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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Welcoming Central NJ Babies Gently at Home

The number of planned home births rose 30% in the U.S. between 2004-2009. Lesley Franco, a certified professional midwife with SoulShine Midwifery, has been attending births for 16 years, in hospitals, birth centers and homes as a doula and midwife assistant.  “As a midwife and a mother I believe deeply in the normalcy of birth, trusting the innate wisdom of women to move through this process in a way that serves them,” states Lesley. “Both of my first two babies were born completely naturally, with midwives, in a hospital setting. It was then I decided to support other women on their journeys.”

SoulShine Midwifery is moving into its 4th year serving Central NJ families desiring a planned home birth. The midwifery practice offers respectful, individualized care to healthy, low-risk women who are interested in taking advantage of the many benefits of giving birth in the  privacy of their own homes: personal/continuous care,  peace and quiet, ability to walk around and assume any posture, lower rate of interventions, and no need to drive anywhere while in labor, or immediately postpartum with a newborn.

SoulShine has an extensive network of complimentary health practitioners for referral, such as: chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, lactation consultants and holistic pediatricians.

SoulShine Homebirth Midwifery is located in Whitehouse Station, NJ. Consultations to discuss your homebirth are offered at no charge. Call 908-439-3040 or visit SoulshineHomeBirth.com for details.

local News Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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