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I am so lucky that I can have both professional discussions on the state of healthcare in this country, as well as heart-to-heart talks about pregnancy, parenting, breastfeeding and sex with my fantastic, intelligent, articulate and well-respected midwife. She is an amazing woman with a big heart and a sharp mind, and here are her thoughts on the illusion of choice that is presented to a new mother. Unless she is savvy and well-informed, she is probably not getting the most well-rounded advice. (Although anyone who is paying a premium for a private obstetrician is probably thinking that she is getting the best care she’s paying for). Here’s what Joy said:
Informed Choice: a privilege but NOT a right
Notes: A short and technical explanation on evidence based medicine from the Cochrane Collaboration.
and another article on birth choices from Blue Milk:
Every healthcare provider, whether they work in a hospital or community setting, has to think about how to best assist people heal themselves. These decisions can have a small or large impact: from saving someone’s life to making someone’s day easier or safer.
This book questions how those decisions are made; and how medical technology, legislation and education can hinder or help. It is also, in a sense, a self-help book – with ideas on how every person who seeks medical care can help their doctors (and other healthcare professionals) make better judgements together.
I couldn’t help but be sucked in by the stories presented, and I loved the optimistic tone in the background. Even though there was critique of the education and healthcare systems, there was no judgemental, negative finger-pointing going on. Just stories, or parables (if you like), with a message to challenge the way you see things, open your mind and listen: really listen to what people are trying to tell you.
I am only halfway through, but am loving this book, and how it has made me rethink the way I approach the people/clients/patients I deal with everyday. It’s a welcome distraction from thinking day and night about pregnancy/ baby stuff, and makes me proud to do the work I do.
I chanced upon this prayer in the middle of an absorbing book:
Dear universe
Having been created in your image
I am full of unrealised potential
The realisation of which
Depends upon my acknowledgement of the potential,
My recognition of all the gifts with which I am endowed,
And my exploitation of the opportunities that lie open before me.
Please help me to rise to meet the challenge.
Let me use these gifts for the benefit of all people.
for all that I am
and all that I can be
I thank you.
from How Doctors Think by J. Groopman.
(some words have been substituted or omitted)
Here are some books I’ve found very useful. Keep in mind that I already know more than most about the medical side of childbirth, so there are no basic “What to Expect..” type books on this list. You might want to check them out at the library before you buy.
Better Birth: the definitive guide to childbirth – by Lareen Newman and Heather Hancock
This book has been an absolute godsend. The whole time I was reading it I kept thinking about the people I could give this book to. It is written by Australians, and contains inspiring women’s birth stories and a great list of Australian resources. It also happens to be very easy to read!
I found it on sale at Dymocks Melbourne store for $15 (RRP $29.95) and may even grab a few more copies for any of my friends who are becoming new parents.
Highly recommended. You can read an article by the author here.
Faulkner Fox: Dispatches from a Not-So-Perfect Life
A sassy, brilliant account of the realities of motherhood. I found so many light-hearted, fluffy or pessimistic motherhood books that this one really stood out. I enjoyed it so much I wanted to start the book again straight after I finished reading.
This review stood out:
“I devoured this book. Passionate, angry, honest and intelligent, the antidote to What to Expect When You’re Expecting, it’s one every pregnant or planning-to-be-pregnant woman with a modicum of ambition would do well to read.”
–Cathi Hanauer, editor of The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood and Marriage.
Excerpts and more from the author’s website.
The Nappy Bag Book (9th edition, 2008 – 2009)
I never realised how useful this book could be, but I have been looking through it every time I think: “I need this, but where in Oz will I get it?” or “Wonder who I can contact about …” It has up-to-date phone unmbers for care providers, and a fantastic list of resources and information. LOVE it.
I found this one at the op shop for $6. (yayy!) There are discount vouchers in the back. They last until March 2009 but I’m not inspired to use them. Previous editions are probably just as useful, so grab one at the second hand shop if you can get your hands on it.
La Leche League: The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
I got this as a “work” book, when I was dealing with alot of new mothers. It’s been a very helpful, useful book to have around, and I’ve lent it to 2 new mums who have loved the supportive and calm tone in the book. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s a La Leche League book – they are not militant about breastfeeding at all, just very supportive. It’s all about doing what feels right to you, which is why I like this book so much.
Or, how anal and tight-arsed I can be.
Everyone knows about my Divacup. If you use tampons and have a strong stomach, make tampon tea and pour it on the garden. At least it’s some form of recycling! BTW, when I tried to find a link to tampon tea (I found the tip in one of my gardening books), the Google results were downright odd: from drinking the tea, to how to improve your plant’s aura, to odd sex-sounding topics (I wasn’t curious enough to check).
We also have a worm farm. No more guilt trip from throwing away fruit & veg that we forget to eat! If you have a smaller home, try a Bokashi bucket.
More about worm farming, Part 3:
- A useful collection of articles.
- Appropedia summary of typical designs and common problems.
- (read part one & two)
Guerilla recycling – I reuse my envelopes by:
- Using them as notepaper. Their thickness makes them the ideal shopping list. Write on them and throw them in your bag, it won’t get lost.
- After they are all scribbled on, I cut the corners and use them as bookmarks. Especially handy in cookbooks or reference books when you can scribble little notes in the corner. Doesn’t hurt the book and makes recipes very easy to find. Especially if you colour code them with a highlighter.
