I don’t know if anyone saw this story on dateline NBC but it was just tragic. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9818616/ A mother lost her life after having a “routine” epidural. This brings up a bunch of issues for me, as I'm sure it does for others. Epidurals are a risk! When you tell people that you plan on having a natural childbirth most people look at you in shock. “I could never do that, you’re so brave.” People think that you are some “nature girl”. Lol No people, you’re the brave one if you have epidurals. A long needle going into my back. Drugs going into my SPINE! Augh. No thank you!
I have never been able to understand the concept that some people have on not wanting to have a baby at home just because it not as “sterile” as a hospital. What a bunch of bunk. Like it says in the article up above. “Infections contracted in hospitals are the fourth largest killer in the United States, causing as many deaths as AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined.” For myself just being with my husband in the hospital overnight I can say that my house is a lot cleaner then the hospital, and we are not talking about clutter, I would loses on that one. :) While we were in the ER I saw plenty of blood drops on the ground and when they did get around to “cleaning” it was just with a wipe of some sort. I would rather take a chance with the germs I am accustomed to in my own home.
Why my husband and I have choosing to have home births is not just because of this one concern but because of many different reasons. We feel that as parents we have a duty and responsibility to learn as much about pregnancy and birth from balanced and accurate sources so we can make the best-informed decision as possible. Is homebirth for everyone? Absolutely note. Is hospital birth for everyone? No. Most people who are not educated or familiar with the benefits and safety of homebirth and midwifery care have the reaction, “how could you do something so stupid?” Most of their information is what they have seen on TV, heard from others, and often it’s a competition of the most dramatic and problematic births. It would really empower women if they would take the time to question and learn about risks and befits of who they birth with and where they birth and not just let doctors use big words on their patents expecting them to follow their every word. Sometimes - the priority in the hospital is procedures, liability, protocols and convenience of staff and not our wishes for what is best for us or what we consider to be best for our baby's health and well being. It really is sad how misinformed society is about natural birthing. If more hospitals aloud midwives to play a more active and authoritative role we might just move up from being # 17 in the world on the mortality rate.
Shawn and I have decided to birth at home for some of these reasons:
1) We believe that pregnancy and birth are normal, physiological functions of a woman's body and that unless a clear medical indication presents itself they are not medical conditions to be "managed" or manipulated.
2) In most normal circumstances - A woman's body will instinctively know when the time is right to begin labor (don't need pharmaceutical inductions) if supported in the best environment for the woman with the most appropriate caregivers and surrounded by the best support system.
3) I want too ultimately have the right to decide who attends my birth and have the right to touch MY baby and bond with it gently as apposed to being staff-handled in the name of procedures and protocols.
4) Shawn and I have opted not to receive many of the newborn tests and procedures routinely done in a hospital and didn't want to have to fight the system each time (these include but are not limited to - eye ointment, vaccinations on the newborn, vitamin K shots, heel pricks/blood sugar testing, observation in the nursery, administering sugar water to an infant, pacifiers, etc)
5) I preferred to be up and mobile as opposed to flat on my back. I want to eat and drink at my will as opposed to an IV and ice chips (or nothing). I prefer my own clothes in my own home without feeling inhibited in an unfamiliar surrounding.
6) At home, we will be able to utilize many and various coping techniques. In the hospital, drugs and anesthesia are the most common type of 'help' repeatedly suggested to laboring women. From my own experience I believe that pain management is MUCH better at home!
We believe that for healthy, no/low risk women, homebirth is as safe or safer then being in a hospital. We are adults who shoulder the responsibility and the privilege of making these decisions about our baby’s birth.
I have found that since my husband and I have really researched this topic in great detail I am not at all hindered by negative remakes and can only feel badly for those that feel threatened by homebirthers when they decide that’s its not for them. We are all adults that need to feel like we have made the best-informed decision for our baby and us.
The largest North American study shows the safety of homebirth compared to hospital birth. It was published in the British Medical Journal a year ago.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/conte...505/1416?ehom_
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