Ann Ledbetter
@AnnLedbetter6
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Certified nurse-midwife (CNM). Partera de inmigrantes. FQHC employee. Maternal Mortality Review Team. Writer/researcher. Preferential option for the poor.
Wisconsin USA
Joined October 2015
The other day I attended a birth with a first year resident. No one counted to 10 or yelled “PUSH!” We sat with our hands in our laps and waited for the baby to emerge. She didn’t tear. I wonder what birth would be like if more doctors got low-risk birth training from midwives.
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OK, But My Kids Are Harder Than Yours. Read below to find out why! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/n2TywgxP4l
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You May Want To Give Birth Without An Epidural. Here's my nuanced take. ⬇️ https://t.co/ogQMTda9E8
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Lots of headlines linking Tylenol in pregnancy to autism. If we’re going to make claims from contested evidence, why target Tylenol and not Pitocin, which is used in 50% of births? There is *weak* evidence for both.
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Read my Substack for a nuanced take on this polarizing issue!
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Should You Circumcise Your Baby Boy? Did you know the rate of neonatal circumcision in the U.S. has fallen significantly over the last decade, from 54.1% in 2012 to 49.3% in 2022—meaning less than half of baby boys are now circumcised?
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Turns out that working in a female-dominated, mother-friendly career isn't so bad. Read about it here! ⬇️ https://t.co/TFCg5BVj86
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Being kind boosts mental health more than seeking joy. Evidence: Doing 3 random acts of kindness a week is enough to reduce depression, anxiety & loneliness. It's more beneficial than doing nice things for yourself. Self-care feels good, but generosity builds lasting bonds.
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Medicine and public health have added three decades to the human lifespan. Vaccination alone produced 40% of the reduction in child deaths. And now a disturbed and unqualified man driven by crackpot theories is destroying the foundations of this work, including CDC.
RFK JR: I’m looking at kids as I walk through the airports today...and I see these kids that are just overburdened with mitochondrial challenges, inflammation—you can tell from their faces, movements, and lack of social connection
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Why I don’t fear an IVF + genetic screening takeover: it brings higher pregnancy risks + steep costs that could outweigh the benefits for most healthy couples. Wrote about it here. https://t.co/DIehx8Soe4
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This was kind of fascinating! Their methodology seems pretty sound (though they might have included C-section rates) Best & Worst States to Have a Baby (2025) https://t.co/fTllnMWXGF via+@WalletHub
wallethub.com
Best & Worst States to Have a Baby in 2025
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Does Access to VBAC Affect Family Size? I wrote here about lack of access to VBAC and its impact on the birth rate: ⬇️ https://t.co/l6C7GQLAVw
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I know co-sleeping can help new parents survive those first few difficult months with a newborn, but I'm not supposed to say that. My story of being caught between rules and reality. ⬇️ https://t.co/xZZIBXWm8M
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Saw the @backstreetboys in Vegas last weekend and left feeling weirdly nostalgic… not just for boy bands, but for an era when dating felt safer, lighter, and (dare I say) more romantic.⬇️ Bring Back Boy Bands. Bring Back Love. https://t.co/7qA3EiS6fF
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The U.S. spends more money on maternity care than most nations-yet has some of the worst maternal and infant outcomes. Would midwifery integration help?↘️ https://t.co/4i43BGMNFQ
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The C-section Rate Doesn't Have To Be This High. Here's what we could do about it. ↙️ https://t.co/VO4QhPRaRO
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I will die if one more patient from Mexico tells me she had a C-section because "the cord was around the baby's neck" on ultrasound. THIS IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR CESAREAN!
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"The U.S. states with the highest birth rates also have among the lowest C-section rates, highest VBAC rates, and lowest maternal mortality rates."
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