A Woman's Nation: Reclaim Your Right To Birth Right

The times have truly changed. According to the newly released The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything, women now make up half the work force for the first time in written history! This means that our voices and skills are impacting all areas of society more than ever before. The Shriver Report also found that for both men and women, health is their number one priority! Since women make the vast majority of healthcare decisions in their families--and have the buying power to do it--we women are in a very powerful position to influence the future of healthcare in America. Nowhere is this more critical than in the area of pregnancy and birth.

As an obstetrician/gynecologist, I have spent the last 30 years educating women about the wisdom of their bodies, including their innate ability to birth normally. Yet our so-called healthcare system, which is a direct reflection of the beliefs of our culture, sees the female body and its processes (like labor) as an accident waiting to happen. Media images of birth as an emergency play right into this. The truth is that labor and birth need not be the emergencies we think they are. And the medicalization of birth actually does more harm than good.

Progress Set Us Back

I was a resident back in the late 1970's when electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) was first introduced and lauded as a panacea that would prevent cerebral palsy and birth injuries. Thirty years later, data indicates that the only thing EFM has done reliably is increase the rate of Cesarean section (C-section) births. George Macones, M.D., who headed up the development of the latest fetal monitoring guidelines for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, summarized it quite nicely: "Since 1980, the use of EFM has grown dramatically, from being used on 45 percent of pregnant women in labor to 85 percent in 2002. Although EFM (electronic fetal monitoring) is the most common obstetric procedure today, unfortunately it hasn't reduced perinatal mortality or the risk of cerebral palsy. In fact, the rate of cerebral palsy has essentially remained the same since World War II, despite fetal monitoring and all of our advancements in treatments and interventions." [1]

Monitoring also reliably draws the attention away from the laboring woman herself, who needs the support, and transfers it to the monitor screen--as if she and the monitor screen were two separate entities.

Dangerous Interventions Soar

Given our love affair with technology and the mind/body split that is part of health in the United States and birth in particular, it's little wonder that our C-section rate is now a whopping 33 percent. [2] This is particularly troubling given that the World Health Organization says that an optimal rate is 5-10 percent, and that recent research shows that anything over 15 percent does more harm than good. [3]

The rate of births by C-section keeps going up every year, and over the past decade, it's increased by more than 50 percent. Way back in 1965, for example, the rate was only 4.5 percent! [4] At least in part, these sky-high rates may be linked to doctors' fears of being sued. In 2003, more than three quarters of all American obstetricians were sued at least once, with a median award of $2.3 million for medical negligence in childbirth. As a result, many doctors are more likely to opt for performing a C-section at the first sign of a complication. [5]

Then there's the issue of labor inductions. In 2006, more than 22 percent of all pregnant women in the UNITED STATES had induced labors, a rate that has more than doubled in the last 20 years. [6] Similarly, women have been brainwashed into believing that because a C-section can be planned it's therefore preferable to a normal birth--which, again, society sees as messy and inconvenient.

Labor proceeds on its own schedule. The exquisite timing that is a result of the delicate interaction between a baby and her mother needs to be respected. Our culture's collective trust in C-sections and labor inductions that increase the risk of surgical birth is mind-boggling! The Shriver Report points out that women still seek permission from authority figures far more often than men do. We still don't trust ourselves. No wonder we so willingly turn over our bodies during birth.

Risky labor inductions for "convenience" and all the complications associated with them--increased risk of prematurity, C-section, bladder and bowel injury, and maternal death--are now on the rise all over the country. It troubles me that more women don't realize that a Cesarean section is major surgery. And it carries with it a risk of maternal death that is five to seven times greater than a normal birth. [7]

More Maternal Death Than Reported

Unfortunately, the American public in general (physicians included) has a false sense of security about the safety of C-sections because the statistics on maternal death in the UNITED STATES are misleading. It's well known that the maternal death rate in any given population is a very good indicator of the overall health status of that population, as is infant mortality. Unlike most other developed countries, pregnancy-related death statistics for the United States include only women who die within a six-week period after a pregnancy ends. Other developed countries include deaths that occur up to one year afterward.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the number of maternal deaths in the United States is probably up to three times as high as the number reported in our national statistics because not all maternal deaths are classified as pregnancy-related on the death certificate. [8] According to midwife Ina May Gaskin, who launched the The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project to bring this issue to public attention, the maternal death rate has actually doubled in the UNITED STATES in the last 25 years. It was 7.5 per 100,000 live births in 1982. In 1999, that rate had risen to 13.2 deaths per 100,000 births. By 2005, it was up to 15.1 per 100,000 live births! In some New York City hospitals, it's higher still. Moreover, Hispanic and Black women continue to have much higher maternal death rates--perhaps four times as high or higher.

