.

Add regular Facebook and other social media usage to that list, according to a new survey.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University said today that teens who regularly use Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites face increased risk of smoking, drinking and drug use.

Unlike teens who do not use social networking sites, students who do likely see photos of kids drunk, passed out or using drugs, helping to normalize the activity, the group says. Compared to teens who avoid such sites, young people who regularly visit them are five times as likely to use tobacco, three times likely to use alcohol and twice as likely to use marijuana.

Here's what the Chicago Tribune found:

"We're not saying (social media) causes it," said Joseph Califano, the center's chairman. "But we are saying that this is a characteristic that should signal to (parents) that, well, you ought to be watching."

The findings are in keeping with a new wave of research into how social networks might affect teen decision-making. Several studies have suggested that Facebook, Myspace and other sites have created a new form of peer pressure, exposing young people to risky behaviors they could be tempted to emulate.

...But some experts warn that the research, like social media itself, is still in its infancy, and that the correlation between social networking and teen substance abuse could be disguising more relevant risk factors. Others contend that bad influences in the real world are much more potent.

What many experts agree on, though, is the importance of parents keeping tabs on their children's Internet activities.

What kind of restrictions do you put on your child's social networking usage? What kind of influence do you think social networking has on teens and substance abuse?

UPDATE (2:47 p.m.) The study's findings are getting some pushback. Check out The Atlantic blog post here and a rebuttal of the study's methodology from an organization called youthfacts.org.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Teens
        

That state is expected today to announce the good news that the infant mortality rate has dropped to its lowest level on record.

My colleague Meredith Cohn reports:

Data from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show a drop to 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010. That's a 7 percent drop from the year before, a 16 percent drop from two years before and the lowest rate since recording began in the 1940s.

"It's definitely going in the right direction," said Frances B. Phillips, deputy secretary of the state health department. "We've got two years in a row of declines for the first time in a while."

Phillips warned that the numbers bounce up and down from year to year, and the state is not declaring "mission accomplished," especially considering the state's poor standing nationally. Maryland is a relatively wealthy state, but its pockets of poverty and racial disparities mean Baltimore City and some counties have kept the rate relatively high, Phillips said.

While the state has significantly improved its rate, Maryland is at the bottom tier nationally. The U.S. average was 6.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to national data for 2009, the latest year available.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Babies and Toddlers
        

For some parents these days, back-to-school shopping practically began when school ended.

But many parents are still scrambling to finish some last-minute shopping in the few remaining days of summer vacation (though some students in Maryland began a new school year this week).

The average family has completed less than 50 percent of shopping for kindergarten-through-12th-grade students, according to a new survey released this week by the National Retail Federation.

And given the shaky economy, parents plan to spend on average $603.63, which is about three dollars short of last year's total, according to the NRF.

How closely are you watching your wallet? Are you sticking to a budget?

Feel free to share and take this poll:

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: School's In
        

Does being married mean you live longer?

A new study says so. (Thanks Picture of Health for flagging the study.)

Single people die a decade earlier than married folks, according to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. According to msnbc.com:

The researchers analyzed the data from some 90 previous studies, which included about 500 million people, and compared the risk of mortality for singles from those studies — defined as those who never married — to that of a married group, excluding those who are divorced or widowed.

The researchers found the risk of death was 32 percent higher across a lifetime for single men compared to married men. Single women face a 23 percent higher mortality risk, compared to married women.

Were you healthier as a single person? Has marriage made you healthier or in poorer health?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Marriage
        

Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday

As a mother of two boys, I don’t usually follow the latest tween and teen girl fashion trends. But I had to chuckle when I read recently that a new study shows mothers are dressing like their daughters.

The study from Temple University polled 343 mother-daughter pairs (average ages 44 and 16, respectively) asking them about their purchasing decisions, including their choice of brands or products, preferences for particular stores, and preferences for particular styles. The researchers compared the direction of influence from mother to daughter vs. daughter to mother and found that mothers were more likely to be influenced by their daughters than the other way around.

I imagine that news will send tween girls into a panic. But I doubt my boys would pay much attention if I tried to mimic their style. I’d just need to buy a few more T-shirts and khaki shorts and I’d be all set.

How about you? Are you dressing like your daughter?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Teens
        

Check out my colleague Jill Rosen's story on the success of Jill Smokler, aka Scary Mommy, whose blog has garnered a lot of fans and attention over the years.

Rosen writes:

Jill Smokler is Scary Mommy — and she's becoming scary successful.

Corporations snap to attention when she tweets, Target fills her closet with free merchandise and Simon & Schuster will release her first book next Mother's Day. All because when, say, she admits to swearing at her children under her breath, legions of fans clap with delight and sigh with relief, responding, "Me too! Me too! Me too!"

The article reveals how Smokler started her blog -- as an online baby book for friends and family -- how it has grown and why it's so popular.

Smokler says her blog shows the "imperfect side of parenting."

The great thing about the Internet is that if Smokler's blog is not your cup of tea, there are hundreds -- if not thousands -- of other "mommy blogs" that would fit your fancy.

