I wish more people could understand the facts about homebirth and why it should be a respected option for families to choose. I especially wish doctors could understand and respect homebirthing moms. This would do so much for increasing the safety of homebirth whereas most doctors cite safety concerns about homebirth and then proceed to make themselves unavailable to homebirthing families on the basis of fear of litigation. And sadly, most of them don't even have any valid reasons for their "safety concerns" aside from their own misconceptions, ignorance, biased backgrounds, and limited experience with natural unhindered birth.
If you want a very good idea about how extreme doctors can be about homebirth, listen to this direct quote from an OB when one of his patients inquired about homebirth, “Everyday, we have dead babies and dead moms pull in the parking lot because of failed home births!”
Really!? EVERY DAY!? And how do these dead mamas and babies drive? And isn't it a little too late for the hospital if they are dead? Yeah. That's believable...
Most studies on homebirth show very positive outcomes and a drastically reduced intervention rate. A typical midwife in our area has a 5% transfer rate, a 3% c-section rate, and a 0% episiotomy rate. And moms report more satisfaction and happiness after birthing their babies naturally at home. Not to mention that more homebirth mamas and babies go on to breastfeed successfully and have less illness in general because of breastfeeding and avoiding hospital germs etc.
The midwives here with the most experience (30+ years each for 2 of them) report having lost only one baby and no mothers between them, and it was a case in which the baby likely would have been lost in the hospital as well. (I'll talk about catastrophic rupture later in this post to explain...) That's in 30+ years of a very busy and successful practice. So the whole "Everyday we have dead babies and dead moms..." is a bit of a stretch.
I felt much more respected, honored, special, and empowered when and after giving birth at home. In the hospital I felt loss of all power and respect and a huge loss of dignity. When they strip you of your clothes, your choices, your power to move around... then they want you to be spread-eagle with your feet up in stirrups with at least 3-5 onlookers gawking at your most intimate parts on display as if at a museum? Then they barely even acknowledge the presence of the mom except to yell and count "PUUUUUUUSH" Yeah- I didn't feel very respected, powerful, honored, or safe in that situation.
At home I was surrounded by people who were just quiet and encouraged me to follow my body's lead. I was allowed to wear whatever I wanted, move about freely, eat and drink as I needed, have all the privacy I wanted and needed, listen to whatever music I wanted etc. Everyone treated me respectfully, kindly, quietly, gently, calmly, and with dignity. Decisions were left up to me. It was a huge departure from either of my hospital births and even from my birth center birth. (And don't get me wrong, my birth center experience was still a huge improvement over the hospital.)
I read a magazine article recently about homebirth and this paragraph struck me...
"In terms of mortality and injury, we know that driving a car is hundreds of times more dangerous for women and children than giving birth. That objective, quantifiable fact does not keep most of us from driving. Though it's proven to be extremely dangerous and can often be fatal, no one accuses a pregnant woman who drives a car every day of being 'selfish.' And when she arrives at a destination without having a crash, no one tells her how 'lucky' she was."
That puts it into perspective a bit!
Also, people seem nervous that not only am I planning on homebirthing, but I'm planning a home VBAC. Oh noes! My uterus will explode!!!! Okay, well first of all- the risk of uterine rupture in a vbac mom is extremely small, and yes- that's what the medical professionals make the big fuss about. It's less than one half of one percent. How's that for rare!? Not only that, but that risk is significantly increased by use of pitocin and/or requiring mom to be tethered to a bed laboring ineffectively on her back. The doctors around here require at the very least that you have an IV and be hooked to continual electronic fetal monitoring for VBACs and even the best Ob's we have here frequently require pitocin for VBAC moms because they are nervous about getting labor going and not going "overdue." It's really unfounded fear and only serves to further jeopardize healthy moms and babies!
And here is what most people do not know about uterine rupture. First of all, in the vast majority of cases, a rupture is slow and easily detectable. Especially if mom is laboring completely naturally! (Which is much more likely to happen outside of a hospital.) Midwives are particularly good at detecting ruptures because they know what to look for and make sure to check regularly during labor. During a typical rupture, there is time to calmly transfer to a hospital for the necessary surgery.
