When the daughters were born I was living in North Western Ontario. I was living on a Reservation and the nearest hospital was an hour's drive over treacherous roads. This is considered a mild situation to be in and during spring and summer it really was not much of a concern... but Daughter #1 was born in December and at that time of the year it was a big concern. I also had two previous miscarriages which were also a concern. I traveled those roads for days before the baby was born always concerned that we would have an accident... and after Daughter #1 was born Teapot traveled those roads so that he could visit me and our new wee baby and to support us both. It was a time that I needed him and his love. His travelling back and forth sometimes in the worst kind of weather worried me no small amount... I was so happy when Daughter #2 was born in May.
All around me, I am hearing about the state of maternal health in Canada. I think about my situation when I was at the age where birth giving was part of life, and I think about the people who are coming out of even more remote places and I wonder how they do it. Yesterday, I was listening to the CBC radio and they were interviewing a family from Fort Nelson, which is about a 6 hour drive from a hospital that can deliver babies, and I didn't realize how difficult for them it is. Here are young women who are having to leave their community, all of their friends and family, their complete support system and staying in hotels sometimes for weeks with their other children while their husbands continue to work at home.... or not.... as the case may be, while they wait from their due date till the time their child is born. It is a time of stress and anguish and it can't be good for the fetus. I keep thinking that there has to be a way that a non profit organization can set up a program whereby families who need to, can stay in cabins or hostels, that are set up to make the birthing experience a much less stressful event on the whole family. You know... like a Ronald McDonald house for pregnant women.
This morning I got up and read the news and I find that our dear boy (I say that tongue in cheek), Steven Harper is at the G8 spouting on about maternal health and pledging a whole pile of money to that end.... Hmm.... I wonder where all that money is going to go... will we get our own house in order before we go raging off to save the world? He's had a year to fix the problems at home since the last G8 when maternal health was a topic of discussion and I'm not seeing a whole lot of difference.... Wouldn't it be nice if we could have mid-wives in those communities that are remote and need it... and for more high risk pregnancies, it would be nice to see something done for the mom's who need to be near a hospital... so where's all that help that our government is promising... it seems once again that our government has a whole lot of empty words in their mouths.
But then that's just my opinion...
What do you think?....
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