“Hi, Michelle,

My friend Sue (from my mom’s group) had a disturbing experience recently –
her pelvic floor “fell out”. She has been to the Dr. twice now, and they
told her that it was such a mild case; they were not going to recommend
therapy. Sue is not really satisfied with that response….

 Could you help her out?”

After receiving this email I gave Sue a call to learn more about her situation.  She literally had been standing in the shower one morning and had part of her pelvic floor start falling out!  Terrified she rushed to the Dr. who examined her and declared that she was fine, just do a few Kegals.  The OB also told her this was normal in women who have had children and just part of life. In addition to the 2 times her pelvic floor has “fallen” out, Sue has also been having urge incontinence, discomfort during sex, and the emotional distress of the above medical conditions.   I was entirely saddened that Sue had been living with these symptoms and thinking there was really no way out.  She was relieved and hopeful to find that there are indeed so many more resources available to her in her pursuit of health and wellness. 

My interactions with Sue served as a clear reminder that there is much to be done in getting the message out regarding the priority of pelvic floor health and all the resources available to women.  This aspect of health is a foundational component of women’s wellness.  All ladies deserve to feel strong and in control of their bodies.  As we go through our daily lives, let’s take these small steps to spread the word for pelvic wellness:

1. Be honest about yourself – When it’s appropriate, openly discuss your personal path to wellness.  Women often feel embarrassed to bring up issues regarding their pelvic floor or incontinence. Open the door for conversation by telling your story. 
2. Talk to your Doc. – Your OB, General Practitioner, Midwife, or even Child’s Pediatrician may enjoy and benefit by receiving information on Total Control.  You see these professionals every year, why not take 3 minutes at the end of the visit to spread the word.  You may also want to consider speaking with alternative medicine professionals such as chiropractors, massage therapist, and acupuncturist. 
3. Listen – By reading between the lines we can often learn that a woman is having pelvic floor issues if we are really listening to her.  Take the time to hear the people in your life that you come in contact with and provide them with information that can help. 

There are way too many women out there like Sue who desperately need to know that there are resources available to them! Resources that will empower them to regain control of their pelvic health and lives, resulting in a state of  wellness that we all desire.  Let’s be mindful to use the natural opportunities in our life as a platform for this message. 

Yours in Health,

Michelle Renae

If you don’t have time to research which vitamins are good for you and which ones are a bunch of fillers, for a small yearly fee, www.consumerlab.com does it for you and will rate supplements and tell you which brands live up to their name – including the vitamins for fido or your favorite feline.

So where do you shop for the vitamin deals? I use a few different ones sites because one website does not carry all of the ones I need. Here are a few of my personal favorite websites online vendors:

• www.vitaminshoppe.com, which offers free shipping for any purchases over $100

• www.vitacost.com, a Wweb store that offers natural and organic items such asincluding beauty, grocery and herbs, and $4.99 one time shipping

• www.smartbomb.com - while while the name sounds scary, this is the only place I can find my daughter’s probiotics and free shipping for any ordersanything over $100

• www.iherb.com offers free shipping on orders over $60, although I do tend to find their prices a tad higher

All of these websites has provide great information on health and wellness articles in their archives – and, be sure to sign up for their newsletters so you can optimize the best deal on your favorite supplements.

What if you don’t have a favorite because you are not sure which ones works the best? Do this quick test to determine the power of your multivitamin.

Place your vitamin in one cup of distilled white vinegar for 30 minutes (that’s the time limit established by the U.S. Pharmacopeia). If the vitamin completely dissolves, then it means the vitamin is being absorbed in your body. If not, you may want to change your brand.

My suggestion is to look for food-based vitamins. They offer the best for our bodies. It is made with at least 20-40% REAL food, so your body readily absorbs it…makes sense, doesn’t it? Here are some good food based multi-vitamins:

• Rainbow Light

• New Chapter

• Essential Organics®,

• Essentials™ by Megafood™ are just a few brand names.