Gaskin wrote, "When I first became curious about the maternal death rate in the UNITED STATES, I wondered why it was so difficult to unearth in the medical library. This was in the early 1990's. I noticed a sharp contrast between how maternal deaths are counted here in the United States and the United Kingdom's system of Confidential Enquiries, where four countries cooperate to achieve 100 percent ascertainment of maternal deaths that are directly related to pregnancy and birth. (They claim 97 percent accuracy.) According to the CDC, the actual number may be 1.6 to 3 times the figure that is published annually. I find this shocking, especially since we know that the maternal death rate has been rising in recent years--something that isn't happening in other countries " [9] Currently, according to the World Health Organization and several United Nations agencies, the United States ranks behind no fewer than forty other nations in preventing maternal deaths (based upon an official but unreliable number). [10]

Normal Birth, Safe Birth

Studies have repeatedly shown that in healthy mothers with no risk factors, home birth is as safe as hospital birth. Increasingly, savvy women who trust their ability to birth normally are opting to avoid the hospital altogether (or at least have the foresight to hire a midwife or doula). And who can blame them? One study in the Netherlands looked at almost 530,000 low-risk planned births and found that with the proper services in place (such as a well-trained midwife and good transportation), home births are just as safe as hospital births. [11] In fact, home birth may even be safer.

Ina May Gaskin reports that at The Farm Midwifery Center, the C-section rate is only 1.4 percent--a safety rate unparalleled by hospitals. And her experience is clearly not solitary. A landmark study published in the British Medical Journal in 2005 found that natural birth at home, under the care of certified practicing midwives, is safe for low-risk mothers and their babies. This study, which tracked more than 5,000 mothers in the United States and Canada, also reported that home births with low-risk mothers resulted in much lower rates of medical interventions when compared to the intervention rates for low-risk mothers giving birth in hospitals. For example, the episiotomy rate was 2.1 percent for the home-birth group, compared with 33 percent for hospital births, and labor was induced in only 9.6 percent of home births, compared to 21 percent of hospital births. The rate of electronic fetal monitoring, C-sections, forceps or vacuum delivery, and epidurals were also much lower with home births. [12]

A Woman's Birthright

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Sheryl WuDunn and Nicolas D. Kristof, authors of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (2009), point out that focusing on the needs of women and girls is the number one issue of this century. I couldn't agree more. One of those needs is fostering a woman's trust in the processes of her body instead of making them into surgical emergencies that aren't medically indicated.

When it comes to pregnancy and birth, we as a culture and as individuals need to wake up and claim our right to literally birth right!

For more cutting edge articles on health and wellness, visit www.drnorthrup.com and sign up for the Women's Wisdom Circle.

Copyright Christiane Northrup, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease.
All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program.

References:
[1] American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, "Practice Bulletin No. 106: Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring: Nomenclature, Interpretation, and General Management Principles," Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 114, no. 1 (July 2009), pp. 192-202.
[2] B.E. Hamilton, J. A. Martin, and S. J. Ventura, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2007," National Vital Statistics Report, vol. 57, no. 12 (March 18, 2009), p.3.
[3] F. Althabe and J.F. Belizan, "Caesarean Section: The Paradox," The Lancet, vol. 368 (2006), pp.1472-3.
[4] S. M. Taffel, P. J. Placek, and T. Liss, "Trends in the United States Cesarean Section Rate and Reasons for the 1980-85 Rise," American Journal of Public Health, vol. 77, no. 8 (1987), pp. 955-9.
[5] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 57th Annual Clinical Meeting: Papers on Current Clinical and Basic Investigation. Presented May 5, 2009.
[6] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "Practice Bulletin No. 107: Induction of Labor," Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 114 (2009), pp. 386-397.
[7] M. H. Hall, "Commentary: Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Death," British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, vol. 97, no. 8 (Aug. 1990), pp. 752-53; N. Schuitemaker et al., "Maternal Mortality After Cesarean Section in the Netherlands," Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, vol. 76, no. 4 (1997), pp. 332-34.
[8] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "State-Specific Maternal Mortality Among Black and White Women--United States, 1987-1996," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 48, no. 23 (June 18, 1999).
[9] A. de Jonge, et al., "Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity in a Nationwide Cohort of 529,688 Low-Risk Planned Home and Hospital Births," BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, vol. 116 (August 2009), pp. 1177-84.
[10] Gaskin, I., Northrup, C. Safe Motherhood Quilt, www.drnorthrup.com. (August 2009).
[11] Hill, K., et. al. "Estimates of maternal mortality worldwide between 1990 and 2005: an assessment of available data," The Lancet, (August 13, 2007) 370, 1311-1319.
[12] K. C. Johnson and B. A. Daviss, "Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America," British Medical Journal, vol. 330, no. 7505 (June 18, 2005), p. 1416.

