First Ricky Lake made a movie, the Business of Being Born, inspired by her own homebirth and actor John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and his wife Nichole had a baby at home and People magazine wrote a nice blurb about it.

Then ACOG (the American College of Obs and Gyns) felt so threatened they issued a press release reiterating their "long-standing opposition to home births" in which they state:

"Childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what's fashionable, trendy, or the latest cause célèbre. Despite the rosy picture painted by home birth advocates, a seemingly normal labor and delivery can quickly become life threatening for both the mother and baby."

Apparently childbirth decisions should only be influenced by celebrities choosing planned cesareans, despite that being a much riskier option.--read more >>

When I first laid eyes on my positive pregnancy test, I was (and am still, in spirit) a reprobate caffeine addict. Coffee had played a major role in my life, and I can honestly say that I would be a very different person without it. In spite of a naturally sleepy disposition, my several coffees a day have fueled the accomplishment of a molecular biology Ph.D., a rich side life as a semi-professional musician, and a lively avocation in amateur bellydance.--read more >>

My daughter is 20 months old, and I have recently recovered from a breast infection. The clinical term is mastitis, but I tend to shy away from calling it that. Growing up on a farm, I have heard the term mastitis applied all to often to members of the bovine species. Maybe I'm a bit neurotic, but I cannot rid myself of the cow/mastitis connection. If I were to find myself uttering the words, "I have mastitis," I would feel like I was calling myself a cow! No matter what you call it, though, a breast infection, for lack of better word, sucks.--read more >>

For years I had followed the progress of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and of the hospital’s founder, Dr. Catherine Hamlin. I first read about Dr. Hamlin in Ms. magazine, saw her on "The Oprah Show," pored through her autobiography in two days and now, miraculously, here I was speeding through the streets of Addis Ababa on my way to meet her. I was excited, but more than that I was scared. Dizzy from the heat, dust and the sudden jolting of the taxi, I was hanging on for dear life. The taxi driver must have noticed my discomfort.--read more >>

She estimates her age to be 72, although no record of her birth exists. She has only a few gray hairs on her head and her face is noticeably free of wrinkles, despite a lifetime of hard work. In her village Danyanish Mekonnen, mother of five grown children, holds the respected title of awaledje. Awaledje is the Amharic word for traditional birth attendant, a woman who, without any formal training, assists other women in giving birth. In nearly every village one woman stands out among the rest as the awaledje and is seen as an authority on childbirth and infant care.--read more >>

The stigma still exists.

The saying remains among black folks that we do not see therapists.

"Chile only needs a kick in the ass. That should straighten her up!"

"There's nothing wrong with her. Should just quit acting a fool!"

There is a saying that black folks do not have nervous breakdowns, that we are not entitled to have them. Our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers did not have them, neither should we. Look at our history. They have been though more than you ever will.

Bullshit.--read more >>