It's a dark day...

This will be short and sweet. I have more to do today than time in which to do it.

Quote of the day

Elizabeth: "It's okay if we drink blood, right, Mom?"*

Yeah, I'm a little excited for tonight.

Love Ramona? Me too.

Bursting into tears, she threw herself face down on the couch. She kicked and she pounded on the cushions with her fists. Everyone was against her. Nobody liked her. Even the cat did not like her. The room was silent, and Ramona had the satisfaction of knowing she had stopped their laughing. She heard responsible old Beezus go to her room to do her responsible old homework. Her parents continued to sit in silence, but Ramona was past caring what anyone did. She cried harder than she ever had cried in her life. She cried until she was limp and exhausted.

Then Ramona felt her mother's hand on her back. "Ramona," she said gently, "what are we going to do with you?"

With red eyes, a swollen face, and a streaming nose, Ramona sat up and glared at her mother. "Love me!" Her voice was fierce with hurt. Shocked at her own words, she buried her face in the pillow. She had no tears left.

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

The Today Show ran a segment about doulas. I don't know what their purpose was in airing it, but it was not to educate the public about what a doula is and does. Their main consultant was an obstetrician whose hospital has banned doulas because of past conflicts. Apparently this particular hospital had a doula or two who made it difficult for the doctor's recommendations to be followed -- doulas are not supposed to give medical advice or do anything that can be construed as doing such; it's against our code of ethics. The OB said in no uncertain terms that doulas are not medically trained (which is true) and that therefore they only interfere with the medical aspect of birth (I have no words for this because every time I try to open my mouth, fire comes out instead of speech). The upshot of the segment was "Don't get a doula because they're poorly trained. Oh, and trust your doctor unquestioningly."

Well, of COURSE obstetricians are going to have a skewed perspective about doulas, because they're not in the same line of work. They work in the same sphere, but they have different objectives within that sphere -- or, more accurately, they're responsible for different parts of the same sphere. The boundaries of our practices do not really overlap.

But it is a little like asking a gay rights activist to explain the beliefs of the LDS church. You're not going to get a very favorable perspective, and the good points will definitely not be emphasized, if they come up at all. I don't know why they chose the approach they did, but what I do know is that a lot of people take The Today Show as factual information, and this sort of publicity will take some effort to overcome.

Well, I'm going to go chant with my rain stick for consolation now. My doula recertification is coming up and I'm way behind in my chanting.

*The context was that she was worried after swallowing a little of her own blood during a recent bloody nose. That was all.