LIFESTYLES
Dave Day
sounds
the bell/3C
Explore the
vineyards of
Walla Walla/4C
WEEKEND, AUGUST 6-7, 2016
Birch Creek
assessment
nears inish/10C
New moms stand together
Evil eye frustrates women
nursing babies in public
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
One by one, they arrived, each with a babe in their
arms.
The new moms hugged each other and lifted
blankets to peek at each other’s infants. Pale purple
circles rimmed some of the moms’ eyes, evidence of
too many nighttime feedings and too much nocturnal
rocking-chair time. They set down bulky diaper bags
illed with everything from paciiers and sunscreen to
hand sanitizer, toys and changing pads.
The women relaxed into a group sigh. They look
forward to the weekly baring of souls and the exchange
of information during
St. Anthony Hospital’s
Mom & Baby Support
Group. The women
share the joys of mother-
hood, but also talk in this
non-judgmental oasis
about their frustrations
— sleep deprivation,
colic, diaper rash, breast
feeding issues, post-
partum depression and
lack of time to do anything some days other than to keep
their babies fed and clean. The all-consuming nature of
motherhood takes many by surprise.
“There are days where I literally get nothing done.
The house is messy. The dinner is uncooked,” said
Jennifer Thompson, as she cuddled her son, Ethan.
“Other days, chores are done and dinner is on the table.”
They admit the idea of spotless homes, constantly
cooing babies and a full night’s sleep is the stuff of
fantasy. They agreed, however, their babies are abso-
lutely worth the effort.
“I love this kid uncontrollably,” Thompson said of
Ethan.
“She’s my whole world,” said Alyssa Bert of her tiny
daughter, Catherine. “She’s my life.”
Registered nurse and lactation specialist Elizabeth
Michael leads the group. Michael, with her aura of easy
calm, is one of those people who can lower your blood
pressure by simply being in the same room as you.
At meetings, each mom sets her baby on the scale and
Michael records weights. Each mom checks in with the
nurse about speciic concerns and occasionally Michael
guides a mom behind a partition to do an impromptu
examination. The rest of the two-hour session is unstruc-
tured. They hang out with their babies. They talk.
The conversation roams to and fro, but one subject
pops up at almost every meeting, Michael said —
breastfeeding in public and getting the evil eye.
“They sometimes get stressed out and go and sit on a
toilet because it’s private,” Michael said. “It’s still such
a stigma. I don’t know what we can do to change that
mindset.”
Breastfeeding is natural, she said, but some in the
public see it as sexual. Some of the moms do breast
pumping and put the milk in bottles to bring when they
venture out as a way to avoid conlict. Others forge ahead
with breastfeeding. She said some of the mothers simply
put on their best “don’t mess with me” expression and
proceed.
On Friday at the Pendleton Farmers Market, for
the irst time, nursing mothers found a special tent for
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Ellie Mae Wortman plays in the midst of the mom/
baby support group at St. Anthony Hospital.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Carly Smith lifts son Mason from a scale during a meeting of the new mom support group at
St. Anthony Hospital.
nursing babies. The East
“There are days
Umatilla County Breast-
where I literally get
feeding Coalition sponsored
the tent.
nothing done. The
“The tent has three walls,
house is messy. The
chairs, pillows, a table and a
big rug,” Michael said. “A
dinner is uncooked.
nursing mom can sit down
and feed her baby, get a
Other days, chores
drink of water and be out of
are done and din-
the heat.”
The coalition also will
ner is on the table.”
offer stickers with a simple
— Jennifer Thompson
line drawing of a mom
nursing her baby and the
very much.”
words “Eat Local.”
In addition, she said,
Oregon, along with
breastfeeding is free and
Washington,
actually
leaves no carbon footprint
embraces
breastfeeding
since it has no packaging.
more than any other states.
The World Health Orga-
In a Centers for Disease
nization recommends solely
Control and Prevention
feeding a baby breast milk
survey, the two states shared
for at least six month to give
an almost 94 percent rate
babies a good start.
of mothers who breastfeed
Part of Michael’s job
initially, though the percent-
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
ages drop to the low sixties Jennifer Thompson snuggles with her son is advising women who
after six months for both. Ethan during early weeks of the new moms are having trouble getting
the breastfeeding process
Mississippi has the lowest support group at St. Anthony Hospital.
started. She said such
rate with 58 percent initially
and 26 percent after six months. Michael said Umatilla things as pain, low milk supply and baby’s reluctance
to suck can be overcome with certain techniques and
County has an initiation rate of 87 percent.
