Mother and Baby Reunited in Spain | Care2 Causes

“Two weeks ago, Care2 reported that Spanish social services had taken a baby away because her mother refused to wean. The mother, known as Habiba, had moved into a women’s shelter in Madrid with her 15 month old daughter, known as Alma. On May 31, Habiba’s daughter was taken away from her because she refused to forcibly wean her baby. Habiba was also criticized for cosleeping with her baby instead of putting her in a cot. On June 22, they were finally reunited after a social services committee overturned the earlier removal.Louma Sader Bujana, one of the bloggers who translated materials into English and helped to bring international coverage to the story, wrote about the reunification on her blog Amor Maternal. She translated and shared an official update from Fundacion Raices, an organization that had been supporting Habiba:

via Mother and Baby Reunited in Spain | Care2 Causes.”

Apparently this is not an isolated incident on the world scene.

It is a very sad commentary on how women and children are treated.

This story is both sad and deplorable.

There are many points here that bother me but the fact that social services was involved in this situation is particularly disturbing.

Here in the United States, many times the depiction of the “social worker” is one that takes children from their parents and puts them in protective custody due to suspected child neglect or abuse. This task is usually  carried out by a social service caseworker who is not a Licensed Social Worker. Caseworkers sometimes receive specific training by the state in which they work but they are not necessarily Licensed Social Workers, who in many states have a Masters degree in social work.

That being said, Licensed Social Workers in the United States would be expected by their National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics to treat the person in their environment and try to maintain the mother-child bond if possible.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker  and am disturbed by the implication that a professional social worker is many times associated with such situations as the one in this news story.

As a profession, licensed social workers must dispel the notion that social service caseworkers are synonomous with licensed social workers. We must clarify what a Licensed Clinical Social Worker is and what they actually do when it comes to child and family services.

Licensed social workers are expected to help and advocate for those in need not impose undue distress on an already stressful situation such as homelessness.

We also owe it to the global community to condemn the actions of social services that promote taking a child away from its mother and forced to wean as was done in Spain.

Happy Father’s Day!

This is a wonderful tribute to a father who really is a meaningful dad to his children…Happy Father’s Day to those who take their responsibilities seriously and treat their children with love and respect.

This piece is from one of my favorite blogs and I would like to share it with you. Do yourself a favor and check out this blog!

“So often when people talk about attachment parenting they are thinking about the nurturing role that the mother plays. In our house, the mothering role has been an important one, but the fathering role has been critical too.  We are partners in raising our kids, not a lead parent and a second fiddle. I value the role that my husband plays in our family and I know our children do too. I wish society would place more value on the role men can play as fathers.

So as a father’s day tribute, let me tell you what an attached dad looks like in our house:

  • An attached dad knows that real men use ring slings (or wraps, mei tais, etc…).
  • An attached dad parents his children to sleep by lying down with them and telling imaginative stories as they head off to dream land.
  • An attached dad trusts that his children will wean when they are ready.
  • An attached dad takes years off of his own career to be a stay at home dad when that is what works best for the family.
  • An attached dad uses tickle fights and monster attacks to elicit shrieks of joy and physical play.
  • An attached dad goes to his son at night and joins him in bed when he calls out and says “Daddy, cuddle me tight”.
  • An attached dad puts his chores aside and spends the morning cuddling when his daughter says,“Daddy, I need you”.
  • An attached dad understands that he doesn’t need to feed formula to be an involved dad.
  • An attached dad washes the cloth diapers, over and over again, without being asked, so often that the attached mom can’t remember when she last washed them.
  • An attached dad knows you can be firm and set limits without hitting or shaming your children.
  • An attached dad loves sharing the bed for afternoon naps.
  • An attached dad marvels at the personalities and abilities of his children and beams with pride.
  • An attached dad sometimes needs a break and in turn understands that the attached mom sometimes needs one too.

via An attached dad | PhD in Parenting.”

Get your vaccinations before summer travel…

Get your vaccinations before summer travel

After a very rough winter and a rainy spring, summer is finally here! In a few weeks, my husband, my baby girl and I (with Lola in tow) will be traveling and heading to the beach for a couple of weeks. My baby girl just had her well baby visit this week, so she’s up to date on all of her vaccines and is ready to travel.

Summer is a great time to make sure your family’s vaccinations are up to date, especially this year. There’s been a recent outbreak of measles (an infection caused by a virus) in this country – the largest measles outbreak in 15 years. Most people who recently caught the measles weren’t vaccinated. They caught the measles in Europe (which is the middle of a major epidemic) and brought the disease back to the U.S.

Measles is easily spread and causes rash, cough and fever. In some cases, it can lead to diarrhea, ear infection, pneumonia, brain damage or even death. Measles can cause serious health problems in young children. It can also be especially harmful to pregnant women and can cause miscarriage.

Talk to your provider to find out if your and your family’s vaccines are up to date, especially when it comes to the measles. If you’re thinking about getting pregnant, wait 1 month before trying to get pregnant after getting the measles vaccine (MMR, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella). If you’re already pregnant, you’ll need to wait until after giving birth to get the vaccine.

If you’re  traveling out of the country with your baby and she’s 6-11 months old, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that she get her first shot of the MMR vaccine before traveling. If your baby is 12-15 months, then she should get two shots (separated by 28 days) before traveling.

