In indulging Taylor’s interest in princesses, I am careful to limit her exposure to the damsel in distress model (read: Disney princesses) and, instead, fill her reading repertoire with princesses of all kinds. We both enjoy this whimsical spin on a classic.
On a recent trip to the library, I grabbed this book as we were gathering our things to leave. Although I couldn’t remember the storyline as I grabbed it, I recognized the cover from my preschool teaching days as a book I wanted read to my own kids one day.
I appreciate the richly drawn and colored illustrations, along with the moral of the story. Parents will also appreciate the underlying messages about healthcare in the plot. Taylor absolutely LOVED this book, and I envision checking it out again and again for many years to come.
Taylor is just shy of 41 months old.
Taylor : Do boys have babies?
Me : What do you mean?
Taylor : Do boys have uteruses?
Me : No, only girls have uteruses.
Taylor : Does Daddy have a uterus?
as we were settling in for a nap.
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When Taylor utters new and amusing words I’ll post ‘em here.
Still struggling to keep it under the 2,000 character count limit…
Using ultrasound technology originally developed for the US military, Electronic Fetal Monitors (EFM), machines that can continuously track and record fetal heartrates, first made their way into maternity wards in the 1970’s. Although initially reserved for only “high-risk” women and babies, EFM quickly became mandated by hospitals on nearly all laboring mothers. Despite over 30 years of routine use and upwards of 93% of women in labor wearing them, EFM has not improved outcomes – meaning rates of infant mortality, cerebral palsy, and infants requiring additional care immediately after birth in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have not improved. Rates of Cesarean Section have not improved either, skyrocketing from 5% in 1970 to 31% in 2006.
And if the outcomes don’t speak loudly enough for themselves, EFM has yet to be reviewed for safety by the Food and Drug Administration.
Routine use of EFM is just one example of how a ubiquitous yet unproven obstetric practice can decrease safety and increase expenditure. Instead of spending millions of dollars per year on machinery, women and babies would fare better in a maternity care system that practices a “low-tech, high-touch” model. In Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, Dr. Christiane Northrup explains,
“Marshall Klaus, MD and John Kennell, MD have proved in six controlled clinical trials that the presence of a female labor support person, known as a doula, shortens first-time labor by an average of 2 hours, decreases the chance of a cesarean section by 50%, decreases the need for pain medication and epidural anesthesia, helps the father or co-parent participate with confidence, and increases the success of breastfeeding. Dr. Kennell has proved that if doula labor support were routinely used, this simple step would save the health care system at least $2 billion a year in the costs of unnecessary C-sections, epidurals, and sepsis workups for newborns.”
Beyond financial benefits, doulas provide a continuity of care that machines, nurses, and even obstetricians currently do not provide. In preparation for their clients’ birth experiences, doulas meet with mothers to discuss common birth practices and procedures to ensure that mothers acquire the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Doulas also learn about their clients’ individual physical and emotional needs so these needs can be addressed leading up and during birth. Doulas attend to their clients from the very beginning to the end of labor, suggesting comfort measures, supporting mothers’ labor partners, encouraging mothers to ask questions and express their preferences and concerns, helping mothers incorporate changes to plans that may arise, and enhancing communication between mothers and hospital staff. Doulas often hold additional credentials in breastfeeding, massage, yoga, newborn care, and/or childbirth education, which supplement the high level of care and support they inherently bring to new families.
At a time when citizens and policymakers are reflecting on our current healthcare system and looking to make improvements, replacing unproven, high-tech machinery with high-touch care makes sound financial sense and human sense.
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Previous Letters to Oprah
Well, I finally did it. I’ve been drafting a letter to Oprah in my head and on multiple scraps of paper for over a year now, and the letter has finally been sent. The two-thousand character count (including spaces) limit is a killer! So much to say, and so little space.
Initially, I invited a mom I met in an online support group to join me in launching a more formal letter-writing campaign that involved key birth advocacy groups, but (quite understandably) she became too busy with other priorities.
This letter to Oprah has lingered on my thoughts long enough! I understand that millions of people e-mail their thoughts everyday, so I intend to share my two cents until I get a response from one of her staff members. Subsequent submissions will include details and resources that the initial letter (below) does not contain. If need be, I’ll start busting out direct quotes from Oprah herself and from guests whom she highly respects. If Oprah is true to all that she lives and encourages others to live, she can’t ignore the maternity care crisis.
As you and Dr. Oz have reiterated time and time again, information is power. Through various topics on healthcare, you have reminded us that we need to actively research our own path to wellness and to advocate for ourselves. I implore you to shed light on yet another ailing section of our healthcare system – maternity care.
Thus far, the maternity care crisis in America has received very limited exposure in mainstream media. My hope is that you give maternity care its due attention and spark a public discussion that initiates positive change.
“As the No. 1 cause of hospital admissions, childbirth is a huge part of the nation’s $2.4-trillion annual healthcare expenditure, accounting in hospital charges alone for more than $79 billion.” – LA Times, 5/17/09
In addition to the staggering financial impact maternity care has on our overall healthcare system, consider the individual women who experience this care and the generations of families this sorely broken system affects.
The US spends up to two to three times more than any other country in the world on maternity care, yet the US is ranked second-to-last for neonatal mortality in the industrialized world. As we, as a culture, have embraced technology in every facet of our lives, we sometimes extend it to situations that fare better with less of it, and maternity care is one of them.
