Keep on moving

Lots and lots have been happening lately. Chris and I moved out of our cute little apartment. We went from a 2 bedroom spacious apartment, to a one bedroom basement apartment at my parents. They have graciously allowed us to move in free while Chris and I are going through school.
The apartment has been renovated (thanks to a black mold issue in the kitchen) and looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Most everything fits and over all the apartment is quite comfortable.
So this is where my big life switch takes place. Last October, I quite a job that payed well and I was pretty happy with. I worked at a pediatric office that I had been working at for 3 years. They started requiring all employees receive the flu shot and I wasn't all that comfortable with getting it. So that was it. I have been out of work since. I figured that with the amazing offer to live rent free and no job, I might as well start school in what I have always wanted to do. I started Midwifery school. I registered at Midwives College of Utah and was accepted two weeks later. Two weeks after that, I started school. Life has been a complete whirlwind for me and my life is transforming in leaps and bounds. I just keep submitting to the universe and trusting that the Divine has a plan for me.
I am now two weeks into the program and realising how much I struggles with school growing up and how I wish I had a larger attention span. My AMAZING husband is going through school and working to support both of us while I am transitioning and remembering how to do the school thing again.
Overall I fell so blessed and I look forward to more enlightenment, friends, opportunities and bliss in the future!!!

Being reborn in the rain

I gave a lesson in relief society about baptism and being reborn. I think that is one of my favorite aspects of baptism. We can be cleansed with pure water and be reborn. How many times in my life I have wanted to jump in a lake or stream and come out reborn. A fresh blank piece of paper. Starting new and at square one. The problem is that I am realising that the process of being reborn is a little more complex then just being submerged under water and being cleaned up and wiped clear of all our imperfections.
We come into this world as little sponges, sucking up everything we can get close to. How many times have we despised something our parent say or do, yet we find ourselves saying or doing that exact same thing. We mimic those around us and learn how to be humans from those close around us. That would be primarily our parents or care givers. Our parents , in good intentions, raise us up to be the best adults we can be. As hard as they try, they make mistakes. Some would even say their parents have screwed them up for life. Whatever ones case may be, we are all defected. We all have faults and have chips and cracks all over us from bumps and falls along life's bumpy and windy roads.
I find myself right now on a road that does not look familiar to me. I have never been on this road before in my life. I find myself lost, frightened and with no reflection to remind myself of who I am. There are no mirrors to look at and no one to tell me who I am. Along the way I see people in near by villages . One of these villages is a cute little village set up along the sea shore. I stop for awhile and look into their life's . Some people have beautiful bodies, beautiful homes and beautiful families. They live by the nature of water. They flow in and out of life gracefully. Things seem to come easily to them. They embody feminine beauty and sexuality from the waters. It would seem like they have it all on the outside. I want to stay but I am afraid. I am afraid of not being beautiful enough and am not sure how to embody their feminine beauty.
Along my way down this road I find a group of travelers. Their clothing is humble, their back packs are full of items they have picked up along their way. They can tell me of adventures they have taken, people they have met and the new talents they have learned along the way. They belong to mother earth and the universe is their guide. They follow the wind and are not earth people. I long to follow them but cannot. My fear of the unknown is too great.
I find gardeners along the way that feed me with their food and knowledge of the earth. They collect herbs and know of their healing benefits. I long to stay and play in the earth and learn from the earth people but cannot. I am afraid of her creatures and don't know how to get dirty. I don't know how to plant myself and stay rooted in one place.
I keep going and night falls upon me. Along the way I see a fire through the trees. It is the fire dancers. These are women with long wild hair and art graven into their skin. They live in the trees during the day and dance in fire during the night. They sing of passion and dance with love. They are wild and unstoppable. Their gift is healing with fire and moving fire within all of us. They are cast out from the towns and cities because of how intense they can be. They live in passion. I want to stay and learn of their ways but I cannot. I am too afraid of burning myself and opening the passion in me.
I continue my travels. Miles down the road, I find myself in a barren desert. There is no water, no wind, nothing that fire can burn and the earth is dry and barren. I fall to the earth in exhaustion. Where am I. How did I get here. There is not a soul in sight. I have lost my way and do not know where to go. I am all alone in this world.
Where do I belong. I am not a water women, I am not a wind child, I am not an earth elder and I am not a fire dancer. Who am I? Where do I belong? Is this world my world? Do I belong here?
I was born to the sun keeper and sent to my earth mother. I was meant to be an earth priestess but I lost my way. I forgot who my earth mother is and was afraid to look at the sun. How do I find my earth mother again. How do I become my mothers earth child when I cannot find my mother earth? She is all around me, yet I cannot see or feel her? Did she leave me or did I leave her?
As I lay on the desert floor, I feel despair, fear and abandoned. I have given up finding my earth mother. I don't belong to these people. I can feel my body and spirit drying up like the desert floor and I can feel myself seeping into the earths soil. I am ready to give up my spirit and release my body. I am done. I can take no more.
As I feel the world around me turn to blackness I feel a cool wet drop on my face. Tears stream down my face. The tears keep coming. The tears run down my face and soak into the soil beneath me. I lift my eyes open and look into the sky. She has found me. My mother found me. She had been watching over me the whole time. In desperation she tried communicating to me but I had been blind until the moment of almost loosing me broke her heart and the sky broke loose with her tears. The tears running down my face were her tears for me.
I have found my mother and have been reborn, immersed in her tears of love for me. I am a daughter of the water, I am a child of the wind, I am an earth elder and I am a fire dancer. I am an earth daughter. I am my mother earths daughter. She will never forget or abandon me. She is all around me in the soil, in the plants and herbs, she is in the wind that cools my skin in the sun, she is in the water that quenches my thirst, she is the fire that keeps me warm at night and she is in the rain, That cleanses me and gives birth to my spirit and soul.
I am an earth daughter of the divine mother.

