Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám

I love happy births. What a great labor, even if mom didn't always agree. The nurse felt a scar on her cervix from an earlier surgery and broke it up which helped her fly from 4 to 10 in under three hours. I'm so glad that the nurse knew to do that. I had recently read an article addressing cervical scars.
The article on cervical scar tissue can be found here

Sweet Deception

My doula client called me yesterday to let me know how her prenatal visit went on Wednesday. We are expecting her baby any day now so when she called I thought she was going to tell me that she was in labor. In labor she was not. She told me that her midwifes at the Health Department wanted her to go to the hospital on Sunday for an induction because of "borderline high blood sugar."
"Blood sugar?" I repeated to her over the phone again and again. "You're sure they said blood sugar and not blood pressure." She assured me that they said blood sugar. In all my readings I have never come across anything that would suggest that borderline high blood sugar would be a reason for an induction. The reasoning behind the induction, I suspected, was a fear that the baby was going to be too big, a condition called macrosomia. Interesting, I thought, when several highly respected authors, including Marsden Wagner and Jennifer Block, stated that macrosomia is not a justification for induction.
To make sure I wasn't crazy I called my midwife friend for her opinion. "NOT true!" was her first reaction when I told her about the reasoning for the induction. She assured me that I wasn't crazy and that she would never recommend a mom for an induction because of suspected macrosomia, especially not with a diagnosis of "BORDERLINE" high blood sugar. Ultrasounds can be off by as much as two pounds and even the most trained provider cannot predict a baby's birth weight.
When I talk my clients about induction I always want them to ask why the induction is being recommended. If everything is OK with mom and baby? Then why are we inducing? We all know that inductions more than double the chance of the birth being a surgical delivery, so the risk of surgery should always be considered when discussing induction. Does the risk of surgery outweight the risk of staying pregnant? I do not believe that macrosomia should ever be deemed a justification for induction or elective surgical delivery. If the baby is too big the only way we will know that is if the labor starts on its own and then the baby doesn't fit. Period. There is no guarantee when predicting birth weight and weight alone does not mean the baby cannot be born vaginally. A ten pound and a six pound baby could have the same head circumference and if the ten pounder is in a more favorable position than they may be easier to birth. I feel that most inductions are orchestrated cesareans. An obstetrical Münchausen by proxy used by the doctors and medwives to prove their superior medical knowledge in predicting that the baby "just couldn't be born vaginally, see I told you so."
We need to trust birth, trust our bodies and trust our babies. My client is angry that her midwifes would recommend such an invasive procedure. She wants her baby to be born in her own time, on her own terms. This afternoon I'm going to go visit my client, not to give her advice on natural methods for induction, but to support her in her decision not to be induced on Sunday. My midwife friend wants to come by and meet with her as well to assure her that she can birth her baby vaginally. I'm so happy to have such a wonderful friend devoted to honoring babies, respecting women and trusting birth! The world needs more motherbaby friendly midwifes!!!!!

Defining Love

I find this quote very true and meaningful.

"We all have the potential to fall in love a thousand times in our lifetime. It's easy. The first girl I ever loved was someone I knew in sixth grade. Her name was Missy; we talked about horses. The last girl I love will be someone I haven't even met yet, probably. They all count. But there are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. These are the most important people in your life, and you’ll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years. But there’s still one more tier to all this; there is always one person you love who becomes that definition. It usually happens retrospectively, but it happens eventually. This is the person who unknowingly sets the template for what you will always love about other people, even if some of these loveable qualities are self-destructive and unreasonable. The person who defines your understanding of love is not inherently different than anyone else, and they’re often just the person you happen to meet the first time you really, really, want to love someone. But that person still wins. They win, and you lose. Because for the rest of your life, they will control how you feel about everyone else."
— Chuck Klosterman (Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story)

De-flowerd

I love the idea of fresh cut flowers. I've always wanted to be one of those people that has fresh cut flowers in their kitchen or on their dinner table. One who picks up a bunch of fresh hydrangea or sunflowers while shopping for organic lettuce and empanadas at the Saturday Morning Market. However, I'm not one of those people. Instead, I'm one of those people who has fresh fungi growing in their fruit bowl and in the crisper drawer of their fridge.
Now, if I only had this uterus vase...

Lonely Planet

I could not fall asleep last night so I was surfing the televisions channels for something interesting to watch. To my surprise I came across my long lost love: Ian Wright from Lonely Planet! Lonely Planet was my favorite TV show when I was growing up! I was so excited to find him on the TV last night. The show was called Globe Trekker and he was on an adventure in Iran. When I was younger, I would always watch Lonely Planet and they showed two episodes back to back, one hosted by Ian and the other hosted by Justine Shapiro. I always thought those two should get married and host Lonely Planet together as they went on exciting adventures in exotic countries. No doubt, my love of other countries and cultures came from watching Lonely Planet. It was such a great show!

Baby love!

Yesterday afternoon was the first class in the six week 'Baby Love' series hosted by The Pregnancy Center of Saint Petersburg. It was a great class for young women to get together and talk about their pregnancy, ways to alleviate stress, and relaxation techniques. All but one woman was having her first baby. The other woman was on baby six! It was so nice to talk to her about all of her previous birth experiences! There were even a couple of fathers and support people in attendance!
I cannot wait until next weeks class! I feel so fortunate to get to be a part of this class and be of service to young people as they transition into parenthood!

What are your healthcare career goals? Why?

All Children's Hospital offers a scholarship to its employees and children of its employees every year. The two page application requires an essay explaining your healthcare career goals. I feel like my essay says little to someone who is familiar with midwifery but explains a lot about the fundamental model of midwifery care to the average citizen!
My moms says I have horrible luck, so here's to trying!