General Views on Homebirth
While I was trying to work this blog out in my head, I felt that I had little to say on the matter, and what I did have to say was common sense and seemed silly to say aloud.
The question at hand is whether homebirth is safe, as safe as hospital birth. The answer, as I see it, is of course it is - for low-risk women. This means healthy women who have uncomplicated pregnancies, their babies are head down (not breech or transverse), and who are being attended by a qualified midwife.
Women who have a history of hemorrhage, have twins, are carrying breech or transverse babies, or who have health problems (diabetes, epilepsy, congenital heart or kidney disease, anemia, smoking, etc.), should not deliver at home.
I see absolutely no reason why low-risk women should not be fully supported if they decide to give birth at home.
I feel that this barely needs saying aloud, because there are so many qualifiers. Is homebirth safe? Yes, with low-risk women whose babies are in the right position and being attended by a qualified midwife, yes.
But homebirth is not my ideal. It scares me.
I wish that birth centers within hospitals but run by midwives, like I had for my births, were the standard of care for labor and delivery. I think women generally feel that health care options are dichotomized: either go to the hospital where you're at risk for every possible intervention, or stay at home where you are truly in charge of what occurs. I haven't yet given birth in my current area, but I dread the day when I have to decide where it's going to be. I know if I go to the hospital, I will fight with the staff about IVs and constant external monitors and what position I want to use for pushing. I want to catch my own baby. I want to move freely and eat and drink as needed. But here, these things are restricted. It is an IV-standard, EFM-continuous, episiotomy-giving, lithotomy-only hospital. We have no birth centers of any kind, no midwives except homebirth midwives. We are indeed polarized. And with this kind of polarization, I feel more comfortable with the option of homebirth than going to this archaic hospital.
The question at hand is whether homebirth is safe, as safe as hospital birth. The answer, as I see it, is of course it is - for low-risk women. This means healthy women who have uncomplicated pregnancies, their babies are head down (not breech or transverse), and who are being attended by a qualified midwife.
Women who have a history of hemorrhage, have twins, are carrying breech or transverse babies, or who have health problems (diabetes, epilepsy, congenital heart or kidney disease, anemia, smoking, etc.), should not deliver at home.
I see absolutely no reason why low-risk women should not be fully supported if they decide to give birth at home.
I feel that this barely needs saying aloud, because there are so many qualifiers. Is homebirth safe? Yes, with low-risk women whose babies are in the right position and being attended by a qualified midwife, yes.
But homebirth is not my ideal. It scares me.
I wish that birth centers within hospitals but run by midwives, like I had for my births, were the standard of care for labor and delivery. I think women generally feel that health care options are dichotomized: either go to the hospital where you're at risk for every possible intervention, or stay at home where you are truly in charge of what occurs. I haven't yet given birth in my current area, but I dread the day when I have to decide where it's going to be. I know if I go to the hospital, I will fight with the staff about IVs and constant external monitors and what position I want to use for pushing. I want to catch my own baby. I want to move freely and eat and drink as needed. But here, these things are restricted. It is an IV-standard, EFM-continuous, episiotomy-giving, lithotomy-only hospital. We have no birth centers of any kind, no midwives except homebirth midwives. We are indeed polarized. And with this kind of polarization, I feel more comfortable with the option of homebirth than going to this archaic hospital.
posted by jenn at 8:08 AM
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