Thoughts on Midwifery

I have had a lot of thoughts about midwifery swirling through my head recently. I feel so passionate about what I do and how women are treated during pregnancy and childbirth, that even my children get sick of me moaning when I hear of ANOTHER woman having a cesarean. I can NOT understand why more people are not outraged at the FACT that the rate of cesarean birth is out of control! Why are women, men, health care workers and the general population of people NOT raising their voices in outrage? The lies are perpetuated when women are told that the only thing of importance is that they leave the hospital with a healthy baby.

I recently had a homebirth client that I transferred to the hospital for fetal distress. When I arrived at my clients home this baby was clearly in fetal distress and the mom needed to be transported to the hospital. She was ready to go, as she had instinctively felt something was wrong with her baby and this is why she had called upon me to come to her home and listen to her baby. (Mom's are wise that way.) I called the hospital, talked with the midwife on call and they were expecting us when we arrived. My client was treated with respect and genuine care. I was grateful for this. The midwife explained everything to my client, her feelings mattered and she was listened to. She was cared for. A decision to do a cesarean was made quickly and I felt it was the right decision. I am not against cesarean. I was grateful for the midwife's care and the doctor's skill in performing a surgery that gave this family a healthy baby. There were some moments that made me angry, but overall this was an ideal transport.

Recently ACOG (American College of Gynecologists) put up a survey on their website asking healthcare workers to submit homebirth stories gone bad! They quickly changed the page to be password protected. Not surprising, since I'm sure that the midwifery community went wild posting positive stories. Since I no longer have access to this page I won't waste time posting a link, and my memory is not great, but I do remember that it seemed that the most pressing reason for this survey was the fear that doctors were being sued by patients who transferred into their care from a planned homebirth. It is my experience and understanding that the bottom line for most hospitals and doctors is the prevention of litigation. If the decisions for YOUR healthcare are being made based on whether or not your doctor could be sued by you how does this make you feel? This is not the way to keep a person healthy. If decisions are made based on what's best for the doctor, how is this best for the patient?

You can go here to read an article that was posted on the Huffington Post about ACOG's recent stunt.

It is unfortunate that the medical community can not get together with the midwifery community to build a bridge of common understanding. In my community there are amazing women willing to put themselves on the line for this cause. I am thankful for them and the work that they have done. I believe it played a part in the recent transport that I had.

If women (PEOPLE) were treated with respect concerning their health care what could happen in our country? I wish the medical community realized that women (PEOPLE) can and do have knowledge about their bodies and healthcare. They can make educated decisions based on evidence. They can be TRUSTED to make the RIGHT decision for themselves, their babies, their families, their health. I wish the medical community trusted alternative health care and the approach of HEALTH and the role that preventive care, nutrition and mental well being play in the overall health of a person. I wish that WE could ALL stand up for ourselves in the medical community and make sure that we have all the information concerning our health care before letting doctors take control of our bodies.

I have had more moments in the last year than I would like to admit where I have seriously condidered why I am a midwife. Sometimes the sacrifice is SO great that I can not even describe it. I dream of not being on call, of going to bed at night with no concern for whether or not I will sleep all night, of taking weekends away with my family, of not having the responsibility I do for another human's life. But in spite of the sacrifices, I can not deny the high I feel when observing a laboring mom, of witnessing a wet baby slip out of her mother's womb and into her father's hands, of laughing and crying as siblings greet siblings with respect and honor and love. As much as I can't describe the sacrifice I find it difficult to describe the awe of witnessing a family being born. I am blessed to be invited into the home of a birthing family for such a private moment. I do not take this lightly. And this trust is what gets me through the rough times. This magic is what keeps me coming back for more.

Hillsboro Air Show

Emilia looking oh so enthused about her mother posing her in front of a jet!

Last night we went to the air show in Hillsboro. Another activity that was a first for me. I have lived here my whole life and can not believe how many places and activities in this area that I have not participated in. We were able to get tickets to the air show from a friend of Mario's which makes it all the more fun! The show was amazing, even without seeing the spectacular Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, or whoever they are! One turn around in those planes and I would not be able to see straight and I would be puking my guts out! But they go up and down, around and around, over and over!

The most amazing thing I saw was a plane that flew very low to the ground, UPSIDE DOWN, and hit a flag that PEOPLE were holding on the tarmac! I told Mario that I would have been spectacularly amazed if the pilot had done that maneuver rightside up. I definitely plan to go back and see the BIG show.

Clackamas County Fair

We had the fun opportunity to be judges in the kitchen at the fair. For Mario, it was a huge task to taste and score over 80 breads. (But I think he enjoyed it). I had a much smaller task as I volunteered to taste the gluten free entries, and since this was the first year of GF, there were only 5 entries. (But I got a great recipe for GF carrot cake!)

Here is Mario with his case of bread!

Chocolate Cake tasting.

We also went back later in the week to judge Men's Chocolate Cake, and Cheese recipes. Mario wa sent to the cake area and I was at the cheese area. YUM! We are definitely going back next year to volunteer! One of the nicest things was we were given a week long pass to attend the fair. Besides our judging duties, we were able to go back to the fair three times.

One night we headed to the rodeo with Emilia. It was a first for me and Emilia. I liked the rodeo, but there were some parts that me and Emilia had a difficult time with. I can not get over the way some of the animals are treated. But I completely appreciated the athleticism of the cowboys and cowgirls. I had no idea of the difficulty, skill and training that is involved in the sport. We had a great time!