 

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Comments

[NaturalAsPossibleMom]

10:21 PM on 12/22/2009

I fought for and won the right to deliver my baby the way I wanted to.

I was a week late. My midwife let me be "late." I went to an acupuncturist to bring on labor. I got to the hospital 6 cm. I fought for intermittent monitoring, the right to walk, to keep my bra on. "Cut it off in an emergency," I said. The head labor nurse wanted me to stay in triage for delivery. Again, I fought to deliver in a birthing suite. There were three open, but nurses didn't want to have to walk. I won when my midwife threatened to call a supervisor. My baby was born in three pushes. No epidural, episiotomy, or drugs. It was the most empowering feeling I have ever had.

As I walked the halls that day, I watched five other women go off for C-sections. Their labors just weren't progressing, they were told. Not surprising since they were lying in bed for hours with epidurals. I wrote a story where one of my sources said something pretty smart: You can't get ketchup out of a bottle that's lying on its side. Of course those women, who were laboring on their backs, were doomed. Besides the fact that -- with an epidural -- they weren't going to be able to feel what was going on anyway.

Thank you, Dr. Northrup! I'll keep blogging and tweeting about this, but it's more believable when someone like you says it.

[EuroMom]

08:55 AM on 12/01/2009

Let’s start with the premise “no two births are the same” (my midwife’s words). Childbirth is a natural occurrence, not an illness. Medical intervention may, or may not, be necessary. I have friends who have happily delivered their babies at home, others who have had elective or emergency c-sections, epidurals... you name it. For some, the birth was a joyful experience, for others traumatic. It really depends on the individual situation. I chose to give birth in a hospital. Fortunately, I was living in Germany at the time, where they are very open to alternative medicine – so it was all candlelit lavender baths and massage and gentle music and acupuncture – until things started to go horribly wrong... at which point I was very glad of the “medicalized” environment. It wasn’t what I had wanted, but I was grateful for it under the circumstances. I wouldn’t criticize ANY woman for her choices in childbirth, either way. There is absolutely no “one size fits all” here. Throughout the centuries, some women have died in childbirth and others have popped their kids out like cherry-stones. I guess it’s still the same today.

[waikiki01]

11:13 AM on 11/26/2009

Although I had a hospital birth I will say I do not regret it, the nurses were respectful of my wishes for minimal intervention as I was doing a natural birth and the only times I saw them was when they filled up the tub and when they came in to check on me. They were surprisingly encouraging thus canceling the image I had in my head of them trying to get me to use some sort of pain killers. It really does make me sad that so many people have had negative births in hospitals, and with their doctors, the way I see it if you don't like the way things are going with your doctor...change.
One thing did turn me off, my obg was not there to deliver me another doctor from the same clinic was and the next day as he came by to see how I was doing, although he congratulated me on the "great job" he mentioned how next time I should consider an epidural because whoever told me that natural was better just wanted me to suffer....I, however, wish to differ. I was up and walking hours after my birth and could really enjoy my son without being drowsy. Also...I didn't have to deal with a 4 inch needle getting put into my spinal chord. The fact that he encouraged painkillers made me happy he was not my regular doctor!!!

[MaryEllenWalsh]

11:22 AM on 11/04/2009

I am a mother of three and a product of typical middle class birthing procedures on Long Island, NY. After the birth of my third child, I tore (or was cut too deeply) and lived with fecal incontinence for two years. I had reconstructive surgery and my shame and pain in overcoming the emotional scars prompted me to open Mothers Emerge Worldwide a non profit organization to help women find better more holistic birth choices and to overcome birth traumas and help get reconstructive surgeries. http:// www.mothersemergeworldwide.wordpress.com .
Experts throw out a lot of statistics, but I'm living flesh and blood proof that women need help and can take control of their birth(s) and lives. Contact Mothers Emerge Worldwide at motherseme­rgeworldwi­de@gmail.c­om We can help. Have a great day!!!!



Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiane-northrup/c-section-or-natural-birt_b_323422.html

[MaryEllenWalsh]

11:18 AM on 11/04/2009

I am a mother of three and a product of typical middle class birthing procedures on Long Island, NY. After the birth of my third child, I tore (or was cut too deeply) and lived with fecal incontinence for two years. It prompted me to open Mothers Emerge Worldwide a non profit organization to help women find better more holistic birth choices and to overcome birth traumas and help get reconstructive surgeries. http:// www.mothersemergeworld.wordpress.com.
Experts throw out a lot of statistics, but I'm living flesh and blood proof that women need help and can take control of their birth(s) and lives back. Contact Mothers Emerge Worldwide at [e-mail]. Have a great day!!!!

[bmonaghan]

04:26 PM on 10/20/2009

I think it is important to think of giving birth as a process you start while pregnant. Studies show that processed foods, caffeine and toxins can influence both the birth and the baby. We cannot avoid all these things, but we can do things that are healthy for mom and baby. Fragrine is an alkaloid present in red rasberry leaf. It is also a proven compound to strengthing and toning the uterin muscles. The American Pregnancy Association encourages mothers to drink red rasberry tea as well as nettle (for minerals and vitamins), rose hips, and other herbs that are safe and full of nutrients. See:

http://www.prlog.org/10378551-more-women-dying-in-childbirth-in-us-hospitals-advocates-argue-natural-birth-safer.html

[Wangus]

03:02 PM on 10/20/2009

Statistics are valid only when compared apples to apples. What about the fact that both maternal age and fertility treatments are on the rise? How does that impact comparison of home birth to hospital birth.
More than anything I am concerned that there is such aggressive response on both sides. My choice does not need to be yours, nor do I care to make a judgement call on your choice. I like to think that everyone does what is best for their family. I feel blessed that we live in a country where we have choice. Just because I choose hospital because of age and medical history, does not mean I think any less of your choice. I am however bummed that I cannot discuss such choices with other mothers without getting bombarded with suggestions that I am doing wrong. Truth be told I just lie or change subject to avoid discussion.
I wish you all the best and hope as women/mothers and people in general we can all better support one another.

[ArtiesMama]

04:13 PM on 10/20/2009

Homebirth studies do compare apples to apples (low risk mom to low risk mom) . Please see the sitations to check out the research for yourself.

Can you share an example of the aggression that you speak of? I haven't seen any. I have seen that many women are passionat about this issue because of the lack of choice (MW attended homebirth is still illegal in many states) and because women and babies are dying unnecessarily.

You feel blessed to have "choice" because the one thing you wanted was available to you. Unfortunately, women all over this country are not able to choose what they want. I would recommend doing some research on the history of childbirth in the US. Women's choices were taken away from them back in the early 1900s and they have not been fully restored.

[Wangus]

05:13 PM on 10/20/2009

I appreciate your "passion", but rather than commenting on my "choice" or "feeling blessed" why not suggest ways to change & educate. I support your cause and wish we in US had better health care options. I have lived in other countries and must say options for care outside "standard practice" is much more broadly accepted/supported. On the other hand our system does allow much better care than other countries, but still could be much better.

I continue to choose hospital route but I also research what I can so that I have some knowledge to push for a high standard of care for my child and myself within realm of safety. I would like more choice available (ie different hospital facilities, more time with doc, better insurance), but I too have limitations. What I choose is not what I want 100%, but at this point I can only make the best of my personal scenario. I know there is more that can be done to support those in the future so what do you recommend for that.

What do you recommend for change ... better malpractice controls? better education for doctors? leglislative?

What education do you recommend ... studies? websites? historical?

[cinemaven]

10:13 AM on 10/19/2009

Such important information - thank you

My OBGYN tried to schedule a c-section when I was 6 months pregnant (for a date 2 1/2 months away) because the baby was in a breech position. I explained that I expected my baby to continue to summersault until he was born so no thanks... the OBGYN was indignant and said he might not be there if I insisted on waiting to schedule my section because he was going on holiday. I explained that I would be crossing my legs, hoping to deliver when he was away.
My son was almost 3 weeks late and the Dr. talked me into an induction. I was kept on a monitor and not allowed to walk but labor went quickly. My hubby and I figured I was in late labor after 6 hours but the nurse laughed and said I was still in the first stages... I let her talk me into 1/4 strength epidural but it turned out hubby and I had been right and I delivered 14 minutes after epidural. The epidural gave me a "headache" that kept me on my back in hospital for 9 days - if I tried to sit, I would pass out immediately.