Out of the 21 different brands ConsumerLab tested, only 10 came back with positive results including one pet vitamin. Yikes!

So if you are interested in taking vitamins and supplements, what are the musts? There are three in my book:, a food-based multi-vitamin, a high- quality, pharmaceutical grade, molecular distilled fish oil, and a 3-strand probiotic. Your top five fish oil/Omega 3’s are:

1. Carlson Super Omega-3 Fish Oil Concentrate

2. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega + Vitamin D3 (my personal favorite)

3. New Chapter Supercritical DHA 100

4. Jarrow Formulas Max

5. Pure Encapsulations EPA/DHA essentials

Why fish oils? The benefits of taking a high quality fish oil are numerous. For starters, it decreases inflammation in the arteries, joints and, muscles, meaning ( faster recovery from intense exercise). And for reasons that are less clear, omega-3s/Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) seem to help depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, according to a limited number of double-blind trials.

Other proposed uses benefits of fish oils with that have some support include asthma, Raynaud’s phenomenon (abnormal sensitivity of hands and feet to cold), chronic fatigue syndrome, cystic fibrosis, osteoporosis, reducing the risk of prostate and colorectal cancer and preventing weight loss during cancer chemotherapy. And, don’t forget our children. DHA is important for normal development and functioning of the brain and retina in the fetus and in infants., Oone large study done in Sweden found that these babies have higher IQs, while other studies have shown it reduces premature delivery and may help infertile couples.

How do you know if your fish oils are good? If you are burping fish, your pills are rancid and offering absolutely no benefit to your body… except for bad breath.

As promised, here is your vegetarian recipe for the week.  This one came from Whole Foods Market: 

Slow cooker Chickpea and Lentil Stew http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=2325 

cut the veggies the night before, soak the lentils in fresh water overnight, then toss it all in your crockpot in the morning before work.  When come home you’ll have a nice meal all for about $2.48 per bowl. 

Stay tuned for next week, when I’ll discuss the benefits of probitoics and more ways you can slash your grocery bill.

Healthy Rregards,

Jasmine

PS: Have a birthday coming up? Go to www.birthdayfreebies.com, sign up for free and find local restaurants that offer free meals, ice cream and coffee on your birthday. My favorites are CPK, Caribou Coffee, Flat Top Grill and Cold Stone Ice Cream (Baskin Robbins also offers free ice cream on your birthday as well)!

Ok, while we may not be able to eat a meal on a dime as our great-grandparents did, we can surely use some of the money saving tactics as they did to help feed our families in today’s society.  It’s about being smart, savvy and spend-thrifty.  My husband often jokes about his paternal grandmother (who is 101 years old) and his own dad are well… frugal.  This trait has certainly been passed down to him.  And will I am no spend thrift (it’s probably why he married me), I grew up with a single mom, my younger sister living with my grandparents who lived through the depression era.  I saw how my grandfather looked through his newspaper, clipping coupons and circling the sale items at their three grocery stores.  He even got more excited when he had a coupon for an item that was on sale, bonus!   Then he would tell me what they saved each month, after all we were a three generation household of five and a dog.  So here are some ways we can use good old-fashioned ideas to help save on our grocery bills and personal care products:

