to think this woman's misguided to say the least?!

[Floopy21]

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/melanie_reid/article6101189.ece

See my second post sparkle - she's clearly responding to something that the rest of us haven't seen, which is a lazy and unhelpful way to go about writing an article, even if it is only an opinion piece.

If she had done it properly she could have a good point.

I have 2dc's. both born in hospital.

Ds was an awful awful labour with complications. had i attempted to deliver at home it is a distinct possibility that neither he nor i would be here now.

i had a very healthy pregnancy, i was fit nd healthy and very low risk.

However i had DD who was delivered very naturally with not so much as an aspirin. the only problem was the fact that we were in a hospital room.

if i have another child it will be my choice to have a home birth.
Dp on the other hand is adament that it is unsafe and that Hospital's are the ONLY place to have a child.

i think birthing centre's are teh way forward. a home from home, relaxed atmosphere with medical assistance if required.

Trillian - Are you saying that there is a greater risk in having a home birth than a hospital birth for low risk women?

I fail to see how having a home birth is turning your back on 21st century medicine/technology.
Is she under some strange impression that a home birth is a medeival affair carried out with a rusty knife and a bucket of hot water?

Hospital is a great environment for those who need it, but so is your own home. No birth is guaranteed risk free no matter where you do it. As long as every woman has access to enough information to make an informed choice i cannot see a need to criticise anyone for their personal choice.

I read this article this morning, and even though personally I wouldn't (and didn't) choose a homebirth, mainly because I'm too chicken to go without drugs () but also for safety reasons- however, I think YANBU; the article is written in a very snotty, derogatory, angry way. She doesn't really have arguments, she just ridicules anyone who makes a choice different to hers. I have to be honest & say I agree- more or less- with much of what she's saying; but I strongly disagree with her tone.

But then the issue of 'natural birth' is a heated, polarized subject, and there's a lot of prejudice & overgeneralizations on the other side too. For example, just here in this thread, BunnyLebowski says she doesn't want to give birth in a 'cold sterile environment with overbearing professionals'. If that's not a completely unfair overgeneralization I don't know what is! Talking from personal experience, I had a lovely lovely midwife attending to me during birth- plus a doula (and they're very welcome to be present at birth). And at the end, when medical intervention was needed & I was dragged to the theatre (for a forceps delivery), every single medical professional there was just wonderful, warm & supportive, FAR from overbearing. They made an experience which could have been horrible & traumatic into something I can bear to remember with (some) pleasure. Hospital does not necessarily mean it's cold sterile & full of overbearing professionals. Just as a home birth does not necessarily mean it's a dangerous, irresponsible choice.

I didn't like the way it was written-I think people should make their own choices, but I agreed with her in that I wanted mine in hospital so that we were in the right place for emergencies.
I spent yesterday looking at burial registers in the local record office and it was obvious that a lot of women died in childbirth, it was a risky business. I think that modern medicine is wonderful.

Home births are as safe as a hospital birth. See

I had my first 2 in hospital - dirty, horrible wards, abandoned in a corridor less than an hour after giving birth (40-odd hour labour), vomiting thanks to a drug they had given me that I didn't want, told off for vomiting in the corridor . That was the first, I was on my own and frightened.

2nd one was an induction, within 30 minutes of giving birth and having only just delivered placenta I was shouted at to move as I was taking up a delivery suite.

I've chosen to give birth at home this time as it feels best for me. I have no health problems, my pregnancy has had no complications, my midwife discussed at great length with me the pros and cons of homebirth.

I don't feel that I am spoiled or selfish (and I don't wear sandals), I feel that I am making an informed choice. It is up to the woman in question to choose where she gives birth, within reason, without being made to feel like a twat about whatever decision she makes. We have the right to make a choice FFS.

To those who are posting about death in childbirth, etc and making it sound as though women who give birth at home are somehow putting their children at a more extreme risk. Erm no. I have read everything I could, discussed at length the options and I am not putting this child at any further risk. My local hospital has an appalling record on infection rates, my home doesn't!

How old do you think she is? I thought hospital birth only became the UK norm in the 80's?

