Saw this question on a bulliten board

[aelfie]

"Freebirth," or unassisted childbirth, describes the practice of giving birth at home without medical help. Supporters call it natural and intimate; others reject it as dangerous and irresponsible. What do you think? Are there some circumstances in which it would be okay, and others in which it wouldn't?

After plowing through a 2-3 of 78 pages of responses. I thought I'd just put in my own response here.

Personally, I would LOVE to have a baby at home without anybody but Joe. BUT, I'm also a realist. I know things can go wrong very quickly and sometimes an ambulance just isn't quick enough. Is it frightening? Somewhat. At this point, I know what the process of birth is. But there's that primal knowlege that I think every woman has, that when we lay down to give birth, we may not get back up. So I give birth in a hospital. Now in a perfect world, I would be able to have that homebirth experience at the hospital. You know? Just leave the straps, and exams and doctors and the machine's that go "Ping!" outside and we'll call you if we need you.

But I think Liability insurance would never allow such a thing. And my insurance will not cover a birthing center where such an experience is possible.

But hey. If you feel up for it. Go for it!

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sometimes folks say stuff like "it's worked for thousands of years" and I get the feeling they're forgetting those for whom it didn't work out well at all.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Too true!

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

I know people who are really into the home birth thing. Of course, they had a midwife, and their OBGYN had monitored their pregnancy and was comfortable with them giving birth at home.

It seems to me that the question involves balancing how much better the home birth experience will be if everything goes well, versus the risk that something will go wrong where the transit time to the hospital will make a significant difference. Assuming that an OBGYN thinks everything looks peachy as you come up to the delivery date, I think that's an evaluation that can legitimately be made either way.

[puzzld1.livejournal.com]

I had both my girls at a free standing birth center with a midwife, and it was a very positive experience. I can't imagine not having had the midwife there though as a guide. Molly went into some breathing distress a few hours after birth and I would have been too out of it and inexperienced to realize it until it became more dramatic and perhaps too late.

With Eliza things were picture perfect except for some tight shoulders which the midwife easily remedied with suprapubic pressure-something I'm just not flexible enough to do on my own.

I don't think even thousands of years ago women gave birth totally alone.There must have been midwives, or more experienced older women around.

And yeah, I'm a pediatric OT so every day I see the consequences of when it went wrong. Also have a nephew with cerebral palsy. Birth accidents are common and devastating. I may be a buzz kill but health of Mom and Babe is more important thatn Mom's "experience."

I have a dear friend who thankfully is not on your flist who makes me a little nuts because she is preg with twins and is very kerfuffled by her caregivers wanting to be more cautious, and she is very consumed by the experience she wants to have and doesn't feel she got with her first child.I'm as anti medical model as the next crunchy hippie, but there are priorities to be considered.

I think it's a balance and very individual to the Mama and her pregnancy. Even still, just her and her partner being at the birth seems unwise to me.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

I don't think its a buzz kill. I think too many people for too many things focus on the experience and not the result. I know how I'd like a birth to go, but as long as everyone is healthy and alive at the end, I'm cool.

I think this also applies to bridezillas. I brought one bride to tears while she was freaking out about details when I said "Calm down, its just a wedding, as long as your married at the end of the day, who cares?"

moll.

[(Anonymous)]

Poor gal. Totally off subject, but I think the word, "bridezilla" is used much too liberally. I don't think having a certain vision is being a bridezilla. That's just kinda being a bride. The zilla part comes in when you're actually being a monster to everyone around you for not doing exactly what you want.

That was mean what you said to her. Mean, mean, mean. Shame on you!

*handsmack*

[psi-star-psi.livejournal.com]

"Ladies, memorize this phrase: 'I want my epidural!'" -Dr. Joel Fleischman, Northern Exposure

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

I never want an epidural again. i HATE catheters!

moll

[(Anonymous)]

I also hate catheters, but I want an epidural every year on my birthday. I loved it. Of course, that was after 23 hours of labor, so maybe it wouldn't be the same on any ol' Tuesday.