feminism and younger motherhood

Sarah Edell weighs in on the teen pregnancy cluster in Gloucester, much more articulately than I ever could. http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/OPINION/807090312/1076/OPINION03

mothering and war

"When it comes to war, I think it's the only thing that God would actually damn. I strongly believe that. To have a mother's sensibility you don't need to be female; you don't even have to have children. You just need to have a soul that cares about the future more than you care about yourself. That's what mothering is--laying down your life for the young so they can grow up into full people."
--Sally Fields

a better acog rebutal

A well done, point by point rebutal of the ACOG press release on homebirth:

http://saffrondoula-coloradosprings.blogspot.com/

ACOG's witch hunt

First Ricky Lake made a movie, the Business of Being Born, inspired by her own homebirth and actor John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and his wife Nichole had a baby at home and People magazine wrote a nice blurb about it.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20175819,00.html

Then ACOG (the American College of Obs and Gyns) felt so threatened they issued a press release reiterating their "long-standing opposition to home births" http://acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-06-08-2.cfm in which they state:

"Childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what's fashionable, trendy, or the latest cause célèbre. Despite the rosy picture painted by home birth advocates, a seemingly normal labor and delivery can quickly become life-threatening for both the mother and baby. "

Apparently childbirth decisions should only be influenced by celebrities choosing planned cesareans.

ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) has published their response at http://www.ican-online.org/, in which they publicly condemn ACOG.

The Big Push for Midwives also responded calling ACOG out of touch with the needs of childbearing families and accusing them of trying to play the bad mother card. http://www.birthpolicy.org/pushnews.aspx

All of ACOG's press release is infuriating, but to me the low point is when they say in the last paragraph:

"Choosing to deliver a baby at home, however, is to place the process of giving birth over the goal of having a healthy baby."

Not only does this basically call any woman choosing a homebirth selfish, but it creates a false dichotomy by suggesting that choosing the best birth for her is somehow separate from what will create a healthy outcome for her baby. What is good for the mother is good for the baby, and what is good for the baby is good for the mother. It is outrageous to suggest that homebirth endangers babies, when homebirth promotes empowering births for women, without medication (which we know carries risks for babies), and with a much lower risk of cesarean outcomes (which also carries risks for babies). By guarding against the unnecessary separation of the mother/baby unit (which decreases the risk of postpartum depression and increases the colonization of the baby with healthy bacteria from the mother, among other benefits) and promoting breastfeeding, while protecting the mother/baby from the antibiotic resistant germs that are most commonly found in hospitals, homebirth does much to ensure the health of the baby.

ACOG propagates the myth that birth is likely to turn unpredictably dangerous at any moment to try to gain a monopoly over the business of providing care for birthing women. The Big Push is right on the money when they call ACOG "a trade union representing the financial and professional interests of obstetricians".

I previously blogged about midwifery in trouble in Iowa and Missouri. Here's what's happening in Pennsylvannia. http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about116222.html

Raise your hand if you think this is wrong . . .

So as anybody who knows me already knows, I am passionate about birth and midwifery. Women have been attended by midwives since the beginning of time; midwifery is not the practice of medicine! Home birth midwives aren't in it for the hours (they work all of them) or the money, they do it to be with women. It's a calling really. And here in the US, unlike most of the rest of the world, we harass midwives instead of honoring them.



To hear one woman's story check out: http://www.nofelonieformelonie.org/ Melonie is a midwife in Iowa who can no longer work as one because she's been charged with practicing medicine without a license. Maybe you could buy a tee shirt to help her with her legal bills. Meanwhile in Missouri they're working to change the fact that midwifery is a felony there. (And you thought witch hunts were a thing of the past.) http://http://www.mamaroots.com/FreetheMidwives.html And they are also selling shirts and other goodies to raise money for the cause.



And if you want to hear more about what's going on with our children and vaccines and circumcision check out these great interviews at http://www.Modavox.com/WomensNetwork

Got your goat?

So I'm still working with my local Board of Health in my quest to get two dwarf goats. As this drags on into it's 5th month, I've certainly got an answer to my original question: "How hard can it be?" Letters of support to the Board are welcome--the public comment period end Jan. 11.

In Seattle it's legal to keep 3 goats in the city! They're registered like dogs--no inspection, no permitting process. Makes sense to me since they're the size of dogs, quieter than dogs, less aggressive than dogs, and their poop smells better.

Here's the article:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/333174_goat26.html

an inspirational quote for an uninspired day

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
--Anais Nin

Or as Sophie interprets it, "The risk is greater to curl up
and hide then it is to stand up and fight."

good news/bad news

good news:
http://tinyurl.com/2ttba4
Mom saves her baby's life by holding her after she was born!

bad news:
www.scorecard.org
Plug in your zip code and find out about the types and sources of pollution in your area.