Being that it is World Breastfeeding Week, Michael positioning.
That said, not every mom in the support group breast-
extolled the beneits of breastfeeding with added resolve.
Breastfeeding, she said, protects against childhood feeds.
“Some moms come who are not breastfeeding and
leukemia, diarrhea, colds, ear infections and allergies
and lowers the risk of later obesity, diabetes and heart that’s okay,” she said. “This group is about peer support
disease. Studies even suggest that breastfeeding leads to and bumping shoulders with other new moms who are
going through the same things right now.”
increased intelligence and higher earnings.
The support group meets every Friday from 9-11
Breastfeeding also beneits the mother, she said, by
improving her sleep and reducing the chance of post- a.m. at St. Anthony Hospital. Pregnant women, dads and
other support people are welcome.
partum depression.
———
“Eighty percent of new moms have some form of
Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or
postpartum depression from mild depression to full-
blown psychosis,” Michael said. “It’s not talked about call 541-966-0810.
OUT OF THE VAULT
Jailed ‘Houdini’ won’t test skills on Umatilla County Jail cell
H
is greatest wish was to escape from
the water chamber that ended Harry
Houdini’s life. His signature feat was
wriggling out of a straitjacket and chains
while dangling by his feet from a rope hung
over busy city streets. But Sam Ross wisely
decided to put his skills on hold while on
ice at the Umatilla County Jail in August of
1980.
Ross, a 25-year-old escape artist, traveled
with a portfolio of newspaper clipping
detailing his daring escapes in places like
Richmond, Va., Atlantic City, N.J., Dallas,
Phoenix, San Diego and more. He began
experimenting with escapes at the age of 15,
and wriggled out of his irst straitjacket two
years later in Boston. After three years in
the Navy, Ross began a swing through the
country in 1978 and 1979, startling passersby
with his death-defying stunts. Newspapers
were always given a heads-up before the
performance, though he was foiled from
an escape try on Hoover Dam when a story
was published in advance and the Bureau of
Reclamation put the kibosh on his plans.
“People think it’s crazy for some reason,”
said Ross. “I don’t know why; it’s normal to
me.”
But normal took a back seat after Ross
was introduced to heroin in San Diego in
1979. A life of crime followed to support
a $100-a-day habit, including petty thefts
in Las Vegas and Reno, then felony thefts
of silverware, guns and a car from a home
north of Pendleton. Ross turned himself in to
San Diego police after ditching the car and
fencing the stolen goods. He was returned to
Pendleton and sequestered in the Umatilla
County Jail’s maximum security section —
with an extra heavy chain and padlock added
to his door for good measure.
“When he listed his occupation, he said
‘escape artist,’” sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Campbell
said. “So naturally we put him back there.
What else do you do with an escape artist?”
Ross was eventually moved to a lower
security part of the jail with other prisoners.
So did he try to escape? “I’m just gonna
do my time and get it over with. ... Try and
get myself straightened out,” Ross said. His
post-jail plans included a Halloween stunt
to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the
death of Harry Houdini, where he would
be outitted in a straitjacket, 50 pounds of
chains, arm and leg shackles, and hung by
a rope 30 feet over swords. The rope would
then be set alight, giving him about 60
seconds to make his escape.
■
Renee Struthers is the Community
Records Editor for the East Oregonian. See
the complete collection of Out of the Vault
columns at eovault.blogspot.com
ODDS & ENDS
Bar blocks cell signal,
tries to get patrons talking
LONDON (AP) — A new English
cocktail bar offers something truly
old-fashioned on its menu: the chance to
talk to real people instead of staring down
your cell phone.
The Gin Tub in Brighton has won rave
reviews in its irst week of business by
installing a cell signal blocker and placing
throwback rotary phones at its tables. They
can be used to dial patrons at neighboring
tables or the bar for another round.
The Gin Tub is reckoned to be the only
British pub blocking cell phones by using
a Faraday shield built into its ceiling,
an exception in Britain’s 2006 Wireless
Telegraphy Act that otherwise outlaws the
use of signal blockers.
Proprietor Steve Tyler says: “Mobile
phones have killed pubs. When you go out
socially, you don’t need social media.”