N.J. Orders HIV Testing For Pregnant Women - washingtonpost.com

N.J. Orders HIV Testing For Pregnant Women - washingtonpost.com: "NEW YORK, Dec. 27 -- New Jersey this week launched one of the most ambitious efforts in the country to control mother-to-child transmission of HIV, making screening tests mandatory for all pregnant women in the state beginning next year.

A bill signed into law Wednesday by the Senate president, Richard J. Codey, in his capacity as acting governor, requires two tests for pregnant women, at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester, unless the mother objects. If the mother objects, the objection will be noted and the newborn will then be tested for HIV, with the only exception being on religious grounds. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive."

The Makers of Modern Schooling - John Taylor Gatto

The Makers of Modern Schooling - John Taylor Gatto

The makers of modern schooling weren't at all who we think.

55 Reasons for Having a Home Birth

The Birth Centre for homebirth, waterbirth and natural birth

1. Homebirths have been proven to be the safest way to give birth. 2. Homebirth is a cost effective way of having private professional care. 3. There is less chance of getting an infection in the home situation than in a hospital. 4. Homebirths have a 5% ceasaerean section rate as compared to a 50% ceasaerean section rate in hospitals. 5. Woman are more likely to give birth without tears and cuts at home. Some doctors cut women routinely in hospital. 6. Breast feeding is more successful in a home environment. 7. Breast milk normally comes in on day two compared to the average day three or four in hospital. 8. There is a decreased rate of vacuum extractions and forceps deliveries at home compared with the 20% rate in hospitals. 9. Fathers are not pressurised to attend the birth. In hospital they are expected to attend, and told what to do and where to stand. 10. Fathers can be totally involved and can help deliver the baby at a homebirth. 11. A homebirth is an art and a science. A hospital birth is a science. 12. Homebirth is a private, romantic affair. In hospital it is a public occasion. 13. At home women take responsibility and make choices for themselves. In hospital women have things done to them. 14. At home the woman can choose the most comfortable position for labour and birth. In hospital women are told how to give birth 99% of the time. 15. At home things can be arranged the way you want them with music, friends in attendance, candles and a beautiful atmosphere. In hospital everyone gives birth in labour ward 1 or 2 which look scary, cold and clinical. 16. At home you look at pleasant things like flowers, pictures and objects of beauty. In hospital you see the clock, the stirrups and medical equipment. 17. Routine intervention is unheard of at home, because each woman is an individual and needs different things at different times. In hospitals, routine procedures are done by doctors with a "standing order". 18. Private hospitals are expensive. 19. In government hospitals, space is insufficient and they are often overcrowded. 20. Homebirth midwives are trained and experienced. Training hospitals are training and experiencing. 21. At home births, qualified people attend to you constantly. In hospital one midwife may supervise 2 or 3 births simultaneously. 22. At home, a woman gives birth instinctively, listening to her body. In hospital, a woman gives birth listening to her doctor. 23. At homebirths, natural remedies are used but medication is available if needed. In hospital medication is given even if not needed. 24. Born at home, a baby is treated with the utmost respect and looked upon as a human being with feelings. It is not subjected to routine injections, suctioning and painful measures on the first day. There are no bright lights and rough handling. 25. Babies tend to lose less weight when born at home. 26. There is a decreased amount of postnatal depression after a homebirth. 27. A homebirth offers personalised care throughout the pregnancy, labour, birth and aftercare with people you have chosen and trust. You will not have the shock of a doctor, locum or midwife that you have never met before. 28. A homebirth is not only a setting but also a philosophy. A hospital birth is a setting. 29. There is less intervention at a homebirth such as routine shaving or clipping of hair, enema, internals, amniotomy, epesiotomy, intravenous therapy, epidural and continuous foetal monitoring. 30. Inductions are not done at home. Instead, natural remedies are used which have no side effects. 31. At a homebirth, women are encouraged to eat and drink frequently. In hospital, food is not allowed and an intravenous drip is given to maintain fluid levels. 32. If a hospital is required, outside emergencies receive more attention than do hospital emergencies. Midwives liase continuously with doctors throughout the labour. 33. Midwives who do homebirths are experienced and equipped to deal with emergencies. In hospital, the doctor still has to be called in if the midwife is inexperienced. 34. At a homebirth, there is no exhausting travel to hospital when in labour, and there is no exhausting changing from bed to bed as in hospital. 35. A woman who gives birth at home has more confidence and an increased psychological boost. 36. Water births are easily accessible in the home birth situation. 37. A homebirth involves the spiritual, emotional, social, physical, mental, romantic, medical, religious and natural aspects. In hospital the emphasis is on the physical and medical. 38. Babies experience less foetal distress in the homebirth situation because fewer drugs are used and women eat, drink and remain active. 39. At a homebirth, a professional midwife visits for 5 days after the the birth. Women are usually discharged after 3 days from hospital, and expected to be able to manage on their own. 40. Midwives specialise in natural birth, while doctors specialise in high risks and abnormal births. 41. Women at home often choose the supported squat as it opens the pelvis by 30% more than lying on your back. 42. At a homebirth, you are free to choose who you want to be present while in hospital you can only have one person. 43. At a homebirth, your children can be with you while at a hospital birth they cannot. 44. There is no chance that your baby will be swapped or stolen with a homebirth. In a hospital there is always that risk. 45. Homebirth babies don't have to cry to prove they're alive. Hospital babies are made to cry. 46. At a homebirth, various kinds of pain relief will be used before resorting to an epidural. In a private hospital birth, epidurals are encouraged if you are making unusual birth noises. 47. At a homebirth, sunshine and frequent feeding at the breast treats jaundice babies adequately. When phototherapy is needed, it can be administered at home. Jaundice occcurs frequently in hospital because of assisted deliveries and medication. The baby will be treated immediately under the phototherapy lights which can be traumatic for baby and mother. 48. The only time a homebirth is not safe, is when there is a high risk. This is what hospitals are for. 49. At a homebirth, the use of alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, homeopathy and acupuncture is acceptable. In hosptitals, the use of alternative therapies are often regarded with suspicion or scepticism. 50. At homebirths, there is a reduced amount of bleeding after birth because the cord is cut only after it stops pulsating and the placenta is born passively. In hospital, the cord is cut straight away and the placenta is artificially extracted, increasing the risk of haemorrhage. 51. Homebirth is a continuation within the family. A hospital birth separates families for up to three days. 52. Home affords the mother ample sleep and rest after birth. There are no visiting hours, nurses performing 4 hourly observations or other crying babies to keep her awake. 53. Husbands have plenty to do at a homebirth and in no way feel superfluous. Hospitals often make husbands feel like privileged bystanders. 54. A homebirth baby is born into a natural environment, the one in which he will be living. Hospital birth necessitates transport to the home environment. 55. At home, a woman may labour and give birth in the same place. In the hospital, she must be transferred to a different room to give birth.
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The Birth Centre • 6 Abercorn, 15 Sycamore Road, Glenwood, Durban 4001 • Tel/Fax 031-2055876 • Email mwbirth1@mweb.co.za All information is subject to copyrights (Midwife Tracy Roake © 2001)

