+
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM UPWORTHY
We are a small, independent media company on a mission to share the best of humanity with the world.
If you think the work we do matters, pre-ordering a copy of our first book would make a huge difference in helping us succeed.
GOOD PEOPLE Book
upworthy

infants

Pop Culture

Ryan Reynolds once took a toddler-focused CPR class and ended up saving his nephew's life

Everyone should learn this simple skill.

Canva

"It takes only a few hours and it's also kinda, sorta fun."

Summer is here. The season of backyard barbecues, long evenings by the bonfire, and a nagging worry that every parent can relate to — the dangers that come with a swimming pool.

The chances a child will die from drowning are relatively low, according to the CDC. But still — it's great to be prepared to step in and help with CPR, should it ever be necessary.

Actor Ryan Reynolds definitely thinks so.

Reynolds recently went to a CPR training class focused on toddlers and infants.

Reynolds and his wife, fellow A-lister Blake Lively (who also attended the class), are parents to two young daughters: 2-year-old James and 9-month old Ines.

The actor posted a photo from his CPR class to Instagram on June 27, noting how being certified once helped him save a family member's life.

"Years ago, I took a CPR course thru the Red Cross," Reynolds wrote. "And holy shit, I ended up saving my nephew's life because I knew what to do! True story!"

"Yesterday I took a refresher course — focusing on infant and toddler CPR," the actor continued. "It takes only a few hours and it's also kinda, sorta fun."

Lively also encouraged her followers to get trained if they haven't already.

"Google 'infant CPR class near me' and you'll see lots of listings," she wrote.

The Livelys are right: Learning CPR is quick, easy, and certainly worth the trouble.

Nothing can give you the same in-depth instruction as a course taught by a professional (you can easily find an American Red Cross CPR training in your area). But there are still plenty of helpful guides online with free resources you can access to help you get started.

As Lively noted, just knowing you have the know-how to help in a critical moment will let you enjoy those backyard poolside barbecues this summer, feeling a little more carefree.

"For those of you who haven't done it, you will love it," she wrote on Instagram. "It's so helpful by giving you knowledge, tools, and some peace of mind."

Here's an overview on CPR instructions so you can better understand what a training course entails:

This article originally appeared on 06.27.17


From Your Site Articles
health
Family

A mom seeks doctor's help for postpartum depression and instead gets a visit from the cops

Too many women lose out on much needed support because of unwarranted stigma.

Canva

Postpartum depression is very common, and treatable.

Jessica Porten recently visited her doctor four months after giving birth to her daughter, Kira. She wasn't feeling quite like herself.

She had been dealing with overwhelming sadness and fits of anger, which she knew was likely stemming from a case of postpartum depression.

In a Facebook post, Porten recounts the story of that appointment.

"I tell them I have a very strong support system at home, so although I would never hurt myself or my baby," she writes. "I’m having violent thoughts and I need medication and therapy to get through this."

In other words, she went to her doctor to ask for help for an extremely normal and treatable issue that affects an estimated 1 million women in the U.S. each year in one form or another.

But instead of getting help, as Porten tells it, the office did something pretty unexpected: They called the police.

Because of her admission to "violent thoughts," staff wanted the police to escort Porten to the ER for evaluation.

The cops, according to Porten, were skeptical of the need for their presence when they arrived and allowed her to drive herself to the hospital.

But the ordeal continued.

"We arrive at the ER and I’m checked in, triaged, blood drawn. I am assigned a security guard to babysit me," she writes.

She says she waited for over an hour to get a room, all while wrangling her months-old baby. After some brief tests, a lot of waiting, and a super-short interview with a social worker, she was deemed mentally fit enough to be discharged.

Porten and her 4-month-old didn't leave the hospital until after midnight.

The worst part? Porten never got the help she asked for.

depression

Postpartum depression is as serious as the stigma it carries

Canva

In addition to the undue stress and wasted time, Porten left the hospital without having received any medical help whatsoever.

"Not once during all of this has a doctor laid eyes on me," she writes. "Not once. Not even before they decided to call the cops on me."

Porten says that, for all her time and effort, she received some papers and pamphlets and was sent on her way.

"I’m still processing all of the emotions that are coming with being treated this way. I’m not exactly sure what to do here. I will say I am deeply hurt and upset, and above all angry and disgusted and disappointed by how this whole thing went down."

She also points out that if she had been a woman of color, her ordeal probably would have been even more drawn out and traumatic.

Postpartum depression is a serious issue - as is the stigma it carries.