Program to train for a 5K

Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one.

Week two: Walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Aim to do three sessions in week two.

Week three: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Aim for four sessions in week three.

Week four: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Shoot for four of those sessions in week four.

Week five: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four of those sessions in week five.

Week six: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Try to do four sessions for week six.

Week seven: Walk for 1 minute, then jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four sessions this week.

Week eight: Congratulations on making it to week eight! For your first run this week, try walking for 5 minutes to begin and end the workout, and run for 20 minutes in between. By the end of the week, try to run for 30 minutes without stopping.

Aim to run for 30 minutes four times a week, and you'll notice that your stamina and fitness will continue to improve. Soon you'll be ready to run your first 5K!

Study done in 1999 on breech birth

Upright Positioning in Breech Births

An Obstetrician’s Impression

Since the beginning of 1999, 60 vaginal breech births have taken place using the BirthRite Seat at this hospital. One obstetrician has cared for these women. Unless the mothers had given birth to a previously big baby (larger than 4000 gm) they all had CT pelvimetry to ensure pelvic adequacy. In addition, an ultrasound was performed to assess fetal weight and head circumference. All the women and their partners received extensive counselling about the process of breech births and possible associated procedures. Risks were discussed, along with the safeguards that were in place in the face of these risks. Thirty-five women were primigravidae and twenty-five women were multigravidae.

During labour, most of the mothers did not have any form of analgesia. Only three of the women had epidurals. Once the epidural wore off and the mothers were ready to push, they used the BirthRite Seat as did all the other women.

A very important part of the care of labouring women at our hospital is taken by the midwives. Besides the positive effects of the continuous mental-emotional support they provide for the labouring mothers, there are a good number of midwives at our institution who feel confident with breech births. In addition, the one obstetrician attended all these births.

During the second stage of labour when there is a strong pushing urge, the women are seated on the BirthRite, with their partner supporting them from behind. The baby is monitored continuously. Should there be any perception that the contractions are inadequate close to the birth, Syntocinon is used to augment these contractions.

The baby’s body delivers spontaneously. The legs are not touched. An episiotomy had to be performed in only three out of the sixty mothers, due to fetal heart rate decelerations. Once the baby’s body is out to above the umbilicus, the mother gets up into a supported squat to encourage further descent of her baby. The shoulders are allowed to deliver spontaneously. If this does not happen reasonably promptly then they are swept out. Lövset manoeuvre is not used routinely but only in more difficult cases. In 50% of cases the baby’s head immediately follows the shoulders. If the head does not deliver spontaneously then it is flexed out with a finger in the mouth of the baby.