1. Use Coupons!  There is a secret society out there of coupon clippers and you can join in on it.  Just be careful of how you use your coupons, sometimes you may save fifty cents on a brand name item, while the competitor or generic brand is still cheaper.  If you really like that particular brand wait for it to go on sale, and most grocery stores will honor expired coupons just ask before it expires.  If you don’t have the time (or the energy) to find and clip coupons, there is www.thecouponclippers.com. Another coupon mega website with printable coupons is www.hotcouponworld.com and www.ecoupons.com
2. So if you do not have some free time to spare you can go to websites that will compile the information you need to find the deals.  Some are fee-based and some are not.  A very easy-to-follow site called www.grocerygame.com does this for you for a fee. There is www.afullcup.com that is free, but takes some time to master.
3. Go to your favorite product website.  If you like your Stoney Field Farms Yogurt (which is better than Dannon) they have coupons you can print off line at http://coupons.stonyfield.com/signin_coupons.cfm   If you like your special pasta sauce by Newman’s own  go to www.newmansown.com. Other manufacturers do this, too, such as www.organicvalley.com. It’s enough to make you want to go out and buy a handy dandy coupon organizer—wait, I mean, make one out of recycled envelopes!
4. You want to buy organic go to www.thedailygreen.com for tips on organic living.  When it comes to produce, buying foods that are in the dirty dozen list are the fruits and veggies that should be consumed organic, if your budget allows, otherwise, eating fruits and veggies is more important than eating organic ones. 
5. Speaking of produce.  Unless I am in a bind or I see it on sale, I will not buy my produce from national grocery store chains.  I will go to a local produce market or a farmer’s market to make my purchase.  Buy organic, seasonal, regional, and artisanal produce and meats. A great place to find these items is at your local Farmer’s Markets or specialty markets. To find one close by visit: www.LocalHarvest.org
6. One more fun website that my best friend sent to me: www.retailmenot.com a great website on hundreds of your favorite stores, clothes, food and all.  Don’t feel like looking for that bargain?  www.shopittome.com plug in your favorite stores and you’ll get weekly emails on their weekly deals. 
7. Aim to eat vegetarian at least once a week.  Here is a recipe I came across, but added my own twists.  It comes to $1.55 per serving

1 T of EVOO (I used coconut oil)
2c of chopped onion ( I did 1c of chopped onion and 1c diced celery and zucchini)
2 1/2 lbs of chopped butternut squash cut into 1 inch pieces (I bought pre-cut from Trader Joe’s, but can typically find them in the frozen section)
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of ground coriander (I used whole coriander since it was not grounded)
5 c of low sodium veggie broth (I used 4c of veggie broth or one box of veggie broth)
2 15oz cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
2T of orange juice
1 tsp of cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
I added a 1/2 tsp of paprika too for a little extra color.�
�
Heat skillet in a large pot with onions, celery and zucchini.  Add squash, salt and spices.  Add water or broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender about 20-min.  Stir in the beans last.�
�
I ended up taking some of the broth and squash, and pureed it to make it more creamy and left smaller chunks of the squash.�
�
My personal total time invested…10-min to chop veggies, and 20-min for the soup.  Beans and Veggies are toddler friendly, soup can last all week with a side salad, you have a great meal, vegan, gluten and dairy free!�
 

Stay tuned as I post next week about being supplement savvy. Please share with the rest, what do you do to save on groceries and other items?

Healthy Regards,

Jasmine

When I am rushed and thinking only of the future, I naturally fall out of touch with my body.  Haven’t you ever had days so busy that you didn’t realize how tired you really were until the end of the day when you fell into bed?  As the mother of a bursting with energy 18 month old little boy, I know those days all too well.  Or how about when you go on vacation and realize you just want to sleep?  Or when you have a little oops when you sneeze and realize that you haven’t been doing your pelvic floor work!

We’ve all found ourselves in the above situations.  Being in the now can bring us back to our bodies and back to our health in a powerful way.  When we are in the now, we can realize we are about to cough and do a little pelvic floor contraction.  We know we are hungry and can grab something healthy before we are so hungry that we’ll eat anything.  We can stop for just 4 or 5 minutes in the middle of the day to rest or meditate before true exhaustion sets in.  Three tips that can help us all learn to live in the Now are:

1. To DON’T List: To do lists are great and clearly help us keep our heads on, staying productive in the midst of it all.  The down fall is that our lists, no matter written down or simply the mental spin of what needs to happen next, create a focus on what is to come rather than what is happening in this moment. It’s amazing how much more connected to our health and wellness we can become if the pressure of the future is removed.  For 20 minutes each day, put aside all lists, and just be.
2. Same Old Same Old:  It is easiest to learn to be in the Now amidst daily activities that we know by heart.  Things like eating dinner, driving, or showering.  So go ahead and turn off your head and move into your heart.  Life has a natural repetition to it that lends itself to the moment.  Pick one everyday activity and be fully present to that moment. 
3. Use Those Lungs:  The quickest short-cut to the moment is our very own breath.     There is something about the conscious awareness of our breathing that bee lines us straight into the present.  When you want to slide into the Now, take 5 conscious breaths.  You’ll be amazed at how in tune you become with yourself, your body, and the world around you.