Blog Family

About a year and a half ago I began reading this blog. Which then led to reading this blog. That's the way it is with blogs. You find one you like, link to the blogs they like to read, and so on, and so on, and so on. Pretty soon your google reader is full of wonderful blogs that you really don't have time to keep up on. Once my friend asked me which blogs I went to first when checking my google reader. My answer? This blog. And this blog.

If you are not familiar with these sisters I highly recommend you take a look at their archives and catch yourself up. You will be moved by their stories. Their courage. Their faith. The love they have and the love they share.

The reason I have chosen to share these blogs with you at this time is because I am moved by the courage of one sister's readiness to share her face with me. To share her beautiful, tragic, ALIVE, burned face to all of the world of readers that have followed her story. To us who read her blog before. To those who found her story after. To all who have cried for this family's heartache and prayed for healing.

She is grateful for her life. And so am I.

Emilia Wins a Ribbon at the County Fair!

Emilia painted this last fall. She took a picture of the beach while we were in Seaside, OR last summer and then painted it. I think she did a beautiful job! I'm pretty bummed that I suggested she give the painting to her dad for Christmas! But she did paint me a sweet pregnant belly that I have hanging in my office.

She has become quite an artist this last year, painting, sewing and creating lovely works. I encouraged her to enter some of her artistry into the Clackamas County Fair this year and she was excited to do so. This Seaside painting won 3rd place! Another painting she entered was disqualified because we didn't get the framing just right (strict rules!) so I hope we can enter it next year. It is a unique and stunning picture that I think would have done well. She also placed 5th for the baby blanket she made for her cousin.

A little of this, a little of that.....

My husband, the officially retired member of our household.

I've been keeping him mighty busy with projects around the house. Here he is putting up our world flag that we purchased on Lopez Island. He tends the chickens everyday. He takes me and Amos for our daily walks. He's found more bushes to cut down and roots to dig out. Oh yeah, and he put a bunch of Ikea furniture together for me. He's so good to me!

The garden is growing like crazy! My tomato plants are over 6 feet tall!

Still one of my favorite places to hang out!





OUT WITH THE OLD......
(Mario, Bishop Perisich and Dennis)

AND IN WITH THE NEW.....

(Brent, Bishop Giles and Owen)
Big changes in our ward last week. The new bishop was called and we are all excited for him and his councilors, and know that this new leadership will be wonderful for our ward.

She's got her Fiji water, ready to board her plane to Kansas!

She is quite the independent girl and had no worries about traveling alone, managing a layover in another airport and switching planes to get to her Aunt Gretchen's house. While her mother was a nervous wreck about it all! She's been gone a week now and will be home next week. She calls nightly to give me all her updates, and it sounds like she's having a great time. Tonight she called her big sister and they spoke for about 45 minutes. It was very sweet because I know she was concerned about how Savannah has been since Schyler broke up with her, she dropped her phone in the toilet and she didn't start her new job today!

One Picture Says It All

Lopez Island vacation, July 2009

I'll share more pictures later, but this is my favorite. It tells the story. The story of sleeping in late, long walks, and good food. The story of rock hunting on beautiful beaches while the sun shines on my back and a gentle breeze cools my skin. The story of family time, games and hot tubing under the stars with a bright moon casting a glow on the bay. This picture tells the story of reading many books on this deck, next to the bay with the sun tanning my skin and healing my soul.

Savannah's Graduation Night

Chrissy and Savannah

Grandma Bonnie and Savannah

The kids

Savannah and Mom

Grandpa and Grandma McIntosh with Savannah

Strawberry Season is upon us......

Sometimes I'm tempted by those BIG red strawberries in the plastic tub I find in the grocery store in May. It's understandable! When it's been 11 months since I've had the juicy, fresh berry that steals my heart every June, even the most discerning could be swayed. But alas, those California berries never live up to their good looks. I'll wait a little longer for my little sweet Oregon berry.

Now that they are here I am in heaven. Every few days I bring home a flat. And those juicy babies are gone in no time flat! My fingers are stained by eating them, canning them, freezing them and baking with them. I need to go pick some the old fashioned way, because I haven't got my fill yet, and the fruit stand up the street is getting all my hard cold cash as I try to sustain my desire.

Savannah finishes High School

Savannah had her official last day of high school EVER yesterday!

About 4 months ago Savannah came to me with a plan to finish high school one year early. She wanted to transfer to a program through Clackamas Community College. She would finish her classes at her own pace and receive her diploma when she finished. And her goal was to finish this year. This meant taking her entire Senior year and the remainder of her junior year in less than four months. I was against this idea. I was afraid that she would miss out on so much by leaving our neighborhood high school. But this girl of mine did her reserach and was prepared to conquer her goal. And now she is done. She will receive her diploma June 11, 2009 at a ceremony at Clackamas Community College.

When Savannah decided to go to CCC I said that I would not be available as her transportation. She would have to be responsible for herself, which meant taking the bus or finding another way to get there. We both saw this as an opportunity for Jordan, who has struggled to finish his high school diploma, to get into the same program as Savannah, as well as provide her transportation. Jordan registered, and at the nagging of his very motivated little sister, was forced out of bed each day to attend classes. He is one class short of being able to receive his diploma with his sister. But plans to finish his class in the next couple of weeks and be finished by the end of June. I am beginning to feel hopeful enough to say that my struggle to get him graduated is coming to an end. I have never given up on him even when I really wanted to.