U.S.'s low rank for newborns' survival - Kids and parenting- msnbc.com

U.S.'s low rank for newborns' survival - Kids and parenting- msnbc.com: "Nation ranks near bottom among modern nations, better only than Latvia"

Are doctors the #1 cause of death in the U.S.?

DEATH BY The Practice of MEDICINE

Quaid Twins not Alone in Wrong Injections

ABC News: video

World Class Hospital Overdoses Dennis Quaid's Twin Infants

'No excuse for Dennis Quaid twin overdose' | NEWS.com.au Entertainment:

November 22, 2007

"DENNIS Quaid's newborn twins remain fighting for their lives today after being given a drug overdose in hospital - a gaffe officials now admit is easily preventable. Quaid's children Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, who were born earlier this month, were accidentally given 10,000-unit doses of the anti-coagulant Heparin at LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre - 1000 times the normal amount.

The hospital's medical chief Michael Langberg today admitted the error was 'preventable' and involved 'a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures'. 'There is no excuse for that to occur,' he said, adding the babies 'indicated no adverse effects from the higher concentration of Heparin or from the temporary abnormal clotting function. Doctors continue to monitor the patients.'

He has also apologised to Quaid and his wife Kimberley Buffington."

Childbirth Timeline

We've Come a Long Way, Babies - a history of childbirth Mothering - Find Articles

Reverencing Our Husbands

reverencing our husbands

Obstetric death of West Boca woman

Jurors weigh verdict in malpractice trial involving death of West Boca woman -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com:

Special's lawyers agree that her death was catastrophic. But it was entirely preventable, attorney Andrew Yaffa said.

