I haven't watched much TV in the last few months (with exception of Olympic gymnastics and swimming). So I turned it on thinking with all the shows starting this week, there had to be something good.
Have you seen this show The Doctors ? Today, I wished I hadn't. The topic was birth and birthing venues. Now, if you know me at all, you know I don't claim to have a cut and dry answer for every woman on where she needs to birth. That is such a personal decision and each birth and mother are different, so there is no one answer. However, this show The Doctors didn't hesitate to tell the women of the world what the correct choice is for everyone.
They had a couple who was considering a homebirth. This couple was 6 months along with a very healthy, low risk, normal pregnancy. The doctors asked them why they considered a planned homebirth. After this woman had been honest--making herself very vulnerable, they proceeded to use scare tactics, basically telling the mother-to-be she was irresponsible for even considering the option. I find it interesting that these doctors were telling a woman that midwives are unlearned and don't have medical training to monitor the baby's heart rate and health during the birth. They even went as far as to imply that midwives do not have skills, medication and or equipment to help mother and baby in the event of an "emergency". This is simply not true. I wonder if these doctors had ever witnessed a homebirth or knew anything about midwifery training. You will never hear a midwife say that a hospital birth is bad or never necessary. Midwives do experience times when caring for a woman, that they recognize circumstances with the mother or pregnancy which should be handled in a hospital. This transfer of care almost always happens before the woman is in labor. There are signs which are unmistakable, if listened to, long before it is an emergency. Studies show that even when transferred to hospital, the cesarean rate is 3.7% as opposed to an average 30% in planned hospital births(some hospitals are as high as 50%).
Again, there are some who would never be comfortable birthing at home, for different reasons. That is personal and should not be judged. Likewise this show should not be judging, making blanket statements about the safety of homebirth. They clearly did not do their research as there has never been a study which shows homebirth to be more dangerous than hospital birth-- They don't exist. In Europe homebirth is so common, it is like asking someone if they chose to make dinner at home or go out to eat. There is no right or wrong. There is no judgement.
I just want to say to anyone who is pregnant or is thinking of pregnancy, Trust Birth. No matter where you choose to do it, TRUST BIRTH. Our bodies were designed by God to perform this beautiful process. I think he made us all pretty dang well. Don't you?
The Facts
Ole Olsen, from the University of Copenhagen, recently studied planned homebirth and planned hospital birth. A total of nearly 25,000 births from five different countries were studied.
The results: There was no difference in survival rates between the babies born at home and those born in the hospital. As for maternal deaths, there were none in either group. However, there were several significant differences between the two groups. Fewer medical interventions occurred in the homebirth group. Fewer home-born babies were born in poor condition. The homebirth mothers were less likely to have suffered lacerations during birth. They were less likely to have had their labors induced or augmented by medications or to have had cesarean sections, forceps or vacuum extractor deliveries.
The results: There was no difference in survival rates between the babies born at home and those born in the hospital. As for maternal deaths, there were none in either group. However, there were several significant differences between the two groups. Fewer medical interventions occurred in the homebirth group. Fewer home-born babies were born in poor condition. The homebirth mothers were less likely to have suffered lacerations during birth. They were less likely to have had their labors induced or augmented by medications or to have had cesarean sections, forceps or vacuum extractor deliveries.
British Medical Journal Study
Main points
1) Women with low-risk pregnancies choosing to birth at home had "1.7 (child) deaths per 1000 planned home births, similar to risks in other studies of low risk hospital births in North America. No mothers died."
2) These women had much lower interventions. For example, instead of an estimated 30% rate of cesarean with most hospitals, home births that ended up transferring to the hospital had a 3.7% cesarean rate.
British Medical Journal study link Here
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