But give credit to Smokler for making Scary Mommy a successful enterprise.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Parent bloggers
        

Please join me in congratulating Betsy of Fluffy Windover's Diary on her new son.

She even found the time to write about it in this week's Toddler Thursday:

We had a wonderful surprise last Friday when our son, John, was born five weeks early. Even though he is technically preterm, he weighed 6 lbs 1 oz and is doing just fine at home with us!

As for Edwin, he has handled the new addition rather well (so far, that is). He was a little confused about staying at Grandma and Grandpa's without us, and was pretty upset when he visited us in the hospital and realized we weren't all going home together. But he has really embraced Baby Brother and has been very sweet and protective of him. My husband is home this week and next, and they have been spending lots of time doing fun things together, so that has really helped.

There are some issues for sure-- he is definitely put out by the fact that I am now busy feeding the baby all the time. He's also jealous that the baby sleeps in our room (which is where he would prefer to sleep). He's been giving me a bit of the cold shoulder, which I was expecting. But with my husband here it has been easy to hand off the baby so that I can play with Edwin or snuggle him for a while. One of the biggest challenges, I think, is the disruption in his routine. Toddlers thrive on structure and routines, and when they get thrown off it can be upsetting. We've tried to stick to his normal routine, but it's really hard when I am tied down and my husband is constantly doing laundry and handing me things that I have dropped while feeding John!

But it's also been great to see Edwin give his brother kisses goodnight, or say, "It's OK, Baby Brother!" when he cries, or remind me not to wake the baby. I know there will be big adjustments ahead for our toddler, but the first few days have definitely been better than we expected. Of course, he's probably saving up all his challenging behavior for when my husband returns to work.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Toddler Thursday
        

Jake's not quite old enough -- yet -- to nag me for cookies, ice cream and other sweets when we are grocery shopping.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have examined how mothers copy with the nagging when it comes to junk food.

My colleagues at Picture of Health wrote about the study:

The results, published in the August issue of the Journal of Children and Media, found 64 mothers of children ages 3 to 5 listed three categories of nagging: juvenile nagging, nagging to test boundaries and manipulative nagging.

The mothers cited 10 strategies for dealing with the nagging: giving in, yelling, ignoring, distracting, staying calm and consistent, avoiding the commercial environment, negotiating and setting rules, allowing alternative items, explaining the reasoning behind choices, and limiting commercial exposure.

A little over a third of the mothers suggested the best method was limiting commercial exposure and another third suggested explaining the reasons for making or not making certain purchases. Giving in was not considered a good strategy.

Do you have a surefire way to curtail nagging? What strategies work for you?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Parenting in general
        

Liz Atwood is on vacation this week.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Teens
        

That is the headline of a New York Times magazine article telling the stories of pregnant women who choose to reduce twins to a single fetus.

For all its successes, reproductive medicine has produced a paradox: in creating life where none seemed possible, doctors often generate more fetuses than they intend. In the mid-1980s, they devised an escape hatch to deal with these megapregnancies, terminating all but two or three fetuses to lower the risks to women and the babies they took home. But what began as an intervention for extreme medical circumstances has quietly become an option for women carrying twins. With that, pregnancy reduction shifted from a medical decision to an ethical dilemma. As science allows us to intervene more than ever at the beginning and the end of life, it outruns our ability to reach a new moral equilibrium. We still have to work out just how far we’re willing to go to construct the lives we want.

It was eye-opening because I didn't know this could be done but also unsettling because of the ethical and moral concerns and questions this raises not only for women in this situation but for society as a whole.

What is it about terminating half a twin pregnancy that seems more controversial than reducing triplets to twins or aborting a single fetus? After all, the math’s the same either way: one fewer fetus. Perhaps it’s because twin reduction (unlike abortion) involves selecting one fetus over another, when either one is equally wanted. Perhaps it’s our culture’s idealized notion of twins as lifelong soul mates, two halves of one whole. Or perhaps it’s because the desire for more choices conflicts with our discomfort about meddling with ever more aspects of reproduction.

The author talks to doctors who are for and against twin reduction and women who have chosen to take this route.

No doubt that this story will produce a lot of chatter on the blogosphere and elsewhere.

It's a long story but worth the read. Please feel free to comment.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Expecting, On the Web
        

Here's Betsy of Fluffy Windover's Diary with this week's Toddler Thursday:

Babies and toddlers are challenging. There is always something you’re struggling with as a parent: sleep issues, eating issues, potty training, tantrums, misbehavior. The bright side is that they grow and develop so fast, right when you’re at your wit’s end with one challenge, it resolves and a new one takes its place.

The current challenge in our house is underwear. There is a lot of underwear drama going on these days. When Edwin was potty training, I bought him super-hero underwear, each pair sporting a different character. These were a huge hit and really helped him with the diaper transition. The problem now is he doesn’t understand that after you wear Incredible Hulk, he goes into the hamper and you can’t wear him again until Mommy does laundry. When Edwin wants Incredible Hulk Edwin, Captain America just won’t do. And forget about the Thomas underwear; that is so three months ago. (Here’s a suggestion for any parents going through potty training: consider buying plain underwear ONLY, so you don’t find your 2-year old digging through his dirty underwear to fish out Incredible Hulk.)