Tags: baby health, measles, MMR, outbreak, pregnancy health, summer safety, vaccinations

via News Moms Need » Blog Archive » Get your vaccinations before summer travel.

Flu shot and preterm birth risk

No it isn’t flu season yet but believe it or not another one will be upon us in the not too distant future.

So it is timely news for pregnant women to know that it has been found that a pregnant woman who gets a flu shot lowers her risk of preterm delivery.

This was just released by the March of Dimes…it is good news!

Flu shot lowers preterm birth risk

Aside from helping to prevent the miseries of the flu, a flu shot during pregnancy may reduce a woman’s risk of delivering a premature baby. Every year, more than half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States. Since 1981, the premature birth rate has risen by 30 percent. Babies born just a few weeks too soon can face serious health challenges and are at risk of lifelong disabilities.

A new study reviewed data from over 4000 births over a two year time frame in the state of Georgia. Roughly 15% of pregnant women received flu shots. These women who delivered during flu season (defined as October through May) were on average 40% less likely to deliver prematurely, before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. During the peak flu season (January & February), vaccinated women were 72% less likely to deliver prematurely as opposed to unvaccinated women.  Additionally, babies born during peak flu season to mothers who were vaccinated were 69% less likely to be small for gestational age.

At other times of year (not flu season), the study found no association between flu vaccination and reduced premature birth. Because of this, the researchers believe that it is the vaccine that is offering this protection. And an earlier study found that getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy can even protect your baby after delivery.

When you’re pregnant, your immune system isn’t as quick to respond to illnesses as it was before pregnancy. Your body knows that pregnancy is OK and that it shouldn’t reject your baby. Your body naturally lowers your immune system’s ability to protect you and respond to illnesses so that it can welcome your growing baby. But a lowered immune system means you’re more likely to catch illnesses like the flu. Your lungs and heart are working harder to support you and your baby and this stress on your body also can make it more likely for you to get an illness like the flu.

For these reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians and the March of Dimes all recommend women get vaccinated against the flu during pregnancy.

Tags: flu, flu shot, flu vaccine, influenza, Pregnancy, premature birth, preterm birth

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via News Moms Need » Blog Archive » Flu shot lowers preterm birth risk.

Cytomegalovirus ….saliva test for newborns!

Important news about CMV which can cause disabilities in newborns. Please consider joining stopcmv.org/

CMV saliva test for newborns

A new study has found that a simple saliva test can identify babies born with cytomegalovirus, CMV. Babies born with this common virus are at increased risk for hearing loss, vision loss or learning disabilities.

CMV is the most common congenital (present at birth) infection in the United States. Each year, about 40,000 babies are born with CMV infection. Most babies are not harmed by the virus, but some are. About 90% of babies who are infected with CMV have no symptoms at birth, and most parents aren’t aware that their children have it. However, about 10% to 15% of infected babies develop one or more lasting disabilities during the first few years of life. For this reason, all babies born with congenital CMV infection should have regular hearing and vision tests. An accurate newborn screening test would quickly identify those babies at risk.

According to Suresh Boppana, professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and lead author on the new study, somewhere between 20-40% of early childhood hearing loss probably is caused by CMV. The saliva test utilized in the new study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, was easy to perform and highly accurate. The researchers tested about 35,000 babies and the test was 97 percent accurate in identifying babies infected with the virus.

Newborns are screened for dozens of diseases and genetic disorders while still in the hospital. Dr. Boppana recognizes that adding another test to the current roster of newborn screening tests, which are determined by each state, will be no easy matter, but is optimistic.

Want to learn more about CMV? Please join us on Twitter for a live #pregnancychat on CMV on June 22nd at 12 noon, EST. We will be joined by Janelle Greenlee, President and Founder of Stop CMV – The CMV Action Network.  StopCMV.org

Tags: Baby, CMV, cytomegalovirus, hearing loss, infant health, newborn screening

via News Moms Need » Blog Archive » CMV saliva test for newborns.

Are we the new “Donkey”?

NOTEWORTHY WEDNESDAY!

Bugaboo: Why the New Donkey Makes an Ass Out of You and Me – StumbleUpon.

When it comes to decadence and rampant commercialism, I’ll be the first to admit there are a lot of things I don’t get.

I’m not a ‘bling’ sort of person.  Naturally clumsy, I’ve never been one for heels. So the whole Sex in the City shoe fetish was lost on me.

I would sooner spend what little disposable income I have on a family trip or a spa treatment.  When it comes to pampering, that’s something I not only understand but wholeheartedly endorse.  A timely massage or pedi can do wonders for a mother’s ravaged body and soul.

Needless to say, I’m mystified and more than a little ‘bugged’ by the latest Bugaboo craze.  There are cars that go for cheaper than the new stroller, which is the ultimate status symbol of the urban mama and papa. “

I have to say that I partially agree with this mom’s assessment of the new “Donkey” bugaboo. I also have to say that we own two bugaboo vehicles. They are well made and meant to take a beating and keep on going.

The other baby vehicle that we own is a McLaren stroller which is more convenient as it folds easier than the bugaboo and I don’t have a heart attack when I have to leave it in the front of a restaurant or put it in the belly of an airplane.

So if you are in the market for strolling…check into the strollers that will provide the comfort and peace of mind for you and your baby and your check-book!

Related post:

http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/baby-strollers-best-picks/