How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [72]
Ibuprofen works well to help with postpartum soreness and residual contraction pain. Eight hundred milligrams will usually do the trick. As an aside, try to avoid aspirin products, because they thin the blood and will increase bleeding, especially if taken before the actual delivery.
I have not addressed breach births, as whole chapters can be written on the topic. One relatively simple procedure that can be tried before labor starts, if the head is felt to be up instead of down, is called external cephalic version. There are some risks, such as an early water breakage, but it is probably better to try to fix the problem early, rather than waiting until the baby has entered the birth canal. Once again, this is for informational/educational purposes, and is not a substitute for proper medical care.
Group Planning for a Flu Pandemic
There is no way to be certain to avoid exposure if an influenza outbreak is in close proximity. (See Appendix C for details.) The odds are that the first outbreaks will be in distant regions. That will be the time to act.
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COMMUNICATIONS AND MONITORING
There’s a Whole Spectrum Out There
Plunging into the world of two-way radio communications and monitoring can seem daunting for newbie preppers. It is a technical field that has more than its share of jargon and acronyms. I suggest that you team up with someone who is a licensed amateur ham operator, and have that person walk you through the basics of the frequency bands, radio-wave propagation, the various equipment, and the legalities. Yes, there are plenty of legalities. Stay legal!
A ham who mentors new hams is called an “Elmer.” You can find an Elmer through your local ham-radio club affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Elmers are almost always willing to help, and quite generous with their time.
The radio-band designations can be confusing to folks who are newcomers to the shortwave-listening and amateur-radio worlds. One major source of confusion for newbies is hearing hams mention things like “on the forty-meter band” or “I was talking on two meters.” For a useful chart from the ARRL that puts the band designations into an easy-to-grasp graphic format go to snipurl.com/hsu6d.
Getting Started
I highly recommend that all preppers at the very minimum buy a shortwave radio and a multiband police scanner, and become familiar with their use. WTSHTF, hardwired telephones, cellular phones, AM and FM commercial radio, the Internet, and television may be essentially unavailable or unusable. Most radio and TV stations have enough fuel to run their backup generators for only few days. Ditto for the telephone company central offices (COs). After that, there will be an acute information vacuum. You may find yourself listening to overseas shortwave broadcasters for your daily news, and to your police scanner for updates on the local situation—to keep track of the whereabouts of looter gangs. Be sure to buy a CB radio and few walkie-talkies so that you can coordinate security with your neighbors. (The CB, FRS, and MURS bands do not require any license in the U.S.)
What to Buy for Disaster Communications and Monitoring
Shortwave Receiver
Your first receiver should probably be a compact, portable general-coverage AM/FM/weather band/CB/shortwave receiver. There are several brands on the market, most notably Grundig, Sangean, and Sony. I consider the recently-discontinued Sony ICF-SW7600GR receiver among the most durable portable general-coverage receivers for the money. It is about the size of a paperback book. The secrets to making a receiver last are to buy a couple of spare hand-reel antennas (the most fragile part), show care in putting stress on the