To be fed up of the "home birth is risky" misinformation?

[everychildmatters]

Because clearly evidence says otherwise!!

I think that may be a bit of an unfair question. Yes, interventions can cause complications and lead to further interventions, but I had life threatening complications for myself and baby during a home birth. I hadn't had any interventions, no VE, absolutely nothing. It does happen.

@DoggieHeaven Why is it an unfair question? We can't hide behind the fact that (not always but sometimes) unecessary interventions cause things to go wrong. The next question will be so why would hospitals do them? Many reasons, and not always in best interests.

It's a bit unfair to imply that if a birth was not interfered with, things will go just fine. It's like blaming the mother for what happened. Believe me, some of the things said to me from fellow home birthers still hurt to this day.

I don't think the majority of women who choose home births do so for the frivolous reason you are suggesting. Most do plenty of research (more than those that don't I would imagine) and are guided closely by the home birth midwives from the very start. It's not a simple tick box exercise.

i don't personally know any woman, home birthing or not, who would not put the safety of them and their baby at risk. Risk assessment isn't as simple as hospital = safe delivery. That is far too simplistic.

If you look at my historic graph showing how many babies and mothers died, it is less remarkable.

It’s really difficult to get exact figures but multiple sources average out around 1 in 18 births, now it’s 1 in 10000.

they would have arranged a transfer to hospital.

Average ambulance times for a Category 1 situation is 7 minutes. 90% within 15 mins from initial phone call to ambulance arrival.

Then take into account travel to the hospital. I live 20 minutes away from mine.

Then there is getting you to theatre or the appropriate ward. Lets say another 5 mins.

So with all things working perfectly and on time it would take 32 minutes before I was treated. That time can and does make the difference between life and death.

Now imagine being the unlucky 10% who are waiting 15 mins for an ambulance.

It only takes 10 minutes of oxygen deprivation for brain damage to occur in a baby and death occurs after 25.

I'm not saying home births are risky in that the chances of things going wrong is more likely. What I am saying is, when things do go wrong it is riskier to be at home. I don't think this can be disputed.

Because you could very quickly become a sick person if something goes wrong when giving birth.

This is really disrespectful. She knows what happened better than you do.

it’s safe until you need emergency treatment. Then it could be the difference between a life and a death. Or seriously life altering injuries.

@AshKeys1 Again, missing the point.

@Hermyknee My point exactly.

What point?

Childbirth is risky, you never know until it's started how it's going to go. I was glad I'd opted for a hospital birth with DD1 when it transpired she was a face presentation (and back to back as well) and was completely stuck when they decided enough was enough, she was in distress and it was time for an EMCS after 48 hours labouring. It took a lot of tugging to pull her free. We were both exhausted. Then there was the PPH which followed. After that little drama I realised that childbirth can be a very dangerous activity when it doesn't go right...

What point?

Also, when home births were all we had how many women and babies died? A lot!

I mean this isn't a debate about the risks of 21st C hospital birth vs giving birth in a tent in Sherwood forest attended only by Moorish traveller Morgan Freeman and with a wooden spoon to bite on for pain relief. If it were there would be no question which was safer would there.

@everychildmatters you really are tone deaf and only reading and comprehending what fits your agenda .
I can categorically say that my Grandchild would have been dead if he was born away from hospital.
Absolutely no red flags throughout labour that a huge problem would happen within minutes before birth.
Mum had been monitored throughout and midwife present from arrival at Labour ward . Approximately 3hours . When a problem SUDDENLY became evident the crash team were there in seconds. He developed sudden bradycardia and was in acidosis when he arrived !
19 minutes of no audible noise from that baby was the longest 19 minutes of our lives!
Baby then to NICU .
My daughter had been encouraged to have baby at cottage MLU because of her zero risk factors . Thankfully she declined ,expressing that there is a reason why hospitals have life saving staff and equipment…she was 100% correct.
Edited to say that it wasn’t just having experienced midwives but also paediatrician ,anaesthetist,obstetrician etc that saved this baby life!

This is on the NHS website:

But if you’re having your first baby, home birth slightly increases the risk of serious problems for the baby – including death or issues that might affect the baby's quality of life – from 5 in 1,000 for a hospital birth to 9 in 1,000 for a home birth.
If you've had a baby before, a planned home birth is as safe as having your baby in hospital or a midwife-led unit.
It's rare, but if something goes seriously wrong during your labour at home, it could be worse for you or your baby than if you were in hospital with access to specialised care.

When was that

@egganbacon With respect, you are failing to understand why you cannot categorically state that "the baby would have died if she had elected to have a home birth." It is simply impossible.

"Giving birth is generally safe wherever you choose to have your baby." (NHS).
Goes against the narrative of many that "Childbirth is always risky". That's just not true.

Crossing the road is generally safe. It also always has some risk. Nothing is entirely risk-free. Even if the risk of homebirth is only 0.5% higher than using a hospital that would be a risk I wasn't interested in entertaining.

But for me that decision was made far easier because I also still don't see the attraction of homebirth on any level.

And this (also NHS):
"If you've had a baby before, a planned home birth is as safe as having your baby in hospital or a midwife-led unit."
But clearly so many of you on here are still arguing otherwise(!)
@dappledthings "As safe".

But the lady in the article had given birth before and she died. We don’t as of yet know the cause of death but she wasn’t lucky enough to have this apply.

Giving birth is the single most dangerous point in an adult woman's life.
Where medical intervention is basic, such as tribal Afghanistan, a woman's lifetime risk of death in childbirth can be as high as 25%.
That's just death, that doesn't include those disabled from birth injuries, or long term illnesses such as hashimotos.