As I Soar

I am now soaring on to what I love to do, being a mom and teaching. I have my children back and with my divorce nearing finalization I am excited. Life is amazing and I am enjoying every minute, drinking in wonderful and rich experiences as a new woman finally free.

My college is slowly and steadily growing, I am loving every minute I teach and work with my students. I still have my day job but with work and patience even that will be a part of my past as the college develops.

Thank you to my amazing business partner Deanna Rennich, co-owner of Mother Care, who kept me immersed in birth while I went through the frustration of divorce proceedings. She kept me grounded in what mattered, life and birth and children... especially mine. I'm living the dream!

I Aspire to be a Phoenix

Attempting to rise from the ashes of my former life, I realize now that freedom is a precious and fragile thing. I doubt I will ever be out of the grasp of my controlling ex-husband completely as we share four children with all the strings that entails. Right now he is doing everything he can to hurt me and through doing that he is hurting our children.

At times I wonder if staying would have made it easier for them yet I know that they too wanted out of the stress of his controlling and angry ways. Oh how much easier divorce is with two reasonable adults who choose to make good decisions for themselves and their children. I have seen more than one amicable separation work yet I know that is not an option in the aftermath of an abusive relationship. Control is paramount for abusive spouses and if they can't control they become vindictive.. or at least that is the case here.

I miss my kids terribly (one of the ways my ex has found to control is allowing me only very limited access to our children despite the court orders and the children's lawyer's written direction on this issue). An anticipated return to court will hopefully change that. One thing I have learned in this process is that there is no justice in the justice system. I never thought I would have anything in common with Britney Spears, but not seeing our children because of our respective spouses is one of them.

Given that, my new life is so very different and exciting. Deciding whether to stay at the job I am at, changing careers again or going back to school has me delightedly challenged. I have four kids to send to university or college to think about to in the near future, so that too weighs in this decision.

Getting Ready

ICAN Canada's Stragetic Planning Retreat is coming soon and there is so much prepare for our innaugaural retreat. Thank you to our current board for all the wonderful work you are doing. I am looking forward to expanding our board as we fill the current vacant positions of Secretary, Membership Director, Vice President/Conference Chair, and Public Relations Director.

Travelling Again

Heading to Cincinnati very early tomorrow morning, I can't wait! Working holiday... spending the entire weekend at a strategic planning retreat as the Int'l Director of the International Caesarean Awareness Network. This organization has done so much for me and I continue on the board as my way of repayment. The volunteer work is truly a labour of love. I'll be home again late Sunday night. Catcha on the flip side.

Maternal Mortality on the Rise

It was only a matter of time before the statistics showed the effects of the dramatic increase in cesarean surgery rates. We have long known that one of the risks of major abdominal surgery is maternal morbidity and mortality. It was only a matter of time before the increased cesarean rate bode through to the sad fact that more mothers were dying because of it. CP reports:

U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in caesarean sections are partly to blame.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics - the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.

"There's an inherent risk to C-sections," said Dr. Elliott Main, who co-chairs a panel reviewing obstetrics care in California. "As you do thousands and thousands of them, there's going to be a price."

Excessive bleeding is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, and women with several previous C-sections are at especially high risk, according to a review of maternal deaths in New York. Blood vessel blockages and infections are among the other leading causes.

The New Normal - Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Citizen reported yesterday on how medicalized birth has become the 'new normal' and natural birth is becoming rare in today's society in Canada. The statistics prove this out with an extremely high epidural rate across the nation, a 26% cesarean surgery rate and only 5% of women choosing homebirth. Please take a minute to read this superb article. I found this especially poignant:

One of the most telling anecdotes in [Jennifer Block's] book [Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care] takes place at Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Centre in Sebring, Florida. When Hurricane Charley hit in 1994, it knocked the power out. The hospital had an emergency generator, but its capacity was limited. So the hospital sent most women home and asked them to come back when they were in active labour.

During the few days following the hurricane, nurses noticed a change in the way babies were being born: most babies made it into the outside world without medical intervention and within hours of their mothers arriving at the hospital; nurses saw no cases of fetal distress or respiratory distress in newborns; and the hospital's C-section rate dropped dramatically -- from more than 29 per cent to 17 per cent (six per cent if several scheduled repeat C-sections were excluded from the stats).

Prior to the storm, most mothers were induced so that their babies would be born during the day, and labours were electronically and chemically managed. Once life returned to normal, a number of nurses quit the hospital, convinced its management of labour was doing more harm than good.

Women in Red

No I'm not talking about the song Lady in Red (so love that classic... Chris de Burgh is an awesome artist). I'm referring to a new group I've joined called Women in Red Racers:

Women in Red Racers group is a sub-group of the larger Women in Red community. The idea started response to a discussion about accountability and support towards reaching our debt reduction goals. It is now a “racers” group where each person posts their current debts and updates each time they are paid.

This past year has been a challenge financially. Though I have always been financially savvy, this group has a lot of excellent financial strategies that I have learned, and continue to learn, which I am incorporating into my own financial plans. I've always seen budgets, accounting and financial issues as tedious necessities of life, but this group has made the journey fun... even exciting as we work together on our debt. Setting goals and reaching milestones personally and as a group has never been so enjoyable. I encourage you to check it out.