By Rebekah Meurer | Rocky Mountain Voice
Do you value God, family and freedom? Do you stand for those values? Will you stand for God, country and freedom?
These are important questions in our present times. If you were to be asked what is the most under attack in the United States, what would your answer be? Would you respond it is the family? If the family is allowed to be brought down, government tyranny will destroy everything else with ease.
The United States has a major health crisis with new mothers in the immediate postpartum period. In 2010, rates of postpartum depression were at 9.4%. Fast forward to the time of the pandemic, postpartum depression rates more than doubled. With the birth rates in the United States averaging about 4 million live births each year, that means more than 770,000 women are impacted by postpartum depression.
To support families, the U.S. government should initiate a postpartum care plan for all postpartum mothers, no matter their income level. All human beings are created equal. Every mother and newborn has an inherent natural right, to survive. By paying for postpartum care of mothers and newborns, we are protecting their individual right to not only live but thrive. We the people have a moral and ethical responsibility to protect life.
But, what is the State of Colorado spending on? We could start with wolves. Should animals have more rights than humans? Should we spend money on releasing wolves into rural Colorado? Should the City of Denver spend 10% of their city budget on illegal immigrants? Why would the federal government spend $120 million dollars in disability pay and retirement to dead federal employees? Are they not paying attention? Who cashed those checks?
Mothers and babies are more valuable than animals, illegal immigrants and dead federal employees. Just like we give tax advantages to charities, schools and churches to encourage them and offer a leg up, we should do the same if not more for our American families.
The state of Colorado along with more than a dozen other states are in a pilot program to evaluate the success of hands-on care with postpartum mothers. Colorado’s postpartum healthcare pilot program is run through Illuminate Colorado, called Family Connect Colorado. At no cost, low-income families in Boulder, Eagle and Jefferson Counties can schedule an at home visit with a nurse for free.
Multiple studies have shown that incorporating doulas in the perinatal, birth, and postpartum period provided new mothers and newborns with overall healthier outcomes compared to mothers without doulas.
A doula is a professionally-trained individual who provides physical, mental and spiritual support to an expectant mother and her spouse, before, during and after labor. A doula educates an expectant mother about nutrition, anatomy of her body, the functions of her organs during pregnancy and labor, and shares wisdom on how to navigate and ease pregnancy discomforts. A doula prepares a mother and her spouse or partner for labor and encourages positive, productive conversations between the mother and her health care provider. Typically a doula becomes a trusted confidant.
Looking at data specific to the postpartum period, mothers with doulas were more likely to initiate breastfeeding immediately after birth, with continued breastfeeding at six weeks postpartum. Mothers with doulas had decreased anxiety and viewed their babies as being beautiful and more clever than those mothers without doulas. The conclusion is that hands-on care optimizes overall healthy outcomes.
According to the World Health Organization, breastfeeding is the best nutrition for a baby. Mother’s milk is created by mothers, intricately designed on the spot to accommodate the nutritional and immune boosting needs of their individual baby.
Babies that are breastfed have higher IQs, are less likely to be overweight and obese, and are less prone to diabetes later in life. Breastfed babies have a higher immune system overall than babies not breastfed. The highest and best benefits to mothers who breastfeed are lower risks for breast and ovarian cancer.
With all the above listed health benefits, every effort must be made to optimize a mother’s success at breastfeeding and all efforts must be made to reduce her risk for postpartum depression. The immediate postpartum period is a critically pivotal moment in a new mother’s and new baby’s first weeks. When hands-on support is provided to new moms and babies, we increase human life expectancy and have happier and healthier families and healthier communities. Arguably decreasing future health costs.
It is not enough to simply have an opinion, to disagree, to scream and shout. You as a taxpayer, a compassionate member of society, have a duty and obligation to take action! Your call to action is to become familiar with Colorado’s pilot program, offer feedback, and to be on the planning committee for this postpartum initiative to make sure the program reflects true and traditional family values. The postpartum plan is one step forward in healing and prioritizing family units, we must ensure that the family is at the heart of the program.
For more information and to get involved, please visit Illuminate Colorado.
Rebekah Meurer of Parker is a certified labor and birth doula. She may be contacted at [email protected]