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Fertile Mertile has an announcement.........I AM PREGNANT!!!!!! I guess we have good genes because it didn't take much practice :) I guess you are not really suppose to announce it to the whole world, but everybody that knows me knows I can't be quiet about much. I am around 6 weeks and see the Doctor on Monday. As far as I know I am due in May around the 15th. I think its a girl and/or possibly twins but that is another story to blog about a different day when I don't feel like poop like I do right now. I will fill ya in later. Chris and I have been doing research and we have talked a lot about natural birth. I am totally sold! I have always been interested in midwives and having a non-traditional hospital birth since my high school child development class.

Wait, if you get offended easy, you might not want to read this. I am going to vent! Growing up I never really questioned birthing practices. I thought, you get married, get pregnant, see the doctor, when your in labor... go to the hospital, have a baby, Because that is what you do. However, being exposed to the medical profession and treating people from all walks of life, with all types of problems, I started to form some thoughts and opinions I didn't know that I would have. It all started with my carpal tunnel experience. I am not ripping on Dr's here, I am ripping on America's economical and medical politics, because that is all it is. When you go to Med school, you learn to diagnose and treat problems. You don't fix them,you medicate them or mask the symptoms basically. You have a cold, you get cold medicine, If you have an allergic reaction, you probably get a shot or antihistamine. If you have carpal tunnel, you might get PT but most likely a cortisone shot or surgery. YOU DON'T get someone telling you how to stretch, how to eat healthy to eliminate colds, how to prevent carpal tunnel by having good posture etc. They don't tell you to ice and or self treat, they write you a Rx and you are on your way. The American society wants results, now. We are lazy, if your flat....get a boob job, if your fat....get lypo right? We don't want to work, we don't want to do Physical Therapy, we want surgery Friday and back to work on Tuesday. That is how I feel about childbirth in a way.

I have heard so many horror stories of C-sections and baby shows where women are screaming and freaking out about how horrible it is, not to mention that fact that nearly every woman I know is adamant about getting an epidural. In some places, like New York, women pick a day, have a c-section and a tummy tuck in the same day!! I don't know what is more scary to me, actually giving birth naturally or getting an epidural, pitocin and possibly an unneeded c-section and having my uterus contracting like a back spasm and body being controlled by drugs that numb my motherly senses that God has given me so that I can actually enjoy the process and honor it is to give birth and to bond with my baby.

Bottom line is that there is a lot of unnecessary interventions used that don't need to be and shouldn't be, and if you have your baby in a place where those are not available the better it is for you and the baby. You can bond better, you will bounce back physically faster and the unknown risks that labor meds potentially have on your kids are prevented. Every generation back to the 20s has proven that certain types of meds given during labor have had negative and sometimes devastating effects on kids. What if it is causing the ADD, ADHD and other problems so many kids have lately? The rate of c-sections since 1996 has gone up 47% in America and it is not because American Women are at higher risk. It is because it is convenient for hospital staff and quicker as well, it makes money, opens beds up because moms are in and out fast. I don't want a fast food birthing experience. I want a reservation at a nice restaurant. When I get the birthing center, I want my Dr and Nurses to know my name because they KNOW me, not because they read it in my chart. I want Enya playing in the background, I want to hold my baby and start breastfeeding right away, I don't want nurses getting me up and telling me what to do with my baby and how and when to do it. I want to choices, and I want a caregiver who will listen to me for the next nine months, agree with my plan and be responsible to follow through with exactly what we discussed.

It is not like I want to have my baby in the barn like the cows, I am not that crazy! It is not about being cool or different. I truly believe, that our bodies have been designed to deal with birth naturally, we have hormones and big hips for a reason. Modern medicine is wonderful, but a lot of the time it is misused and boundaries get overstepped to often. The U.S. has the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in the whole world according to 2007 statistics. If we are so with it, and our drugs and practices are the best they can be for mom and baby why do we loose more moms and babies that most 3rd world countries? That is a statistic they don't hang at The OB's office. I wonder why? It would probably be bad for business I'm assuming. Needless to say, my Doctor is going to get pounded with questions on Monday.

If you are interested in any of this rent The business of Being Born the Documentary by Ricki Lake from 2007. It will blow your mind! I have seen it 3x's, Chris watched it with me last night and doesn't want me to have the baby at the hospital at all. My sister Kim was all about epidurals and drugs which is what she had with all 4 kids and when she saw this movie with me a while back and after talking with her for a while she said, if I could have healthy pregnancies and do it again, I would do it this way. Anyway... that is the end of my soap box. Sorry for making you tired.