There have been no difficult births among the sixty mothers. All the babies have had good Apgar scores and there have been no cases of asphyxia. There has been one fourth-degree tear among the sixty women. This occurred in a woman who had an adequate pelvis and a small baby (2860 gm). No other cases of significant perineal trauma have occurred. One mild case of Erb’s palsy occurred in a second twin (unplanned vaginal breech delivery). This resolved by the time of the mother’s discharge from hospital. There have been no cases of significant birth injury to the baby. Only one of the babies weighed more than 4000 gm. The largest head circumference was 38 cm.The average was 34 cm.

This Birthing Seat seems to facilitate descent of the baby through the birth passage. The mothers can achieve excellent pushing and there is good access to the baby should manipulation be required.

80% of the mothers say that sitting on the BirthRite feels like a good position in which to push, in that the position on the seat assists them with focusing on this process.

Internal statistics of vaginal births show that, at our hospital, approximately one-third of mothers give birth on the bed, one-third give birth kneeling and just under one-third use the BirthRite Seat. The seat was designed by an experienced Midwife-Practitioner and introduced at our hospital in 1994 after a three-month trial and assessment period.

— Dr Andrew Bisits, FRACOG
Specialist Obstetrician
Newcastle NSW Australia
mdambi@mail.newcastle.edu.au

Tugging along

Ive started to revamp my diet . I haven't had a whole lot of ambition lately. I cant seem to figure it out. I'm pretty happy most days and I would say my moods are pretty constant but I cant seem to get the want to do anything. Someone mentioned it might be a slight case of depression. I have all these goals like reading 2 books in a week (I have a pile of 20 that I have to read), go running every day, some day complete a half marathon, lose 50 lbs., get my Doula certificate and start eating 80% raw. So far I'm about 60% raw and that has only been the last 2 weeks. Ive decided to stop buying unhealthy food and stop eating out as much so that I'm not tempted to eat all the junk. Problem is that I'm married and Chris has little interest in eating healthy so he likes to be the devils advocate and seduce me into eating junk (it really doesn't take much to break me). On the plus side, I have started juicing wheat grass, I'm taking wild yam, a female hormone tincture and red raspberry leaf tea to help with my hormones. We'll see how it goes. My goal is to read The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by the end of this week.

Ive also been looking at taking herbs for the liver. A lot of sites list Dandelion, Burdock, Chamomile, Licorice and Milk Thistle as being really good herbs for the liver. I found a recipe on http://www.energiseforlife.com for a liver cleanse. It looks pretty simple so I might try it this weekend and see how it goes.

Liver Cleanse Recipe

This is an excellent liver cleanse recipe that I have adapted from about four or five other liver cleanse recipes that I have tried over the years. I have supercharged it with a few extra ingredients, but have put the main, base ingredients in bold to highlight the essentials.

I would recommend doing this over the weekend, and in the morning. It is particularly effective if you have undertaken some light exercise such as walking or jogging prior to the liver cleanse as this helps to get the toxins moving out of the body and invigorates the lymph system.

After the juice I would also recommend some breathing exercises to help the lymph flow on its way!

The Recipe for the Ultimate Liver Cleanse!

Serves 2

• 2 large grapefruits
• 4 lemons
• 300ml of distilled water (or filtered)
• 2 tablespoons of Udo’s Choice (or cold pressed flax oil
• 1 teaspoon of acidophilus
• 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic
• 2 inches of fresh root ginger
• Optional: a dash of cayenne pepper!

Directions

1. Squeeze the juice of the grapefruit and lemon into a blender
2. Next, grate the garlic and the ginger, and then using a garlic press, squeeze this into the juice
3. Now add the water, Udo’s and acidophilus powder and blend for 30 seconds
4. Add more ginger/garlic to taste

This juice contains all of the most potent liver cleansing ingredients, and gives your liver a gentle flush and the opportunity to heal itself. There are no side effects to this drink, apart from a bit of garlic-breath for a while. However, the grapefruit removes most of the odour.

I have also been told that this is the most incredible hangover cure in the world – so it might be worth bearing in mind just for that! It contains everything you would need to cure a hangover (vitamin c, omega 3, probiotics, water, ginger) so I can see how it would work!

