Pritha Chatterjee
10-Feb-2012
New Delhi : Delhi government’s Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS has been awarded a quality assurance stamp by the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH . This makes it the first neurosciences and psychiatry facility to get this recognition. Almost two years since they first began the application procedure, IHBAS has addressed many of the shortcomings pointed out to them during their inspections, NABH authorities said. NABH is the health services arm of the Quality Council of India (QCI . It provides renewable certification to health facilities, which meet certain standards in patient care services. For mental health institutions, standard NABH guidelines for general hospitals have been modified.
Dr Nimesh Desai, Director, IHBAS, said, “It has been a painstaking process to develop separate ethical guidelines for patients who voluntarily seek treatment, those who are brought by families and homeless mentally ill and those sent to us by judicial orders. For those who are not in a state to make sound decisions, NABH guidelines have been modified.”
The right of a patient to reject treatment, sharing patients’ records and the options available to patients to chose treatment modalities, have been changed for mental health institutions. Requirements like a central sterilisation unit—mandatory for NABH accredited hospitals to sterilise equipment and instruments— have been omitted considering the limited use of instruments in such units.
The autonomous institute under the Delhi government has followed the example of two other mental health institutions — at Vadodara and Ahmedabad — that provide dedicated psychiatry services.
These institutions were accredited by the NABH in November last year.
According to authorities, legal requirements, like the mandatory clearance from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB for running radiological diagnostics, and licences for using certain narcotic drugs, which were not available with IHBAS earlier, have been procured.
Quality standards for services essential to psychiatric set-ups— like long-term rehabilitation of patients, psychiatry ICU and psychiatry emergency —have been added to the NABH guidelines for mental health institutions.
For neurosurgery and neurology departments, existing guidelines have been incorporated.
Delhi Health Minister Dr A K Walia said, “There has been a conscious change in management of psychiatric patients from custodial to rehabilitation based treatment. IHBAS has tried to address these needs while ensuring the highest quality standards.”
Dr Zainab Zaidi, Assistant Director, NABH, said after 18 months, authorities will conduct another follow up inspection at the institute.
“Scientists have shown how some cells in the body can repel attacks from HIV by starving the virus of the building blocks of life,” BBC News has reported.
The news is based on a study that had discovered how some cells may restrict HIV infection. The study looked at why a protein called SMADH1 was able to help certain immune system cells resist the HIV virus, with researchers finding that the body uses the protein to break up the building blocks of DNA, called dNTPs. This is of interest as the HIV virus spreads in the body by initially constructing DNA segments from dNTPs. This DNA is then inserted into our normal DNA sequence, tricking the body into making HIV particles and spreading the infection.
However, the SAMHD1 protein appears to restrict HIV infection by reducing levels of dNTPs needed for it to initially make DNA segments. The researchers predict that lowering levels of dNTPs could therefore be a general mechanism for limiting infection by any organism that needs to make DNA in order to replicate.
This interesting research demonstrated how some cells can resist HIV infection. However, HIV targets a type of immune cell called a ‘T cell’ that has low levels of SAMHD1 and high levels of dNTPs. In addition, the ability to translate this finding into a therapy is hampered by the fact that many cells, including T cells, are continually dividing and therefore need dNTPs to replicate their own genetic material.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from scientific and medical institutions in France, the US and around the world, and include the Institut Cochin, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Universite of Paris Decartes, the University of Rochester Medical Center, and the New York University School of Medicine.
The study was funded by a number of charitable, academic and governmental research organisations, including the US National Institutes of Health and the European Research Council. It was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Immunology.
This story was well covered by the BBC.
What kind of research was this?
This was a laboratory study that used purified protein and cells grown in cultures to investigate the role of a protein called SAMHD1 in HIV infection.
SAMHD1 is a protein that is thought to play a role in immune responses and the amount of SAMHD1 produced varies between different types of immune cells. For example, immune cells like dendritic cells (or antigen-presenting cells have high levels of SAMHD1, while other immune cells like T-cells have low levels. SAMHD1 restricts the infection of dendritic cells by HIV.
This study aimed to determine the mechanism through which SAMHD1 might restrict HIV infection. This is the most appropriate study design to explore this question.
What did the research involve?
