Cesarean, The Most Common Form of Surgery Performed In The U.S.

Let's just say that cesareans bring in a whole lot of money for U.S. hospitals!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-20-c-sections_N.htm

~J~

Film For Dads, Your Input

Check out this film. The whole blog is good. The football article on the right is GREAT!

http://www.theothersideoftheglassthefilm.blogspot.com/

What do you think? Should we get it and watch it at an upcoming workshop?

New Yorker article on breast milk

Unique and interesting take on the history and politics of wet-nursing and pumping breastmilk. Lengthy, but informative. The article asserts (I think) that breast is good, but *at* breast is best.

I've often thought that formula isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can be mighty helpful, and even on occasion, life-saving. But things are such that formula is way over-used, completely beyond its helpfulness. The author speaks of non-breast-feeding of mother's milk the same way.

And just to be crystal clear - I respect every individual mother's choices: formula, breast or both; pump and bottle! Formula is inferior to breastmilk, yet helpful on occasion. Could it be argued that pumping is helpful on occasion, yet inferior to mother-baby togetherness?

My favorite line: When did “women’s rights” turn into “the right to work”?

Are them fight'n words for any of you? :)

Read the whole thing here.

~s~

p.s. still polishing that essay

The politics of safety

I'm polishing up an essay that came pouring out of my thoughts after reading that Trib article the other day. It's on the politics of the safety discussion as it pertains to birth. Anyone interested?

~s~

International!

We've recently had visitors from Germany, Estonia and Lithuania! We've also been hit by Japan, Australia, China and Malaysia! Wow.

Please, whether from near or far, drop a comment to say how you found us, what you think, what you're looking for, anything! Glad to have you stopping by.

:) ~s~

Finances and Birth-place Decisions

The Salt Lake Trib recently had an article on homebirth. Hooray! An actual positive article where the option of homebirth wasn't "balanced" with some statistic-less scare quote by a UMA authority.

The main gist of the article was that finances is a major consideration in the birth-place decision. The article interviewed three couples: 2 who planned and achieved homebirths, and one who planned a birth-center birth and ended up having a cesarean. All three considered the cost of hospital birth while making their decisions.

If you are so inclined, you might drop the author and/or editor a line expressing appreciation for publishing an article on homebirth that wasn't sensationalized, and portrayed homebirth as a rational decision.

~s~