I now know first hand that routine mammography can be a life-saver. Due to subtle changes from my last screening, I recently had a breast biopsy and am relieved (to say the least) that it was benign.
Nearly all cancers can be treated successfully if found early. The most effective ways to detect breast cancer at an early, treatable stage are to have a yearly screening mammogram starting at age 40. For more detailed information, including prevention visit: www.cancer.org and www.komen.org
Scheduling your mammogram and/or yearly physical the week of your birthday is a great way be sure it gets done.

You need to STOP! As an actress and talk show host you did an admirable job and I think your viewers appreciated your candid style. As a ‘self appointed birthing spokesperson’ you are misleading people left and right. What you are NOT is a health care professional. To your credit, the world liked you and grew to trust you when you were a TV personality; but to use this trust to lead people down a dangerous path is truly irresponsible. Your narrow and jaded view of birth is very likely to cause more harm than good.
In my view as a healthcare professional for more than twenty years, we have come a long way from the days when a home birth was the only option. The hospital environment of the 21st Century allows most women in our society to have a safe and healthy labor and delivery. Your assertion that hospitals and doctors do not have the best interest of moms and babies in mind is just flat out wrong. I know that there is nothing more empowering than knowledge for expectant parents – I have made a career out of helping to educate them as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives. I also know that plans go awry, things change, pain can be greater than expected, and complications happen. Being in a hospital with trained medical professionals can mean the difference between life and death.

And yes, you are right, the hospital lights are often too bright and hallways too hectic, and IV drips and fetal monitors can be cumbersome during labor. But that’s far less important to me than achieving the ultimate goal that these institutions support: healthy moms and healthy babies.

The recent media attention being paid to the Gosselin parents, whose marriage is under fire and possibly failing, is very sad. Raising children, one at a time-on a good day, is not easy or effortless. Add twins and sextuplets, a camera crew essentially living in your home, while the world waits to judge your every move…now the stress-o-meter is off the
charts! Undoubtedly good for the TLC network ratings, not very happy or healthy for the Gosselin family.

Yesterday I had a long phone conversation with a brand new mom whose baby was born via cesarean. She was fairly consumed with “shoulda, coulda, woulda,” racking her brain for what she might have done differently to avoid a cesarean. After hearing the detailed account of her labor, I was able to assure her that she and her partner had done a great job with attempting a vaginal delivery…the fact is that after 10+ hours with essentially no cervical progress, it was time to go with Plan B.

Unfortunately, our society continues to judge how the baby is born, how the baby is fed and how the parents choose to raise their child…distinctly not helpful…by and large, parents do the very best they can and need to be supported along the way.

In honor of Mother’s, Grandmother’s daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, aunties, nieces, cousins, girl friends and extended family!

The world wouldn’t be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

Tune in tomorrow to channel 7 at 3:00 PM for the “how to engage partners in preparing for birth” interview. Producer of the show, Janel A. is a recent graduate of McMoyler Method; her husband Tarik was pretty inspire with what he learned in class, so she invited me to appear on the show.

I’m excited to spread the word about The Best Birth DVD and book, so that expectant parents who live outside the SF area can also take the childbirth class.