I haven’t done a Thoughts for Thursday post in a while but that certainly doesn’t mean I haven’t come across wonderful, meaningful and enlightening articles!
March has been busy on the blog! I’ve joined the March Marriage Challenge along with a bunch of other fabulous bloggers and have really enjoyed reading their perspectives on marriage. Please support them by stopping by and reading their stories and advice!
I’ve also had two stories featured on BlogHer. The first was my 5 Clothing Essentials for Nursing Moms and the second, just a few days ago was my post on whether kids should be at the birth of siblings which was prompted by a Facebook debate I got embroiled in.
I knew the post would have mixed reactions as the Facebook discussion did. But I was surprised that between my original post and the post on BlogHer, nearly all the comments fell into one of three categories 1) I couldn’t therefore it’s irrelevant, 2) I’ve done it and it’s beautiful or 3) No way! I was in no way surprised to get negative comments, but some of them did catch me off guard, specifically the ones posted on BlogHer’s Facebook link:
I fully realize many of the commenters probably didn’t even read the article, but what their comments show me is the ignorance and misconceptions surrounding birth in our society. (And I for the life of me can not figure out how witnessing a sibling’s birth and playing outside are remotely correlated!)
Aside from my own business going on, though, there were many other articles that caught my attention in the past few weeks.
This story is probably the most poignant and still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. An 18 month old baby girl was rescued this week from her mother’s car that had run off the road and landed upside down in an icy river in Utah. Her mother passed away but the little girl survived because her car seat kept her suspended above the frigid water for 14 hours. Nothing speaks more to the importance of proper car seat use. Had that little girl not been snugly harnessed in, the story would have ended differently. Had the seat belt not been properly installed in the car (which only 1/4 of child car seats in the US are used properly), she probably wouldn’t be here. This little girl and her story are the reason I take the time to properly secure ALL of my children every time we get in the car, no matter how far or how long. Get more information on car seat safety here.
On a more positive note, I was so excited to see that The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently released a document which outlines the “future of obstetric care” which includes using midwives for the care of low-risk pregnancies as well as accredited birth centers as a suitable option. But what is really fantastic is that ACOG has finally acknowledged the competency of certified, licensed and professional midwives whereas in the past they have only recognized Nurse Midwives. I see this as a huge step in recognizing not only what is safest and best for women, but in giving women more safe choices in how they birth. You can read the full report, an explanation by Lamaze international or the original article I found.
And then there was this cute little gem: If Our Sons Were Treated Like Our Daughters.