The researchers performed a number of experiments to determine the role of SAMHD1:
- they examined the effect of reducing SAMHD1 levels in cells grown in culture
- they purified SAMHD1 and looked at whether it could break up dNTPs
- they looked at the effects of introducing SAMHD1 to cells that do not normally produce it
- they looked at the ability of HIV to infect cells when SAMHD1 was and was not present
What were the basic results?
Through their various experiments the researchers found that SAMHD1 breaks up the building blocks of DNA, called deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs . In order to spread, HIV needs to replicate its genetic material inside host cells by producing DNA. SAMHD1 was found to restrict HIV’s infectious properties in cell samples by reducing levels of dNTP molecules, meaning that the virus cannot make the DNA necessary for replication.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers conclude that ‘by depleting the pool of available dNTPs, SAMHD1 effectively starves the virus of a building block that it is central to its replication strategy.’ They also add that depleting the pool of available nucleotides could be a general mechanism for protecting cells from infectious agents’ that make DNA.
Conclusion
This interesting research has shown that a protein called SAMHD1 breaks up DNA buildings blocks (dNTPS . This limits HIV infection in cells that express high levels of SAMHD1, like the immune system’s dendritic cells (antigen presenting cells . The researchers conclude from their lab tests that reducing the levels of dNTPs could potentially protect cells from any infectious agent that needs to make DNA.
However, while this laboratory based study has found some rather intriguing results, the ability to translate its finding into a therapy for limiting infection is hampered by one key fact: DNA reproduction is an important process constantly performed within our bodies as our cells replicate. It therefore remains to be seen whether we can harness this defensive mechanism as a way to fight HIV or other viral infection without negatively affecting vital processes in the body.
Links To The Headlines
Immune cells use 'starvation tactics' on HIV. BBC News, February 13 2012
Links To Science
Lahouassa H,Daddacha W, Hofmann H et al. SAMHD1 restricts the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 by depleting the intracellular pool of deoxynucleoside triphosphates. Nature Immunology, 2012
Officers catch men chopping up wild animals in Thai slaughterhouse after following shopper with blood on his hands
It isn't every day that a man with bloody hands emerges from a convenience store and returns home to continue chopping up tigers, zebras and wild buffalo in an underground slaughterhouse.
So Thai police officers on a routine street patrol in north-east Bangkok had a lucky break when, by chance, they crossed paths with a member of a wild animal meat gang who had nipped out to buy some butchering supplies.
On following the man, Thai police discovered four other men chopping up a large male tiger. Zebra, crocodile, wild buffalo and elephant carcasses, along with 400kg of tiger meat, were also found in the building, ready to be sold as exotic meat and trophies.
"We found one tiger in an ice box, where it was being preserved with formaldehyde, and a lot of bones. On the floor, there were fresh cuts of white tiger, elephant and lion skins," the Thai nature crime police commander, Colonel Norasak Hemnithi, said. "The suspects later told us that they had gone out looking for ice to store the fresh meats."
Police have since arrested eight people, including the alleged mastermind, in what they and local wildlife organisations believe is a smuggling operation fronted by Bangkok zoos.
The case has shed light on Thailand's place at the heart of an estimated $10bn global trade in endangered species that is driving many plants and animals to extinction, according to wildlife groups. It highlights a worrying trend in which the meat of endangered animals is sold in resort restaurants in southern Thailand.
Demand for trophy items and exotic meats across Asia, but particularly in China, has driven up the trade in elephants, big cats, reptiles and birds.
The anti-wildlife trafficking group Freeland, which is working with police on the investigation, suspects the animals came from, or were sold through, private zoos in Thailand. "It's hard for police to go after zoos because there's a legal loophole [here] that can easily be used to front a breeding operation. Zoos have a permit to own tigers, so they can breed the tigers and sell the offspring," said a Freeland spokesman, Roy Schlieben, adding that an adult tiger could fetch more than $10,000.
Raids in Thailand, which heads the 10-country Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network in south-east Asia, have risen nearly tenfold in five years, Freeland said.
The director general of the Thai wildlife agency said last month that
poachers had slaughtered two wild elephants for their meat in a national park. Damrong Phidet told the Associated Press that trunks and sexual organs had been ordered by restaurants in Phuket. Some of the meat was to be consumed without cooking, like "elephant sashimi", he said.
