Baby's rights

I've been reading an interesting Save the Children document.
http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/mothers/2006/
SOWM_2006_final.pdf

Some alarming statistics have me awake wondering .....

Four million babies are born in the United States every years. Four million is ALSO the same number of babies who die within the first month of life around the world. Ugly debating in this country about the small numbers of neonatal deaths and insignificant numbers between home and hospital birth make me feel as badly as if I were to stuff myself at a huge smorgasbord while listening to my friend's slide show of her trip to an African village.

Three million of the 4 die in the first week and 1/2 of those are within the first 24 hours.

Tetanus, infections, diarrhea cause 36% of the deaths. Poor care during childbirth is also a factor -- most women have no access to any prenatal or medical care. Prematurity complications account for 27% and asphyxia accounts for 23%. (Listening to the ranting here in the US, this seems like a pretty small number considering the importance of prenatal nutrition and lifestyle that is attributed to fewer problems in US births.) Sixty to 80% weigh less than 5#. In India death of the poor babies is fifty-six percent higher than the rich. In Bolivia, Niger, Peru and Viet Nam the death rate of babies born in rural areas is fifty percent higher than those born in urban areas.

According to the document, 3 million of the four million neonatal deaths could be stopped by addressing the disease and health conditions. Makes me think of recent claims I have read about how obstetric medicine is responsible for the decreased neonatal mortality rates in the US, when we all know that that it is antibiotics, good nutrition, clean water, health care that addresses tetanus, infections, and diarrhea is the real reason for the difference in mortality rates from 100 years ago. The disparity between rich and poor and white and non-white, and rural versus urban exist in every state in the US. In Missouri rural women travel hours to birth in the larger towns and cities -- this means higher inductions and planned csections, AND, increasing prematurity and possibility related to being born "under the influence" of narcotics, an ever increasing methamphetamine problem. All of these numbers seem to be reflective of the conditions in the US as well. Non-white women and babies are four times more likely to die than white women -- in the US in twenty-first century.

What if we were able to provide the necessary tools and supplies to support third world countries to overcome the disease and poor water and nutrition conditions and lower the neonatal death from to one million babies world wide (from 4 million). What would happen to all of these babies? Is there a natural process going on here?

What is happening to babies in our own society as stigma of out-of-wedlock ('scuse me if that is not politically correct) no longer exists? I have some serious questions -- for years now. In 1996 my ex and I once went with a child psychiatrist to an ACLU meeting to discuss this the rights of baby's to a quality life versus the rights of a woman to reproduce (indiscriminately when unable to care for children). I was directing a program to help low-income women getting off welfare to stay in college and he was seeing young women in the family practice clinic having multiple babies.

I hope some brave souls will engage in a dialog about this. It has been on my mind and heart for many years as I worked in many levels of social systems to care for children and women. One of my concerns has been the inability of women to care for a baby and the need for state and social service intervention. A local social service organization where I used to live does a yearly television campaign to solicit donations for the poor babies. They ask for donations of diapers, formula, blankets, tshirts, and socks and I wonder what are we doing??

Don't get me wrong -- I've been accused more than once of being a "bleeding heart liberal" and as an advocate and activist for those who depend upon the systems I have been accused of "wearing rose-colored glasses". But, as I studied the pre and perinatal psychology, brain imprinting, and fetal programming literature I became more and more concerned about the long term consequences of poor prenatal care and parenting early on. The United States while the weathiest country in the world has glaring disparity of wealth and serious poverty issues. More and more, I believe that if one is unable to even buy diapers and formula, perhaps one ought to not be making babies, and perhaps, our society has an obligation to do something. Many will think that is wrong. Why is a heap of an old, broken down social service and foster care system where children are more likely to be harmed and failed seen as ok, and millions upon millions of dollars poured into it? Children who are failed by their caregivers to have the basic love and nurturing are children who rarely catch up. Living in environments where poverty, violence, and addiction exist prevents those adults from being able to provide the necessities of love, time, and attention regardless of poverty. If you have never been on the "inside" of these social service systems, you can not imagine the heart break of watching the large number of human beings grow up in the conditions they do. I previously posted links to the site www.trauma-pages.org research on the brain development in childhood -- when our biological computer is being programmed.

So, I ask for our own children here in the US who live in abject poverty and violence, what are the rights of the baby? What is the responsibility of a society to expect and ensure that it's babies are born into environments where the mother is able to care for her baby. Of course, I am thinking of many of the children born in the US as well as in third world countries. When is the right of the human baby as important or more important than the reproductive rights of the woman?

Is it really wrong for society to look at determining who is able to care for a baby? What about the rights of a human being to be born to a woman and couple who are capable of providing a healthy and safe prenatal period? What are the rights of a baby to be born to a woman and couple who are connected, nourished, committed, prepared and capable of caring for another human being's needs. Doesn't a human being have a right to be born to people who are emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared and able to parent him or her? To provide a safe home, proper nourishment, emotional and spiritual nurturing. Is it really wrong, a violation of her civil liberties to wonder if a baby is what a girl or woman really needs? Are we really caring for women and their rights by not addressing this?