Here’s to enjoying being in the Now and all the Wellness that can usher into our lives! 

Yours in Health,

Michelle Renae

Even though I am a “pelvic floor evangelist” (coined from WHF), I am recently aware that I did not fully understand the importance of the pelvic floor in the relationship to the low back.  I have a wealth of knowledge regarding incontinence and the pelvic floor thanks to my training and involvement with Women’s Health Foundation and the Total Control Program.  What I lacked was my comprehension of the pelvic floor and it’s importance to structure, not just function. 

I was having sacroiliac (low back) pain since the birth of my daughter, who just turned one.  After trying everything I could to help myself rid of my own back pain, I finally gave in and went to get physical therapy.  My physical therapist, Judy Florendo from Florendo Physical Therapy http://www.florendopt.com/, who is amazing and wonderful tried all the usual back pain remedies.  My symptoms were improving, however my pain would return within a couple of days. Judy’s hunch was that it was my pelvic floor.  I have to admit I was skeptical, because I thought I was the master of my pelvic floor.  In short, she was right.  It turned out that my pelvic floor was dysfunctional due to on old tailbone injury and giving birth.  After Judy worked on my pelvic floor my back pain was gone and stayed this way.

I admitted to Judy that I could not comprehend why my pelvic floor affected my low back when I knew I was strong there.  Her explanation is what finally clicked.  She gave me the visual of the mesh you might put in your trunk of your car to hold things in place.  That is your pelvic floor she explained, but if it is lax in certain areas or too tight in others then the mesh would be all twisted hence pulling on the sacroiliac joint causing it to be thrown out of place. 

I am sharing this with all of you in case anyone has had reoccurring back pain and has not been able to make improvements.  There are pelvic floor physical therapist all over like Judy.  She has made a world of difference for me and I am a much happier person due to my new lack of discomfort. I think I now have the whole picture, however I am aware that there is always room for more learning.

Jeni

According to the World Health Organization, “Any time a country’s cesarean section rate rises above 15 percent, the dangers of C-section surgery outweigh the lifesaving benefits it is suppose to provide”  In the US, the overall c-section rate has now reached 30.2 percent.  Here are some more US Statistics presented in the September 2007 issue of Mothering Magazine:

1.  A woman is 5-7 times more likely to die from a c-section delivery than from a vaginal delivery.

2.  A woman having a repeated c-section is twice as likely to die during delivery.

3.  Twice as many women require rehospitalization after a c-section than after a vaginal birth.

4.  Have a c-section means a higher rate of infertility, eptopic pregnancy and potentially severe placental problems in future pregnancies.  (Secondary fertility is on the rise.  I wonder how many of those women had a c-section?)

5.  Between 1 and 2 babies will accidentally be cut during the surgery. (If you say the pictures on how they are performed, you could see how this is possible)

6.  The US is tied for second to LAST place with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia for neonatal mortality in the industrialize world.  (I’m sorry that does not make me feel confident in our healthcare system)

7.  The risk of death to a newborn delivered via c-section to a low-risk woman (key phrase) is 1.77 deaths to 1000 live births.  The risk of death to a newborn delivered vaginally to a low-risk woman is only 0.62 percent live births. 

