Conflicting studies

Ok, so long story short, I happened across these two articles from the UK, both from the same woman, Medical Editor Rebecca Smith, which had conflicting results. The first report, written almost exactly a year ago, was titled, “Death Risk Higher for Women ‘Too Posh to Push’“; and the second report, written this past April, [...]

I’m flabbergasted!

A doctor who was recruited from Germany to fill a position in Australia that was underserved has been declined permanent residency because his son has Down’s Syndrome! The reasoning stated is that the government is concerned that the boy may have expensive medical needs which the Australian socialized medicine system (i.e., the taxpayer) will have to pay [...]

Support Birth and Breastfeeding at IdeaBlob

Here’s the information, passed on to me from Enjoy Birth – vote and pass it on! In Sept I asked you to vote – well we made the OCTOBER FINALS!!! Here’s the update – I need you to vote again please!!! And blog about it too! A while ago, I entered my business, 9 Months & [...]

Inaccurate Diagnosis — what to do?

Several months ago, a friend of mine went to the doctor, and he happened to be wearing shorts, and the doctor noticed a spot on his leg which he thought looked suspicious. He took a biopsy, sent it off to the lab, and it was diagnosed as being a very rare form of cancer. They [...]

Poll question on birth prep

Over at our childbirth educators group blog, there’s a good, thought-provoking poll question on how we prepare ourselves for birth. Of course, the traditional way has always been talking to our mothers, aunts, older sisters, or others who may have given birth before us, but with so many of us in the West having moms [...]

Legal help for VBAC bans

One of the most pernicious problems with a primary (first-time) C-section, is that so many women nowadays are being denied the right to have a subsequent vaginal birth, and are required to have an “elective” repeat C-section. Some doctors refuse to attend them; some hospitals have it as policy that VBACs are not allowed. A large [...]

Seemingly endless repetition with no apparent progress

What comes to your mind when you see this phrase which is the title of the post? Ponder it for a second before going on. What are you thinking of?   There’s a lot of situations in life that this could refer to. I was made to see a parallel between motherhood and giving birth [...]

Down Syndrome, Prenatal Screening, and Amniocentesis

I recently came across this article which said that there are “160 healthy babies lost for every 50 Down’s cases detected with amniocentesis.” That’s an exaggeration which reminds me of the recent post I wrote about Skewing the Statistics. Here are the facts: amniocentesis is recognized as having a 1 in 200-400 risk of miscarriage; [...]

Ultrasound

Today is the 4-year anniversary of my first and only prenatal ultrasound. (It’s also a friend’s birthday, which is why I remember the date so distinctly.) Anyway, I had planned a home birth for as long as I’d known I was pregnant, and at my prenatal visit four years ago today, the midwife couldn’t determine [...]

Dream Baby vs. Reality

When you’re pregnant, odds are you will spend time thinking about the future, and imagining your life with your new little one in your arms instead of in your belly. That’s all well and good, but I think some people take it overboard with their “dream baby”; and then when reality hits, it’s a much [...]