Soapbox

I had to do a research paper and a presentation for my English class this semester and I decided to write about cesarean sections. A couple of years ago I read an article about the rise in cesarean rates and it seemed to be a good fit for this paper since it was a topic I was interested in and something that I could find good, scholarly sources for.

So I'm gonna get on my soapbox now and share what I've learned in this process:

(trust me, this is the least disturbing photo of a cesarean one can find!)

There are too many cesareans being done in this country. There are many legitimate reasons for needing one, but the rate has risen dramatically in recent years- 1 in 3 women (31.1%) now are having a cesarean. We have set a new record each year since the year 2000. Keep in mind that the WHO has gathered a lot of info and stated that a cesarean rate of 5-15% of babies born is preferred. If the cesarean rate is below 5%, more women die. And if the cesarean rate is above 15% (and that number is a little high) more women die.

A cesarean is major surgery with a lot of recovery time- weeks compared to days. The surgeon has to slice through five layers to reach the baby!

There's multiple reasons for the rise- there are more older moms, obese moms (obesity doubles your chance of needing a cesarean) and multiple births then there were, all of which raises the need for cesareans, but doctors and hospitals play a role as well. More births are being induced then in years past, and inducement is linked to cesareans. Inducement leads to pain which leads to an epidural which leads to "failure to progress" which leads to a cesarean. Many hospital practices (and I could go on about this) lead to cesareans, from poor birthing positions to continuous fetal monitoring.

Doctors of course are going to prefer a scheduled, predictable birth to one that could happen anytime. A study shows that more cesareans occur during Mon-Fri, 9-5 hours instead of being more spread around as they should be for an emergency. Since WWII, obstetricians have replaced general practitioners for attending births and of course a surgeon is more likely to use surgery to solve a problem. Many doctors today are afraid of litigation and are more likely to do cesareans if they are afraid overall of being sued. Many doctors get paid more if they perform a cesarean, so there's a financial incentive too.

And yes, the rate of requested cesareans has increased too. Many women think they're "Too Posh to Push." Or they're more concerned over vaginal tone. Or they're influenced by celebrities who get scheduled cesareans. Who knows.

As expected, there's a lot of risks to women. Birth has its risks, but cesareans are far riskier. You are 2-7 times more likely to die than a woman having vaginal birth. And there's all the risks associated with surgery: increased blood loss, reaction to anesthesia, complications, infection, damage to internal organs, etc. A woman having a cesarean is much more likely to have to be re-hospitalized. Not to mention you are having to recover from major surgery while caring for a newborn!

Women who have had a cesarean are at a greater risk of problems down the road: involuntary infertility, ectopic pregnancies, etc and their future babies are more likely to be of low birth weight and have other issues.

So yes, we know that surgery is bad, but here's the kicker- when you have a cesarean, bonding with your baby is interrupted. When a woman gives vaginal birth, she releases oxytocin, which is a powerful bonding hormone that helps bond with her baby. Cesareans don't produce that same effect and it can be harder to bond with your baby. Babies born vaginally get endorphins that help them to be alert and ready to feed, cesarean babies don't get those endorphins. Between that and the delay in which the mom can attempt to breastfeed (it takes time to be sewn back up and be awake enough to hold your baby), many cesarean babies don't breastfeed or don't breastfeed very well.

Of course there are risks for the baby: risk of being born premature (it's still hard to determine exactly how old a baby is in utero), risk of being cut during the procedure, high risk of breathing problems (and breathing problems are a leading factor in infant deaths) because fluids aren't being squished out during labor, and cesarean babies are twice as likely to get asthma.

Another reason to cut down on cesareans is the cost. Cesareans cost much more than a vaginal birth and costs even more if there are complications. Cesarean section is the most common surgical procedure performed on women. It's the 2nd highest procedure billed to Medicaid and the 4th highest procedure billed to private insurances. Presumably if we lowered the number of unnecessary cesareans, health care might not be so expensive. Other countries have a system of using midwives for most births (much less expensive) and using surgeons when needed, which not only saves money but lives. The US spends by far the most on birth, but we're not seeing good results. It's rather embarrassing how many other countries have better infant and maternal mortality rates than we do. We're not getting what we pay for.

So cesareans are necessary and lifesaving, but more needs to be done to educate women about their options when giving birth. Reducing the rate of cesareans would be beneficial to mothers, babies, families, and us all. I think this topic naturally leads into other topics in childbirth. Overall, I think that women and doctors need to have faith restored in what a woman's body can do.