8.  Babies born via c-section miss the beneficial enzymes that will kickstart their immune and digestive track.  We know these as beneficial bacteria or probiotics.  (In fact, I have Lilly her first round of probiotics when she was ready to take a bottle at 4wks old because she was born via c-section and was pumped with so many antibiotics after I was all hooked up, I am now preparing her immune system for the cold and flu season with another round)

9.  US National objectives to improve maternal, infant, and child health outcomes is to lower the cesarean rate for first time mothers to 15%, and increase the VBAC rate to 63% by the year 2010 (www.vbac.com)

What about rupture of the uterus?  Here is an answer from www.childbirth.org

So why is the fear put into our minds?  That study was done back in 1980 too when the incision was vertical.  Convenience?  We don’t trust our bodies?  Fear?  Fear can indeed inhibit our birth experience (thanks to Hollywood).   Or past experiences.  I was told by my first GYN that I was likely to have a c-section because my mom did and I had small hips.  I was 20 years old at that time and that thought has remained in the back of my mind.  Why did she say that when there is no truth to either of those statements?.  I will prepare myself mentally, emotionally and physically for the next time and relieve myself of those thoughts.   (Perhaps I’ll give Jen’s hypnobirthing instructor a call

I feel every woman has a right to be informed about the risks and not automatically assume that she will have another c-section.  We have to have an open discussion with our healthcare providers, ask the right questions and make the best informed decision for ourselves and our families.  While there is a time and place where a c-section is medically neccessary, we tend to forget our rights as patients.  So many women do not have a birthplan and go into labor unknowingly and uninformed.  I encourage all women to be empowered by the knowledge that we are privied too today.  You have to conclude whether VBAC’s are safe by doing your own research.  While I could go on, I will provide some great resources and encourage your own search.

A wonderfully written article on C-sections and VBAC’s:  http://www.aakmagazine.com/Articles-i-2008-02-01-212019.112112_Csections_VBACs.html

www.childbirth.org

www.vbac.com

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/blog/2008/07/15/letter-to-acog-and-responses/ (some good blogs from OB/GYNs about homebirths and VBAC’s, I do want to present both sides)

http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/vbac.htm

Healthy Regards,

Jasmine

I read The Red Tent while I was pregnant.  The support the women had from each other when it came to dealing with “women’s” issues was natural and what I imaged to be, comforting.  I found myself longing for the companionship the women from the book had with one another.  Even though I am blessed to have four sisters, the stress of modern living pulls us in too many directions leaving little time for our “sisterhood”. 

Learning about being a woman in our culture can be destructive to our psyche.  We are often taught at a young age that being sexual is bad, yet it is splashed all over the media.  In the book when Dinah, the main character, started her menstruation she was lavished with rituals of love from her mother and aunts. Unfortunately, I do not know where we lost this appreciation and respect for becoming a woman. 

Teenagers seem to be all knowing about sex.  I taught health education in a high school in Seattle, Washington.  I started every sexual health section with a picture of the female and male anatomy with fill in blanks to name each part.  I asked the students not to put their names on it and to fill it out to the best of their ability.  All the correct anatomical names were at the bottom of the page to be used to fill in the blanks.  When finished I would collect the pre-test, shuffle them and distribute them back to the class to be graded.  After making the corrections the students realized that none of them really knew their own anatomy.  I had my work cut out for me…

While I taught sexual health to my students I felt they learned a new kind of respect for the functions of their bodies both male and female.  I did not realize that I was setting the foundation for understanding and hopefully prevention for these teenagers. I share this because somewhere we got lost, literally. While teaching Total Control my students would say to me, “ Why didn’t I learn about my anatomy in this way when I was younger?”  I did not have an answer for them, but I do know we can change it for the next generation.  Surprisingly, one of my Total Control students was a former physician and she confided in me that in medical school she did not have as in-depth instruction on the pelvic floor as she did in Total Control.

The bottom line is we need to love, respect and know our anatomy.  Its functions are crucial to our quality of life as women.  As Total Control instructors, we have the gateway to free our students from the preconceived notions, or lack their of, they come to class regarding their bodies and how they function.  We can open the door that has been closed for too long and bring forth anatomical health and healing.   