Technological advances have, no doubt, saved many mothers and babies over the years; however, the eagerness to utilize medical intervention on pregnant women can have life-altering consequences. Many common prenatal, labor, and birth practices run in direct opposition to evidence-based care (i.e. best outcomes for mothers and babies), and many others have yet to be proven safe.
The most interventive and consequential practice is that of Cesarean Section (C-section). The World Health Organization states that when C-section rates rise above 10-15%, the dangers of surgery outweigh the lifesaving benefits it is supposed to provide. As of 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 31% of women underwent surgery to birth their babies, meaning over half of the C-sections in our country are unnecessary.
Implications of surgical birth run wide and deep, too many to list here. Having a C-section means higher rates of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and potentially severe placental problems in future pregnancies. Although women having a repeat C-section are twice as likely to die during delivery, many care providers refuse to let women have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).
Preventing women’s initial C-section is key in their and their family’s well-being, as well as our healthcare system’s financial future. If there is any doubt about the validity and severity of these issues, please ask your trusted friend and OB/gyn, Dr. Christiane Northup. As a seasoned physician, a mother, and an individual who understands the inseperable connection between mind and body, she has a wealth of knowledge to offer women and their families. Please ask Dr. Northrup to join you in educating women and empowering them with the information they need to have the safest, most cost-effective, and joyful births possible.
Left: Planting Day Right: Earlier this week
To celebrate our garden’s one month birthday, we scattered ladybugs under its canopy. Our indoor basil (which actually needs the ladybugs most) gotta little ladybug treat too.
Imagine…
Instead of inviting your husband’s best friend’s wife or whomever else you feel obligated to invite, you welcome the presence of only your closest, most intimate friends.
Instead of pastel, paper streamers and balloons, you are greeted by seasonal flowers and candlelight.
Instead of receiving yet another onesie, chew toy, or diaper cake, you receive gifts that are not only practical but mystical and inspirational as well.
Instead of feeling self-conscious about your pregnant body, your form is celebrated and captured in a plaster cast.
Instead of identifying unmarked dollops of baby food or brands of candy bars mashed into diapers, you enjoy a relaxing footbath infused with healing aromas and imbued with meaning.
Instead of keeping intentions, fears, and concerns around your pregnancy, birth, and future motherhood unspoken and suppressed, you openly share these thoughts with the hostess(es) so they may be supported during the ceremony.
Instead of hearing harrowing birth stories masked by uncomfortable laughter, you are bathed in inspirational and empowering stories of birth and body wisdom.
(As a guest of such a gathering) Instead of making small talk with people you may or may not know, you are fully present and open to sharing the most substantive parts of yourself without inhibition.
These are just some of the many gifts of a Blessingway — for the Mother-to-be, the guests in attendance, and the hostess(es).
At a time when interventive and dis-empowering pregnancy and birth is rampant throughout our culture, Blessingways offer an opportunity to realign our expectations and reconnect to deeper truths. I have had the honor of hosting three of these ceremonies in recent months, and I am continually renewed and in awe of each woman’s soulful journey to motherhood.
Imagine…
a world where all pregnant women are exalted and cherished for the gifts they bring to the Earth.
. . . . .
Hand-spun yarn by thystle
Birth Ju Ju by luckyjuju
Honored Mother : Thais
With a vegetable garden in our backyard, I’m even more mindful of water consumption. While I wait for the faucet or shower water to heat up, I collect what I don’t use in a container. After I bathe a bowl of veggies for dinner prep, I set the gritty water aside instead of pouring it down the sink. I collect as much of this water as I can in a large green bucket that waits below our bedroom window. When the plants need a drink, Taylor and I dip our watering cans into the bucket without unnecessarily tapping into fresh water from the hose.
Today we harvested our first bouquet of rainbow dinosaur kale and enjoyed it with our dinner.
The Bounty
If you don’t count the occasional leaf we’ve eaten here and there off of our various plants, this is our first official harvest — salad greens. The lettuce took hold so well that a small area next to our corn became (according to our seed packet) too densely populated for proper growth. Taylor and I gingerly pulled the tiny leaves out of the dirt and quickly accumulated enough vege for a dinner accompaniment. We dressed the leaves with our standard, shallot-infused vinaigrett
The Reality Check
Up until now, I haven’t had to troubleshoot in the garden much. I guess the honeymoon phase of a nearly effortless garden is over. While collecting basil leaves from our indoor plants last night, I discovered insects and eggs hiding underneath the leaves and in the crooks between stems. I thought I had removed all the pests until I found more today. Noticing more critters in the surrounding soil and fearing that they might infect our other two plants, I tossed this plant in the City compost bin.
I’ve also noticed these peculiar, white, granular specks on our spinach that like to gather in and around new leaf growth. I can’t seem to find a definitive answer on what they are yet, but after some discussion with friends and in taking a closer look with my camera’s macro lens, I think they’re eggs of some sort. Ugh. These white grains are plentiful and on every spinach plant. On the upside, if I eventually need to pull these plants, I’ll have room for our sprouting broccoli di cicco, which are currently in Taylor’s room.
In light of discovering critters, nibble marks, and leafminer damage, you’ll find me in the garden everyday, turning over just about every leaf in the garden and attempting to put an end to the snacking. I now have even more respect for the farmers who grow the food we buy every weekend at the market. Growing beautiful, sustainably-nurtured produce is no easy task.