A series of rallies are taking place across the Commonwealth today as part of an international movement to improve the childbirth process for women and children. The 2013 Rally to Improve Birth will take place at10 a.m. local time in Lexington, Louisville, Pikeville and Bowling Green. The rallies' purpose is to call for safer, evidence-based birth practices.

The average American birth is billed at $30,000 (that's roughly twice the cost of birth in the hospital where Duchess Catherine delivered Prince George...) and the average Caesarean delivery is billed at $50,000. Says Dawn Thompson, president of ImprovingBirth.org, the mothers’ advocacy group organizing the rallies, “We’re in a true crisis, with the highest costs in the world and some of the worst health outcomes related to childbirth. “Nine out of 10 American women receive care that increases the risks of harm to them and their babies. We must do better.” (Kentucky’s C-section rate of 35.4% ranks it seventh highest in the nation for Cesarean rates,and more than double the 15% suggested by the World Health Organization as a highest recommended rate.)

Ms. Thompson notes that: "This movement isn't about natural birth vs. medicated birth. It's not about hospital birth vs. home birth or birth center birth. It's about women being capable of making safer, more informed decisions about their care and that of babies when they are given full and accurate information about their care options, including the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives."

To learn more about the Rallies to Improve Birth, check out the Improving Birth Facebook page.

To read about HerKentucky writer Sarah Stewart Holland's experiences with home birth, please visit her blog, bluegrass redhead.

Every year, they almost get me.

Fashion blogs and women's magazines try to convince me. They create dualities like "modern vs. old-fashioned" or "fresh and new vs. stifling and fussy." And, they almost suck me in.

via Neiman Marcus.

White jeans are, effectively, jeans, I tell myself. It was the hottest July on record and a miserably muggy August. Most days, I couldn't have worn capris, let alone long pants. Maybe September and October would be a good time to wear lighter, more flattering jeans. Maybe even ... white ones.

It all seems so logical and harmless. And then, I realize what I've just talked myself into. And I hear my mother's voice, giving me strict instructions about linen, seersucker, and whites. And I shudder to think of the horrible faux pas to which I've tacitly agreed.

I guess I'm an-old fashioned girl when it comes to hard-and-fast rules. Maybe I'm willing to accept the labels "fussy" and "old-fashioned." Maybe I'm okay with being traditional and Southern, magazines be damned. Or, maybe, like Megan, I'm just sick of wearing summer clothes.

Things I wore this summer.

Summer 2012 included some absolutely amazing moments. My cousin got married. I got back into running, and entered my favorite 5K for the first time in years. HerKentucky started to reach a wider audience -- we were featured on a Lexington news show, and we learned that a whole lot of y'all wanted a little bourbon in your popsicles. It was really a fantastic three months.

But, it's time for this awesome summer to draw to a close. Sometime in the next week or so, I'll put away my sandals and sundresses. The Lilly Pulitzer prints and seersucker skirts will quietly sit on the shelf until next year. My unworn white jeans will give way to seasonally appropriate, on-trend jeans in vibrant colors and eye-catching patterns. I just couldn't live with myself any other way.