The bride(Ify Okpala) is a nurse in the US, the groom (Charles Abanobi)is an engineer based
In Abuja.
Happy Married Life to them!!!!!
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Ifys wedding
This beautiful traditional marriage (Igba-nkwu) took place in Isi-Achina village, Aguata Local government area, in Anambra state, on Easter Sunday, March 31st 2013.
The bride(Ify Okpala) is a nurse in the US, the groom (Charles Abanobi)is an engineer based
In Abuja.
Happy Married Life to them!!!!!
The bride(Ify Okpala) is a nurse in the US, the groom (Charles Abanobi)is an engineer based
In Abuja.
Happy Married Life to them!!!!!
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Lotus Birth - have you heard about this?
From The New York Post:
Think caring for a newborn is hard? Try a newborn that's still attached to its placenta!
The all-natural trend, called Lotus Birth or umbilical nonseverance, calls for a mother to allow the umbilican border to detach from her baby naturally. In practical terms, that means carting around a blob of red matter (aka the placenta) that can stayed plugged into the baby's tummy for up to 10 days. (Um, gross, anyone??!!)
Mary Ceallaigh, a Lotus Birth advocate and Midwife educator, talks with The Post about the benefits to the non-traditional practice and how it can help with the mother and baby's health. The 47-year-old Austin, Texas native, who's helped in more than 100 natural births, says keeping the umbilical cord intact is actually a beautiful thing.
Q: What made you start believing in the importance of the Lotus Birth?
I first learned of Umbilical Nonseverance from Jeannine Parvati, an expert on prenatal yoga. She taught me there are natural and safe ways for mothers to give birth.
Q: What are the best reasons to practice Lotus Birth?
There’s no wound created at the umbilical site, which lessens the chance of infection.
It allows a complete transfer of placental/cord blood into the baby at a time when the baby needs that nourishment the most. Babies’ immune systems are going through huge changes at a very rapid rate when they’re first born. Not disrupting the baby’s blood volume at that time helps prevent future disease.
The mother and baby benefit from having all the focused placed on bonding, rather than the common focus of "who's going to cut the cord, cut the bond?" Invading the natural process when there's a healthy mother and baby is likely to cause harm in some way seen or unseen.
The respect of all of what a woman conceives, not just part of it.
Q: How often do you see patients practice Lotus Birth ?
About five percent of the clients I’ve worked with have practiced Lotus Birth.
Q: Have you ever had anyone change their mind about practicing Lotus Birth after their baby was already born?
No. For prepared folks, it's the easiest part of the birth!
Q: How do you eat meals, go to the restroom or run errands with a placenta attached to your newborn?
The cord usually dries and breaks off by the third day, so no mother would be running errands during that time anyway...hopefully not until at least the fourth week after giving birth!
In humid conditions, however, it may take up to 10 days for the cord to break, particularly in areas like Bali or the Australian rainforest. In these cases, the early weeks after giving birth is even more low key for the mother - and that can be a good thing....
While the placenta remains attached, it’s kept in a nice cloth, and the cord is wrapped in silk or cotton ribbon. Babies are left on a safe surface or with a caregiver while the mother goes to the restroom. For cuddling and nursing, the placenta pillow is kept near the mother and baby.
Q: Do most of the people who practice Lotus Birth also eat the placenta or practice a natural water birth?
No, not necessarily.
Q: Did you personally eat your placenta or practice a natural water birth? If so, why?
I apprenticed with two childless midwives, and I, myself, am childless. So, maybe the question needs to be changed or eliminated. Do we ask male obstetricians about their fertility?
Q: Does the placenta start to smell after a while? How soon does it start to smell? What does it smell like?
If the placenta has air circulating around it like through cloth, there’s no odor for the first day. There’s a slight musky smell the second and third day.
After the cord breaks, some mothers like to keep the wrapped placenta in a special place in their bedroom, and if it has not had a salt or herbal treatment and its cloth isn’t changed, it will start to smell gamey, indeed. But the kind of terrible, stinky, decayed smell that some fear is a non-issue when proper procedures are followed. The only time that sort of thing happens is if the placenta is wrapped in a plastic wrap or sealed in a tupperware container— that is a whole other situation, and not a good one, as the placenta will rot before it dries.
Q: When you say that letting the umbilical cord fall off the newborn creates the perfect belly button, what do you mean?
By perfect, I mean a completely healed navel skin area. Belly button shapes vary. (They are all cute!). When one cuts the cord, the navel does not heal for at least two weeks...
Q: What made you decide to start a website that covers Lotus Birth?
There wasn't one at the time, and it was the least I could do to help spread awareness about the practice!
Q: What are some things you hope people would understand more about Lotus Birth?
Keeping the umbilical intact should concern anyone who also believes the barbaric practice of female and male circumcision should be eliminated.
That respect of physiological and biological integrity is a worthy area of research and education. That there is such a thing as birth & postpartum ecology.
