I think this might stir up some controversy, but I'm going to blog about it anyway.
I saw a piece on GMA about the rise in home births, and it kind of scared me a bit. Maybe because I'm an older mom and my age itself defines my risk level, but I can't imagine not being in a medical facility should an emergency arise. Isn't it safer for all involved, mother and child, to have medical tools within reach should something go wrong?
I respect those moms who want to go natural, no drugs, no monitors. I actually have a friend who didn't use any drugs and made no noise during her delivery. It was all documented on A Baby Story. I have no idea how she did it. It was like she was in a trance. More power to her.
Me? Give me the drugs. I wish I could've had an epidural during my pregnancy. That's how miserable I was.
But I say you never know if something could go wrong. I honestly think some women take the birthing experience for granted. It's the way nature intended. Women have been having babies outside of a hospital for hundreds of years. I get it. But why not err on the side of caution? We are, actually, talking about your life, not to mention the life of your newborn. And sometimes terrible things do happen.
No offense to the profession, but when I hear the word "midwife" I'm removed from modern times. Aren't we living in an advanced society? Why would I want to go backward? I need a midwife if I'm living in the 1800s and I'm working my farm or milking my cows and the baby's head pops out. Otherwise, I'm being driven to a hospital, where there's a nurse and doctor, and pain medication.
Call me weak. Call me weak-minded. All I know is I gave birth to both of my boys in a hospital where, thankfully, there was no emergency. But had there been, I believe I was in the right place.
I saw that nobody commented on your post! I had to stick my nose in here! ;) Following and I love your candid blogging!
ReplyDeleteThe US Maternal and Infant mortality rates are terrible. We rank 40th in the world in maternal mortality and 30th in infant mortality. Many of the countries that outrank us (are safer for moms and babies) have midwifery based care and high rates of home births.
Research shows that, for low risk pregnancies, home birth with a midwife is safer than giving birth in a hospital! If you are high risk, you should have your baby in a hospital, but for the low risk mamas, giving birth in a hospital increases their risk! Sounds crazy, I know, but there is this domino effect of intervention that often leads to risky stuff like non-medical induction, artificial rupture of membranes, and ultimately cesarean section.
Not weak, or weak minded - to each her own. I am aiming for a natural (drug-free) birth the next go round (I have 2 daughters and with my last I had very little epidural), but like you, the thought of a home birth worries me. I may not be educated about it enough, but just knowing all of the things the doctors and nurses were checking for during my labors puts me off to home birth. What if something that needs to be monitored by machine is raising an alarm? Who will know?
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