We took a trip to the Black Hills this weekend. It was sorta a last minute thing. You know--a what-do-you-do-when-you-live-in-Chadron kind of thing. We've taken this trip many times and pretty much know all the stops by heart, but we still continue to take pictures and stop at the sights to enjoy the beauty and meet the tourists. It was a lovely day and this was the first time we actually stopped and ate in Keystone. We met some nice folks who were visiting from Miami and Argentina. They had an adorable dog with them that the kids really got a kick out of. When it was time to leave Brayla hollered out to them, "Bye, bye! I'll pray for you!" Heehee! You can start the slideshow below to see a few pictures of the day.
Many of us would not agree that choosing to labor and deliver at home subordinates the goal of a healthy baby to the process. As you know, home birth remains a viable option in several developed nations where birth outcomes for both mother and baby are excellent.
Many ACOG members have backed up home birth providers in the past, and a few have attended a home birth. I personally know of several ACOG members who themselves have chosen to deliver at home.
I would invite ACOG to join the rest of us in the 21st century.
Modern ethics does not equivocate: maternal autonomy takes precedence over medical recommendations based on beneficience, whether such recommendations are founded on sound scientific evidence or the pre-historic musings of dinosaurs. In the modern age, the locus of control has, appropriately, shifted to the patient/client in all areas of medicine, it seems, except obstetrics.
Science supports homebirth as a reasonably safe option. Even if it didn't, it still would be a woman's choice. ACOG and the AMA are, by nature, conservative organizations; and they are entitled to their opinion about the safety of birth at home.
If ACOG and the AMA are passive-aggressively trying to coerce women into having hospital births by trying to legally prevent the option of homebirth, then their actions are a frontal assault on women's autonomy and patient-centered care. Hopefully the public and lawmakers realize the primacy of informed choice enough to justify Deborah Simone's words: "We don't need to be angry or even react to these overtly hostile actions from the medical community. We just need to keep doing what we do best; the proof is always in the pudding."
"It is disturbing to me that I had to hear of this decision from outside sources and was never approached by my college to see how I or my local colleagues felt about it. I have grave concerns regarding my organization taking such a stand. I think we are all agreed that ACOG has a statement regarding patients’ rights to informed consent and informed refusal. Yet, it seems with every decision our organization moves further away from that basic tenet."
"As to out of hospital birthing, please give me the courtesy of an explanation as to the evidenced-based data you used and the process by which an organization which is supposed to represent me came to this conclusion. Any statement saying that it is as simple as patient safety and that one-size fits all hospital births under the “obstetric model” of practice should be applied to all patients is, putting it nicely, not really in line with what best serves all our patients. In many instances, hospitals are not safe, certainly not nurturing and have a far worse track record for disasters than home birth. Even when emergency help is nearby this is true."
Who first raised this issue and why? What committee reviewed all the data and did its due diligence in interviewing those of us with longstanding experience in backing midwives who perform out of hospital births. There must be a clear and concise, non-confidential paper trail you can share with your members. Specific names of committee members who voted for this would be enlightening and I am requesting this information. I would like to know the background and expertise regarding out of hospital birth for each member who had a hand in the decision to go to the AMA.
...without authenticity or meaning, and is just another of those political slogans which are used not as an assistance to, but as a substitute for real thought. It is not a deep truth, although it is constantly treated as one.
...but it is presented as a kind of banner, usually at the top or bottom of the page. In other words it is out of context, and we cannot tell what meaning the quoter thinks it has.
"...giving birth on a boat rocks. Literally. =) I was hanging out in the birth tub in our cockpit on Thursday night, watching the moon cross the sky, and as the sea would rock, the boat would rock, then the tub would rock a second later. Soooooooo cool."
"She came out with the cord not only wrapped around her neck, but across her chest like bandoliers. I *felt* it tighten up with my last push, and she was not breathing upon delivery. What's awesome is that my midwife *gets it*. Plenty of skin rubbing, some O2, and lots of talking to her, and all was well."
"I can't frankly imagine what a nightmare that sitch would have been in a hospital, and once again, I am desperately grateful that I was able to be home."
Nope, but if you've been paying any attention to the news, Nebraska sure has had several close calls with tornadoes lately. This evening we decided to go out for a walk with the kids. See us innocently taking a few shots of the kids in the joggers--totally unaware of how close a storm was.
But the storm was brewing very close--hovering just East of Chadron. I remember our neighbor, seeing us loading the strollers, and asking if we were aware of the warnings. We told her we knew there were thunderstorms coming. She said Rapid City had just been pounded with hail. But we explained we HAD to get out of the house for a bit and enjoy a brief walk before the storms arrived.
And brief it was...
We were about 3 blocks from our house when an extraordinary wind hit us. Dust and branches were blowing all over the place. I told Lee that I didn't like how the sky was looking. And, as if cued by my statement, the spooky tornado alarms immediately began sounding their eery whistle. Now, if you've never lived in Chadron, Nebraska then you don't know what I mean by alarms. We have several huge speaker systems set up all around our town. They go off whenever there's a fire, whenever there's an accident (or 911 call), and whenever it's noon or 9:30 (mid-day and curfew). And apparently they also sound when there's a tornado (we had just never heard that specific alarm before). When my parents were here a couple years ago, they had the pleasure of hearing this alarm and my father described it as sounding like very fast wind on a window screen. Good description!
My feet began running before I could think about what to do and as we rounded the next block we saw others fleeing for home, as well. I asked a neighbor biking up the street if this was a tornado alarm and he said, "I think so!"
Well, needless to say, we made it home safely (or I probably wouldn't be writing this post). But we hung out in the basement with the kids for a while until the alarms stopped sounding. Whew! Looks like we braved yet another close call.
or sad. 
Oh how I love our Saturdays!
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Every day at about 4:45pm my kids go wild. Why, you ask? Because "DADDY'S HOME!!!!" We can usually hear him coming up the basement door stairs and our children are suddenly flying to the kitchen to be the first to give hugs and kisses. 
Brayla had just freshly decorated her bicycle with baby doll clothing, gift ribbon, and barbie doll pants (don't ask). Brighton was sitting in his bouncy seat, just smiling and enjoying the beautiful spring day. And Brandon, besides pretending to be daddy, was greeting our new neighbor as she unloaded her car into her new house. 
Millers, but I will always enjoy this special time of the day and not just because I finally have a moment to visit the bathroom while I hand off three excited babies to their daddy. Nope, I love it for the fact that we do have a daddy that comes home every day to see his family. And he enjoys the snuggles and kisses and finds the energy to make sure all of his babies know how much he loves them. We are oh so blessed! 
I’m a joyful woman who wears many hats, including: wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, granddaughter, cousin, friend, teacher, librarian, and follower of Christ. I’m also an ex-public school teacher turned SAHM turned unschooling mom. Our little midwestern family is tremendously grateful for the liberties we have to home school, homebirth, breastfeed, co-sleep, baby wear, non-circ, delay or not vaccinate, and utilize non-punitive, grace-based discipline. We work hard to keep up with the ins and outs of healthy living. It was painful, but we took the red pill and still continue to find new truths daily. I teach just a few short-courses for the local college each year, read and write book reviews and blog on the side. And if you must know, I have an undergrad in music (BA), a masters in library science (MLS), and a masters in educational technology (MEd).