Here is the sad and scary part about rupture. In a tiny tiny percentage of ruptures, there is what is called a "catastrophic" rupture. In this case, it is sudden and extreme and cannot be predicted and usually only the mother can be saved. This is typically the outcome whether you are in a hospital or at home!! I have a friend who lost her baby in the hospital due to a catastrophic rupture. Life itself is 100% fatal and no one is guaranteed a happy ending. That's just LIFE. Going to the hospital does not guarantee you a healthy mom and healthy baby anymore than staying home does. It just so happens that I feel my chances of a healthier mom and baby are better at home for a plethora of very good reasons. Not the least of which is BECAUSE I'm a VBAC mama!!!
Doctors plain out lie about VBAC and homebirth. I had a doctor tell me how dangerous it is because of uterine rupture and he tried lots of scare tactics to convince me not to homebirth after my c-section. I didn't argue. However, this same doctor happens to know and respect an area midwife here and in a separate private conversation with her he asked her if she does home VBACs. She said she does and he expressed his disapproval. Then she mentioned how she has found that most ruptures are slow and detectable and she knows when to transfer and she also mentioned that catastrophic ruptures are both incredibly rare and often results in losing a baby regardless of location. He actually didn't argue with her and acknowledged that she had a point. Wonders never cease...
Anyway, I definitely feel safer birthing at home than at a hospital, not only because of the lack of evidence-based practices in the hospital that I feel would hinder my ability to labor and birth in the safest way for me; but also because I have a very different birth philosophy than any attendants in the hospital would have. I feel the very act of walking into the doors of a hospital would interrupt the delicate hormonal processes involved in labor. Walking into the doors would be the first intervention and interference for me. That would increase my stress and decrease my oxytocin right at the get-go.
And I'm not even getting into the hospital protocol and policies that would then be forced upon me. Just having strangers/nurses around is enough to alter a woman's labor pattern and potentially set up problematic laboring for the remainder of her birth. I feel that I need to be surrounded by the people that are who I trust most intimately and who will believe in me and support me in the way I need. No one in the hospital is that person for me.
From the same article that I quoted before are some fantastic quotes that perfectly express my philosophy about birthing...
"There's this really wide range of 'normal'! But the narrow definition of 'normal' that our current society has doesn't allow for the wisdoms of the mother's body and the baby, which can work together and resolve complications without conscious thought."
"I do not want to pass off the responsibility of having my baby to anyone else."
"Often, our ideas about what is and is not safe are based more on our prejudices and preconceived notions than on any objective facts about childbirth. For instance, although several major scientific studies have shown that homebirths have as good or better outcomes than hospital births, the mainstream medical establishment cites 'safety' concerns in their arguments against homebirth."
"Birth isn't inherently dangerous. It's our modern-day conceptions that are dangerous, not being in labor and having a baby. Every other natural bodily function generally works beautifully unassisted: digestion, elimination, respiration, conception. So many of the problems associated with birth are actually caused by interference."
"What's missing in our culture is that there is pain with a purpose, and that 'helping' is sometimes interfering."
"We let our bodies do what they are naturally programmed to do. Our body is made to do this. We don't need medical help getting the baby inside; we conceive without assistance. Birth is not a medical event. Interfering with the process is what makes it risky."
"I do not want to pass off the responsibility of having my baby to anyone else."
"Often, our ideas about what is and is not safe are based more on our prejudices and preconceived notions than on any objective facts about childbirth. For instance, although several major scientific studies have shown that homebirths have as good or better outcomes than hospital births, the mainstream medical establishment cites 'safety' concerns in their arguments against homebirth."
"Birth isn't inherently dangerous. It's our modern-day conceptions that are dangerous, not being in labor and having a baby. Every other natural bodily function generally works beautifully unassisted: digestion, elimination, respiration, conception. So many of the problems associated with birth are actually caused by interference."
"What's missing in our culture is that there is pain with a purpose, and that 'helping' is sometimes interfering."
"We let our bodies do what they are naturally programmed to do. Our body is made to do this. We don't need medical help getting the baby inside; we conceive without assistance. Birth is not a medical event. Interfering with the process is what makes it risky."
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