Postpartum depression is common. The condition, and even the scary violent thoughts that sometimes accompany it, may even have an important evolutionary purpose. Some argue that new moms are on high alert for danger and that stress can sometimes visually manifest itself in their thoughts.

But, as with most mental health issues, postpartum depression can carry a lot of shame, embarrassment, and guilt for the women affected by it — leading them to ignore their symptoms instead of seeking help. One study even found that countries that don't recognize postpartum depression by name actually see women more likely to come forward with their symptoms.

Stories like Porten's show exactly why many women would rather suffer in silence than be poked, prodded, and treated inhumanely. And of course, not getting proper treatment will only make things wore.

It's time for a different approach.

It may be a common policy to call the police in the interest of the child's safety. But a policy that better addresses the mother's concerns and gets her the help she needs, without being shamed, is definitely a better way to go.

To get there, we need to help more honest and brave women feel comfortable coming forward about the aspects of postpartum depression that are hard to talk about. And we all need to better educate ourselves on the complexities of mental health issues and, more importantly, the human beings behind them.

You can find a link to Porten's post on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1021317492...


This story originally appeared on 01.24.18


From Your Site Articles
Family

Some babies will turn into contortionists to avoid touching grass. Here's why.

Check out the little grass-averse gymnasts.

Photo by Natasha Ivanchikhina on Unsplash

Touch grass? Babies say, "Nope."

When you see a gymnast doing this, you know they've worked for years to train their muscles and perfect their gymnastics skills:

Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Commons

But when you see a baby hovering in the air, legs in splits, you know there's probably a big ol' patch of grass beneath them.

Grass?!? you may be thinking. Seriously? Aren't babies, the purest among us—unspoiled by the trappings of modern life and technology—naturally drawn to the earth?

Apparently not if that earth is covered in grass, nope. For them, the lawn is lava.

Babies—or at least a good portion of babies—will do pretty much anything to not let any part of their bodies touch grass. Viral videos have demonstrated this fact, with parents holding their wee ones over a patch of lawn and lowering them toward the ground.

The way these tiny tots will twist themselves into gymnast-like positions to keep some daylight between them and the lawn is both impressive and hilarious. Watch:

You would think these parents were holding their kids above a pot of boiling oil, not the cool, refreshing grass. So what's happening here? Why are these babies so averse to touching grass?

According to neuropsychologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez, it could be an issue of sensory overload.

“Some babies lift their feet out in the air when a parent attempts to put them down on the grass because as a baby’s nervous system develops, sights, sensations, and sounds are intense,” Hafeez told Romper. “The ticklish, sharp blades of grass can catch a baby off guard, and some babies are often scared of it, as they are used to softer, more comfortable surfaces such as wood, tile, or carpet.”

Pediatrician Gina Posner, M.D offered Parents a similar explanation.

"The prickly texture and feel of grass is far different than softer and more comfortable feeling of carpet, tile, and wood surfaces on their feet, hands, and body, so babies are often scared of it." Grass can also be itchy and cause rashes, she said, which can make babies more averse to it.

Another explanation may be more innate and evolutionary. In a 2014 study published in Cognition, researchers reported evidence that "human infants possess strategies that would serve to protect them from dangers posed by plants."

"Across two experiments, infants as young as eight months exhibit greater reluctance to manually explore plants compared to other entities," the researchers shared. So perhaps babies simply don't trust grass.

According to another study published in 2019, there may be something to that distrust idea. Researchers found that babies between 8 and 18 months old "exhibited more social looking toward adults when confronted with plants compared to other object types." The study authors pointed out that learning about which plants are beneficial and which ones are harmful is something humans can't do alone, and noted that infants tended to look to older adults for social cues about plants they encounter before touching them.

"This social looking strategy puts infants in the best position to glean information from others before making contact with potentially dangerous plants," researchers wrote.

So, we have a few options here. Is it possible that those babies in the video weren't able to glean social cues from their caregivers that the grass was safe? Yes. Is it possible that they'd already touched grass once and found it too "tickly"? Yes. Is it possible that babies do all kinds of surprising, seemingly inexplicable things just to keep their parents guessing and always on their toes? Sure feels like it.

Whatever the reason, watching babies blatantly reject the "touch grass" advice the rest of us keep getting is hilarious. Who says the grown-ups know best? Trust your instincts and do you, babes.

From Your Site Articles
babies
Family

This supermodel icon's message about maternal health serves as a huge wake-up call.

True
Maybelline New York Beauty & Beyond

When '90s supermodel Christy Turlington had her first child in 2003, her life changed.  