Second son.. all natural and 100% easier both to get through and to recover from.

[y0shio]

12:43 AM on 10/19/2009

I believe the most successful society (depending on your definition of success) of the 21st century will be the one which recognizes the benefits and drawbacks of both the technological and natural world and is able to utilize the two harmoniously. That can be applied to this child birthing issue as well. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EITHER OR!!! Statistics only mean so much and each birth likely has it's own unique problems and thankfully obstetricians in America have spent countless hours preparing for these "hiccups." With that in mind (and this is coming from a male perspective so it may oversimplify the matter) lets say I get a severe stomach ache (very natural, happens fairly regularly to people) I'm likely to just deal with it using the most natural means possible and up to this point have had a 100% success rate without having to be prescribed something I didn't need. However lets say its something unexpected such as appendicitis, then I would say the medical industry would be absolutely crucial to my survival.

[mydwyf]

01:50 PM on 10/19/2009

Well stated. One topic which has not been discussed here is post partum care for c-section mothers. It's one thing to go home a day or two later after a laparoscopic appendectomy and
quite another to go home after major abdominal surgery with one or more infants either in tow or
in NICU. I think most insurance companies will only pay for 48 hours hospital time for post section care. While it may be appropriate to get women out of the high risk hospital environment, it is not appropriate to turn them loose with no help. When my mother had me, in 1955 (she found and sent me the bill recently, it came to about $525) it was normal to stay in the hospital for a week after a vaginal delivery.

Now I read from one poster on another forum that, after her c-section delivery of preemie twins, she was discharged 36 hours later but refused to leave her babies alone in the NICU nursery, so with the nurses' permission she CAMPED OUT on a couch in the NICU waiting room. 36 hours after major abdominal surgery. There is something very wrong with that picture.

How about some 'halfway suites' for a few more days of assisted and monitored recovery ?
I really can't imagine many males being okay with going home a couple days after a c-section,
new baby in tow. But for women it's the norm ?

[mplsmomma]

12:08 PM on 11/25/2009

That is incorrect. Mothers receive 48 hours for a uncomplicated vaginal birth and 96 hours for a c-section.

[LMPE]

05:31 PM on 10/18/2009

Not something that I think much about.

[PVHurt420]

04:39 PM on 10/18/2009

People commenting on here can't look down on women who choose to have the drugs w/ childbirth. Every woman should be able to choose what is best for her and her baby. And I personally gave in (after being induced which I disagreed with) to an epidural because I simply couldn't handle the pain.

I will say that if I decide to have another baby, I will have a midwife at home (if I get to own a home), like my mom did with all 5 of her children. And every so often, I have a sharp pain in the small of my back where the needle was inserted.

Congrats to ALL mothers for going through with childbirth, regardless of how you did it.

[SeaBlood]

03:09 PM on 10/18/2009

I'm starting to think that maybe ALL births should be done naturally. That way women can experience all the pain that goes into giving birth, Then, perhaps they will think a little more carefully about getting pregnant. We no longer have such an urgent need to repopulate the planet.

[PVHurt420]

04:29 PM on 10/18/2009

um, have you given birth at all?? I hope it was natural, cause it's painful as hell.

[naschkatze]

07:09 PM on 10/18/2009

Maybe it's a man because he seems to put all the onus of getting pregnant on the woman. "You'd just better keep your legs crossed." And this from a congressman in the '80s, "And we're saying to you, you get yourself pregnant, you have that baby."

[Psyche78]

02:41 PM on 10/19/2009

Really? You think that's going to be a deterrant? Because, you know, the lack of pain relief during childbirth certainly didn't stop our ancestors from having huge families. And as a someone who gave birth without meds twice, I can say, once you're holding that baby, the pain can become a distant memory.

[pa28]

11:45 AM on 10/18/2009

Question, for all those mothers who had babies "naturally" without drugs...have you ever had your wisdom teeth taken out or a broken leg set or an appendix taken out - all without pain medication? What about open heart surgery? I challenge you, next time you or a family member has emergency surgery after a car accident, tell the doctor that you don't want them to have any pain medication. Let's see how well that goes over. Stop being martyrs. 13 year old girls and my dog have had babies without needing a pat on the back.

