GE ad shows NICU baby's first breastfeeding

I'm an Olympics junkie, so when I went out with some friends this evening we still had our eyes on NBC. This ad caught my eye, of course, because it showed babies in a NICU; when I saw the end I started hitting the friend sitting next to me with excitement (not hard. I think.) How wonderful that the happy ending to this commercial is...breastfeeding!


(If the embed doesn't work, click here for the direct link.)

How a pro-life, homebirthing, staunchly conservative mom lost her fear of universal healthcare

By living in Canada, where she is at first concerned and disturbed by having to participate in a universal health care system:

When I moved to Canada in 2008, I was a die-hard conservative Republican. So when I found out that we were going to be covered by Canada’s Universal Health Care, I was somewhat disgusted. This meant we couldn’t choose our own health coverage, or even opt out if we wanted too. It also meant that abortion was covered by our taxes, something I had always believed was horrible. I believed based on my politics that government mandated health care was a violation of my freedom. When I got pregnant shortly after moving, I was apprehensive. Would I even be able to have a home birth like I had experienced with my first 2 babies? Universal Health Care meant less choice right? So I would be forced to do whatever the medical system dictated regardless of my feelings, because of the government mandate. I even talked some of having my baby across the border in the US, where I could pay out of pocket for whatever birth I wanted.

Read more here about her experiences with the health care system, maternity care, and her feelings on abortions in a universal care system. I only hope we can move closer to living this reality in the U.S. quickly enough for others to lose their fears as well.