After she gave birth to her daughter Grace, she started hemorrhaging because of a retained placenta. Thankfully, she was in a hospital surrounded by experienced medical practitioners and life-saving equipment, which ultimately kept her out of danger.

The distressing experience led Christy to learn more about the complication she experienced which is when she uncovered some harrowing facts about childbirth.

Christy Turlington Burns in Hinche, Haiti. Photo by Kassia Meador.

While a retained placenta only affects 2% of mothers and is usually easily treated in hospital, it has a high rate of mortality for mothers in the developing world.

"In trying to understand what happened to me, I learned that hundreds of thousands of girls and women die each year from the same and other complications," writes Christy in an email.

That was it for Christy. From then on, she made it her mission to break down barriers between mothers-to-be around the world and the health care they need.

Christy in Tanzania at Oldonyo Sambu health dispensary with local maternal health advocate Mackrine Rumanyika, mother Lightness Sisitivi, and her baby in 2015. Photo by Heather Armstrong.

Her first major project in this vein was a documentary called "No Woman No Cry." It focuses on the struggles pregnant women and young mothers face in the developing world as well as in the United States.

When Christy traveled to other countries, she saw firsthand just how difficult it can be for women to access proper health care. It was a defining experience and ultimately led her to get her master's degree at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in 2008.

"No Woman No Cry" ended up being her first of several documentaries that show how small facilitations can often be the difference between life and death.

The documentary came out in 2010, which is also when Christy founded Every Mother Counts — a nonprofit that advocates for improvements to maternal and infant care.

[rebelmouse-image 19533019 dam="1" original_size="700x467" caption="Christy in Bangladesh in 2009 shooting "No Woman No Cry" with crew, Clancy McCarty, Dina Hossain, and Wellington Bowler. Photo by Josh Estey." expand=1]Christy in Bangladesh in 2009 shooting "No Woman No Cry" with crew, Clancy McCarty, Dina Hossain, and Wellington Bowler. Photo by Josh Estey.

"The point of both [the documentary and the nonprofit] is to educate the public about a global tragedy and invest funds raised to improve access to quality and respectful maternity care," explains Christy.

And that's not limited to countries in the developing world.

While 99% of maternal deaths occur there, the United States is only ranked 46 globally in terms of maternal health. In fact, maternal mortality in the U.S. is on the rise.

According to estimates, every nine minutes, a woman suffers from a life-threatening birth complication in this country. And since 1 in 4 Americans live in areas where medical care is scarce, a disproportionate number of those complications can lead to death.

Perhaps the most upsetting stat, however, is that 98% of maternal deaths worldwide are preventable.

Thanks to Christy and her nonprofit's tireless efforts, these issues are finally getting the attention they deserve, and things are slowly but surely starting to change.  

Happy International Women's Day! To celebrate #IWD2018, members of the Every Mother Counts team are in Washington, D.C....

Posted by Every Mother Counts on Thursday, March 8, 2018

Change, however, won't happen without improved access to three things: transportation, skilled medical attendants, and medical supplies. It might sound simple, but in countries where women have to walk miles just to get clean water, they're often incredibly hard to reach.

Every Mother Counts' priority is to increase access to these life-saving elements in the United States, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Uganda, Tanzania, India, and Haiti. So far, their work has positively affected the lives of over 650,000 women and children to date.

And they're not alone in their fight to improve maternal care worldwide. In 2010, Melinda Gates announced that the Gates Foundation would invest $1.5 billion over five years promoting maternal and child health, family planning, and nutrition in developing countries. And just this month, they declared they'll be adding another $170 million to that.

What's more, Maybelline — the beauty brand that Christy has represented for years — has stood behind her activism every step of the way.

You don't need to have a ton of money or influence to support this issue though. The nonprofit's site has a number of different ways you can get involved.

Inspired everyday by our founder, Christy Turlington Burns who completed the Kilimanjaro Half last month & the London...

Posted by Every Mother Counts on Wednesday, April 29, 2015

You can follow Christy's example and be a running ambassador for the cause. There are official charity races you can participate in, too, or you can simply run on behalf of Every Mother Counts in the race of your choice.

Not a runner? No problem — you can also host a fundraising event or pledge to support bipartisan, no-cost legislation that will bring midwives and obstetricians to areas in the U.S. that are lacking them.

No matter your ability or capacity, you can be a part of the social change so desperately needed all over the world. As long as you have the drive, you can make life better for moms and new babies alike.

It just means taking your good intentions and acting on them as soon as possible.

Christy offers this Martin Luther King Jr. quote for inspiration: "The time is always right to do right."

Trending Stories