For my own unofficial data, I have a midwife friend who births a lot of babies- and no more than 3% of her babies need to be born by cesarean. I also have a friend who is a nurse working Labor & Delivery in a hospital and she says that she has to constantly fight against doctors pushing cesareans on women. Since writing this paper, I have realized that a really large percentage of my child-bearing friends have had a cesarean (reasons unknown) which fits with the data.

My young friend in class read my paper and said she was scared to have kids, (but hey, there are a lot of kids needing adoption)which is not the goal of my paper. The goal was to inform and empower women with some knowledge. I'm sure it's kindof odd to be so interested in this topic when I've never given birth, but I think it's good stuff to know.

Two sources I recommend:

The book Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must be Fixed to put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner

and the documentary The Business of Being Born (really great and touching)

I'll get off my soapbox now (steps down).

Antiquin'

In case you can't tell by now, I LOVE old stuff. I really do. In most cases, I prefer it to new:

• I don't see me living in a new house...I would so much rather fix up an older home
• I know the words to every oldie
• I love looking at old photos
• Most of my collections are of outdated things

I'm a little torn at times...I think I belonged in the early 1900's (love the clothes, houses, artwork, photography) yet I am glad that I live in the here and now (indoor plumbing, Internet, AC, 4 wheel drive, TV, the ability to vote, etc). I really love antiquing/junking/flea marketing cause it's so much fun to find a treasure and there's so many interesting things to see. It's fun to find something unique to express yourself with. What's nice about being in the East is that there are a LOT of little shops to explore! Stuff is generally cheaper out here than out West as well. This weekend, as a celebration of getting through last week, I stopped at one of my favorite antique stores and then on Saturday I wandered the local flea market and the junk store. I wish I'd had more money with me, but I still had fun.

The other thing about shopping this way is that it's green...you're reusing stuff instead of needing new stuff produced. And you're keeping it out of landfills!

Sometime soon I'll have to show pics of what I actually collect, as I have several (too many! ha!) collections.

Here's the Whistle Stop in Corry, one of my faves:

I love re-purposing items...I think this fireplace insert would look fab on a wall!

On a side note, this was upstairs in the junk store...just had to take a pic of this FUNKY flower-shaped display...who made that and how??? Unexpected!

Most of the time I prefer the natural aged patina, I find it to be interesting looking- like this chair (it looked cooler in person than in my photo). I mean, you couldn't replicate this if you tried:

So what did I come away with this weekend? While I wished I'd had more pocket $ at the flea market (saw a great pink depression glass cake plate for cheap), I came away with this vintage tabletop aqua ironing board for $2! I love junk stores. Someday I want an aqua kitchen, and this is flat so storage for it in the mean time isn't too big an issue.

It's ever so slightly greener than the aqua metal doll highchair that I acquired a couple of months ago (I'm such a sucker for this color!).

It was funny cause when I went to pay for my ironing board, the shopkeeper was all "those make really great ironing boards" and I'm like "I just bought it for the color"!

I guess that's an added bonus for my $2 investment!

Finals

Next week is finals week, so why is this week so rough? All of my teachers decided to make everything due this week (!) so life is easier for them. At least all I really have to do next week is pick my projects/papers back up. Deadlines came up faster then I realized and so I've been bookin' this week.

Here's why I've gotten no sleep this week:

Six papers for Art Ed

Two research papers for English

Powerpoint presentation

Math test

Final drawing assignment

Two sculpture projects

and a partridge in a pear tree....

I will be really glad when this week is all over and I can get some sleep! I'm starting to turn into a zombie! Mmmm...brains....

When this week is over I'm going to reward myself by doing something that I want to do! I haven't decided if its scrapping or sewing yet.

Let's just say I'm getting really excited for summer!

Palmyra

Last Saturday was our Stake temple trip to Palmyra. It was a really long but really nice day- the most peace I've had in awhile. I even survived 7 hours (roundtrip) in a car with my mother...with no radio! We had a nice day together. It's hard to get up there but definitely worth it. Here's some photos of the day:

I hear they have nice gardens here:

Me in front of the temple- the flowers were starting to bloom!

And the sign:

Lovely tulips!

After our session we went to "downtown" Palmyra (it's a little town!) and went to the church bookstore and got some good Chinese food at a hole-in-the-wall place across the street from the bookstore...not expecting that in Palmyra! A man eating at the restaurant struck up a nice conversation with us, saying that he had taken lessons from the missionaries in the past and even attended sacrament meeting. I hope he goes back.