But critics claim police are only touching the tip of the iceberg. "A lot of catches are lucky catches," Edwin Wiek, of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said. "In Saturday's case, the criminal was only caught because he went to 7-Eleven and had blood on his hands. These criminals are making a lot of money and have nothing to fear – the penalties are very low and hardly any jail sentences are given to these people."
The men arrested this month could face four years in prison and fines of 40,000 baht (?820 for illegally processing wild and protected animals, but Wiek and Schlieben said prison terms were unlikely and called for harsher penalties.
Tiger skins are often sold as trophy items to wealthy buyers in China, Thailand and Vietnam, with animal parts such as tiger bones being used in traditional Chinese medicine, Schlieben said, adding: "Then you've got mounted tigers, considered status symbols, and wild meat being consumed because it's 'more healthy' than domesticated animals."
Despite the increased number of wildlife criminal arrests in the past few years, Thai police have admitted they are still far from cracking the organised smuggling of animals through Thailand and abroad.
"We see about 100 [wildlife] cases per year," Norasak said. "We're [usually] able to catch the criminal but not the [mastermind] behind him. But we work consistently to investigate further and process cases."
The raid was the latest in a string of high-profile cases. A United Arab Emirates citizen was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, last May. He had live infant leopards, panthers, monkeys and an Asiatic black bear stuffed in his luggage.
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aan.com and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans in April. Researchers, led by Yonas Geda, a neuropsychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, found that people who consume more than 2,143 calories per day had more than double the risk of developing MCI compared to those who ate fewer than 1,500 calories per day. “We observed a dose-response pattern which simply means; the higher the amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of MCI,” said Geda, who is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved 1,233 people between the ages of 70 and 89 and free of dementia at the start of the study. Of those involved, 163 did have MCI. Participants reported the amount of calories they took in using a food questionnaire. They were divided into three equal groups based on their daily caloric intake: a third consumed between 600 and 1,526 calories per day; a third consumed between 1,527 and 2,143 calories per day; and another third consumed between 2,143 and 6,000 calories per day. The results were the same even after adjusting for history of stroke, diabetes, education level, and other factors known to risk memory loss. The study team did not find any significant difference in risk for the middle group. Dr Marie Janson of Alzheimer’s Research UK said the findings touch on an interesting subject. “The initial report suggests older people who consume a high number of calories may be at greater risk of developing mild cognitive impairment,” she told The Telegraph. “It would be interesting to see how many of these people go on to develop dementia in the future, to see if there is link to Alzheimer’s disease.” “We know that age is one of the greatest risk factors for dementia, but adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise, is beneficial in protecting against dementia along with a number of other chronic diseases,” Janson added. “With 820,000 people in the UK living with dementia, and this number expected to rise dramatically with the aging population, there is a desperate need to understand more about the risk factors involved. To make real progress, we must invest in research.” The research findings concurs with Australian research that has shown that excessive calorie intake is associated with a greater risk of MCI, said Geda. People with MCI often have trouble with memory, language or thinking severe enough to be noticeable to others around them, but is not serious enough to interfere with daily activities, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Also, people with MCI are usually aware of their forgetfulness.
12-FEB-2012
INDORE : In yet another complaint against the unethicaldrug trials that took place in the city, a local resident lodged a complaint with the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI , Medical Council of India (MCI and National Human Rights Commission on Saturday accusing some city-based doctors with a clinic of making his son a trial subject after keeping him in the dark.
Om Prakash Agrawal, a resident of Rajmohalla here, alleged that the people involved in the controversial drug trials kept him in the dark. He alleged that the drug had severe side-effects and the health condition of his son, Nitin, continued deteriorating. "After my son failed in examination, his mental health became unstable. He was not a healthy volunteer. Then, how could the doctors conduct trial on him," asked Agrawal.
The complainant stated that a medical store owner referred him to Dr Abhay Paliwal at his clinic in Geeta Bhawan. "Nitin was admitted in May 2010 and we were told that he would be alright in a few days. They asked me to sign on some forms, which were in English. Though I could not understand the content, I signed on it trusting the doctors. My son was admitted to the hospital for 10 days," stated Agrawal in his complaint.
