Open your park to me
We should build the Meadowcreek Parkway [“Parkway Update: If the suit fits…,” Government News, March 1]. because it will give us access by foot to the park on two sides, whereas now there is none. The acreage taken for the road will be replaced by VDOT. We can redesign the park with a garden, water features and trails so all of us can enjoy it. Historic Park Street will be relieved of some of the thousands of cars that use it daily. And the road will include a bike and pedestrian path nearby. Let’s do it!
Virginia Daugherty
Charlottesville
Muy bueno!
What a wonderful article on Martha Trujillo [“Hablo Español,” February 22]! In the technical world we live in, she should be commended for her hands-on approach to helping immigrants learn and understand our laws, taxes and culture. Even with the concern of funding for programs mentioned, it was heartwarming to read about someone with a passion for aiding and relating to her fellow man. Kudos to C-VILLE for the “good news” read.
Donna Slough
Albemarle County
Unmarried with children?
Cathy Harding: I commend you for your efforts to help deal with the high rate of infant mortality and low birth weight babies in Charlottesville [“Read This First,” February 22]. Although not addressed in your editor’s letter, I would assume that a significant number of these babies are born to unwed mothers. I would suggest that while you assist them with their immediate health care needs, you might also attempt to encourage these women to avoid having children until they are in a continuous, monogamous, married relationship. I would suggest that this might go a long way to help with their future health care needs.
Richard Smith
Keswick
If I can make it there…
I just wanted to let you know I will really miss Cathy Harding as the editor [“Read This First,” March 8]. She was fantastic, fair, kind, human, intelligent and funny. I wish her the best and hope she comes back one day.
Joe McCloskey
Charlottesville
You had your say at c-ville.com
“Cry for help”
March 8 cover story about the high incidence of low birth weight babies and infant mortality among Charlottesville’s poorest residents
Malthusiastic: “Caring for those who arrive and are with us is important, no argument there. But what about the fertility crisis? The third child born to a mother in public housing? When does this stop? The human cost of family expansion beyond means will affect the community adversely to some degree and to a much greater extent compromise the possibilities of ever having this family become self-sufficient.
“I don’t subscribe to that line of thought, but you can understand why the Right wing types get so draconian.”
TEX: “Birth control solves many problems”
Human Rights: “None of this comes as any surprise to anybody who actually looks to science rather than pushing a political agenda to solve medical problems. UVA CAUSES preterm birth, and misinforms women. C-Ville weekly helps them do that.
“‘Previous abortion is a significant risk factor for Low Birth Weight and Preterm Birth, and the risk increases with the increasing number of previous abortions. Practitioners should consider previous abortion as a risk factor for LBW and PB.’”
“Virginia Commonwealth University study as printed in the British Medical Journal.
“‘Induced and spontaneous abortion are associated with similarly increased ORs for preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies, and they vary inversely with the baseline preterm birth rate, explaining some of the variability among studies’”
“Journal of Reproductive Medicine
“‘Women with a history of induced abortion were at higher risk of very preterm delivery than those with no such history (OR + 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.0); the risk was even higher for extremely preterm deliveries (28 weeks)’”
“British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
“‘This study shows that a history of induced abortion increases the risk of very preterm birth, particularly extremely preterm deliveries. It appears that both infectious and mechanical mechanisms may be involved.” This study showed that women who gave birth between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy were 40% more likely to have had a previous abortion, and mothers who gave birth to extremeley preterm infants from 22 to 27 weeks were 70% more likely to have had an abortion.
“French Study of 2837 preterm births conducted by pro abortion researcher Caroline Moreau.
“‘A consent form that simply lists such items as “incompetent cervix” or “infection” as potential complications, but does not inform women of the elevated future risk of a preterm delivery, and that the latter constitutes a risk factor for devastating complications such as cerebral palsy, may not satisfy courts’”
“Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
“‘Previous induced abortions significantly increased the risk of preterm delivery after idiopathic preterm labour, preterm premature rupture of membranes and ante-partum haemorrhage, but not preterm delivery after maternal hypertension. The strength of the association increased with decreasing gestational age at birth.’”