Think caring for a newborn is hard? Try a newborn that's still attached to its placenta!
The all-natural trend, called Lotus Birth or umbilical nonseverance, calls for a mother to allow the umbilican border to detach from her baby naturally. In practical terms, that means carting around a blob of red matter (aka the placenta) that can stayed plugged into the baby's tummy for up to 10 days. (Um, gross, anyone??!!)
Mary Ceallaigh, a Lotus Birth advocate and Midwife educator, talks with The Post about the benefits to the non-traditional practice and how it can help with the mother and baby's health. The 47-year-old Austin, Texas native, who's helped in more than 100 natural births, says keeping the umbilical cord intact is actually a beautiful thing.
Q: What made you start believing in the importance of the Lotus Birth?
I first learned of Umbilical Nonseverance from Jeannine Parvati, an expert on prenatal yoga. She taught me there are natural and safe ways for mothers to give birth.
Q: What are the best reasons to practice Lotus Birth?
There’s no wound created at the umbilical site, which lessens the chance of infection.
It allows a complete transfer of placental/cord blood into the baby at a time when the baby needs that nourishment the most. Babies’ immune systems are going through huge changes at a very rapid rate when they’re first born. Not disrupting the baby’s blood volume at that time helps prevent future disease.
The mother and baby benefit from having all the focused placed on bonding, rather than the common focus of "who's going to cut the cord, cut the bond?" Invading the natural process when there's a healthy mother and baby is likely to cause harm in some way seen or unseen.
The respect of all of what a woman conceives, not just part of it.
Q: How often do you see patients practice Lotus Birth ?
About five percent of the clients I’ve worked with have practiced Lotus Birth.
Q: Have you ever had anyone change their mind about practicing Lotus Birth after their baby was already born?
No. For prepared folks, it's the easiest part of the birth!
Q: How do you eat meals, go to the restroom or run errands with a placenta attached to your newborn?
The cord usually dries and breaks off by the third day, so no mother would be running errands during that time anyway...hopefully not until at least the fourth week after giving birth!
In humid conditions, however, it may take up to 10 days for the cord to break, particularly in areas like Bali or the Australian rainforest. In these cases, the early weeks after giving birth is even more low key for the mother - and that can be a good thing....
While the placenta remains attached, it’s kept in a nice cloth, and the cord is wrapped in silk or cotton ribbon. Babies are left on a safe surface or with a caregiver while the mother goes to the restroom. For cuddling and nursing, the placenta pillow is kept near the mother and baby.
Q: Do most of the people who practice Lotus Birth also eat the placenta or practice a natural water birth?
No, not necessarily.
Q: Did you personally eat your placenta or practice a natural water birth? If so, why?
I apprenticed with two childless midwives, and I, myself, am childless. So, maybe the question needs to be changed or eliminated. Do we ask male obstetricians about their fertility?
Q: Does the placenta start to smell after a while? How soon does it start to smell? What does it smell like?
If the placenta has air circulating around it like through cloth, there’s no odor for the first day. There’s a slight musky smell the second and third day.
After the cord breaks, some mothers like to keep the wrapped placenta in a special place in their bedroom, and if it has not had a salt or herbal treatment and its cloth isn’t changed, it will start to smell gamey, indeed. But the kind of terrible, stinky, decayed smell that some fear is a non-issue when proper procedures are followed. The only time that sort of thing happens is if the placenta is wrapped in a plastic wrap or sealed in a tupperware container— that is a whole other situation, and not a good one, as the placenta will rot before it dries.
Q: When you say that letting the umbilical cord fall off the newborn creates the perfect belly button, what do you mean?
By perfect, I mean a completely healed navel skin area. Belly button shapes vary. (They are all cute!). When one cuts the cord, the navel does not heal for at least two weeks...
Q: What made you decide to start a website that covers Lotus Birth?
There wasn't one at the time, and it was the least I could do to help spread awareness about the practice!
Q: What are some things you hope people would understand more about Lotus Birth?
Keeping the umbilical intact should concern anyone who also believes the barbaric practice of female and male circumcision should be eliminated.
That respect of physiological and biological integrity is a worthy area of research and education. That there is such a thing as birth & postpartum ecology.
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Howard Stern lawsuit update
Howard Stern just lost his lawsuit against Sirius, where he had claimed they owed him a bonus for bringing fans to Sirius.
I say, give the man his money!!!!!!!
From wcqj.com:
Howard Stern Loses Appeal Against SiriusXM
by ADMIN on APRIL 11, 2013
Howard Stern lost a bid to revive his pay lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio Inc. after a New York state appeals court found the talk-show host wasn’t entitled to additional compensation.
Stern’s production company, One Twelve Inc., and his agent, Don Buchwald, sued Sirius XM Radio in 2011, claiming the company refused to pay $300 million in stock awards owed under an agreement that brought the radio personality to the company.
