We survived the holidays!

So the chaos has settled and we are getting back into our "normal" routine. We had a full house for about 3 weeks and slowly our guests are leaving and things are returning to our usual. Enrique has started school again, Roberto is back to work and Carola and Jose are back to school. Dad leaves this Thursday and Roberto is going on a business trip to Africa. For those of you who don't know, I am dancing again. It seems like another life when I used to dance back in Venezuela. My formal training was none (except for the few years of ballet when I was a wee one) but I really loved it and so I decided to give ballroom dance a try... well, I have found myself! I am so happy to be dancing again. I have lost weight, feel energetic and vibrant and confident. I will be competing in a local dance competition February 10th. so wish me luck! I have included some pictures from our holiday adventures and from my first public appearance dancing . Enjoy!

Cesarean rate continues to rise to all new record high

The CDC has released the latest birth data for 2006, showing the cesarean rate to be at 31.1%. More than a third of babies in the United States are born via major abdominal surgery. How could have women's bodies have devolved such in 20 years that we are no longer capable of birthing our bodies? Perhaps the medicalization of birth has been such that we are now desensitized to the fact that the US ranks last among developed nations for neonatal mortality. We spend more than any country in the world on maternal healthcare and our stats are embarrassing. We do not practice evidence-based medicine, as we continue to rely on technology that has NOT been proven to be beneficial, rather has been connected to an increased cesarean rate and complications, such as continuous fetal monitoring, epidural, ultrasound as a tool to predict birth weight, etc. The maternal mortality rate is up and the cesarean rate as well, this begs the question, are they connected? The number of cases of women dying as a result of complications from a cesarean this year has been alarming. I really hope all women sit and think about what this continual rise means for the safety of the women and babies born in this country. What will the rate look like for our daughters if we stand by and stay silent? Women in this country are continually pressured and coerced into unnecessary cesareans, without knowing and understanding the full set of risks they take on as a result of this decision. Women are bombarded by images of painful, suffering connected to childbirth. The images are that of emergency situations and despair, women wailing in pain. Yet, for many women who experience natural childbirth this is not the case. Many women think a cesarean is a way to circumvent that agonizing experience of labor, with no regard to the very real increased risks to mother and baby. They also do not realize how this decision will forever impact their future births. The increased risk for placental complications in subsequent pregnancies, NICU stays for the baby, risks of infection, etc. The possibility of birthing vaginally after a cesarean is being constantly trampled by the medical community and as a result of this after the first cut women are led to believe the only "safe" and "logical" option is a repeat cesarean. Women are constantly reminded of the risk of uterine rupture for those with a previous cesarean and told they risk the life of their baby. The risk of uterine rupture for a woman with a previous cesarean, who is NOT INDUCED and/or AUGMENTED, is approximately 0.5%. Yet, the medical community, starting with the obstetrical trade union, ACOG, continuously tell women to opt for a RCS to avoid it, without telling them the risk for cesarean complications is higher. A first time mother has a higher chance of experiencing an emergency during childbirth, than a VBAC mother does of experiencing a uterine rupture. With each subsequent cesarean the risk of death to the mother increases as well as the risk of complications for the babies. To read the latest data from the CDC go here http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_07.pdf
To see ICAN's response to the data and to learn more about childbirth, the risks of cesarean sections, etc. please go to http://ican-online.net

Nativity Exhibit

We went to a nativity exhibit at the local LDS church and it was wonderful. They had nativity scenes from all over the world, beautiful music, a crafts room for kids and even a wonderful opportunity to take a nativity picture as a family. This was a great way to kick off the holiday season and a great family activity. Here is our picture and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Enrique makes the best shepherd ever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am so grateful for the wonderful family I have. My husband and son make my life feel complete and I am honored to be on this journey with them. They are my witnesses and my reason. There is no way to accurately express what I feel when I look into my partner's eyes and see the movie of our life in them. I am grateful for my parents and my siblings and for their undying support in everything I do, and everything I am. They made me the person I am today. I am grateful for my in-laws and for how much they love us and especially Enrique. He is never short on love! I am grateful for how they made me a part of their family and how they embraced me from the very beginning. I am grateful for my friends near and far and for how they have become like family to us; Andrew and Maren, Janelle and Stephen, Kathy and Pedro, Ramon and Gaby, Lori and Ross, Laura, and Brian, Shelley, Dana, Julio, Jose A., etc. etc. etc. We appreciate all of you. I am grateful for ICAN and the immense amount of love, support and strength that comes from them. I am honored to serve on their Board of Directors. I am grateful for all the women who fight for a better maternal-child healthcare system for all of us and the generations to come. I am grateful that I live in a state where women have the option to birth how and where they want, attended by who they want. Our choices could be better, but we're working on that. I am grateful that I live in a country where I have rights and freedoms. I am grateful for all the wonderful blessings God has bestowed upon me and my family. I am grateful for my life... with all its ups and downs, it has been a great ride and I look forward to the adventures for next year!

Dare to Believe!

Please check out this video. It is very near and dear to my heart. For all the women who were told their bodies could not birth vaginally. Do your own research, don't take anyone's word for it, not even your care provider's, and... Dare to Believe!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=roFVkDV45MM

WHMC won't ban VBACs...they just won't make it safe for women to birth there!

