birth since about month 6 of my pregnancy. My babies always wait until
well past their due date to be born and I was looking forward to a birth
that would have no pressure from outside forces. I really, really, really
wanted to know what it was like to spontaneously go into labor (both
of my previous births were induced by castor oil at week 42). I wanted
a birth that had no time lines or limits, no interventions, no pressure,
and no spectators.

In retrospect, I wish I could somehow separate the normal euphoria of
birth, from the overwhelming sense of pride in a birth that was done
on my own with just the support of my husband. But the emotions are
inextricably tied together and the birth just seems exactly, rightly,
so…So, let me just say this, when I was preparing for the birth I
visualized my perfect birth plan, but reality was much, much, much better.

And this is the story:

(Click on the image to buy Heathers Book!)

From the Tonight Shows only Jew….Ha ha

December 15, 2009Jenny Marie Hatch Leave a comment

A huge part of this blog is sharing my Mormon Faith with anyone who happens to pop in for a look. So it is with great joy I share with you a perfect encapsulation of the mormon lifestyle in the form of “Mormon Rap”.

It is difficult to put into words how much my faith means to me, but I will only say tonight that I would be nothing without my Faith in Jesus Christ. I would not be alive right now, I would not be healthy enough to care for my family, and I would not be able to function as a human being without the Holy Priesthood, Blessings, and The Atonement of Jesus Christ as a part of my daily walk with Heavenly Father.

If you are looking for something else spiritually than what you have going on in your personal life, give the mormon missionaries a few minutes of your time the next time they knock on your door. You just might end up being eternally grateful that you did!

Jenny Hatch

Curious, what exactly is he grading himself on? Personality???

December 15, 2009Jenny Marie Hatch Leave a comment

Mama, Just stay HOME!

December 15, 2009Jenny Marie Hatch Leave a comment

mum and baby Mail Online: NHS maternity services in meltdown: A former midwife reveals how understaffed wards are sinking into chaos

“Clutching her husband’s hand and with agony and exhaustion etched on her face, a young woman struggled into a room in the maternity unit where I worked.

She was in the early stages of labour with her first baby, she was terrified, in excruciating pain and desperate for any crumb of support…

…It’s a huge relief to have left the NHS. As an independent midwife in Northwich, Cheshire, I am finally able to help women the way they deserve.

Calm, supported and not rushed, my mothers give birth in six to seven hours. In the units where I worked, the average labour was ten to 14 hours.

I feel guilty about the women I let down as an NHS midwife. Weak and in pain, they don’t have the knowledge or strength to stand up for themselves.

Instead, they end up being patronised by doctors and bullied by midwives into taking drugs they don’t want.

But what makes me most sad and angry is that those hospital staff – everyone from managers down – are taking advantage of women when they are at their most vulnerable.

Interview: TESSA CUNNINGHAM

Big Hollywood

December 15, 2009Jenny Marie Hatch Leave a comment

myon_thumbnail If you want to understand the War in Afghanistan, Read Yon…

afgahnistan Michael Yon

13 December 2009
Kandahar, Afghanistan

“People are confused about the war. The situation is difficult to resolve even for those who are here. For most of us, the conflict remains out of focus, lacking reference of almost any sort. Vertigo leaves us seeking orientation from places like Vietnam—where most of us never have been. So sad are our motley pundits-cum-navigators that those who have never have been to Afghanistan or Vietnam shamelessly use one to reference the other. We saw this in Iraq….

…

The Taliban in Arghandab got a serious whipping but they are not dead. The winter season is providing our side a brief opportunity to earn local support with various projects in a relatively unmolested environment, while the snowbirds are in Pakistan, no doubt plotting their return.

The Battle for Kandahar is on. Fresh troops in the United States have been given orders to get over here. The chapter called “Arghandab” will be crucial.

The War in Afghanistan has truly begun. This will be a long, difficult fight that is set to eclipse anything we’ve seen in Iraq. As 2010 unfolds, my 6th year of war coverage will unfold with it. There is relatively little interest in Afghanistan by comparison to previous interest in Iraq, and so reader interest is low. Afghanistan is serious, very deadly business. Like Iraq, however, it gets pushed around as a political brawling pit while the people fighting the war are mostly forgotten. The arguments at home seem more likely to revolve around a few words from the President than the ground realities of combat here. I can bring the ground realities, but can sustain the coverage only by the graciousness of readers. Please keep that in mind. Please click…

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