Some thankfulness

It's the day before Thanksgiving, so naturally thoughts turn towards self-reflection and thankfulness. One particular thing stands out this year. My sister-in-law is currently sitting in a hospital bed, 35 weeks pregnant, about to undergo an amniocentesis to determine if the baby's lungs are developed enough to be delivered.

I am thankful that we live in a time where science, and particularly medicine, has developed to the point where a potentially life-threatening situation can be averted. I realize there are lots of valid concerns about the rate of c-sections and other interventions in birth; concerns which I share and have been vocal about. But what it really comes down to is that we all want our mothers to give birth to a healty baby in the safest way possible.

I am thankful that we have enlightened midwives, home-birth advocates, lactivists and others championing the cause of the mother and baby. And I am also thankful for a sophisticated and advanced medical establishment that can, in many cases, snatch life from the jaws of death and provide a net to catch those that would otherwise fall.

So to my sister-in-law, who will be sitting in the hospital this Thanksgiving, I give thanks that you are alive and well and for the minor miracles of technology that let you listen to that tiny little heart beating inside the tiny little being inside of you. I'm thankful that I am fortunate enough to be able to visit you this christmas and to meet my little niece.