Death twice as likely by caesarean

This is something to think about. For all the celebrities that have their planned c-sections, for hospitals that aren't giving women a choice to have a VBAC. Babies should be born vaginally unless there really is a reason for a c-section. Even if you knew you needed a c-section it is best to wait until you go into labor and have the surgery, than have a planned c-section. Read this article written by Kate Benson

BABIES born by elective caesarean are almost 2½ times more likely to die within their first month than babies born vaginally, researchers have found, adding weight to the argument that caesareans should only be carried out in emergencies.

April is Cesarean Awareness Month

What is Cesarean Awareness Month? An internationally recognized month of awareness about the impact of cesarean sections on mothers, babies, and families worldwide. It's about educating yourself to the pros and cons of major abdominal surgery and the possibilities for healthy birth afterwards as well as educating yourself for prevention of cesarean section. Cesarean awareness is for mothers who are expecting or who might choose to be in the future. It's for daughters who don't realize what choices are being taken away from them. It's for scientists studying the effects of cesareans and how birth impacts our lives. It's for grandmothers who won't be having more children but are questioning the abdominal pains and adhesions causing damage 30 years after their cesareans.CESAREANS are serious. There is no need for a 'catchy phrase' to tell us that this is a mainstream problem. It affects everyone. One in three American women every year have surgery to bring their babies into the world. These women have lifelong health effects, impacting the families that are helping them in their healing, impacting other families through healthcare costs and policies, and bringing back those same lifelong health effects to the children they bring into this world.Be aware. Read. Learn. Ask questions. Get informed consent. Be your own advocate for the information you need to know.
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It's a Son

Twenty-one years ago I gave birth to our oldest son, our second child. He was our first home birth. Labor was fast and intense, only 4 hours. Contractions started 3 minutes apart and 90 seconds long, they soon got closer and longer. Our midwife arrived and said I could start pushing anytime I wanted; a short time later I had the urge. I pushed for 45 minutes, but had good rest between pushing contractions. Soon his head was emerging, there was a cord, the midwife slipped it over his head and said I could push again, he shot up into the air, he was posterior, she said "catch him" Bill got him by a leg, her, by an arm. Bill laughed as he put him on my chest and said "It's a son." He cried, I cried, as I looked down at his beautiful face and stroked his cheek with my finger and said "Don't cry," he gazed up at me with his big brown eyes and stopped crying. So much has changed since then; he has grown into a handsome man. This morning as I woke him and wished him Happy Birthday and stroked his cheek it was no longer soft, but full of stubble, but those big brown eyes still looked up at me, as he said "Thanks, Mom." Thank you, my son.

Breast Crawl

This is an amazing video of how a baby will naturally attach itself to the mother's breast if just left alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrwfIcPB1u4

Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court

The Government has conceded that vaccines can lead to autism. Certain children may be more prone to have reactions than other children. David Kirby wrote on the Huffington Post that: "After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims." Please read the whole article.

My Babies

Child With DS

In my all my years of teaching childbirth classes, I had my first couple have a Downs Syndrome baby. I am very proud of them in how they have dealt with the shock of finding out after he was born to now knowing their little boy will always be perfect.

Here is a poem that my student wrote:


NOAH GABRIEL KEONA YOUNG “GOD'S GRACIOUS GIFT”
So now a new life begins
One I never dreamed of, one I couldn’t possible have imagined
Something has been given to me, entrusted to me that I thought is only given to “others”
Not me, no way, it never even crossed my mind, when they asked “ Do you want to take the test”
“Oh no, we don’t’ want the test, for if there was anything “wrong” we would never abort
Truthfully it didn ‘t occur to me that yes I could be a chosen one
No way, not me! Only happens to other people, poor , poor people
They can handle it though, as long as I don’t have to deal with it, face it, look at it, live it everyday
It doesn’t even cross my mind. Honestly I can count on my fingers how often I have come across a person with DS.
Now that it is my reality, my everyday, I wonder, why do I never see DS. Do they not get to go to the malls, the market, the stores, everyday life. Are they unable to act normal, or are they such a burden to take out that their families would rather just leave them at home?
Do their families whole lives change because of this person? Do they become recluse? Do they have a permanent pain in their broken hearts? Do they age much quicker because life has taken such a difficult toll on them?
Do they stop going to parties, and family gathering, weddings and vacations, because they are ashamed, tired, not up to all the questions and stares???
I know I am saying some things that may seem rude and certainly ignorant
This is all still so new to me, still just such a shock, I honestly can’t believe that I am even writing about such things
So I join support groups and I desperately hang on to all that these wonderful and experienced souls, soldiers in a fight for a great life for their loved ones
They tell me, it’s ok, what I feel is normal. They tell me that they felt exactly the same, they felt that they would never be able to handle it
Then they said, life happens and my baby, my child will heal me, he will teach me that everything is ok
He will show me the way, he will lead me in this dance. I will look at him with a pure love and so much pride, just like any other mother of a “typical” child
In fact I will probably love him more because I went through so much and I see how much harder everything this precious child struggled to learn what he learns
It will not bother him though
Just take my time, take it one day at a time
I am not alone
And everything is going to be not just fine, but amazing, filled with joy and laughter, not just tears and heartache
Hold my baby close for now, let his smile make me smile
Don’t be afraid to love him completely
Capture the milestones in picture and in words, feed him and change him and most of all
Just love him day by day, he is after all, just my baby first and foremost
Ds will not be who he is, just part of his genetic structure
DS is not his heart or his mind or his soul
That comes from what God has put in him
DS is for the rest of us, “typical” people
It is for us to learn to love the way Jesus loves
These chosen people, they say love so completely and deeply with all their hearts
They will not judge us, they will always be ready with a hug, a smile
Time will be my friend, as my baby grown into a man
As his personality forms and I get to know who he is
I just know he will be my greatest joys
You know what? He is already my greatest inspiration
He will be everything I never knew that I wanted and needed
Thank you God

Jessika Young - God Be With You