Informing that the 'treatment' did not yield any result as per the promise, Agrawal complained that the doctors used to take blood samples 8-10 times a day.
"We even opposed when doctors collected blood samples frequently but no one listened," alleged Agrawal.
The complaint alleged that an Ahmedabad-based company, Intas, sponsored the trial for which approval was taken from city-based Naitik independent ethics committee and ethics committee of CHL-Apollo Hospital.
Nitin was also not insured against clinical trial liability and is still taking the medicines for his ailment. He was not given patient information sheet and a copy of informed consent form, the complainant added.
However, the doctor involved in the particular case clarified that no trial was conducted without informing patient or family member. "I do not remember the case. I have to check the records. However, no trial was conducted without taking consent of the patient or family members," added Dr Paliwal.
After my son failed in examination, his mental health became unstable. Then, how could the doctors conduct trial on him.
The unpaid debts of European healthcare systems owed to pharmaceutical companies reportedly stands at about 12 billion euros, and half of that is a result of Spain having problems in paying its bills.
The problem was addressed by Bruno Strigini, president of Europe/Canada at Merck & Co at
The Economist
's Pharma Summit summit in London last week. He said that 6 billion euros is outstanding in Spain and a further 4 billion euros is owed to medical device firms.
Mr Strigini claimed that the Spanish government was trying to resolve the situation but added that "it's clearly an issue. How are we going to recover the money that is owed"? He went on to say that "we're right in the middle of these discussions [but] I can't see how we can get to a solution that satisfies us without the help of international institutions", such as the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
"Things are getting rapidly worse," said Richard Bergstrom, director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, who told Reuters that his organisation puts the total outstanding European debt for medicines at between 12-15 billion euros, up from around an earlier estimate of 10 billion euros.
Mr Bergstrom told the news agency that nearly all of those unpaid bills are in four countries - Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain. The latter's government has pledged to pay the money owed by its regional governments to pharma.
Last week in Paris, Sanofi chief executive Chris Viehbacher told
PharmaTimes World News
that his firm has not seen any significant deterioration in payments from southern Europe since the problem of non-payment emerged in Greece last year. That problem was partly resolved when the Greek authorities tried to clear some debts by issuing pharma companies with government bonds and this could be a path taken by Spain.
Patients receiving NHS care for their diabetes have rated the service excellent in a patient satisfaction survey.
Over 90% of respondents said the overall care they received at the
Diabetes Centre, in King Edward VII Hospital was ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
Furthermore, 97% of patients who took part in the survey said they were treated with dignity and respect and 96% said the Diabetes Centre was clean during their visit.
“The Diabetes Service teaches people to be positive about diabetes and it is a good learning experience,” says Molly Krag, a service user. “The people who work here are very pleasant and make it a positive experience.”
The service has also just marked the one year anniversary of its quarterly Diabetes Patients’ Focus Group and is keen for any patients who attend the Diabetes Centre to take part.
“The focus group increases our knowledge of diabetes and is an excellent way to speak to staff about the service in general,” says Focus Group member Sushil Johal.
Jan Durrant, Diabetes Service Team Lead, adds: “Patient feedback is really important to us as it helps us to develop our service and further improve the quality of care we provide. We encourage patients to let us know how we are doing via the patient satisfaction survey, the Diabetes Patients’ Focus Group or by filling in the compliments form on our website.”
To join the Diabetes Patients’ Focus Group contact Cathy Beresford, Diabetes Specialist Nurse on 01753 636168.
A compliments form can be downloaded
here.
– Ends –
Further information:
Natalie McEwan, Communications Officer, Berkshire East Community Health Services, Tel: 01753 635 153/ 07909 888346
Notes to editors
-
The patient satisfaction survey was conducted by the Diabetes service in October 2010 with a total of 100 respondents.
-
The Diabetes Centre at King Edward VII Hospital, Windsor, is run by Berkshire East Community Health Services. It is staffed with consultants and specialist nurses who help support patients living in east Berkshire with diabetes to manage their condition. Diabetes Specialist Nurses also provide diabetes education so that people can self-manage their condition.
