Yesterday I....

...turned 30. Yep, a new decade has dawned on my horizon.

In 1979:

• the US cesarean rate was 16%
• 1.7% of births took place outside of the hospital in the U.S. the majority of large cities followed
  
• HCC's lead and allowed men into the birthing rooms for good
• the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association approved it's first anti-homebirth resolution
• NAPSAC held a conference "The Five Standards of Safe Childbearing: Good Nutrition, Skillful Midwifery, Natural Childbirth, Home Birth, and Breastfeeding" in Nashville, TN and visited The Farm to get more information on the safety of alternative birth options
• the American Public Health Association concluded that "births to healthy mothers can occur safely outside the setting of an acute-care hospital."
• The AAHCC and Lamaze began working with hospitals to offer free alternative birthing classes to the public.
• The Tampa Bay Association of Lamaze was established, among others.
• The FDA convened a special meeting to discuss results of a large national study that found lingering behavior and motor deficits in children whose mothers had received anesthesia in large doses of analgesics, including Demerol. This press increased the interest in natural childbirth and boosted the homebirth and midwife movements.
• Childbirth Alternatives Quarterly is created, edited, and published by Janet Ashford
• Mothering Magazine publishes it's first article on vaccination awareness and alternatives.
  
• The ICEA committed to developing a childbirth education certification program.
• Germany increased their maternity leave from 2 to 6 months and women are encouraged to take the last 6 weeks before their EDD off to prepare for the event.
• The first study on the effects of ultrasound waves on living tissue is published
  
• La Leche League International is represented at joint WHO/UNICEF Meeting on Infant and Young Child Feeding in October in Geneva, Switzerland
• Mary Tocco began researching vaccinations. She later held conferences on their safety and ingredients and, just recently, released a DVD titled "Are Vaccines Safe".
  
• "Birth In The Squatting Position" is produced and released by Polymorph Films and remains one of the top-rated natural chilbirth videos.
• My mom gave birth to me: a squealing, heafty, ball of opinion at 6am on Sept 4th