MORGAN'S SMORGASBORD

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Mom is trying to get more photos up of ME ME ME but she says the internet is too slow sometimes and then uses some naughty words that I wouldn’t be allowed to say if I could talk. She tries each day to download photos onto this blog; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. So please be patient, I’ll have more photos and videos of me up soon!

Baby Group

On Wednesdays I hang with my hommies and their mommies at a baby group. About 10 of us meet together every week to play and drool all over each others' play mats. Some of us are American, some are European, some are mixed Tanzanian/European. There is one baby who is in an even bigger percentile than me (!), another with lots and lots of thick black hair, and one baby born 8 weeks early. Almost all of them are boys, except for 2 girls, and all but one baby already has a big brother/sister at home. 4 babies were born the same week as me (Nov 25, 2009) and a few others that are a couple months older than I am. Each week the group meets at a different house and the mommies mostly sit around and gossip. Soon we'll put up some photos of one group meeting at my house – check out my toys! I don’t actually like the toys all that much, but my friends sure used them all.

3 Months Old and Hefty!

I had my 3-month birthday on Feb 25! The doc says I’m a healthy big boy at 15.5lbs and 26 inches long (90^th and 95^th percentiles according to CDC charts) – I like my doctor, I just smile and giggle at her, until, of course, she sticks me with those icky immunizations. I don’t like those so much, but mom always holds me close and gives me a little snack from the tap to make it all better J I fell asleep immediately after my doc appointment, and so far haven’t had any adverse reactions to the vaccines!

Tonight I’m having a special night with just me and my babysitter, Gertrude. I’m sure G has lots of distracting games for me, but I’ll probably just clonk out on her. The ‘rents are off to a business dinner (borrrriinnggg) at Mommy’s fave restaurant, Osaka.

Monday, February 23, 2009

VBAC - Vaginal Birth After C-section

Mommy's using Morgan's blog to promote her own agenda here..........

Imagine my shock after being told (during labor) that I was a good candidate to have a 2nd child VBAC (vaginally) and then learning that the hospital will not allow doctors to perform VBACs because of insurance costs associated with the practice. This, despite the fact that a vaginal birth is, after a caesarean and in all cases, significantly less risky than major abdominal surgery. I will be forced to submit to surgery regardless of whether or not it is necessary. I am livid and heartbroken.

The VBAC issue is resurfacing now as the c-section rate in the USA tops over 30%. That means nearly 1 in 3 women will have a c-section. This is the highest in the developed world - we may then either assume that there is something very wrong with American women, or very wrong with our health care system. My strong suspicion is that there is something wrong with the system, not me.

Time Magazine and the Huffington Post are the latest media spots to address the question of why the c-section rate is so high and the VBAC rate so low in the USA. Consumer Reports investigations concluded that US hospitals are over-using medical technology in childbirth and lists a c-section at #3 of "12 surgeries you may be better off without." I encourage all women to read the articles and develop your own opinion. It is not the first time the medical community in the USA has taken a natural evolutionary process, birth, and in a genuine attempt to help out, has managed to twist the entire process such that women are at greater risk of complications. Ask your great-grandmothers, grandmothers, and mothers - who remembers their births as a happy, joyful experience. Or who remembers a painful, frightening process? So far, I've found that women who are in full control of their birthing experience, whether in hospital with epidural, c-section, or going natural at home, they are the ones who love their births. Women who have been directed like servants and treated as if they were sick speak of their births as though they are battle stories.

This isn't how it should be. My c-section was a necessary, life saving procedure. But the incidence of my affliction, placental abruption, is less than 10%-15%. What is happening to the rest of the women in the USA being operated on? We are not all ill or afflicted. If I am safer, healthier and happier to deliver vaginally, I should be supported in hospital. Not cut open.

Time Magazine -

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665,00.html

Huffington Post (same author) -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-paul/childbirth-without-choice_b_168652.html

Consumer Reports -

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/free-highlights/manage-your-health/needless_surgeries.htm

and

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/medical-conditions-treatments/pregnancy-childbirth/maternity-care/overview/maternity-care.htm