Two doors down from the bookstore is the Grandin Press, where the Book of Mormon was first published. I've only seen the outside, it hasn't been open when we've been there:

Palmyra has a cute downtown:

Okay, so now for my funny story:

When you enter the temple, you have to check in since they have a list of names of people that are expected since it is such a small temple. After we told the lady our names, another temple worker came up to me and asked if I was the bride!!!

It was a little mortifying to have to say "Umm..no" to that question. I realize that I brought that upon myself since I was carrying a white garment bag (my dress gets wrinkled easily), but still! I was not the only one to come in with a white garment bag, but the other ladies were older so they assumed it was me. Apparently the one day I show up with a white garment bag is the one day that a wedding was taking place. I don't imagine that many couples get married at Palmyra because it is so very, very small. I'm generally not a claustrophobic person but I was a bit unnerved that day with all those people crammed into itty bitty spaces.

Hopefully one day I can answer "Yes" to that question, but not now. I am trying to be positive about that experience, instead of being depressed that I had to say no, I am going to be happy that someone thought I could be a bride.

I'll file this away in my "Funny Stories" file...

Oh and on a random note, we got this book from the church bookstore and it's very good:



It's about the Beans, who were called on a mission in the early 1900's to settle in Palmyra, buy up the church landmarks (farmers owned the Hill Cumorah) and build up the kingdom. They experienced extreme persecution for many years but eventually were welcomed and cherished in the area. Their five year mission became 25 years in the area and they were instrumental in bringing the church back in this area- no Mormons had lived in Palmyra for 80 years. The book is written by their grandson. Anyhow, I really recommend it- they're really a wonderful example of sacrifice and faith. I didn't know much about the church getting re-established in Palmyra and it was really interesting to learn about.

Hoppy Easter

We had a busy weekend since Easter fell on my sister's birthday, making it a double whammy. On Friday we went out as a family to celebrate. We saw "Race to Witch Mountain" which was pretty entertaining on several levels (where does The Rock get a Haz-Mat suit that fits??). What was funny was that we didn't even realize that it was Hannah Montannah's opening weekend til we got to the theatre and it was overrun with little girls! They were everywhere! Too funny.


Afterwards, we ate at Steak n' Shake, Laura's been wanting to go for quite awhile now. For those not familiar, it has a '50s theme to it. They had these funny statues, I had to take a pic with them! I mean, Elvis rocks out with The Blues Brothers all the time, right?


On Saturday we dyed eggs as a family. Something that makes us a little unique is that we dye eggs using onion skins (no, they don't taste onion-y) in addition to dying eggs with food coloring. The tradition is traced back to my grandpa's mother and my mom did them as a child and we enjoy it too. Few people have heard of such a thing, but it creates a neat marbled pattern. I taught Sister Heaton how to do this when we were missionaries together back in the day.

First, you wrap your unboiled egg in dry onion skins (our friend in the restaurant biz saved us a bunch of skins):

and then you wrap it in a piece of paper towel or napkin, rubberbanding it securely.

Place bundles in large pot, fill with water and boil as you normally would for hardboiled eggs. You can add extra onion skins in the pot if you like. If you place unbundled eggs in the pot, they'll turn a pretty, solid brown.

When done, drain and unwrap your bundles.

and you get a pretty marbled egg!

Some turn out reddish, others more yellow. The bundling/rubber bands create the marbling. You can also use leaves and flowers as "masks" to create a non-dyed area in the shape of your leaf or whatever.

We also have fun dying colored eggs. It's fun to color with a crayon on them beforehand, but this year I just did plain colors. I did create a nice aqua egg by using both green and blue dyes.


My dad is such a ham:



and he likes to make funny eggs like this one- "Do Not Open Til Christmas":

And we fast-forward to Sunday morning. The Easter bunny was good to us, I got some ladybug stickers and a good haul of chocolate.

I spoke in Sacrament Mtg about Easter, also gave a lesson in YW about the Priesthood. Busy, but good time at church. Afterwards, we came home and hunted for eggs. Now, when you're in a family like mine where there are no little kids, it can be a little awkward when it comes to holidays and such. This year Mom and Dad hid the real eggs in the house for us "kids" and Laura and I hid plastic eggs outside for them to find.

I upped the ammo by hiding some plastic camo eggs! They blended in quite well!