Jeni

-Molly

Ever since I was a little girl I was fascinated with childbirth.  Not exactly sure why (it may be due to my mother having nine children), but I’ve always known that if I was ever fortunate enough to give birth I wanted to take the natural route.  Before I continue, I want to express my view that I believe it is a woman’s right to choose any birth choice that best suits her.  

I was fortunate enough to give natural childbirth to our daughter, but I believe it was largely due to my hypnobirthing childbirth class.

My obstetrician recommended it to me.  It sounded interesting and I knew I wanted to take some kind of birth preparation course, so I signed up.  The class was taught by an amazing teacher, Tanya McHale , R.N., C.H.  tanya@tanyamchale.com

Being a health educator I was pretty confident I knew enough about my body in order to give birth (besides managing the pain).  Taking Tanya’s class taught me that there is always more to be learned.  I feel the most important skill I acquired was to trust my body.  It sounds so simple, but after going through the birth experience, our country often portrays birth as an emergency.  When I thought back to seeing movies even as young as a teenager, giving birth has been made out to be this crazy, out of control and often scary experience.  Tanya showed a side of childbirth that is relaxing, spiritual and even calming.  I think for the first time I really understood how cultures can affect certain outcomes. Not knowing that childbirth could be this way, I was relieved. 

Knowing that women have been giving birth forever, I was confident that my body did know exactly what to do in order to give birth.  I used this knowledge and let my body pave the way to birthing my daughter.  I was in labor a total of 28 hours and chose not to have any pain medications or an epidural.  I was fortunate enough to birth in an alternative birthing center at Illinois Masonic Hospital where I had little to almost no intervention.  I will say I could not have done this alone.  My husband was at my side helping me stay focused on what Tanya had taught us to ease the “surges”.  I cannot express in words how happy I was to be able to give birth the way I wanted.  I know this is not always the case for women. 

The other piece of advice from Tanya that was crucial to my success was to not listen to other women who were against natural childbirth or who wanted to share horror stories about childbirth.  We all know not all birthing experiences go as planned and thankfully we have intervention to help.  However, if you are a woman who wants to try the natural route I hope you will consider taking a childbirth hypnosis class.  What I learned from the class I am still using in my daily, sometimes hectic, life. 

I am a firm believer in the natural abilities of our bodies as women.  As we say at the Women’s Health Foundation, “Our pelvis is the epicenter of our universe.”  After my experience I will add to that,“Trust it!”

Yours in pelvic health,

Jeni Donatelli Ihm

SD Rehab and Women’s Health Foundation have partnered to bring health to both the women of Nepal and the women of Chicago!  Postural Pilates - Strength and Vitality Throughout Our Lifetime, a one hour fitness class, will be offered August 23rd at 10 a.m. All donations will go towards Women’s Health Foundation’s upcoming humanitarian and medical mission: Secret Shame: Uterine Prolapse Among Women in Nepal. 

Here is a little information on the class that will be offered: Designed by a rehabilitation specialist and pilates instructor with extensive knowledge of the body’s anatomy & natural alignment, this class can only improve your posture and vitality!  This class is appropriate for all levels of fitness and includes the use of foam rollers, resistive bands light weights and Pilates mat exercises to increase your overall flexibility, improve your core strength, and align your spine. Participation will help you to look and feel better throughout your lifetime!

So come out and help improve the lives of Nepalese women and help boost your own health and wellness too!

Postural Pilates - “Strength and Flexibility for a Lifetime”

Where: SD Rehab 1962 North Bissell Street, Chicago, Illinois

When: Saturday, August 23, 2008

Time: 10am-11am

$15.00 Donation

This class is appropriate for all levels of ability. To register, call SD Rehab at 773.477.7599

SD Rehab is sponsoring this class to assist the Women’s Health Foundation in their fundraising efforts. All proceeds from the class will go to the Women’s Health Foundation, a non for profit organization dedicated to the health of women.  If you would like more information on how you can help, call Molly at 773-305-8201.