Water Breakgate - Judgment - The Real Issue

As you all know there are rumors swirling around the web and blogosphere concerning the parentage of Sarah Palin's young son Trig.These are unsubstantiated and hopefully for the sake of the family not true. This story did NOT orignate this week, It was bubbling around AK since April.

THIS IS NOT THE REAL ISSUE. Unfortunately examining the situation here will be required to get to Gov. Palin's judgement and behavior concerning this. What I have learned in the last 24 hours concerning the medical actions taken after Gov. Palin returned and at least something about her doctor is also disturbing and raises more questions and adds soem real support to the rumors.

The real issue simply put is the poor judgment that Sarah Palin exhibiited in traveling while 36 weeks pregnant, carrying a special needs baby after her water broke. Does this sound like someone qualifed to be "a heartbeat away" from the Presidency?

Republican Vetting Issues?

The fact that this issue has come up nationally when it had been an issue in AK since spring makes one wonder about McCain's vetting. From the NYT today:

"Republican officials said that though they had time to collect
surface-level material on Ms. Palin and her husband, they had done no
examination of the rest of her family."

Local political allied and colleagues and Palin staffers were quoted in local articles that neither they or anyone they  knew had been part of a vetting process. Theor point was that is small community like Anchorage and Juneau this type of thing would not stay quiet for long.

All the material here is a function of the "googles and tubes" and I have to wonder if McCain's team dug into this on the web. Iti s the easiest and quickest way to get a start on issues and they must have missed this or not dug far enough.

Sarah Palin on Pregnancy and Working

Sarah Palin is one tough lady it appears in terms of how she views things.

"To any critics who say a woman can't think and work and carry a baby
at the same time, I'd just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the
cave."

I personally doubt this type of "pioneer: attitude really is how she would treat the decision to fly as she did. 

The Dallas Trip - Full newspaper Article here

Lets get the facts straight here.

"Palin went to Texas at 35/36 weeks  for an energy conference of the National Governors Association in Mid April when she experienced signs of early labor. She wasn't due for another month.

Early Thursday -- she thinks it was around 4 a.m. Texas time -- she consulted with her doctor, family physician Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who is based in the Valley and has delivered lots of babies, including Piper, Palin's 7-year-old.

Palin said she felt fine but had leaked amniotic fluid and also felt some contractions that seemed different from the false labor she had been having for months.

"I said I am going to stay for the day. I have a speech I was determined to give," Palin said. She
gave the luncheon keynote address for the energy conference.

Palin kept in close contact with Baldwin-Johnson. The contractions slowed to one or two an hour, "which is not active labor," the doctor said.

"Things were already settling down when she talked to me," Baldwin-Johnson
said. Palin did not ask for a medical OK to fly, the doctor said.

Flying

On their website Alaska Airlines has no policy to restrict later term flying. However see the quote below:

"In fact, a call to Alaska Airlines by Gambling911.com revealed that they will not allow a woman to board a flight whose water has broke."

Airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren..."The stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation. She did not show any signs of distress,"

She (Palin) said she didn't try to hide it but didn't feel a need to alert the airline, either.

One article I read made it clear that Palin never asked for or got specific clearance for her flight from her Doctor.

Gov. Palin's Doctor

From Palin's Doctor - Cathy Baldwin Johnson is a medical expert and said -  "I don't think it was unreasonable for her to continue to travel back," Baldwin-Johnson said. Why? Sounds like a huge malpractice lawsuit waiting to happen if this had  turned out badly. especially with a public figure.

Other experts disagree:

Still, a Sacramento, Calif., obstetrician who is active in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said when a pregnant woman's water breaks, she should go right to the hospital because of the risk of infection. That's true even if the amniotic fluid simply leaks out, said Dr. Laurie Gregg. "To us, leaking and broken, we are talking the same thing. We are talking doctor-speak," Gregg said. (Anchorage Daily News 4/22/2008)

 Dr. Johnson is " the region's "expert" in child and adult sexual abuse testing" according to news articles from 2002 and her Zoom Info profile. She is listed as the "Founder" of the county "Sexual Assault Response Team" (2001/2002) also as a practicing MD.

In a 2007 document Dr, Johnson was listed as the Volunteer Medical Director: The Children’s Place, Wasilla & AK. CARES, Anchorage and in Private Practice and Medical Director, Providence Matanuska Health Care, Wasilla.

She also won AAFP Family Physician of the Year in 2001 a prestigious national award.

Inadequate Facilities for Preemie and Downs Syndrome

When Gov Palin got back to Anchorage she drove over an hour to Palmer/Wasilla past the 2 regional facilities that have NICU and proper staff to deal with preemies(Lungs et al) and Downs syndrome complications (heart et al). (Map to Providence  Hospital (6 mile drive) and Mat Su Palmer (45 mile drive) here.)

There is no mention of a NICU on the Mat Su site. Other web comments from local folks say the only NICU are in Anchorage. A link to a virtual tour of their birthing center is here, but does not work in my browers(??).

In fact Dr. Johnson's practice group is listed as - Providence Matanuska Healthcare in her Healthgrades profile. Providence has a number of facilities in AK from local clinics to major hospitals.

Providence in Anchorage is apparently one of the 2 facilities that has NICU et al for preemies and Downs babies in Anchorage. As mentioned before it is 6 miles from the airport.

The hospital's baby picture page for April 18 does not list the birth or show a picture. This may mean nothing due the celebrity of the baby or its Downs Syndrome.

Doctor's Competence or Complicity?