Tanya's Hypnobabies Birth

DAY 4 - MASTER CLEANSE

Weight: 171.5

Today has been good...and bad. This morning went by pretty smoothly. Didn't have any hunger pains. It's been interesting because my sugar cravings and junk food cravings are basically gone. That part has been good. This afternoon got a little harder. My stomach started hurting and I just wanted to eat something solid. I started doubting myself and wither I could actually do it. I keep telling myself just 6 more days, it's not going to kill you ect...
Well onto day 5. Hope this starts getting a little easier.

DAY 3 - MASTER CLEANSE

Weight:171.o





I'm averaging 2.5 pounds lost a day so far. That is with the first two days eating dinner. It's amazing that I've lost that much weight already and I havn't even started into the full cleanse yet. Today is my first day doing ONLY juice. And my first day starting the salt water and tea. Funny enough the salt water is the part I am not looking forward to. I actually like the lemone juce. It seems to really hydrate and lift my spirits. It helps too that spring is finally in full bloom. Chris and I have the most amazing view nature has provided for us right outside our living room window!

DAY 2 - MASTER CLEANSE

weight: 173.5

I did really well all day. Had hunger pains that would start but go away after a drank the lemon juice. Feeling really good. My moods have been a lot better. I have more happy days than not. I still feel anxiety now and then but it's more manageable. I think the biggest results I have seen is the presence I have of my body. I'm more in tune with what I put in my body and how much I have been eating. I realize now how much work I was putting on my digestive system and how my eating habits were totally out of control. I feel more at peace in my body.

DAY 1 - MASTER CLEANSE

So I came across the master cleanse. Thought I would try it. It's 10 days of eating nothing and only drinking lemon water made of 10 oz water, 2 tbs lemon juice, 2 tbs grade B 100% maple syrup and cayenne pepper. So far it's been really good. For the first time in a long time I haven't had stomach pain. That's partially why I wanted to do it. I think my stomach has been going into over kill with all the binge/emotional eating I have been doing. I think it needs a well deserved rest. I have done a 5 day vegetable juice fast before and I LOVED it. We'll see how I do with this.

You can find more information on the cleanse by either searching Master cleanse on the Internet or go to http://www.themastercleanse.org/

Weight: 176.5

Most eco- friendly potty training method

Done with Doula training.

So I'm done with my doula training and I learned a ton! So excited! Now I'm on the road to certify. Doula today midwife tomorrow. On my way!!!


Here are some interesting videos I found. Some may agree or disagree with them. They definitely get you thinking tho. WARNING: May contain nudity, blood, laboring, laboring noises, beautiful babies and may make you cry.

Made raw bread and raw sandwhiches

Finally went to the health food store, bought a bunch of ingredients and made some raw bread. It turned out really good. I took some over to my mom to try out and see what she thought. Even my carnivorous husband liked it. I'm pretty pleased myself. Take a look for yourself.

DAY 3

So I'm feeling more empowered today. I woke up at 7 this morning and ran 5 min, walked 20 min. I probably went roughly 3/4 mile. OK well that's not the part I'm feeling empowered about but we'll get to that later. So with the running experience, I got winded about 30 seconds into running and I didn't have much endurance AT ALL!! The good news, I actually got off my butt and out the door this time. Yay me!!! I experienced leg cramps and hip pain the rest of the day. I'm hoping that the endurance comes with time, practice and patience and the hip pain ceases through better diet.

OK on with the empowerment. Ive been putting off the herb course because of the craziness with jobs, moving and planning a wedding. I went from having 3 months to having 3 weeks!!! OK people don't panic yet. So I figured there wasn't enough time to finish so I was going to just give up. I then realised that I'm not going to get anywhere in life constantly doubting myself, procrastinating and making up excuses. I decided it wouldn't hurt anything to at least try to make the deadline. I finished half a packet today and read half the book!! I think I may make it!!

Thanks to any of you who added my blog. I really didn't think anyone would care to read any of the boring stuff I have to say. It really gave me some encouragement and helped me keep pursuing my hopes and someday dreams. Thank you so much!!

SO HERE'S THE WAY IN (ughhhh)

Thighs: 25 1/2 inches

waist: 34 inches

Hips: 40 1/2 inches

Buttocks: 42 1/2 bodacious inches

I am a 5 "10 female weighing in at 150 lbs

MY GOAL

To be happy with my inner and outer being and feel accomplished AND HEALTHY

The measurements are really just a way to track the progress. It's always helpful to be seeing physical progress ,wither it's fitness or inner health, to keep you on the right track and going strong.

