In a previous post I had written that the opinions of ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) are not the “be all and end all” of legitimate opinions on safe birth.
Right on cue, ”SOGC” or the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, has issued a statement on the safety of vaginal breech birth.
ACOG, as you might know, reccommends Continue Reading…
Dear readers…I’m sorry, but something wacky is going on with the “comments” feature of my blog…really, I’d like your comments, but they just aren’t working. I’ve asked my “web master” (A.K.A. Hubby) to look into fixing it. Thank you for your patience!
This is a fabulous video that was put together as a part of a contest for birth support videos. I think it has a powerful message.
Recently, a woman told me that her husband felt that her “stay at home mothering” could be replaced by a $5 per hour childcare worker.
Ouch.
I thought “everyone” had heard the annual media reports Continue Reading…
Lehigh Valley Hospital has responded to the letter to the editor that was published in The Morning Call last week. You can read it here.
I’d like to respond to a couple of the statements made in the letter. Continue Reading…
Before the Rally
I’d like to thank all of the folks who gave of their precious Saturday morning to come out to the rally today! If the Lehigh Valley Hospital security car showing up around noon was any indication, we did draw a bit of attention. 
Are you as upset as I am about the shrinking choices being offered to laboring women in the Lehigh Valley?
Then please join me for a peaceful rally this coming Saturday, May 30. Continue Reading…
A friend expecting her second baby this coming October recently lamented to me in an e-mail:
…most of the women who go to OBs do not know - or at least believe popular misconceptions - about what midwives do. Every woman would want midwifery care for herself and baby if they knew what it truly was…. All the women I know who used midwives were women who wanted individualized care and somebody to be there to support them through their whole birth experience. Somebody who knew them and who they trusted; rather than a practice where you rotate through providers and get whoever is on call. Some had natural births, some with epidurals, etc. but the most important aspect was that relationship and better care. (Jennifer Harper)
A Pioneer Midwife in Pennsylvania
As a childbirth educator and a doula, and most importantly as a mom of 5 children, I couldn’t help but Continue Reading…
When I was growing up in the early 80’s I could see 3 home swimming pools from my back yard–not a one of them were fenced. Two of them I swam in regularly. Now, in my development of approximately 200 houses I can count on one hand the number of swimming pools. I blame fences for the decreasing number of pools to be found in the back yards of young families. To be fair…there is a requirement in my development that all pools be “in ground,” which does make them too expensive for many families–but even in neighboring communities where above ground pools are not taboo, there is a scarcity of pools compared to my childhood memories.
Why do I blame fences? Because even if they are installed by the homeowner, they are hardly an “easy” solution since they can be prohibitively expensive to a working class family—costing many times more than the pool itself. Especially since many localities require fences for ANY pool, even a 12″ deep kiddie pool. How excatly does anyone over about 18 months old drown in a 12″ pool? I would think that even the smallest toddler is going to be able to stand up after falling into that amount of water.
The logic behind installing fences is Continue Reading…
Recently 3 major news organizations have had articles about birth related issues: The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine. All of these articles have merit, but also have some short comings, which I’d like to address.
LA Times
The LA Times article, Childbirth: Can the US Improve?, I thought was over all very good. I liked that it featured a mom who not only had to look around to find a Dr. willing to support her VBAC, but that she successfully birthed a reasonably large baby (8 lbs 11 oz) vaginally. I thought it dealt with the risks of cesarean and interventions very well, such as the increased risk of “ICU” admissions (that should be “NICU) for babies with planned births–that is, planned inductions or planned cesareans. They pointed out that when some hospitals institute rules banning “planned” deliveries prior to 39 weeks that are not medically indicated, NICU admissions dropped by 46%. Amazing. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Roger A. Rosenblatt, a University of Washington professor of family medicine who has written about what he calls Continue Reading…