Teen Mothers

The New York Times has a lovely slide show in their One in 8 Million Series on a teen mom in Brooklyn. It provides a realistic portrait of what young motherhood looks and sounds like:
Elizabeth Cousins: The Teenage Mother

One resource that is listed at the end of the slide show is The Brooklyn Young Mothers Collective.
"The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective provides disadvantaged young mothers with a comprehensive set of services focused on their educational attainment and social development to help them to become self-sufficient adults."

A bit about me and this blog

While I was brainstorming my doula business I came up with an "About me" section and a "Mission statement". Let me share parts of them with you:

About me:
Holding a profound respect for the entire continuum of women's reproductive health choices, Kate is hoping to eventually become a midwife. She maintains a true commitment to supporting and nurturing all women in their birth choices with compassion and positive energy.

My Doula Mission Statement:
I deeply believe that birth is a rite of passage- powerful, beautiful and intense. My personal intention for every birth is that the mother feels empowered and supported, no matter what.

As my birth career is progressing, I am realizing more and more that my interests extend way beyond natural birth. This blog has been a marvelous tool for allowing me to actively research these other fields of study and to gather up the best resources on the topics at hand.

Not all birth professionals tackle some of the stickier subjects but, recognition and support of this continuum feels essential to me. I am not here to only advocate for natural childbirth or home birth or VBAC. Actually, I am not here to advocate for any thing but merely to inform. Reproductive choices from abortion to birth to assisted reproductive technologies are all ultimately choices about parenting. All are rites of passage to respect and honor. This blog has certainly covered all of these subjects before but, I thought I would just state my intentions and thus, leave the doors wide open for any exploration that may happen.

In the news (breifly)

For a quick dose of some recent reproduction news:

From Boston: check out what the economic down-turn has inspired: Recession spurs egg and sperm donations. (from Egg Donation and Surrogacy blog)

From the New York Times: The Claim: Birth Complications are More Likely with Boys.

Wigits

Apple has some neat technology:
Pregnancy Calendar
Ovulation Calendar
Moon Phases

Also...

Couldn't resist posting this poster image that I found while searching for images of "womb". It's called "Cosmic Womb of Creation". It's powerful.

To Watch

Some science and history:
PBS's American Experience: Test Tube Babies

Spring calendar

Some events to mark down for this coming season:

Planned Parenthood's Sexual & Reproductive Health Training Calendar. They have a great assortment of classes that touch on a wide variety of topics including youth, HIV/AIDS and advocacy. I'm considering the Birth Control Options and the Facilitation workshop.

Wednesday, April 8th @ 7:30pm: ALL MY BABIES at the Anthology Film Archives. This sounds so lovely:
"Mrs. Mary Frances Coley, an African-American midwife in Georgia, demonstrates her skill and loving kindness in a 1952 film...Currently active midwives will be present to discuss their struggle to preserve their profession against the assaults of other branches of medicine."

Tuesday, May 5th @ 6:30pm: Well-Woman Care During Pregnancy, Labor & Delivery and Postpartum at the Brooklyn Central Library.
"Homeopathy, acupuncture, natural herbs and nutrition are gentle, non-invasive and effective ways to relieve situations that range from physical ailments such as heartburn, nausea and constipation - all the way to emotional anxiety , easing the birth process and postpartum trauma and depression."