Food diary for Mon

Breakfast: 2 apples, strawberries

Lunch: salad with veganaise dressing

Dinner: 2 vegetarian burritos (dinner and late night is when I get the cravings and mess up every time. I need to figure out a way to satisfy those cravings)

Snack: cherries, pecans

Well wish me luck on tomorrow.

Much health and many blessings to you all!!!

Ok sorry everyone. Procrastinating is a huge habit of mine that I really am working on. I was really hoping I would be able to video blog by now but the 2 week new laptop I bought specifically with a web cam built in is perfectly fine BUT the web cam. The stinken thing wont recognize that it's there. Ughhh I seem to have an electrical curse over my head. But thinking positively, I'm practicing gratitude and patience and Best Buy has been really helpful through the whole ordeal.
Ive been meaning to post all my measurements but keep forgetting to buy a measuring tape. ,either that or I just don't want to see what they are,. So Katrina's home work for this week is to buy a measuring tape, get fat % and take pics. My deadline will be to have it all done and posted by tomorrow.
Some exciting news is that happy oasis is coming to Utah and their will be a raw spirit pot luck on Tuesday that Chris and I will be going to. I'm going to make sure to get pics and post the them along with recipes I find. I will also be making some raw pizza this week along with doing video clips on how to make it.
Many blessings to you all until next time!

Day 2

I'm going to give a brief summary on how I started raw.
I grew up in a somewhat health conscious home. We never had white flours or sugars. Everything was made with honey and whole wheat flour. We always had a garden , I dreaded weeding, and everything was home made. Eventually my mother came across the idea of raw food and decided to go raw. I believe that was about 6 years ago. Shortly after she went raw, I decided to try it. I was about 13 or 14 then and amazingly I went 100% raw over night for about 4 months. It was amazingly easy. I didn't even think about food. Cravings were non exist ant. I just don't think I was that unhealthy then and going raw was just the next step. Long story short, I gave up doing raw when I went on a week long church youth trip and there was nothing raw to eat there. Boy do I wish I had stuck to it then. It's not nearly as easy now as it was then.
I tried it again last March. I went from 80% to 90% raw until I went to Patagonia AZ in October to do an apprenticeship at the tree of life. I was 100% vegan, organic raw from October to December. The experiences I had there were unbelievable. I had such a great time and it truly changed my life. I FELT GREAT.
Well now to catch you up to where I am now, I went through allot of emotional crap on the last week of the apprenticeship. I had allot of emotional, physical, religious and relationship crap that took over my life. I stuck to the raw diet for about a month after the apprenticeship but the emotional stuff caught up to me and I gave in. It also doesn't help that I feel like Ive been living out of a box since December. Anyways I crashed and my need for emotional comfort through junk food gave in.
I weighed 135 lbs. in December and I am now back up to 150 lbs. My acne is back with a vengeance and the mood swings are driving my boyfriend crazy. I feel completely out of control.
I can tell you the only way to feel truly in control, stable and absolutely blissful, is to be on a raw diet. So this is my plan to get back on track and reclaim that inner happiness I so desperately want and need. 10 weeks 100% raw and 80% organic

These are a list of the symptoms I am currently experiencing.
1. mood swings
2. uncontrollable temper
3. really bad acne
4. water retention
5. over weight
6. cellulite on thighs (big sign of toxins in the body)
7. winded after walking only 2 flight of stairs
8. irregular periods
9. chronic menstrual cramping
10. sick every other month
11. lack of energy
12. depression
13. anxiety
14. insomnia
ect, ect, ect, ect

I am hoping that the list of all these issues I am having are down to at least 1/4 of what I have here at the end of 10 weeks. I will keep you all updated as my journey continues.
For anyone starting the raw food life change, your not alone. The movement is getting larger everyday and more and more people are experiencing the same things you are. It's not easy. One of the hardest things Ive had to do in my life. But it is so worth it!!!

10 WEEK CHALLENGE

Okay finally got the computer up and running.
This is the challenge. 10 weeks 100% raw, 80% organic. Along with that I will be training to run a 5K race. I want to eventually be able to run a full marathon but for now, I think the 5K will be enough for me. I am not in good physical condition at all at this time. I'll be doing a week by week update with measurements, fat percentage and symptoms good or bad.
This is the step by step plan I will be following.