"Susan Special's water had broken about a month early and doctors decided she should have a Caesarean because her baby was in the breech position. "

Kaiser doctor, accused of negligence, remains on the job

Kaiser doctor, accused of negligence, remains on the job - Los Angeles Times

Don't Sell Your Sisters Down the River - by Jan Tritten

Editorial: Don't Sell Your Sisters Down the River - by Jan Tritten

The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) has always been an inclusive organization, a place for all midwives. MANA's whole foundation has been one of acceptance and unity. I was shocked, therefore, when I heard that the board had proposed that only licensed, certified professional midwives (CPMs) or certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) could be voting members. This proposal reeks of a witch hunt and will cause even worse separation in our already divided movement.

Midwifery was bruised and nearly broken in New York state in the mid-1990s when direct entry and lay midwives were outlawed, then replaced, by only those midwives coming out of an "approved" direct entry program. Is MANA planning this scene for the whole country? Will MANA members simply stand by in complicity? If so, another midwifery uprising will occur, bringing forth a new surge of lay midwives who are willing to serve women in a way that we can't. The flow of the river is carrying us in a direction we will soon be unable to resist. Midwifery will be back where it was several years ago, with a strong, illegal lay midwifery movement acting as a powerful undercurrent. The midwives of MANA will represent the status quo. We will have colluded with the patriarchal medical establishment so that it is against the law to practice anything the whim of medicine decides midwives should or shouldn't do. We will be limited soon by protocols that will hamstring us into practicing watered-down midwifery and will rob women of their birthing rights.

One of the many reasons hospital birth is dangerous.

Staph fatalities may exceed AIDS deaths - Yahoo! News:

"Most cases were life-threatening bloodstream infections. However, about 10 percent involved so-called flesh-eating disease, according to the study led by researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 988 reported deaths among infected people in the study, for a rate of 6.3 per 100,000. That would translate to 18,650 deaths annually, although the researchers don't know if MRSA was the cause in all cases.

If these deaths all were related to staph infections, the total would exceed other better-known causes of death including AIDS — which killed an estimated 17,011 Americans in 2005 — said Dr. Elizabeth Bancroft of the Los Angeles County Health Department, the editorial author."

Nude Examinations

RestoringHealthcare.pdf

Nude examinations

Currently in vogue in western medicine is the routine giving of breast exams, pelvic exams, and rectal exams. As is often done by male doctors on female patients, women who are other men’s wives. The doctor says, “Take off your clothes,” and the client does. Do you give that kind of authority to anyone else? Some cultures in the world only allow female doctors to treat female patients. That strikes me as a wise course of action.

I am shocked by the callousness of some doctors and nurses in hospitals concerning nudity. Once, while making a pastoral hospital visit on a parishioner scheduled for surgery, I was shocked to walk through the open door of her room to find her face down on her bed, completely nude, the curtain around her bed and the door to her room both wide open for any to see. She had been prepped for surgery and left by the nurses, fully exposed and vulnerable to anyone
walking by. I immediately turned on my heel and left without her being embarrassed at knowing that I was even there. Is this kind of callous disregard for modesty and dignity what the Lord has ordained? Would YOU leave a person under your care exposed and naked and vulnerable for all to see? It would never cross my mind to do such a thing! Would it yours? What kind of crudeness and evil allows one to behave in such an ungodly manner?

Restoring Healthcare as a Ministry

RestoringHealthcare.pdf

Hospital childbirth is one unnecessary “surgery.”

The following information is summarized from Healing in Zion, pages 66-67: Hospital childbirth is extremely dangerous. The United States has 9.7 deaths per thousand births; Japan has 4.4; Sweden has 5.7. The U.S. ranks twenty-second in the world in maternal and neonatal safety, ranking below every other developed nation. The safest place is Holland, and there a large percentage of babies are born at home. Worldwide, doctors handle only two out of ten attended
births. Midwives oversee the rest.