A logical question for sheer safety sake for any delivery - let alone the Governor of the state - would be why then did Dr, Johnson not meet Palin in Anchorage at the Providence facility (where she is  on staff) and deliver the baby there instead of an additional hour drive to a local, more out of the way hospital, close to the Palin home with no NICU?

From a purely malpractice perspective this would be suicidal if the facts as we are being told are true, let alone the potential medical consequences to the child.

Dr. Johnson who delivered the child at Mat Su Regional is no longer on staff at that facility. Another odd coincidence since on 2007 she was not only on staff but listed as Medical Director.

Judgment?

In terms of pure judgment I must say I am quite puzzled. Sarah Palin is clearly a good mother, an accomplished and intelligent person. As a politician it would seem that she would work hard to not do anything that could show here in a poor light under any circumstances or take risks that would.

First -  In Dallas alone there are NICU equipped hospitals thann all of Alaska. Why not use one of them and take no risk w/ the child which is going to be a preemie and you know has Downs?

Second - Giving Alaskans some leeway  that they are accustomed to traveling long distances out of necessity why not then stop in Seattle after a 4 hour flight, where many Alaskans with problem births are referred and Providence has facilities there as well?

Third - Even stretching this and saying that she felt well enough in Seallte to make the last 4 hour flight to Seattle and she is a tough lady why would you not go straight to the best facility in Alaska for preemies and special needs births that is 10-15 minutes from the airport AND in a hospital system your OB/GYN practices in?

Fourth - What reasons could there be to go to a regional facility to give birth other than being a few minutes from your home when it does not have NICU facilities?

Conclusions and Questions

The only answer I can see othe than total reckless judgment (which this mother does not seem to have) or a delberate attempt to lose the child (makes no sense based on her bio)  is that Sarah Palin:

• Was never pregnant
• Why would a 44-year-old woman with four kids out of diapers, embarking on her first governorship, really get pregnant?
• Was called home for her daughter giving birth knowing that the Doctor could keep the delivery from happening until she got home.
• Created the travel story to cover up the truth
• Did not really know in advance that the baby had Downs Syndrome? There is no reason to do an amnio or any genetic tests on a teenager. Clearly Sarah would have had the tests at 44 as standard procedure.
  • Is there something unusual about the father if the child is Bristol's w/ Downs?

Odd Things  are Happening - X Files ??

• Why are all the photos of Palin gone from the State website as of yesterday?
• Why is her doctor no longer on staff at Mat Su where the baby was delivered?
• Why did Sean Hannity's website take down a thread on this?
• The virtual tour of the Mat Su hospital birthing facility is not working. This may be a glitch as well but the timing is odd

Bristol Palin

Remember - this story did NOT originate this week, It was bubbling around AK since April.

The other alleged facts are that Bristol was out fo school for 4-5 months, while Palin was pregnant with a case of "mono". The father was also on a leave from his oil field job. Numerous web posts from AK say this was common knowledge up there and with some of her friends, none that I can substantiate however.

During that time when out with mono she had a car accident reported in the local paper:

Wasilla Police Department (Other Motorist name redacted by me)
On February 8, 2008, at 1737 hours, Wasilla Police responded to two vehicle collision at Seward Meridian Parkway and Fireweed Drive . Investigation revealed that Bristol Palin, age 17 of Wasilla, was driving a 4-door sedan and attempted to turn into a business when she struck a 2-door sedan driven by XXXXXXXXXXx, age xx, of XXXXX. Palin was issued a citation for Failing to Use Due Care to Avoid a Collision. XXXX was issued a citation for an expired registration and no proof of insurance.

Pictures to Review

Pictures are key here and we have tried to assemble them all in one place of both Sarah and Bristol.

• March 14,2008 - 7 months pregnant - Sarah Palin
• National Governors Conference - July, 2008, 3 months after birth
  
• Video of Palin on a Hike on Local AK Podcast - video was working an hour ago, not loading now
  
  • Cached version here - It is working

Palin Family Holiday 2007 photo below orig. printed in the Anchorage paper 3/2008:

Also shown on web captioned as 2006 just showing up today like that. Odd.

• Bristol Palin late summer/fall 2007 -

• Earlier photo of a trim Bristol - 12/4/2006, Inauguration Family Photo
• Bristol Palin at the VP announcement - holding Trig
• Palin family Philly Zoo - 7/2008 -  after Gov. conference
• March 2008 - Airport Photo - article mentions how "hot" the Gov. is but no pregnancy mention

Conclusion

There is a lot of smoke here but what is causing it is not clear....yet.

The issues that are troubling and need to be addressed by Gov. Palin:

• Travelling to Dallas at 36 weeks in the first place
• Not going directly to a Dallas hospital once her water broke which would be standard procedure per a number of posts from doctors and newspaper articles
• Flying home 10-12 hours with fluid leaking risking infection and delivery in transit
• Not telling the Airline
• Bypassing the premier area hospital - Providence
  • 15 minutes from the Anchorage airport  (vs. over an hour to your own w/ no NICU)
  • With a NICU to handle a 36 week preemie w/ the double risk of Downs Syndrome baby
  • That your OB/GYN was on the staff of
• Dr. Johnson, a practicing OB/GYN, is an expert in child and adult sexual abuse,
  • What does this mean if anything to the situation?
• Baby delivered in the local hospital by this "expert" even though it was supposedly 4 weeks premature and had Downs Syndrome
• Returning to work after 3 days off after this ordeal
• Running for VP with a new special needs baby

All makes this whole thing sound really fishy...

In the least I would ask all of you does this type of risky behavior and poor decision making as it relates to Sarah Palin's own family make you comfortable that she  can be VP let alone a "heartbeat away from the Presidency"? I hope that that is all this turns out to be, but I doubt it will.