Week 1:
Diet: 80% raw, 80% organic, 3/4 gallon water
Exercise:
Mon-run 2 min, walk 1 min. Repeat 10 times.
Tue- walk easy 30 min
Wed- run 2 min, walk 1 min. Repeat 10 times.
Thur- walk easy 30 min
Fri- run 2 min, walk 1 min. Repeat 10 times. Sat- walk easy 30 min
Sat- walk easy 30 min.
Sun-Rest
**Always walk 2-3 min before and after workout to warm up and cool down. **
DON'T PUSH YOURSELF

I will have all my measurements recorded and pictures for before and after along with a food journal. I want to see how successful I will be doing a 100% raw food diet along with training for a marathon. I want to see how well my health improves and see if you really do need to have a high protein ,meat, based diet to participate in high endurance sports or training. I believe that the base of your protein intake should come from a plant based diet,greens, . Victoria Boutenko wrote a very good book where she talked about the benefits of eating allot of greens. It's called Green for Life if your interested. I highly recommend it.
I found the training guide for the 5K on www.runnersworld.com. It's an excellent site to look at if you are an experienced runner or just a beginner and want to hit the pavement and see what you can do.
I will also be posting some video blogs along with my updates. Wish me luck!!!

Week 1

So a quick update. I have taken a small step forward which is good, but i know i can do better. I have started making a green smoothie everyday made mostly of mixed greens and frozen fruit. I'm trying to get myself to take E-3 live everyday. That will be my next big accomplishment.
Ive been trying to eat mostly salads but it's not easy when your working 12 hour shifts 4 days a week. So to solve this problem, I am making a pact to myself to make a salad the night before along with a big thing of green smoothie.
I have decided that i really dislike typing so i will hopefully be getting a laptop soon with a web cam so you can follow along that way.
Well I am off to practice my salad making skills but hopefully I will have more to write later!!
Much peace and blessings to you all!!!

Doctors take a stand against home births

Came across this article from USA TODAY. Thought it was interesting. I in no way agree with it. It's scary reading these articles and wondering if severe stands will be made and the push to out law home birth will actually happen and the job of Midwifery will be a job of an outlaw, delivering babies in secret away from the watchful eyes of the government and law makers. As scary as this all seemed to me at first, I then saw that amazingly there was a long list of mothers who replied to the article with nothing but great experiences of home births and the want to support midwifes who need it right now. The greatest tool the medical field uses today seems to be fear. Theirs nothing more powerful than totally freaking the holly you know what out of someone to make them do what you want. It's the power of intimidation.
Anywho off my soap box. Read the article and you can decide for yourself. Keep fighting for your freedom of choice!!


At its annual meeting a couple of years ago, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists distributed bumper stickers that featured a drawing of a stork dangling a sack of baby from its beak with the slogan: "Home Deliveries are for Pizza."
Last week, the American Medical Association's House of Delegates passed a resolution introduced by the ob/gyn group that says "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period" is a hospital, a birthing center in a hospital complex or a properly accredited freestanding birthing center.
"The AMA supports a woman's right to make an informed decision regarding her delivery and to choose her health care provider, and stresses that the safest setting for delivering a baby is in the hospital or a birthing center within a hospital complex," AMA board member Steven Stack said in a statement. "Serious complications can arise with little or no warning even among women with low-risk pregnancies. The health and safety of the mother and baby are our top priority."
Home births represent a pretty small minority of total U.S. births. According to a 2005 study in the journal BMJ, about only 5,400 women in the U.S. and Canada planned to deliver at home in 2000 with the help of a certified professional midwife, or CPM. (I doubt anyone has reliable information about the number of women who deliver at home with a so-called "lay midwife" who has not received any formal training or gone through a certification process). I suspect the number of home births has gone up since 2000, at least slightly, because increasing numbers of hospitals and doctors are prohibiting women who've had a C-section to attempt a VBAC, or vaginal birth after C-section, spurring some women to attempt them at home.
The BMJ study found that among pregnant women whose risk for complications was low, those who delivered at home had lower rates of medical interventions, such as epidurals or forceps, than those who delivered at the hospital, and the two groups had similar death rates.
According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, certified nurse-midwives attended (midwives prefer that word to "delivered") more than 300,000 U.S. births in 2002, only a tiny fraction of which were at home. This article on the website of the American College of Nurse Midwives outlines some of the other major differences between nurse-midwives, and CPMs (a third designation, certified midwife, or CM, applies to someone who receives training similar to a nurse-midwife's but has another health-care designation, such as physician's assistant or physical therapist, instead of nurse). The National Birth Policy Coalition, an advocacy group, has launched the "Big Push for Midwives Campaign" urging more states to license and regulate CPMs.
Not surprisingly, the new AMA policy has generated a lot of discussion in the blogosphere, in part by people concerned that the doctors' group is out to get states to ban home deliveries (of course, the AMA itself can only lobby for such a ban, not implement it). Check out this post by Rachel Walden, a Nashville medical librarian who writes the Women's Health News blog, and this one from "Health Law Prof" blogger S. Elizabeth Malloy of the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