The other underwear challenge we have is that after Edwin goes to the potty at home, he just runs off without putting his underwear and pants back on. When he was potty training I allowed him to run around pantsless because it made the whole process easier. But now that he’s fully potty trained, there is no reason that I should be subjected to his nether regions while he’s climbing all over me and the furniture. So we have a new rule: he must put his underwear on after the potty, and he can’t play with any toys until he does.

You’d think this would be an easy sell, but no. His latest “underwear tantrum” lasted 30 minutes before he finally gave up and put on the pants. At daycare, of course, this is not an issue. He saves the underwear tantrums just for me. At first, I tried my usual tricks (making his stuffed animals help put them on). But that only worked a few times before he realized that I was the one behind it. Like most toddler behavior issues, it’s just a power struggle. He knows I want him to put on underwear, and therefore he will not do it willingly. And really, for once I’d like him to follow directions because he knows he’s supposed to, not because his teddy bear tells him to.

I don’t know how many more of these tantrums we’ll have to endure before the new rule sticks, but I’m about at my wit’s end, so the new challenge must be just around the corner! I wonder what it will be.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Toddler Thursday
        

If you're a fan of the local blog sensation Scary Mommy?

If so, please help one of my colleagues: Jill Rosen is looking for fans to interview for a story. Please contact her asap at jrosen(at)baltsun(dot)com.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Parent bloggers
        

Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday

Never mind the money. Today’s tweens want fame, according to a new study coming out of UCLA and published in the Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace.

The researchers looked at the values that were prominent, American Idol and Hannah Montana, tweens favorite shows in 2007, and compared those with values found in TV shows in previous decades.

In 1967, The Lucy Show and Andy Griffith, emphasized community and benevolence.

In 1977, the most popular tween shows were Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, which also stressed the importance of community. In 1987, the shows Alf and Growing Pains stressed acceptance.

In 1997, the focus was back on community with Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World.

But in 2007, those community and acceptance were far down the values list. With American Idol and Hannah Montana the emphasis was on fame, achievement and popularity, the researchers say.

I’m not sure you can sum up tween values by looking only at the TV shows. I’d have to say in my household, money ranks pretty high up the scale. But it’s a fascinating study and gives us something to think about.

Do you think the shows reflect your tween’s values?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Teens
        

I'm back after a great overseas vacation.

While Mr. Charm City Moms and I had a great time, we could not wait to get back to see our little boy.

He wasn't exactly thrilled to see us, though. He was hesitant and confused when he first saw us. It took a little bit of time for him to warm up to us.

While he was an absolute angel with grandma Kathy -- no tantrums, no crying and no resistance during bed time -- Jake has been acting up since we've returned.

It has been difficult to put him to bed. And practically everything out of his mouth has been, "No!"

I'm thinking it's a mix of separation anxiety and a little anger that we left him for so long.

Have you seen something similar after a long absence?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Parenting in general
        

Here's Betsy of Fluffy Windover's Diary with this week's Toddler Thursday:

I need some advice from other second-time parents. How did you keep your toddler occupied while you were busy taking care of a new baby?

As it is now, Edwin much prefers to play with one of us than by himself. We build things together, play “restaurant,” read books, paint, etc. He will play by himself a bit, but it’s not long before he starts doing something dangerous or inappropriate that requires my intervention (and believe me, these are carefully calculated moves to get my attention!)

But I will have a newborn to take care of in about a month. As it is, I’m getting uncomfortable down on the floor playing Legos. I am kind of freaking out about how to keep Edwin busy, even though I know from experience that things are usually not as difficult as you imagine they will be. His birthday (he’s turning 3) is just after the baby is due, so some new toys are not out of the question (though I don’t want to overwhelm him with tons of new stuff right when the baby gets here. And I also don’t want to spend a lot of money!)

What toys and activities have you found to be best for independent play? I’m looking for activities that require little parental intervention, don’t make a huge mess and don’t require a lot of setup. Thanks for any advice you may have — I will need an arsenal of activities at my disposal!

Share your advice for Betsy on how to juggle a newborn and a toddler in the comments below

Posted by Hanah Cho at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Toddler Thursday
        

Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday

I saw that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 reached the billion dollar mark over the weekend and is on its way to being the top-grossing film of the year.

I saw the film while on vacation in Florida, attending a late afternoon show on the Saturday after the movie came out. I found myself struck not so much by what was on the screen (although I enjoyed the movie) as by who was in the seats. Most in the audience were adults — many of them baby boomers — and they weren’t there with their kids.

I know the original fans of the books and movies have grown up, but I still think of the Harry Potter movies as children’s films. My tween, who has seen all the Harry Potter films, liked the last. But many of his friends have not seen the movies and don’t plan to see this one.

Is your tween a Harry Potter fan or is that just so yesterday?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Teens