There has been talk about raising the dole. As someone living off Newstart Allowance this would benefit me personally.
The dole is a safety net set at a level to which society believes none of its citizens should have to live beneath, but it is already larger than the amount I received as a student. It might be difficult for some people in different situations to survive on the dole, so it cannot be lowered. But it also means that it is high enough that there is little point in taking a minimum wage job.
For those worried that the dole removes the incentive to join the workforce - here is evidence to the contrary.
The minimum wage is $15.51 per hour, which amounts to a weekly wage of $589.38 (on a 380-hour week . After taxes and low-income rebates this totals $1,093.13 take-home a fortnight. For a single with no dependants the dole is $486.80 per fortnight, and with access to $119.40 in rent assistance, this comes to $606.20 per fortnight.
In order to justify 76 hours work to gain the balance of $486.93 one must value their time at less than $6.41 per hour (this is simultaneously an argument that the minimum wage is both too high and too low . Throw in the Health Care Card, which gives concessions on water bills, public transport, etc. and the so-called "safety net" seems more like a bouncy castle.
Now those hobbies at which you were never good enough to make economically viable, suddenly are. Don't buy a woollen jumper, knit one. Stop buying beer, brew your own. Learn to service your car. Mend old clothes or hunt for them in op-shops. Cook more often. Sell the car and start taking public transport. Move to a cheaper suburb. Wean off that coffee addiction (one per day will cost you more than $1,000 a year The time afforded to you by forgoing the minimum wage can be easily used to save money and make up the difference.
Rationally, the dole trumps minimum wage. But lowering it will hurt those that are not abusing it. We agree that we don't want "dole bludgers". But we also agree that someone who recently lost their job needs some subsistence while they look for work.
The recently retrenched will now be living beyond their means. How long is an acceptable time to adapt to a new standard of living? None of the examples listed above are easy tasks and nobody recently made redundant will - nor should they be expected to - immediately pull their kids out of private school. Many workers would receive a redundancy package but for a large proportion of people, this will not be sufficient in the long-term. It is for them which Newstart is far too low as a drastic change in living standards can be hard - logistically and mentally. However somebody with experience in living on this wage will get by just fine.
The nature of policy is that it requires generalisations. Different sections of the population cannot practically be targeted with different legislation if they cannot easily be discerned. We seem to have no choice, but to take the indolent for a ride. However, the notion that leeches are systemic in society is ridiculous: moral panic propagated by a few insecure job-secure middle managers. But if it is irrational to choose a minimum wage job over the dole then something needs to be changed.
Time for adjustment is an important factor. We cannot expect someone who recently lost their job to be able to live on the same income as someone for whom that was their standard. The past matters and welfare payments should reflect this, but more than likely it would be impossible to discern between those in need and long-term abusers.
For many in my situation it is just not rational to work for minimum wage. I might be a dole bludger, but I feel indebted not entitled. All that can be hoped for is that other dole bludgers find their own way to contribute, as I have with this article.
Michael Hayward recently graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons and a Bachelor of Science with majors in Physics, and Mathematics and Statistics. View his full profile
here.
Dining Out
People in the U.S. do a lot of eating out, on Valentine's Day and the other 364 days of the year. According to the
National Restaurant Association, 49 cents of every dollar spent on food was predicted to be spent at restaurants in 2011. Most diners do have a safe meal. However, more than half--59%--of the 13,405 outbreaks of foodborne illness reported in the U.S. between 1998 and 2008 involved food prepared in a restaurant or deli setting, according to
CDC.
So whether you're reserving a corner table at the local hotspot or grabbing takeout on your way home this February 14, make sure to keep you and your valentine safe.
Table for Two
All restaurants are required to follow food safety guidelines set by state and local health departments--but you can also follow these simple steps to keep your food safe.
- When you get to a restaurant, look at how clean things are before you even sit down. Are the glasses, silverware, napkins, and tablecloths clean? Is the floor free of bits of food and debris? If not, consider eating elsewhere. If available, check the results of the restaurant's latest health inspection.
- Always order your food cooked thoroughly. Remember that foods like meat, poultry, fish, and eggs need to be cooked thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. When you're served a hot meal, make sure it's served to you piping hot and thoroughly cooked. If it's not, send it back.
