... because she believes in me.

Today I saw three Seattle Metro buses sporting the above advertisement.

I stopped and stared and began to smile.

For the past three years I have been teaching a course at UW on the culture of birth in this country. The following have been my course titles:

Birth 101: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Birth (2009)

Birth; Delivered (2008)

Inquiry Into Childbirth Culture in Contemporary American Society (2007-Inaugural Course)

This was the absolutely brilliant idea of my former doula business partner, Jane Harris. Together we propositioned the CHID department, no not Child, CHID stands for Comparative History of Ideas, in which Jane H. has a degree. This department has a course, CHID 496 that enables students to teach whatever they want, an incredible opportunity that has solidly become one of the highlights on my year.

I am struck today by this in-your-face advert because I have begun my class each year by saying something along these lines:

This class is biased, I will happily be up front about this, you should all know that I support out of hospital birth for healthy term pregnant women, and I support local midwives--providers best suited for the majority of pregnant women out there, healthy, normal and at term (as defined by weeks gestation: 37-42). Ninety-eight percent of babies are born in the hospital in the United States and still you see billboards and sides of buses with advertisements oozing with the cuteness of perfect mini humans all smiles, with phrases like: My Baby Was Born at Ballard, Born at Swedish, and my favorite pretentious claim, Smart Babies Ask to be Born at the UWMC. See, hospitals capitalize on birth, thereby squaring away lifelong loyalty by coaxing patients even before they're born. Question that statement? Who do young women go to for their first exam in the pelvic floor department (I'm talking about "smearing your pap" ladies)? The gynecologist of course, the OBGYN--Obstetrician/Gynecologist in fact. Which means what? Well, that when a lady finds herself preggers, she automatically turns to her Gyno who she's been "seeing" for years. Boom, scheduled sectional surgery later* and there you have another loyal lifelong patient already in place.

*Important note necessary here: This is of course not always the case, depends on a few things, also as much as a I knock surgical birth, please note that what I am actually opposed to is unnecessary medical intervention in an otherwise more-than-perfectly-normal bodily experience, birthing a baby. It is absurd to think that it is normal for our nation to have evolved just so that in that last two and half decades females can no longer accomplish what has been occurring for centuries--thousands of them in fact. What is also worthy of particular mention here is that we have amazing medical interventions today that literally save mother's and baby's lives. The cesarean was born so-to-speak for just that purpose, saving both mother and baby, an option previously unavailable. When cesareans are the only way out for a new member of society, they are one of the most impressive acts of the human hand to witness. It is still very much the birth of a baby.

Anyway, I am very tangential when you get me started talking about birth--did ya ever notice that?

The point is, today there were bus adverts for midwives! My class is based on the underlying philosophy that we live in an economically-based society with the expectation that we have consumer options in life, about everything. And we do, we have the option to birth however we want. Not very many of us even know exactly what midwives do. Incidentally they catch babies, they are trained, experienced, and professional baby catchers who are fully equipped and prepared for any twist and turn in labor. This goes for the scary ones too, at which point midwives make a note of the pink flag, not waiting for it to turn into a red flag and get thee to a medical facility that can implement the tools necessary to keep birth safe. It is extremely rare for an out of hospital birth to transfer in a state of true emergency. So, with consumer options comes public education and commodity marketing. Market away midwives of Seattle! Hurray for choice in this part of the world, exercise your right to education and make the right choice for you. Learn and believe that birth is one of life's most normal events. That, and dying... but I'll save this topic for another moment of sharing down the line. Know that death is also something I am rather passionate about, and like birth it is often medicalized, painful, scary, and in the hospital, alone with providers who don't trust it and therefore tend to contribute to the emotional instability of it, when it could otherwise be supported and protected, peaceful and beautiful.

Speaking of matters of life and death (because this is what keeps you ticking), even though I'm pretty bad at this, I've decided to do the crossword everyday this week... any suggestions?

Shoe part that touches the floor [7 letters] / Wedding rental [4 letters]