Baby born on the 8s

From The Advertiser:

New birth at 8:08 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2008

It wasn’t sheer chance that Charles Amir Fontenot was born at 8:08 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2008 (8-8-08).
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It was a well-orchestrated event.

“I liked that number,” said his mother, Mehe Lambert, a reference clerk for the St. Landry Parish School Board in Opelousas. “It’s just a good number. I asked the doctor if it’s OK, if I could have him on the eighth, instead of the 16th.”

Aug. 16 was her due date, added Lambert, who was born in Tunisia, North Africa, went to school in Germany, and speaks English, French, German, Italian and four Arabic dialects.

Dr. Kenneth Christrup, a local obstetrician, agreed to perform the Caesarean section at the appointed time at Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The plan was perfectly safe for all concerned, he said. “Everybody was on board. We wouldn’t put the child in jeopardy to get it accomplished.”

It had been decided earlier that the baby would be born by Caesarian section, said his father, Charles Fontenot, a Schlumberger employee. “Everybody thought he would be over 10 pounds,” Fontenot said. “They thought he would be a double-digit baby.”

It seemed a logical assumption. Fontenot is 6 feet 8 inches tall and little Amir measured 19 1/2 inches long before he was born. Add to that the fact that Amir’s older brother, 6-year-old Conner Omar Lambert, weighed 12 pounds 13 ounces at birth.

Everyone was surprised that Amir weighed only 6 pounds 6 ounces.

“After a while, we thought I would have a bigger baby,” Lambert said. “I didn’t even try to have him naturally.”

Just as the Olympics began at that auspicious time and date in Beijing and couples clamored to be married to take advantage of the numerical combination that is considered by many to be lucky, so did Amir come into the world.

It took a little advance planning, Fontenot said.

Lambert was originally in the care of one doctor, then she switched to a second obstetrician, but there was a problem.

“The second doctor couldn’t come in on 8-08-08,” to perform the Caesarian section, Fontenot said. “So, she switched again. Dr. Christrup works on Fridays and he said he would come in and do it.

“She had it set in her mind she wanted it that way and she did it.”

August 10, 2008 | Filed Under Cesarean Birth | 2 Comments 

Be on the Dr. Phil Show!

Are you a mom with a strong opinion on hospital birthing?

Do you feel it’s the safest, most responsible way to birth a baby? Do you think home birthing is a bad idea in our age of medicine and technological advances? Does it make you angry to see moms having babies at home? Do you feel they are putting themselves and their babies at risk, and you have lots of good reasons to support your stance?

Or, are you on the oppostite end of the spectrum, and feel that home birth is the most natural, beautiful way to bring a child into the world? Do you think that birth has become something that society treats as a medical condition rather than a natural part of life that a woman’s body is built to handle? Do you feel that many people out there have wrong information about what a home birth is, and you’d like to share the truth about it?

The Doctors are working on a show where we will explore birthing options, and are looking for those that are passionate about their opinions and can offer good, solid information, and why they their method is the best possible choice.  Please share your opinions with us, and you could be a guest on our show!

Go to Be on the Show to fill out your online application!

August 6, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging | 3 Comments 

FLORIDA: Money woes suspend college midwife program

From the Miami Herald:

In another sign of the hard times in higher education, Miami Dade College said Friday it was suspending its innovative midwifery program — because not enough students had paid their $7,000 course tuition in advance.

”This is not an easy decision,” said Juan Mendieta, spokesman for the college. “But when we’re facing budget challenges this is the decision that has been made.”

The suspension of admissions — existing students can finish up their studies — leaves prospective students scrambling to come up with backup plans.

”I wanted to be a midwife since before I knew there was such a profession,” said Melissa Palacios, 21, of Miami, who had been studying education at the college. Palacios paid the fees up front and said she is unsure about her future.

Citing low enrollment and high costs, the college had advised its incoming class of 25 that they had to pay all of the semester’s tuition by the 4 p.m. Friday deadline. Otherwise, the college would suspend the program.

Only 17 paid by the deadline, with an 18th handing over the money at 4:10 p.m.

”Students were just praying that the class was going to make it. They got money from family members; they took out loans. But in the end they didn’t make it,” said Diane Gregory, professor of midwifery.

Admission to the program has been suspended before — in 2006, because of high malpractice insurance costs.

Tamara Taitt, a 2005 graduate and president of Florida Friends of Midwives, had friends who were to have been in that 2006 class.

”They found other life paths,” she said. “But then they let the next class come in. Now they’re doing it again. I don’t really have high expectations of the college at this point.”

High malpractice insurance may also be an issue for the 11 students currently enrolled in the program and slated for spring graduation. According to Mendieta, malpractice insurance is currently $3,000 per student per year. Gregory said that with fewer students to split the insurance cost, the individual fees will rise.

There are two routes to becoming a midwife.

Nursing schools, public and private, offer graduate programs for nurse practitioner midwives. Graduates are fully trained nurses who usually work in a hospital or birth center under the auspices of a doctor.

MDC trains ”direct entry” midwives, who are more likely to work outside a hospital.

Miami Dade College was the first public institution in the country to provide training in direct-entry midwifery.

”With midwifery I can own my own practice,” said Brandy Williams, 28. “This is what I dreamed of. Now I have to figure out what I’m going to do.”

Williams, a high school biology teacher and mother of two who planned on moving to Florida from the Washington, D.C. area, was one of the students who did not pay the tuition.

”I knew I would not have been able to pay for it,” she said. “I have nothing.”

The 90-credit program costs a total of about $7,000 — including the malpractice insurance, which fluctuates from year to year. Since its inception, 85 graduates have come out of the school.

Joni McCamm is a 1999 graduate who runs her own practice in Florida City: The Birthing Center of South Florida.

Last year, she delivered 27 babies.

”I could not practice the way I do today if it were not for that program,” she said. “This is really bad for the women of this community.”

Gregory, who has been a professor at the school since it opened, said, “On a professional level, I still have other work to do. But on a personal level, my heart’s broken.”

August 1, 2008 | Filed Under Midwives/Midwifery | 1 Comment