The "new" beginning

Well it’s been about 2 months since I came back from the tree of life and this is the somewhat drear update. I came back 25 healthy pounds lighter, clearer skin, happier, energized, spiritually awake and feeling great. It took me a measly 2 weeks to get back into unhealthy patterns. Now 2 months later, I’ve gained back 15 of the 25 pounds, my acne is worse than it was before and I’m falling back asleep. Yay me!! Ugggggg.
The positive news is that I saved myself for 10 days and went out to California for a class that Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova gave . She’s the maker of the film Birth as we know it. It’s an amazing film I recommend for anyone and everyone. It will truly alter your thoughts and expectations of birth and will change your life. I could go on and on about it but I will write more about the film later. The course Elena gave was an amazing experience and once again my true self bloomed. I felt inspired and on fire, wanting to do a hundred things at once. Sadly I came back to St. George only to fall asleep again (I really need to rid myself of this spiritual narcolepsy I seem to love).
Enough with the sadness depression and excuses!! I refuse to be a sleeping beauty any more. I want to enravish the beauty inside me and hide it no longer! It’s time to discard the scared weakness with no back bone and become empowered!! So here it goes. I’m going to list my aspirations and update at least once a week my progress. The New Year’s resolution thing starts now, even though it’s technically march.
1. I will start my path to become a mid wife this year. No more excuses of I have no money, I’m not good enough, and I don’t have any experience with birth on a personal level. I’m done with all that. The best time to start is now. While I’m young and have a clean slate. Nothing to hold me back.
2. I will be 90% raw and mostly vegan and organic. What was the point of 3 months training to become a raw chef and instructor if I don’t ever use it? Again no more excuses of I’m not good enough. It’s complete crap I feed myself.
3. I’m going to start running again and making yoga and meditation a part of my life. What’s the point of eating healthy if you’re not feeding your spirit and utilizing your energy? There’s nothing like a good work out to distress and feel good.
4. I want to become one with nature. Start camping, hiking, sleeping out under the stars and just start loving mother earth again. You’re nothing without a mother right? She gives you your body after all. Why not have a good relationship with her too.
5. Start healing my emotional crap and start throwing the baggage away. We all hold onto an amazing amount of emotional hurt and grief. It’s amazing that we all survive and function to the point that we do. It has done wonders for me so far and I just started. Why stop now?

So the next part is how do I complete all this? Where do I start?
1. Look into becoming an apprentice for a current midwife, do my home work, look into schools, prices, deadlines and look into where I want to go with it.
2. Buy a dehydrator. What is a raw foodist without their blender and dehydrator?, Stop eating out, find another out for my stress rather than taking it out on food, start practicing what I learned, share with others.
3. Well start running. Get off my lazy but, put on some running shoes and run!!
4. I love camping, sleeping, I walk every day so this shouldn’t be too hard, right?........
5. Start getting connected to other healers and throw myself whole heartedly into it.
I’m giving myself to the universe. I’m completely giving myself to her caring gentle hands. She’s our mother and wants only the best for her children. You can never go wrong in her arms. Just trust and let go. Lastly pray. Just keep praying and allowing love from father and mother, allowing myself to feel love from them.
Please just don’t give up on me. I’m not ready to give up. I won’t give up!!