- THEN (and only then) they are dumped in our recycling bin. By this point, they’ve been used 3 times.
Other great ideas:
- Turning off the lights and assorted power points (obsessively). If you think it’s a waste of time, read this mental_floss article on power vampires.
- Using grey water on our garden. I try to time my laundry and showers for the hot days so that I can water the same evening. We rarely end up using mains water for our plants.
- Op shop shopping. Buying used rescues products from becoming landfill and spreads the environmental cost of manufacture and freight. Almost all of my clothing is from op shops. Once I’m done with my clothes I pass them on to a friend or sell it on eBay, recycling them once again.
Links and thinks:
Para los dos fisicos guapos en mi vida… (que entienden espanol). Que les disfrutes! Aunque solo uno lean mi blog….
A New Year’s gift for all the nerds out there.
Some brain teasers from 2 Reasons Physics Doesn’t Work in the Real World via Mental Floss magazine blog.
You might think physicists have it all figured out. But the fact is, some of the best theories just don’t work anywhere but on the blackboard.
1. Science Friction: F = ma (Force = Mass x Acceleration)
Sure, this fundamental equation of physics is simple to memorize, but it’s virtually useless in real life. In fact, engineers almost never use it. The reason? Friction—that awful complication that keeps physics demonstrations from working. So, how do you calculate friction? If you ask an engineer, he’ll give you an empirical co-efficient that he measured from previous experiments.
But the truth of it is that physics is useless for most everyday phenomena.
That’s why physicists like to confine their research to atoms, nuclei, and space. In these realms, friction is either absent or it behaves according to simple rules. Anything that doesn’t obey simple rules in physics is labeled “engineering,” “chemistry,” or something else.
2. Light Concerns
The speed of light is about 186,284 miles per second. But when light goes through air or glass, it slows down. Einstein assumed when he made his theory of general relativity that everyone would know he was referring to the speed of light in a vacuum. Because light is thought to have no mass, it’ll always move at this fundamental speed. The concern here, though, is that if we discover someday that light has a very small but non-zero rest mass, then even light would never travel at the speed of light. Who knows? If that happens, we might have to rename the fundamental speed the Einstein velocity.
I came across this excellent article that was getting a fair amount of news coverage from denialism blog : Obesity and Overweight – what do these new studies really mean? via The Pump Handle:
In fact, it’s unfortunate that more attention was not paid to the second article… That is the effect of obesity on quality of life and disability(2), which consistent with previous studies (3), shows that while much of the mortality risk from hypertension and comorbidity can be controlled, other morbidities reduce quality of life significantly. They also show the longer you are overweight, the more morbidity you can look forward too.
The pump handle also has an excellent post about microwave popcorn lung:
popping microwave butter flavor popcorn releases a sizable number of chemicals into the air, although not necessarily in large amounts. These chemicals include diacetyl, the primary chemical implicated in the bronchiolitis obliterans (“popcorn lung”) cases seen in popcorn and flavor factories.
Lastly, and most importantly, BBC News – Australians named worst emitters:
… while US power plants emit the most CO2, releasing 2.5bn tonnes into the atmosphere each year, Australian power stations are the least efficient on a per capita basis, with emissions of 10 tonnes, compared with the US’s 8.2 tonnes. China’s power sector emits the second-highest total amount of carbon dioxide, pumping 2.4bn tonnes of the gas into the atmosphere annually. However, its emissions are only one fifth of Australia’s when measured on a per capita basis.
Food for thought indeed.
At the risk of sounding cheesy, it’s hard for me to forget how lucky I am everyday. With a loving, happy relationship and rewarding (if very stressful) work, I’m comfortable and happy most of the time.
A good friend has been traveling, and is shocked when poverty is on show in the streets. I used to look at it everyday in Mexico, walking past abandoned, crumbling, half-demolished buildings or people living on the streets was commonplace.
However, as a resident in one of the “posh” suburbs here, I’m forgetting how precious my lifestyle and civil liberty is. Today, I read this article on the mental state of Russia:
THE practice of “punitive psychiatry”, perfected by Nikita Khrushchev in the aftermath of Stalin’s Great Terror as a palatable way of dealing with political dissidents, was thought to have been buried with the Soviet Union.
But the treatment of one critic of the Putin Government has raised fears among Russia’s human rights community that the Kremlin is preparing to incarcerate a new generation of dissidents in asylums.
… continue reading here
And then came this one, about the police investigation of a Thai professor who asked his students:
“Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society? How should it adapt to a democratic system? Please debate.”
In Thailand, one of the few countries where laws protecting royalty are strictly enforced, it is a taboo question which could land the 46-year-old philosophy lecturer in jail.
Yikes.
Thank goodness for my intelligent husband & friends (that’s all of you out there) for ensuring my continued awareness of the state of the world we live in.
And don’t forget to count your blessings!
I came across this very interesting article in the Observer. Mostly, I agree with the author’s conclusion that “there are worse things than adultery”. Like verbal, emotional or physical abuse of your spouse or children. And of course, with posting this, I’m not implying that anyone I know is being unfaithful, nor am I downplaying the effect of infidelity. I am merely providing food for thought.
And for the record, if you know me, you will know how happy I am with my marriage, and how far away cheating is from my mind!
Here’s a few choice bits that I cut out from the article, you can read the rest here.
