Oregon Public Broadcasting

1st congressional district 2012 election 2012 session agriculture art arts author beer births books budget business central oregon college congress crime culture death penalty eastern oregon economy education employment energy environment eugene fishing food gangs gay rights health health care high school history homeless housing jobs law legislature literature living media mental health military movies music native americans obama occupy portland occupy wall street onthejob oregon our town outdoors parenting police politics portland portland business journal portland mayor pregnancy prison public health race rebroadcast recess recession religion republicans rural schools science shooting sports supreme court talking business technology teen theater unemployment union university of oregon washington water weekend women youth

I decided to go with a Midwife and have a home birth as a VBAC.  I chose to have a "backup" OBGYN (hard to find one that would do this). I went to appointments with each one and was shocked at the difference in care. At the hospital, I rarely saw my doctor and mostly saw the nurse. There were hardly any discussions about how I was truly feeling, eating and what I was doing and so forth. I really was only encouraged to share if I had something big go wrong. I was immediately considered high-risk and considred for another c-section.  I read numerous books on midwifery (especially Spiritual Midwifery) and found that in general the midwife succesful birth (healthy baby/mom - natural birth) statistics were far better than the doctors/hospitals. My appointments with my Midwife were anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes long (versus 30 min wait and 10 min appointment with doctor). At each appointment, she did a more thorough check up on me and the baby, went over nutrition, my feelings - fears- concerns, and gave me information about what was going on and what I could expect at each point in my pregnancy. This alone, is worth going with a midwife. She came to my home or I went to her office in her home for my appointments.  I was very comfortable throughout my entire pregnancy. Rating the care: Midwife 10 Hospital 1 - they are truly at each end of the spectrum. During the birth I was able to  labor longer and in the comfort of my own home.  She was by my side the entire 40+ hours (she also had another midwife there to help). Her care and expertice were impeccable. My baby was healthy and strong during the entire time.Some midwives carry pain medication, others don't. As mine didn't, I requested a preemptive transport to the hospital for med help. My Midwife stayed with me the entire time (during an after the nursing staff gave me pian meds). I had a vaginal birth with no complications. My Midwife still helped deliver (my obgyn showed up for the delivery) and I went home asap and was taken care of by her and all my aftercare was with her.  My experience was safe, comfortable, well supported, and I was generally cared for (taken care of and loved). The bond with one's midwife is so much stronger and so often life long.  It is truly a  loving, baby-centered community. 

posted 1 year, 10 months ago
view in context

Class size is extremely important, as it can determine the ability of the teacher, no matter how "qualified", to effectively control and manage the classroom, assess through observation, develop personal relationships with students, and actually handle the work load (lesson plans, grading papers and so on). With a large classroom, students are left to solve social issues on their own without teacher mediation...therfore learning innapropriate social skills (bullying, oppression etc.).  Additionally, more time in the classroom is wasted "shushing" students and repeating directions.

Previous Theatre and English Teacher at Philomath High School

Alice April

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
view in context