Whew. We spent the last week in Disneyland with the family. I am once again humbled by traveling with a lap infant for 6 hours (oh vey). But we made it and came out as more seasoned parents (I think). The trip was a blast and we will spend the next week recovering from all the fun. Our first Friday Five starts off with a little gem I found at Disneyland.
1. The Baby Care Center at Disneyland. Located on the end of Main Street, this quiet little haven proved a lovely, quiet place to stop and nurse in a relaxed environment. There was a mama next to me pumping too…and another mama whose baby played peek-a-boo with my baby while they were nursing. Want to learn more? Read a review here.
2. The career of nurse practitioner made the list for some states as one of the fastest growing jobs in 2019. NPs are also rated high for work-life balance and favorable schedules. My guess is that the states where NPs are seeing growth in jobs = it’s probably a good place to get a job. Read more here.
3. A study about water births published in the journal BIRTH. The study powered for neonatal outcomes of APGAR scores and admission to neonatal intensive care units, and maternal outcomes of perineal lacerations and postpartum hemorrhage. The authors excluded mamas that would not have met criteria for a water birth – i.e. meconium stained fluid, epidurals, etc. Mostly, I like that they have a decent population: 397 water births compared to 2,025 land births. Have you had a water birth? Share your story here!
4. This essay about a doctor’s view of an organ donation. Warning – it’s heartbreaking but equally raw and real. It’s very well written and resonated with me for a few reasons. One, sometimes in the moment of patient/provider interaction, we have to compartmentalize. It’s the only way we really survive. In hindsight, we process the experiences we have and some of them are truly heartbreaking. We carry the experiences with us forever and they influence how we practice for years to come. Are you an organ donor? Find out more information about organ donation here.
5. A new book recommendation! I just finished reading Factfulness by Hans Rosling and it’s a book to recommend. It left me with a more optimistic view of the state of the world and was chock full of facts to support the data. Love that. I also like how the author provides different polls from various countries around the world. It was interesting to see how different countries answer different questions about the world. You may know the author from this popular YouTube video from a few years ago (see below) and can watch more of his TED talks here.
That’s it for the Friday Five! Remember, if you’re a midwife and want to spotlight your practice, or you have a birth story to share, send me an email here! I also updated the BOOKS page with the recommendation from above!
Jamie