[Tina Brown Overton]

02:00 PM on 10/18/2009

Oh come on. Might this be a little short sighted? I'm not sure about your wisdom teeth, but I am certain mine do not have a fully functioning nervous system that relies on a complex chemical process to work optimally to insure their health and well being. I am 100% sure that when my ankle was broken, the medication I took did not compromise it's heart beat or lead to a possible post-break side effect leading to my ankles inability to nourish itself. I am pretty darned sure that open heart surgery is not a normal process that releases hormones to assist in the discomfort of the surgery, nor does it benefit from eating, drinking, being up right, moving, etc. I will elect to go medication free so that my uterus will help to turn my baby into the most optimal position for birth and not numb it so that I will need for my baby to be pulled out, much like a tooth. Oh... there is the tooth connection. Now I get it.

[hereinlou]

09:17 PM on 10/18/2009

... and I'm sure you ate completely organic, straight from the farm during pregnancy... made & baked your own homemade bread... used no hair products, make-up, toiletries, breathed in no toxins (or took in no toxins whatsoever from water that you wash & brush your teeth with)....

Epidurals are safe & effective. My husband has even had one for a slipped disk. I went to one of the best hospitals in the country to deliver my 1st daughter... their epidural rate was just above 80%. I was present & comfortable during delivery. I felt my contractions (just not the pain) & was able to push with ease. Please stop with the scare tactics... it's the same thing that the anti-choice protesters do outside of Planned Parenthood.

And as for the post below, are women strong? Of course we are. Do we have to smash beer cans on our head to prove it... uhhh... no. If you want to feel the pain as part of pregnancy... be my guest. However, don't impose your mandate on other women who choose not to... don't scare them into thinking that epidurals are some dangerous choice that endangers their baby... they are used safely everyday.

[prairiejane]

02:17 PM on 10/18/2009

Wisdom tooth or appendix removal are SURGICAL procedures. Is someone suggesting women go drug free for a surgical birth (i.e. c-section)? Of course not. These arguments are silly.

Medical technology in childbirth encompasses much more than drugs for pain management and those technological inventions do not always make mothers and babies safer. Sometimes they actually harm mothers and babies.

It's sad that we can't have a discussion about the risks of various interventions without posters equating mothers who can manage pain without drugs to dogs.

[bmonaghan]

11:22 AM on 10/18/2009

The American Pregnancy Association now encourages women to drink Red Rasberry Tea. Studies show that it reduces birth complications.

http://www.prlog.org/10242581-american-pregnancy-association-encourages-expecting-mothers-to-drink-herbal-tea.html

[peacelove418]

11:19 AM on 10/18/2009

Great article. Thank you for putting many issues of child birth into perspective. I am pregnant and I am having a natural child birth. Let your child enter the world on his/her own terms, when the child is ready. So many women have done this before me, managed the pain fine DRUG-FREE and had healthy babies. Have faith in your bodies and yourself. This article gave truth to what many women have grown accustomed to and I'm happy to see someone expressing the FACTS.

[NeldaDee]

02:49 PM on 10/18/2009

So many women...

As an obstetric nurse, let me tell you about one statistic they're NOT listing:

Wanna guess what the rate is of emergency room admitted "home-births-gone-wrong?"

I have seen SO MANY WOMEN try this cute little home-birth maneuver only to be eventually put into my hands (via ambulance) at the hospital so that I can save their life and their baby's life.

[ArtiesMama]

03:11 PM on 10/18/2009

See the sitations. Homebirth has been shown over and over again to result in equal rates of mortality and lower rates of morbidity. You have to save the lives of women and babies in your hospital as a result of iatrogenic problems during those planned hospital births as well (only more often). Those hospital births gone wrong aren't so "cute" either, huh?

[KJ Cornish]

04:07 PM on 10/18/2009

Wow are you really that out of touch with the medical research?

We don't HAVE to "guess" what the rate is. We know for a fact that homebirth has been proven safe for low-risk women over and over again most recently in this study: http://bit.ly/FS6ps

And you know what's really interesting about your comment, is the whole "saving their life" drama.. I really WOULD like to see some stats on that, because actually the true transport "emergencies" from homebirths are vanishingly rare. Most transports are just due to maternal exhaustion or expressing a desire for something one can only get in the hospital like drugs. Can you provide statistics from your hospital about 1) planned 2) attended homebirth that had a 3) transport that was 4) life-threatening? I'd love to see those numbers.

I could tell you many "cute" stories of women turning to homebirth after the hideous, abusive, life-endangering and sometimes illegal treatment they received in hospitals. But just because women and babies die in hospitals every day isn't a reason to say no one should birth there right? We should actually look at the real numbers and risks and go from there, instead of flinging anecdotes.