The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics just released the latest birth statistics for the United States. According to the report, Births: Preliminary Data for 2010, the national cesarean rate dropped from 32.9% to 32.8%. This is the first time in more than a decade that the rate has not increased.
• The birth rate for teenagers has declined for the last three years and 17 out of the past 19 years, falling to 34.3 births per 1,000 teenagers ages 15-19 in 2010. This is a 9 percent decline from 2009 and the lowest rate ever recorded in nearly seven decades of collecting data. Birth rates for younger and older teenagers and for all race/ethnic groups reached historic lows in 2010.
• The cesarean delivery rate dropped for the first time in over a decade. In 2010, the cesarean rate was 32.8, down slightly from 32.9 in 2009.
• The overall fertility rate as well as the total number of births in the U.S. declined for the third straight year in 2010. The general fertility rate fell 3 percent from 66.2 births per 1,000 females aged 15-44 in 2009 to 64.1 in 2010. The total number of births also declined 3 percent, from 4,130,665 in 2009 to 4,000,279 in 2010.
• The total number of births to unmarried mothers declined for the second year in a row in 2010 (1,633,785, down from 1,693,658 in 2009), as did the rate of births per 1,000 unmarried mothers (47.7, down from 49.9 in 2009). Also, the percentage of all births to unmarried mothers declined slightly in 2010 (40.8 percent, down from 41 percent in 2009.
• The birth rate for women in their early twenties fell 6 percent in 2010, and the rates also fell for women in their late twenties and thirties. However, the birth rate for women in their early forties increased in 2010 by 2 percent to the highest rate since 1967.
• The preterm birth rate declined for the fourth straight year in 2010, to just under 12 percent of all births (11.99) – a 6 percent drop from 2009.
• The low birthweight rate was essentially unchanged between 2009 and 2010 at less than 8.2 percent in 2010, but is down slightly from the record high of 8.3 in 2006.
Yesterday it was my joy to spend a couple hours with two homeschooling Moms who introduced me to doTERRA Essential Oils. My friend Heidi knew of my love for oils and took the risk to call me up and ask if she could share and spend some time in my home. I suggested we head over to the park so the children could play while we talked. With eleven homeschooled little ones ripping around my small house, I did not think we would be able to visit.
So despite the cold we headed over and spent an hour sniffing oil bottles. I have been a Young Living Essential Oilsdistributor for the past fifteen years, and have used a variety of brands since I bought my first bottle of Lavender at a health food store when I was a teen back in the 80’s. I had informed Heidi that I would only give her an hour of my time as I was skeptical that any oil could be better than my beloved Young Living brand. Frankly, I was more interested in spending time with other Moms who share similar interests than I was in learning about this brand of oils.
But I opened the bottles and started sniffing and used a few drops of Peppermint, Lavender, and the balancing oil blend on my skin. I immediately knew that these were an excellent addition to my arsenal of natural family living products and was thrilled to learn of the Family Physician Kit of oils that they have put together for parents to use around the home. I have long believed and taught on this blog that Mothers hold the key to wellness for their children. And with powerful therapeutic oils on hand to aid in wellness, I understand that any company that takes the time and energy to create quality products deserves to have a chance.
This morning I spent an hour clicking around the web to see what sort of garbage was being said about doTERRA and Young Living as competitors and was not surprised to see that a variety of blog posts and controversies were blasting around the web for all to see. As I told my friends yesterday, there is enough room in our world for a couple hundred essential oils companies, and I look forward to the day when that is the case.
If a group of people decide they want to add products to the marketplace and provide some healthy competition for those who are selling similar products, that is what the American Free Enterprise System is all about.
Now does my choice to become a doTERRA distributor mean that I am going to start dumping on my beloved Young Living and never again use their products? No. I look on this choice as simply learning more, enjoying more, engaging more, and widening my circle of friends and colleagues. I intend to make the steps to become a distributor next month for doTERRA.
I have long believed that parents are groomed to ask the wrong questions.
When a child is sick the question should not be, “Pink Antibiotic or White Antibiotic?” It should be Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, or Thyme?
When a child is being born the question should not be, “C Section or Walking Epidural?” It should be What type of birth would be ideal for this baby and this mother?
I organized the second Husband/Wife Homebirth Conference back in 2001 and as we closed down the Conference an interesting thing occurred. As Jeannine and Rico were giving the closing keynote address, a blast of lighting hit right as they said the words “Medical Profession”, and the lights in the room went out. It took several minutes for the pandemonium that ensued to quiet down and as the final portion of the conference closed down…It left all of us feeling quite jumpy. In the above video I referred to the incident as the conference was ended. Then I followed by saying that an inclusiveness is what is called for when considering the debates between Allopathic (drugs and surgery birth) and the other forms of childbirth.
I believe this inclusiveness is also important when considering the questions of how best to heal our children when they are ill.
I don’t care if others vaccinate, but millions of dollars have been invested in educating the public that I as a non vaccinating mother am a menace to society and a threat to my children.
I don’t care if doctors and midwives don’t approve of my choice to give birth at home alone, but some of them seem to be extremely upset by the supposed threat that Homebirth, Lotus Birth, and Empowered Natural Mothering is to their profit streams.
I don’t think it is just the money that is tied to birth that upsets the profession, I believe it is also the questioning that takes place when those doctors and midwives who have been carefully indoctrinated in the birthing status quo at school engage in when they are confronted with the reality that a group of parents do not want to purchase what they have to sell.