It's a very emotional article - she seems to have some ishoos with breastfeeding as well (and sandles, come to think of it...)

well - I think I do agree with the "cold sterile" - they're not exactly warm and comforting places hospitals are they

The Netherlands has a slightly lower rate of maternal mortality than "sensible" countries like UK, France and US (who have shockingly high mortlaity considering it's wealth by the way)based on WHO figures and similar levels of foetal death and early neonatal mortality (again it's higher in the States. If the Dutch system was really so misguided this would be reflected in their indicators.
I don't think anyone's saying you "must" give birth at home - even the Dutch don't keep you in your bedroom under armed guard. Some people will always prefer hospitals for very valid reasons, but is wrong to brand those who want a home birth as irresponsible provided they have listened to the advice of thier midwife.

Very poorly informed article.

Home births (along with low tech births in midwife-led units, without doctors hovering) have a very good safety record. They have to, or they wouldn't be allowed.

Let's be frank here - Melanie Reid wanted a high tech medicalised birth with lots of pain relief and didn't want a natural birth. Fine - it's a choice many women make. Her mistake is to then attempy to 'justify' it by writing an article putting down natural home births. She should just accept that she wanted a high tech birth with oodles of pain relief and get over herself! And let those of us who choose the natural way get on with it.

Oh who cares what she thinks ?
Honestly I can't believe these people get paid to churn out this stuff, they probably have these threads in mind when they write them. To think a good tree died for that, what a waste of ink and paper.

I agree with her, and I had a home water birth planned for my first. Sadly my gorgeous dd was stillborn-not at home but in hospital after I noticed some problems. All my 3 boys have been delivered at hospital, where even tho the memories of loosing my little girl were so raw, was the only place I felt safe giving birth.

i would never have a home birth, i think they are risky...if you want a natural birth you can have one in hospital....why not? best of both worlds.

FAQ - Definitely not warm and comforting in my experience!

And Maria2007, you can have pain relief with a HB - Meptid/Pethadine, just not an epidural - but I'm too much of a needle wuss for an epidural (plus I'm a bossy boots and like to feel in complete control ).

I'd like to know Ms. Reid's experience... if she has no children she really should NOT be writing this article. However, perhaps she has had some really bad experience which has clouded her judgment [trying to give silly woman the benefit of the doubt emoticon]

imum....so sorry about your dd.

datfpunk - you may think that home births are risky, but there is no evidence that they are any more risky than giving birth in hospital.

The only bit I agreed with is "it is a chance to have a rest and let someone else look after the mess for a change."

Otherwise I think she's a bit daft. No-one is going to force mothers to give birth on the kitchen table FFS! Medical intervention is there if you want/need it. In most cases the battle for mothers is to avoid it.

Oh gosh imum, I am so sorry, how awful.

Why not ??? Because hospitals and midwives and consultants don't like natural births generally.
Unless you get a very good one, they have shift changes to think of and weekends to have/golf to be played and if the baby doesn't go along with it, they like to hurry things up.
Say lets get things moving along to a woman in pain what's she going to say, no please I am loving pain i'd rather wait ?
Intervention is less likely to be needed in a midwife lead unit or at home with 2 qualified midwifes with you at all times, you don't get that in a hospital I can tell you.

the problem arises for women who don't know that they are high risk

as my babies would have been if I hadn't thankfully happened to have unrelated medical problems of my own

but I certainly wouldn't want to forbid anyone else to have a home birth; just glad I didn't get the chance

does anyone know what the mortality rates are like in Sweden-another country of similar economic/cultural status to the Netherlands but where home births are quite rare?

iMum - so sorry

In your position I would only give birth in hospital too - exactly why people should have a choice.
I wonder if the author has been through something similar, I think in that case we'd all have a bit more sympathy and understanding.

Well DS would have died if we hadn't been in hospital and I never had any intention of giving birth anywhere else.
If women want to give birth at home then that is their choice, it would never ever be mine.

Where her article is just lazy, awful journalism though is lumping homebirth in with breastfeeding. She should have kept it focused on just the one subject.