Dr. Robert Mendelsohn recites the following statistics concerning
the dangers of giving birth in a hospital: “Babies born in U.S. hospitals are six times more likely to suffer distress during labor and delivery, eight times more likely to get caught in the birth canal, four times more likely to need resuscitation, four times more likely to become infected, and thirty times more likely to be permanently injured. Their mothers are three times more likely to hemorrhage.” (Heretic, p. 91)
Dr. Murray Enkin, professor emeritus of obstetrics at Canada’s McMaster University in Ontario for ten years, researched studies published in sixty major scientific journals on childbearing. In addition,
eighteen thousand obstetricians were interviewed to obtain unpublished data. The research revealed that “Much of what our doctors and hospitals do for pregnancy and birth is wrong, expensive
and dangerous...[They] routinely employ methods of care that not only offer little benefit to mother or infant, but actually can be dangerous to them.”
He evaluated 285 procedures and policies of care, and only 100 of them were rated as successful and safe. Sixty were rated as dangerous,
and should be abandoned; eighty-eight had unknown effect; thirty-seven were possibly effective.
Home birth is definitely safer than going to a U.S. hospital. A hospital turns what God designed to be a natural process into a
surgical experience. Only 5% of births have complications which may require a doctor. Because of this 5%, any woman planning on home childbirth should have a standby plan to go to a hospital if an emergency develops.

Stories that make you cringe

Some doctors go wild while you are under their control. While writing this book, I downloaded the following article off the internet from Associated Press Writer Verena Dobnik (January 21, 2000).
“NEW YORK - A doctor delivered a baby by Caesarean section, then used his scalpel to carve his initials into the mother’s abdomen.... Liana Gredz is now suing the 61-year-old obstetrician for $5 million, saying, the 3-by-1 1/2-inch “A” and “Z” ‘makes me feel like a branded animal.’
“According to the Daily News, witnesses in the operating room said that after delivering Gedz’s daughter on Sept. 7, Zarkin announced: ‘I did such a beautiful job, I’ll initial it.’
“‘I felt like I was raped,’ she told the Daily News. And now, with the scar that has turned into a welt, ‘I’m so embarrassed
to get undressed in front of my husband because I have another man’s initials on my stomach.’
“The couple is also suing Beth Israel Medical Center, where the child was delivered.”

A Godly Woman

A Godly Woman

Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - Breastfeeding Protects Against Breast Cancer

Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - Breastfeeding Protects Against Breast Cancer: "The take-home message is simple. Dr. Ursin says, 'Evidence suggests that women who have children after age 25 can reduce their risk of breast cancer by choosing to breastfeed.'"

CYTOTEC - Video

WSMV.com - Video: "(4/27/07) - A drug that is given to patients at many Nashville hospitals to induce labor is specifically labeled not to be used on pregnant women."

Become a Leader - trustbirth.com

Become a Leader - trustbirth.com

As you may already know, I am working on a book entitled Coming Home to Birth. In addition to many of your stories, I will tell my own story of how I went from being a naive, uneducated compliant patient one moment, whose only preparation had been to read Having A Baby Can Be A Scream, by Joan Rivers ——— to being a bold, determined, and very vocal woman who threatened physical harm to my obstetrician if he came close to me with anything sharper than a piece of paper. That change did not happen over months or days or weeks but within a minute. Here is the epiphany: That did not come from me, but from within me. It was already there. We are born trusting. We have to be taught not to. Trust is part of the package. We are obviously designed to give birth. We must have been born to TRUST BIRTH. We have been taught to ignore what we already know. We have been taught that birth is scary and must be left to the experts. We have been taught a pack of lies. -Carla Hartley

Birth Experiences: The Best Day of My Life

Birth Experiences: The Best Day of My Life:

"...each time I hope and pray that the woman I assist will find the path to homebirth..."

"'I am part of the homebirth movement because......... because we are too short, too tall, too thin, too small of foot, too old, too young, too wide, and our pelvises are too narrow, too small, too untried, or unproven or the wrong shape, and our uteruses are too scarred, or pointing the wrong way, or we are too multiparous, too fertile, too infertile, too female, too small, too big, too fat, too emotional, too detached, too strong, too weak, too intelligent, too well designed to birth, not designed well enough, and our vaginas are too scarred, too unproven, not stretchy enough or too stretchy, and we're too inconvenient, too unpredictable, too demanding, too informed, too loud, too messy, and our bodies labour too long or not long enough, and our cervices don't dilate 1cm an hour on command and because when you hire a surgeon you get surgery and hospitals are for sick people� and so for these and many other reasons, we are part of the homebirth movement.' - Janet Fraser"