- Don't eat undercooked or raw foods, such as raw or undercooked eggs. Undercooked or raw eggs can be a hidden hazard in some foods like Caesar salad, custards, and some sauces. If these foods are made with commercially pasteurized eggs they are safe, but if you are unsure about the ingredients in a particular dish, ask before ordering it.
- Not going to finish that? Get that doggie bag in the fridge--fast. If you will not be arriving home within 2 hours of being served (1 hour if temperatures are above 90°F , it is safer to leave the leftovers at the restaurant. Also, remember that the inside of a car can get very warm so any food left inside may be affected. Bacteria grow rapidly in temperatures above 40°F, so it is always safer to go directly home after a meal and put your leftovers in the refrigerator.
A Quiet Night In
Whether you're picking up food to eat at home or having food delivered, do the following to keep your food safe.
- Keep HOT Food HOT! Once food is cooked it should be held hot at an internal temperature of 140°F or above. Just keeping food warm (between 40°F and 140°F is not safe. Use a food thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the food. A preheated oven, chafing dishes, preheated warming trays, or slow cookers may be used.
- Keep COLD Food COLD! Cold foods must be kept at 40°F or below.
- Follow the Two-hour rule. Throw away all perishable foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, and casseroles that have been left at room temperature longer than 2 hours (1 hour in temperatures above 90°F .
- Save it for later--safely. If you plan to eat at a later time, take-out or delivered food should be divided into smaller portions or pieces, placed in shallow containers, and refrigerated.
The Celebration Continues...with Leftovers!
If your romantic dinner is just too big to finish, go ahead and put it in the fridge--but eat it soon, within three to four days. Consult this chart for
storage times for the refrigerator and freezer.
For more information, check out these resources:
-
Eating Out, Bringing In
-
Safe Handling of Take-Out Foods
-
How to Report a Foodborne Illness
--------------------------
By Kate Levinson, MPH, MA, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, CDC. Reposted from FoodSafety.gov
(Sarah Conard/Reuters
On Sunday, he
appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to defend the rancid misogyny that is the central plank of his presidential campaign platform. It did not go well.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You've raised a lot of eyebrows with some of your comments about women, those comments the other day about women in combat, where you suggested that shouldn't happen because of the types of emotions involved. I know you were talking about the emotions of men who are -- who are alongside the women, but also in your book, "It Takes a Family," where you seem to suggest that a lot of women feel pressure to work outside the home because of radical feminism.Ohhhhhhh. So the part of your book where you blame "radical feminism" for forcing women to work against their will was written by your
And what do you say to those who worry -- believe that those kind of comments are going to alienate women, make you an easier candidate to beat in a general election?
SANTORUM: Well, that section of the book was co-written, if you want to be honest about it, by my wife, who is a nurse and a lawyer.
wife
, eh, Rick? You shouldn't be held accountable for the words in your book because your
wife
wrote the nasty parts?
That's funny because, as many, including the
New York Times, have noted:
[O]nly his name is on the cover and he does not list her, in his acknowledgements, among those "who assisted me in the writing of this book."Now that Rick's catching the tiniest bit of heat for his archaic views of, well, everything, he's trying to defend himself and make his Christian sharia views more palatable to the general public. Thus, he tossed in this disingenuous platitude:
But I think it's important that women both outside the home and inside the home are affirmed for their choices they make, that they are, in fact, choices, and society, you know, treats them in a sense equally for whatever decision they make that's best for them.Yeah, that sounds nice and 21st century, doesn't it? Very modern and egalitarian of him, isn't it?
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say that now, but you also wrote in the book that radical feminists have been making the pitch that justice demands that men and women be given an equal opportunity to make it to the top in the workplace. Isn't that something that everyone should value?Um, Rick? That quote? It was in
SANTORUM: Yeah, I have no problem -- I don't know -- that's a new quote for me. I don't know what context that was given.
your
book. So, not only did you apparently
not
write the book yourself; you didn't even
read
it?