West Houston Medical Center has decided to "no longer guarantee an anesthesiologist will be immediately available during vaginal birth after Caesareans, or VBACs, as recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists." So they aren't banning VBACs... are they?
Let's ask ourselves some questions, shall we?
So what happens to the woman who has never had a cesarean and comes to WHMC in labor at 2am and has a placental abruption and needs to have an immediate emergency c-section? Will they just tell her "sorry for your luck we don't offer 24 hour anesthesia"? Or do they just offer it to the women they consider worthy of it? So some women do deserve proper care and some don't? It is not about being an ethical medical professional and offering women the best care available, it is about deciding FOR women what they consider the RISK WORTH TAKING is. They would rather risk a woman and her baby's well-being in major abdominal surgery which carries much higher risks for complications than the 0.5% UR rate for VBACs, but not risk getting sued or not losing their precious sleep by having to actually God forbid BE with the laboring woman and actually ATTEND her. I see, WHMC would rather coerce women into a cesarean section and up their risk of infection, blood clots, hemorrhage and subsequent risks for further pregnancies (such as placenta previa, accreta, stillborn birth, etc) so they are not inconvenienced. I am sure these are the same doctors who recommend women deliver in a hospital rather than at home because it is "safer". I ask myself, safer for whom? Ok ladies now you know, go sign up for your cesarean and you can put your baby at risk for a long NICU stay, yourself at risk of infection or another host of complications including in some extreme cases death, and that way docs at WHMC won't be inconvenienced by your desire (IT IS OUR CHOICE) to do what is best for your baby. And the mother's who have had no prior cesareans will either have to risk not having anesthesia immediately available in an emergency or they probably won't get to that point because their doctors will try and convince them before they deliver that they "need" a c-section. Is it any wonder the US c-section rate is 30%? No wonder the US ranks among the worst for developed nations for neonatal mortality. It kind of makes you want to question any trend in the US with respect to childbirth. I just hope women start to question what they are told and not just assume that if their doctor recommends it is indeed in their best interest. Please women empower yourselves and take birth back. Before you decide a VBAC is too risky for you, go research it yourself, don't just take your care provider's word. Especially not if your provider attends at WHMC!

For more information on the risks of cesarean sections, VBACs and more please visit:
www.ican-online.net
www.childbirthconnection.org
http://pushedbirth.com/

Rage against the Machine!

If you are like me you know the media in this country is controlled by editors and producers and news directors and is thus not unbiased; but you at least come to expect a certain level of depth to what is published in national newspapers. Well not so in the case of the Houston Chronicle.

This publication recently ran a story entitled ‘Once a Caesarean, always a Caesarean’ by Alexis Grant and I found it to be biased and superficial. She decided not to include the information provided by ICAN regarding the most dangerous risks of cesarean sections and the increased rate of complications with each subsequent surgery, even though they were factual and well-documented. Every subsequent cesarean ups the risk of placenta previa, accreta, stillborn birth and even death of the mother. The United States’ poor rating among the developed nations of the world in neonatal mortality would lead one to want to question further any trend in this country with regards to childbirth.

The choice of words was inflammatory with regards to the description of a uterine rupture as the "busting of a c-section scar". Not to mention it is not even representative of the reality of uterine rupture. UR can happen to women who have never had a cesarean section, in fact most URs in women with previous cesareans occur away from the scar. There was no mention of how VBAC bans eliminate patients' rights, given that the only possible outcome of a pregnancy is a birth. If women are not "allowed" a vaginal birth, they are essentially being coerced into major abdominal surgery. Vaginal birth after cesarean should not be depicted as an elective procedure. Hospital administrators and insurance companies should not have the power to decide what risks are worth taking for each and every woman who births in a particular facility. So, the 0.5% risk of UR for VBAC is too much to handle, yet they are offering amniocentesis right and left, which by the way carries a much higher risk of miscarriage.
The fact that in great part the article used as source doctor opinion and not research-based evidence shows a lack of depth to the article as well as an easy pass to West Houston Medical Center. Hmm, let's do an article about why a group of OBs wants to ban VBACs and base our conclusions on what said doctors say and then use their trade union's recommendations and treat them as law. In fact the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has absolutely no academic standing and carries no legislative or regulatory power; it's just the "OB club". Heck, they still have not come out against the use of Cytotec for induction when the FDA and the pharmaceuticals have time and time again, in light of all the catastrophic results from it.
When discussing ACOG’s recommendation, it was quoted as being from 2004, when in fact it was a 1999 recommendation that was revised in wording in 2004. This would lead one to question why a recommendation that has been around for 8 years is suddenly the cause of such radical course of action. Not only that, but one has to wonder why a hospital that is not “safe enough” for a VBAC is safe for any other mother, given that childbirth complications could arise at any moment in any woman. I expected a health reporter and the Houston Chronicle as a respected newspaper, to fully research a topic and probe for factual information before publishing a piece that clearly is about something critical to Houston women. What a disappointment and I can only imagine the celebration among the West Houston Medical Center docs when they read it. Good job Alexis, you just helped them trample Houston women's patient rights. Hope you don't show up in labor at WHMC.