The doctors and midwives have literally piled up hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt betting on the status quo of a 99% monopoly over birth when they set up Obstetric and Midwifery practices, and the idea that the vast majority of parents could potentially birth children alone is simply noxious to their world view and plans for a prosperous professional life.
And it is this reality of a Birth Monopoly and a fixed income stream from hospital birth that is extremely threatened by anything new or different.
I believe an inclusive approach to healing and wellness is what will save humanity from the foibles and folly of current medical insanity around birth and healing.
As doctors and midwives begin to explore the wonderful world of essential oils for healing and open their hearts to the reality that home birth is a viable and safe option for many families, hopefully they will come to learn that trusting Mothers and consumers to make wise choices for the health of their families will ensure a bright and healthy future for all of us.
Doctors and Midwives may not make the buckets of money currently tied to medical birth and drug and surgery healing, but we will all benefit from a more holistic approach to life and health.
Jenny Hatch
UPDATE: Since the time this post was written in November I have closed down my Young Living business and am working doTERRA, they have a better marketing plan, more generous compensation, and a very dynamic group of leaders.
This past week Paul and I drove down to the Denver Temple to attend a Session at the temple and we listened to the audio of Preach my Gospel on our Mp3 Player. We had been asked to prepare for todays meeting by studying the first chapter in the manual.
Paul and I plan to use this book for our Family Home Evening lessons with the boys over the next few months. Our oldest son Jeff is preparing to serve a Mission for the church and although he has been studying the book on his own, we thought it would be great to study it together as Paul and I attempt to master the various principles and lessons to teach to those interested in joining the church in our location. We are planning to serve a mission some day as a couple, so this will be great preparation for that time.
When I was blessed last week as the Bishop set me apart for this new calling I felt a sobering reality weigh down on my mind that I need to be a better example of Christ Like Living and behavior, not only for my own family but for those I come in contact with in my day to day life and also on the internet. My new resolution is to stop swearing and trash talking, (even about politicians) and using sarcasm and in your face debate tactics when I am engaging with others on the web. This does not mean that I will stop blogging about politics and fraud, rather I will find that “well modulated tone” that so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have mastered when interacting with friend and foe alike.
I cannot think of anything I would rather do in the church that serve as a Missionary. If any of you are interested in learning more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, please contact me here: Jenny@NaturalFamilyCo.com to learn more!
I will be teaching my Natural Family Living class here in my home over the next six months. One class a month starting this saturday. A few friends out of state have indicated a desire to be a part of the class, so I am going to set up a live stream audio so that those who would like to listen in can do so.
Here is the class information for anyone who is local:
Natural Family Living Class
a six class series taught by Self Reliance Enthusiast Jenny Hatch
9 am to 10:30 am
Every third Saturday for the next six months at the Hatch Home
214 Pheasant Run Louisville, Co 80027 – 720-890-5922 – JennyMHatch@yahoo.com
Class is free and open to the Public!
November 19th 2011: Food Storage
*This class will cover both short and long term Food Storage
December 17th 2011: 72 Hour Kits
*Most Emergencies require a three day window of self-reliance before outside help arrives. This class will cover the ins and outs of survival at home or in a shelter
January 21st 2012: Water Storage & Purification
*Water Storage is Insurance against a long term disruption in basic services, come learn the basics of how to safely store water in your home
February 18th 2012: Baking with Whole Grains
*So your whole grain food supply has been sitting in your basement since Y2K, NOW is the time to learn how to cook with it and incorporate whole grains into your daily meals
March 17th 2012: Essential Oils
*Essential Oils are a great way to purify water, cleanse the home, and provide basic Natural Home Health Care (An allergy to chlorine compelled Jenny to learn more about alternatives to chemicals and she has safely used EO’s to purify her water supply for over fifteen years)
April 21st 2012: Birth *Pregnant? Jenny taught Natural Childbirth Classes for over eight years and this class will outline the basics of Emergency Childbirth
This Post is dedicated to my friend Ruth Mangus who died this past week.
(Ruth is in the purple t shirt in front of the gate at the Denver Capitol and I am standing on the UN flag counter demonstrating at an Anti War Rally in September of 2005)
*Disclaimer: I support all American Citizens rights to lawfully protest the government and encourage anyone with the will to do so to get off the couch and get active for your cause!
I have spent many hours these past few weeks watching videos and reading online reports about the Occupy Wall Street Activities that are ongoing around the world.
“About twenty years ago my husband and I conducted enough research on Vaccines that we made the decision not to vaccinate our five children for anything. We trained to become Childbirth Educators and the little bits of information gleaned from the various books, articles, and research papers we studied were enough to convince us that the whole field of Vaccination was Hookum, and would prove toxic and deadly to our childrens brains and bodies.
Fast forward to 2009 and after years of Childbirth and Family Activism, and many hours of reading on the whole pandemic scam, I finally was able to put all of the various world government goals together like a huge puzzle, with the vaccines being the final piece of the whole big pathetic picture.”
She wrote:bout her that is making the rounds on Motherings Discussion Boards.
“it came out a few months ago that “Dr Amy” is on the payroll of ACOG (That’s a lie made up by Jenny Hatch. Of course, if anyone would like to pay me to write what I am going to write anyway, I’d be happy to accept it. Maybe someone can call ACOG and tell them I deserve to be paid.)”
I am very sorry Dr. Amy that my public suspicion of you is gathering steam and people are throwing around the idea that you are a paid shill for ACOG.
When we were debating at Salon last spring, I honestly could not believe that anyone will half a brain could believe the things that you write.
And it was in a letter I wrote to Salon that I first began to explore the idea publicly that you are a paid harpie.