Laura and I tied at the indoor hunt- 12 apiece:

and I think Mom won the hunt outside:

Dad had fun, too, though he was cold:

Another Chaney tradition is to play "Points and Butts" where you compete to see who has the toughest egg:

And oh yeah, it was Laura's birthday. Later on we had brownies and presents and what not, but while it was still light outside, Laura had to follow the string wrapped all over the yard to find her present:

which lead her to our storage container....
and a new bike was inside!

Laura is notorious for getting presents that I want...I didn't mind her getting a new bike but aqua is my color! And I appreciate retro styling way more than she does!! Hey!!!

All part of being a sister, huh? ;)

I'll leave with a quote from my talk:

"Jesus Christ is the very personification of truth and light, of life and love, of beauty and goodness. Ultimately, he is beyond human description; yet if there is one word that perhaps best describes him and his life, works, and death, it would be love. All that he did, including his death on the cross, was done out of love. He suffered and died for us because he loves us. He calls us to come unto him, knowing that in doing so we will learn of the Father who sent him. In Nephi’s words, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him” (2 Ne. 26:24). The gift of his life extends to all, for he “inviteth … all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … and all are alike unto God” (2 Ne. 26:33).


~Elder Alexander B. Morrison


The resurrection gives one a lot of hope in this life, I'm very thankful for Christ's sacrifice for me and my knowledge of the gospel. We had a really nice weekend as a family.

Awww...cute

I was going through some old photos (to embarrass people on Facebook! ha!) and thought I'd share these here as well. I was really cute as a kid, what happened?

My love affair with Tigger was born at this moment in 1986 when I got him as a present:

I got She-Ra for Christmas! Woo-hoo! (Yes I am a child of the '80s!):



I think my dad is the bigger pill....

At a Primary Daddy-Daughter party, 1986:

My birthday in Alaska, 1986...Dad was working all summer there so we came up and visited him. I have not been to Alaska since, I think it's about time! I think my shirt looks like something Napoleon Dynamite would wear!

Me and Laura- I couldn't resist (note the b&w tv in the background):

And another Alaska pic...I did NOT like seeing those live King crabs, yet Laura was unfazed! I thought they were going to eat my toes so I climbed Dad's frame- do ya blame me?

Yes, I was cute, I'll admit it. Laura was too. I love looking at old photos, I pore over them all the time. One of these days I'll get good scans of them. It's on my to-do list.

SNOW!

So it's April and has been gorgeous weather and then it turned nasty overnight- we got like four inches and it's still snowing! Poor daffodils:

Edinboro:

And on a random note, my drawing made it on the display wall! Hooray! We had to use greyscale markers to illustrate frames from a movie. I chose "Charade", a fabulous movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. It's one of my faves and stylish so it was good for this assignment:

The latest assignment for drawing was a funny one- you had to make a drawing with a non-art material. It was interesting to see everyone's creativity as they used colored bubbles, tea bags, pepto-bismol, fruit punch, candle wax, Nyquil, lip gloss, etc to make an image. Some were so-so, some were pretty good. I chose to use white frosting, I used one of those doo-hickeys with the different icing tips to make my image (based on the daffodils in my last post). My class and teacher liked it better than I did, I was kindof drawing a blank about what to use that would be different from everyone else.

I thought a baking sheet would be better than paper. It's a "non-art" material! Stay tuned for more art stuff!

Spring

"Drip, drip, drop little April shower, Beating a tune as you fall all around...

Drip, drip, drop little April shower, what can compare to your beautiful sound..."

Well, it was raining a lot, our creek was a bit high (and it got real muddy everywhere):
But then it was very nice weather this weekend. Laura and I went to a breakfast for the YSA before the Saturday AM session of conference, that was fun. Sunday's weather was absolutely gorgous, we hung out at church all day watching conference and eating inbetween sessions. The messages were wonderful as always. Laura and I played with the Primary kids in between sessions- playing "Red Light Green Light" is not so great in heels! I have fun being a big kid. Can't you tell by now? ;)

We have daffodils! But just when you think Spring might really be here, we get a storm watch for tonight- 3 to 5 inches expected! Oh no! And it's supposed to be cold til Thursday. Bummer.

Spring, won't you stay?

Creativity

I mentioned in October that I really liked the talk given by President Uchtdorf about women and creativity and thought I'd share some of his comments. I really do feel happier when I am using talents and creating. I also liked the point that it's not just about painting or singing or something, but creating a peaceful, happy atmosphere in your home:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. . ". . . Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn't it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy (see 2 Nephi 2:25). Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things."

"If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next."You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us (see D&C 46:11–12). The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."What you create doesn't have to be perfect. . . . Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside."If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 118–19