Justice Barbara Kapnick of state Supreme Court dismissed the suit last April, rejecting arguments that subscribers to XM Satellite Radio, which merged with Sirius in 2008, should be counted when calculating the compensation.
An appeals court in Manhattan today agreed with Kapnick, saying the plaintiffs aren’t entitled to additional performance- based compensation under the agreement with the company’s predecessor, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
“Looking solely to the plain language used by the parties within the four corners of the agreement, the disputed term ‘Sirius subscribers,’ by which plaintiffs’ performance-based compensation was measured, did not include subscribers to XM Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary which defendant acquired by merger, even though the merger had been anticipated within the agreement,” the appeals court said in the ruling.
I say, give the man his money!!!!!!!
From wcqj.com:
Howard Stern Loses Appeal Against SiriusXM
by ADMIN on APRIL 11, 2013
Howard Stern lost a bid to revive his pay lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio Inc. after a New York state appeals court found the talk-show host wasn’t entitled to additional compensation.
Stern’s production company, One Twelve Inc., and his agent, Don Buchwald, sued Sirius XM Radio in 2011, claiming the company refused to pay $300 million in stock awards owed under an agreement that brought the radio personality to the company.
Justice Barbara Kapnick of state Supreme Court dismissed the suit last April, rejecting arguments that subscribers to XM Satellite Radio, which merged with Sirius in 2008, should be counted when calculating the compensation.
An appeals court in Manhattan today agreed with Kapnick, saying the plaintiffs aren’t entitled to additional performance- based compensation under the agreement with the company’s predecessor, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
“Looking solely to the plain language used by the parties within the four corners of the agreement, the disputed term ‘Sirius subscribers,’ by which plaintiffs’ performance-based compensation was measured, did not include subscribers to XM Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary which defendant acquired by merger, even though the merger had been anticipated within the agreement,” the appeals court said in the ruling.
Friday, 19 April 2013
Pathfinder
From Pathfinder International:
On Monday, we were shocked and saddened by the tragic bombing in Boston, a city Pathfinder headquarters has called home for more than 50 years. Although several of our staff attended the marathon or were close by, everyone is safe.
We truly appreciate the positive thoughts and well wishes streaming in from our supporters, board members, international staff, and friends around the world.
Despite these heartwrenching events, we know that Boston is a city of resilience. In the spirit of that resilience, our work at Pathfinder goes on even as we mourn those lost and injured in the attack.
In this Pathfinder news round-up, you can learn more about our new female condom video featured on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Impatient Optimists, read about our integrated systems strengthening approach, and find out how you can take action in support of reproductive health access today!
MULTIMEDIA
Pathfinder Wins DoGooder "Funny for Good" Award
This week, we were thrilled to find out that our "No Joke. Choice Matters." was chosen as this year's winner of the DoGooder "Funny for Good" video award. We couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you to everyone who voted to help us win!
TAKE ACTION
Urge Congress to Protect Investment in Family Planning
Did you know that for every $100 million the US spends on family planning, 1.5 million unintended pregnancies are avoided, 4,000 maternal deaths are prevented, and 20,000 fewer children lose their mothers?
Take action and urge Congress to continue US investment in women’s health by supporting international family planning assistance in the budget. Tell your representatives that every woman's health matters.
INNOVATION
Pathfinder's New Female Condom Video Featured on Gates Foundation's Impatient Optimists
Why are female condoms important in places like Mozambique? What challenges do we see to using them in the field? Watch our new video and check out this Q&A with Pathfinder's Gender Officer Estrella Alcade featured on Impatient Optimists to learn more.
PUBLICATIONS
Connecting People to Systems and Systems to People
What is Integrated Systems Strengthening? Why is the "zone of interaction" important? Learn how we apply an integrated approach that strengthens health and community systems for improved sexual and reproductive health worldwide.
Donate now to Pathfinder to support our work. Your donation can save lives.
PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
9 Galen Street, Suite 217
Watertown, MA 02472
Howard Stern
A master orator, my love for Howard Stern knows no limits. I would listen 24 hours a day if I could. I think I've probably listened to his voice more on a minute-by-minute basis, than anyone else on this earth. Well, he is on 4-5 hours most days, but I still don't know what that says about me.
Here's the schedule for the year,courtesy of wcqj.com.
It's not always correct, though....
Here's the schedule for the year,courtesy of wcqj.com.
It's not always correct, though....
Lee Kuan Yew
A friend of mine is Lee Kuan Yew-obsessed. For those who may not know who Mr. Lee is, he is the former prime minister of Singapore, and the architect of Singapore's transformation from a back-woods, 3rd world nation, into a modern, even avant-garde state.
In honor of my friend, and my new-found admiration for Mr Lee, I will be posting information on him.
In honor of my friend, and my new-found admiration for Mr Lee, I will be posting information on him.
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