I don’t think I’ll ever have an abortion but that doesn’t mean I’ll let anyone take my right away. Besides I am just not of the belief that government needs to be ruling on what we are and are not allowed to do with our bodies.

Each of us should be free to decide what is best for us and our current situation. It is all a freedom thing you know. With freedom comes the need for informed decision. Just because someone chooses something that you feel is wrong doesn’t mean we should take the right to choose away.

I don’t like women who use abortion as a means for birth control, I personally do not agree with it and it makes me sick. Those people need to be taught better morals and better self control not refused the right to have an abortion. I am not going to rant on and on about this though. I know where President Barack Obama stands on choice and abortion. If you need a refresher here is a video:

Today’s Blog for Choice question is: What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress ?

I hope that our administration can get away from using the law to force us in to doing what one group views as not being for our own good. Now that is wishing huh? I also hope we can reform the health care/ insurance industries so that they are all inclusive and are a benifit to everyone not just a manipulation and money making device.

Seriously a woman’s right to choose goes beyond abortion and the pill. Women should have access to and insurance coverage for ANY type of family planning/ birth control method she chooses. I don’t just mean birth control either. Insurance should cover birth control but it should also cover all types of family planning and birth control methods including FAM (fertility awareness method) and NFP (natural family planning).

To me a woman’s right to choose also encompasses birthing rights, how can states outlaw midwives and force women to birth in hospitals? That just goes back to how the health care/ insurance industries have an unfair monopoly and are acting unethically but that is a rant for another day.

So there you have it those are my pro-choice wishes for the new administration. What are yours?

The post Blog for Choice Day, 2009 appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

“Since ranking a fairly respectable 12th in 1960, the U.S. fell to an all-time low 29th in the world in infant mortality in 2004, according to the report Recent Trends in Infant Mortality in the United States from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The U.S. infant mortality ranking has been falling steadily, from 23rd in 1990, to 27th in 2000.” Quote source

Maternity care in this country really bothers me because it is so one sided, it is way to medically managed. I think that modern medical advancements are wonderful and that they really do save and help so many. Hospital birth is a fitting option for many women due to medical complications, risks and even because of convenience. I am glad we have so many trained and skilled professionals in these hospitals to treat us.

What bothers me is the idea that birthing anywhere but the hospital is bad. Hospitals are great for healing the sick and for managing complications but there are many women who are complication free who would like a different approach to childbirth that is not possible in a hospital. Those of us who have no complications that need managing should be free to choose a birth setting we are comfortable with but the AMA and ACOG don’t want that.

Our current need for health care reform is (in my opinion) a result of the one sided system we already have in place. We already know change is necessary and this is our chance to speak up about our views and concerns so that we’ll be heard.

Soon we’ll have a new president in office and there is no better time than now to start speaking up about maternity care and other issues that are important to us.

I am personally livid that how and where I birth my child is being decided for me by the law. This is a decision that is each woman’s to make much like the debate on abortion. It is a woman’s body and should be her right to choose.

I am all for educated decision making, I welcome the recommendations and advice of organizations like the AMA and ACOG, I also value other information sources such as Childbirth Connection’s Evidence-Based Maternity Care and many other sources. Knowledge is power so educate and advise us but DO NOT force us!

If you are like me and want to fight for change you can contact your representatives and express your concerns. This is what legislation is currently on the table:

Congress:
	S.507 Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007
	H.R.864 Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007
Georgia:
	SB480 Georgia Qualified Medication Aides Act; provide for delegation of certain nursing tasks; Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Practical Nurses
Missouri:
	SB637 Direct Entry Midwifery in Missouri
	HB974 MIDWIFERY – Davis, Cynthia L.
South Carolina:
	S881 S881
	H4347 H4347

Also consider writing President-Elect Obama about your views on health care and birthing options. With health care reform just around the corner we have a chance to make some changes but only if we all speak up regardless of our own personal preferences. Every woman deserves the right to choose, lets take that right back!

The post Lets take back our birthing rights! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

The contest page FAQ says that when someone leaves a “comment on your blog and if they’re a winner, their last blog post will come back as a prize notification.” So that means when you comment you’ll usually see something like this:

If you win instead of seeing the title of the post from your own blog, you’ll see a notification that you are a winner. All you have to do when you see the winning notification is: “click that after it has been submitted and published on your site and enter their details on the claim page here to receive the prize.”

I luv my blog readers (and the helpful comments) so that is why you have this awsome chance to win just for leaving comments. Yay! Also, don’t forget to enter Talina’s Baby Weight Contest so you have a chance to win some cash. The more chances to win the better right? Consider it my economic stimulus package. Ha…

The post You can win goodies just for commenting on this blog! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Then I thought, what a lovely and possibly entertaining thing to blog about! Something as small as a food covered scrubber that pisses me off is a perfect blog topic! So I headed over to google to search for a pet peeve meme that I could use to share my disgust. Over at Danielles Garden I found a top 5 pet peeves meme that just fit the bill. Here it goes, my pet peeves of the moment..

1. Dirty germ infested, food covered dish scrubbers that are all nastied up and left for ME to deal with! We might as well skip the dish washing and just eat off dirty dishes, that way we are exposed to LESS germs and bacteria.

2. People who are in constant need of your sympathy because “they have it so bad”, everyone deals with sucky shit and they manage to pick themselves and function in the real world. You can to, but if you choose not to don’t make everyone else out to be the bad guys.

3. Truck drivers who can’t wait for a clearing in traffic to pull out on to the road like the rest of us. What rule allows you to pull out in front of oncoming traffic (near the little america in Flagstaff) and expect everyone to stop and wait for you? Pretty sure you are the one who is supposed to be yielding to the flow of traffic not the other way around!

4. When you go through your day trying to be courteous and respectful of everyone around you despite the fact that nobody else does the same. Being respectful and courteous is damn annoying when everyone else is self centered and nasty but what can you do? Stooping to their level is not any better.


5. Loud or frantic eaters annoy me to no end! I don’t understand why people need to eat like someone is going to steal the plate away from them, take time to chew your food and enjoy it. Besides nobody want to watch or hear you inhaling your meal! Also, my skin crawls when people eat their fries like a “wood chopper”… Think about it, I know you have seen this done. They stick the tip of the fry in their mouth, chew on it then they move on to the next part o the fry… Ugh, it is hard to explain. Here is a video illustration fr ya! Watch the girl on the left with the white hat on, she is chopping fries!

So, want to share your pet peeves? You know you want to! Common do it, you will feel better- but link to me too okay? You can say something like, Talina over at Harvest of Daily Life shared her top 5 pet peeves and encouraged me to do the same. Here is my take on the 5 pet peeves meme!

Oh, wordpress users, get your image to show up when you comment by getting a gravatar! I just did, it is not that hard. all you need to do is: “begin by registering a Gravatar image on the Gravatars site by signing up and submitting an image.” or sign in to your “global dashboard” and upload your preferred photo! I just read a nice post about this over @ lorelle.wordpress.com and mine works like a charm now!

The post The Pet Peeve Meme… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Many veterans have never seen the memorial and the goal of Honor Flight is to get all of the veterans to the memorial free. You can read more about this story @ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9992713/

I just thought it was a nice thing to hear about and a wonderful gesture! Those veterans sacrificed so much to give us the freedom we have today and Honor Flight is just another organization trying to honor them and make their dreams come true. So sweet!

The post A happy news story that practically made me cry. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.