You have to love that Rick Santorum standing up for his bold convictions and his wife. Santorum, who dreams of a simpler time when
women died in back alley abortions, and an
even simpler time when Christian crusaders slaughtered non-believers, sure thinks things were better for everyone back in the good ol' days when men were men and women knew their place. And he's
such
a chivalrous gentleman that when backed into a corner, he'll gladly blame his wife for it.
What a stand-up guy.
[Editor’s Note: This post is today’s featured entry in the Journey to Motherhood with Ricki Lake story contest. Find out how to submit your story and
see the video message from Ricki here -- you could win a wonderful prize package! -- Jenna]
When a woman tells you her story about giving birth, you will most likely hear words like Miracle, Joy, Husband, Beautiful and Love. My story also includes words like, "exploded" and "drove backwards for two miles in a police car." That's just how I roll.
I was nineteen when I had my first child. I was living in upstate New York and my husband was in Pennsylvania at basic training for the Air Force. By the time he was ready to graduate, I was almost 2 weeks over due. Throughout the pregnancy I had only been to the doctor a few times and had only a basic idea of my due date. I didn't know I was over due. My mother and I decided to make the long journey to be there in person. This decision, as you may already have guessed, proved to be a bad one.
Everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, going car to car and mingling with our fellow freeway captives. At the time, the road was under construction on one side. This was over 20 years ago when cell phones were rare. Cars were backed up as far I could see in either direction. Finally, after another half hour or so, we found out what had caused this stand-still. A truck carrying gasoline had caught fire and exploded. Traffic was backed up for miles and I was in labor.
We had made friends with our new automobile neighbors. It was those new friends who reached out and held my hand through each contraction. People started to go car to car to pass along the word that we needed a nurse or doctor. There were large cement barriers lining the left side of the turnpike. It seemed like only minutes had passed when I noticed two women, in the back of a pick-up truck heading my way on the gravel road that sat on the other side of those barriers. I was informed by these kind women that they were qualified nurses who were ready to help me give birth in the back of the truck. Right there, in the middle of this crazy parking lot.
I should have panicked at the thought of giving birth in general, instead I was horrified that 4 men had been recruited to lift my humongous pregnant self over that waist high chunk of cement. There I was in a white dress, being hoisted up in the air. I felt like the
Stay Puff Marshmallow Man
from
Ghostbusters
. NOT attractive. (Note to self: all pride has disappeared.
I sat there in the back of that pickup protesting. I was telling everyone involved that I refused to let my child come into the world under these circumstances. They just smiled, laughed a bit and told me I may not have a choice in the matter. Thankfully, I didn't have to protest long. The police showed up on that same gravel road but from the opposite direction. There was no room to make a u-turn so the officers helped me into the car and drove frighteningly fast, in reverse to the exit. My mother had to stay with the car and that meant I had to go with my husband, who I had not seen in months. A husband who had punched me in my pregnant belly the last time we were together.
At the hospital things got crazy very quickly. I was hooked up to a machine, had an ultra sound and was informed the baby was in serious trouble. I started to cry. The doctor briefly explained what was going to happen in the operating room. They wanted to put me under so I would just wake up and "Voila," I'd have a baby. I was having none of that. He asked us if we had any questions. My question was "do you promise to take care of the the baby first, if something goes wrong?" He said he would do his best. My husband said he also had a question. His was, "How long before those stretch marks fade and she looks normal again?"
I will never forget the look on the faces of everyone in that room. I was whisked away to have an emergency C-Section.
Josh was only a few hours old when my mother and my husband left me in the hospital, in a state where I didn't know a soul, with a new baby, all alone. There was a party back home to welcome
"Mr. Wonderful and Supportive"
and he wasn't about to miss it. I stayed alone in the hospital for 5 days. I watched the nightly news as they reported on the events that had taken place on the turnpike. They even mentioned that a lady had gone into labor but made it to the hospital in time to have a healthy baby boy.
The
good
thing about being there alone with only my baby boy was that I realized I would end up a single mother one way or another. I knew what I needed to do. I deserved a better man in my life, and my child sure as hell deserved a better father. (I filed for divorce not long after.
I spent those 5 days with only my baby, promising myself I could do right by this boy. Five days of loving, talking to and caring for my little boy. I have spent the next 22 years doing the exact same thing. There were two births that day: Josh was born and so was my new found self-worth and determination.
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