Give Health a Fighting Chance
In my years in and out of the pool, I have had the great opportunity to meet extraordinary people who have transformed my own life through their wisdom, dedication and integrity. Dr. Mark Adams is one of those special individuals who continues to touch so many lives by advocating simple, whole body health and wellness with his Onvo program. In this guest blog, “Dr. Mark” recalls the experience of the birth of his twins and how he and his wife Nicole made the resolute decision to ‘give health a fighting chance’.
Guest Blog by Dr. Mark Adams of Onvo, Whole Body Health Made Simple 
“So have you thought about when you want to have your babies?” the doctor asked. My wife was 32 weeks along with twins, and the 40 week due date was almost two months away. Yet we were being asked to schedule it like a root canal. Or, perhaps, around our work schedule.
“Statistics show that twins do better when born around 38 weeks,” the doctor continued. “So you should know what you want to do within the next two weeks.” Schedule the birth of babies? A bit surprised, we inquired, “We’re going to wait until the babies tell us they’re ready. Let’s give health a chance and play its course.”
Each subsequent checkup had the same prodding tone until we passed that 38-week mark. ”I think you should induce today,” the doctor said suddenly in a more ominous tone. My wife was now just past 39 weeks and wrapping up another appointment where both she and the boys continued to show every possible sign of fantastic health.
“You are now well past the statistical norm of 38 weeks for healthy babies. So we need to see these babies now before anything happens to them,” the doctor continued in a less than encouraging manner. She was apparently outside her comfort zone. Or just didn’t like that we weren’t following her advice.
“But what happens if they still aren’t ready?” asked my wife, who was clearly not yet in labor. ”What are the risks and unintended consequences of babies being born before they are ready? Besides, there are always statistical outliers in both positive and negative directions for any averages.”
My wife and I got a 2nd opinion and, unexpectedly, a brilliant new doctor. ”We’re going to wait. Let’s give health a chance,” we all decided.
My wife’s water broke at 40 weeks and 2 days. Full term with twins.
“Your wife’s temperature is rising, we may want to consider antibiotics so the babies aren’t put in danger for infection,” the doctor told us during early labor. ”What are the long-term risks to the babies if we do give antibiotics right now?” With more information and mother’s intuition, we said, “Let’s reassess in an hour. Let’s give health a chance.”
My wife’s fever broke and she went into final stages of labor without antibiotics. ”We think you’re a candidate for a C-section because you aren’t dilating as quickly as we’d like and having twins is a high-risk pregnancy,” the labor nurse stated.
“We’ll cross that bridge if it becomes medically necessary. Let’s give health a chance.” The twins were born naturally 41 minutes apart. Herschel Washington Darland Adams weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and Jacob Michael Darland Adams was born 6 lbs and 1 oz.
“We’ll need to give Jake a shot or an IV if his glucose levels don’t come up,” the nurse told us less than 10 hours after birth while resting in our room with the boys. ”Let’s give health a chance,” we politely yet firmly replied.
Jake & Hersch left the hospital with us and were safely at home 24 hours after birth with no shots of any kind injected into their young bodies. ”Wow, the babies look so healthy and are so strong!” the pediatrician told us at their 5 day well-baby checkup.
“But they’ve lost 10% of their birth weight, and studies show they can’t afford to lose any more weight,” she claimed as if forgetting what she’d just said and observed with the babies. ”I would normally recommend supplementing with formula immediately, but I know you aren’t going to do that.”
If it was a medical necessity or their mom wasn’t producing breast milk, we would consider it. But neither was the case. ”Have you ever really looked at the actual ingredients of formula? Let’s give health a chance,” we told her.
Hersch and Jake both were back to their birth weight within a week and were surging ahead with growth less than 10 days after birth on their mother’s breast milk.
Where’s the lesson in all this? I believe there is a time and place for everything, including the most invasive medical interventions. But this wasn’t one of those times or places. And I know this is our story and no one else’s. But giving birth is not a disease, so why is the default to treat it as such? Same goes with much of our own health. Living is not a disease, either. Yet, that is how we approach “healthcare.”
You see, few people talk about the long-term risks and unintended consequences of NOT giving health a chance. And we are all paying for it one way or another in the midst of the 3-D recession of disease, dysfunction and dissatisfaction. No budget in the world is big enough if we don’t give health a chance.
So I want to encourage you that if you find yourself struggling or are not as well as you’d like to please remember you do have choices. And, sometimes, like with Hersch & Jake, you may need to make the same choice repeatedly in spite of what others might tell you.
Here’s the truth: Your body naturally tends toward health if given the opportunity. So let’s give health a fighting chance. Good things tend happen if you do, just ask Hersch & Jake! 
A Harvard graduate and former athlete with a Master’s degree in exercise & sport science, Dr. Mark Adams is a Naturopathic physician and founder of the Onvo program, a practice focused on teaching people how to live healthy lives in a simple, natural and joyful way. Follow Dr. Mark on Twitter @DrMark_ONVO
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