“European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology”
Anna: “Actually, birth control, all methods, even when used properly according to manufacturer guidelines, does not prevent pregnancy (or provide safety from STDs, either, for that matter.) In fact, there is still quite a risk of conception or contracting a disease or infection. Granted, a pregnancy is by no means a disease and actually becomes a blessing in the lives of those who will embrace it. But in many cases there is still a great risk of birth control failing. I work daily with women, teens, and men who come in to our clinic thinking they could be pregnant. Consistently over 27 years we have seen a 30-40% failure rate of all birth control across the board. I am talking about typical use and recommended use here. It would appear to many that birth control would be the answer, but in reality it is not. There is a bigger picture here. We do need better prenatal care and real community-based support for pregnant moms AND dads.”
Evidence-based: “Hmmmm. Clearly there is no requirement in these threads to provide accurate information. Anna —if you work in health care you should be more knowledgeable about what ‘typical use’ means, especially with long acting contraception. Contraception prevents infant mortality. It allows individuals to prepare for a pregnancy and be in the best of health and social circumstances. That gives our children the best start in life. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next comment comes from ‘Human Rights”’ (not) saying that hormonal birth control is dangerous and hurts women. Not true either. Wish spam protection could block inaccuracies.”
Human Rights: “The UVA Health System has been keeping their own students and other patients in the dark about accurate information for 20 years now. That’s why some of its leaders will soon be resigning so as to avoid prosecutions. Try as they may to keep putting politics above science, their goose is already cooked. Preterm birth and birth defects are just two of about a dozen legal vulnerabilities.
“www.uvalies.org/initiative
“Our UVA Law School students and alumni will wipe the floor of a courtroom with them if they want to play it that way”
Evidence-based: “See? ‘Human Rights -not’ and his rhetoric is quite scary. And he talks about ‘lies’? Thank you to all the professionals who are so dedicated to providing high level care to young families and working to reduce infant mortality and more. UVA, MJH, CHIP, TJHD, CYFS, etc. are hero’s in health. This C-C-VILLE article did not address these many groups in the detail they deserve. ‘Human Rights’: go back to Wisconsin. You will find your type there.”
Alexi: “ummm, ‘human rights’ what is your point? what are you talking about?
“tex and Malthusiastic, I agree completely…this is a preventable problem! Birth Control!!”
Malthusiastic: “Wow Anna, I want to come work with you and see the “men who come in to our clinic thinking they could be pregnant”. So far that hasn’t appeared in my field studies. As far as blessings go, the rational use of contraception is a blessing to indigent families and the society that supports their folly. We’re talking about the 3rd generation living in public housing here. Children are a burden not a blessing when they exceed the means of the families that produce them (no mention of the father here though).
“I’m not sure what ‘quite a risk’ means in your mind, although it means nothing at all scientifically. The Center for Disease Control should be considered a good source of scientific information though: ‘The pill is 92–99% effective at preventing pregnancy.’ ‘This IUD is more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.’
http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/unintendedpregnancy/contraception.htm”
Bigger Picture: “As someone who has worked with the Improved Pregnancy Outcome Workgroup for the past couple of years, I’d like to point out that we need more than just “improved prenatal care” if we want to improve pregnancy outcomes in our area. For better outcomes, we need: increased use of highly effective (and safe!) methods of contraception, as mentioned above, so that pregnancies can be planned; good physical and mental health care, starting not in pregnancy but throughout the lifespan; health education within schools and communities, and neighborhoods where healthy choices, education, good parenting skills, stress management, etc. are modeled and supported. There are many factors that contribute to poor outcomes for infants and mothers, factors that go well beyond whether or not a mother received prenatal care. If we really want to see change, we need to look at the bigger picture.”