It is state law in Texas that every newborn should be screened for 27 different genetic disorders.  These are serious diseases that can affect your child’s physical and mental health for a lifetime.  There is no doubt in my mind that there have been many lives saved by this screening.  According to the state’s  2007 statistics, out of 400,000 babies who were screened, there were about 600 infants diagnosed with a problem.  That’s about 1-2 babies per 1000.   Of course, every parent has the right to refuse this screening by signing a waiver.

The screening is done by applying the baby’s blood (which has DNA in it) to 5 small circles on special filter paper.  The state lab punches out the circles and analyzes the blood for these 27 disorders.  So then, what happens to the samples after that?  They are not destroyed in the process of testing.  I have a very healthy suspicion of the state and its motives.  I don’t trust them any further than I can throw them.  Alas, my suspicion has been confirmed… Read the rest of this entry »

Now that I’ve got this blog pretty much the way I want it (for now ) I’m planning on putting up some informative articles on topics that many women seem to have questions about. I’ve decided to start with water birth. I know of no hospitals in my area (northeast Texas) that offer water as an option during labor or birth. I know several midwives who do, however!

Water birth is gaining in popularity due, in part, to a man named Michel Odent. He ran a maternity clinic attached to a hospital in Pithiviers, France and he found that women in labor were often drawn to a warm pool of water when it was made available to them. It seemed to ease discomfort, enhance relaxation, and decrease the length of labor. Though he never actually encouraged women to give birth in the water, it happened sometimes and was not a huge deal.
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I got my CPM certificate in the mail today! I’m now a Certified Professional Midwife.

What is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM)?

“A Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is an independent practitioner who has met the standards for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and is qualified to provide the Midwives Model of Care. The NARM certification process recognizes multiple routes of entry into midwifery and includes verification of knowledge and skills and the successful completion of both a Written Examination and Skills Assessment. The CPM credential requires training in out-of-hospital settings.”

(from the NARM website)

I have been struggling and learning all day about PHP, databases, MySQL and how to set this thing up.  And I have succeeded in creating a blog on my website!

Now I just need to tweak it a little here and there to make it look the way I want and it will be up and running.

More to come!