Freebirthing article in main stream press

[ishchel]

Do you agree that there are only 20-30 free births a year in England?

I'd say a good few more, it must be hard to collect data for it? And I wonder if they include unplanned freebirths? That'd shoot the number up to thousands with all the speedy babies, haha! Thought it was a good article, I'm planning a home birth, like the idea of a freebirth but just not brave enough to not have back up!

Freebirth and (accidentally) unattended birth are not the same thing.

I am surprised there are as many as 20-30, given that midwife-led and home births are pretty readily available in UK (unlike in eg US).

The UK women quoted in the article weren't really 'freebirthers' in a true sense. E.g. the first one had an unattended home birth because they refused to send a midwife. No doubt if they had done that, and not left her to deliver unattended she wouldn't have given a second thought to not having a midwife present the next time round.

I think a lot more than 30 a year happen. I would count the first as a free birthed because a woman can decide at any time where an who to allow or not allow at her birth. She made the decision on the spot and during labour to go without an attendant.

I think a lot of women who choose not to have a mw present call them late and the birth go down as BBA.

Though home births are available on the NHS in practice in many areas it is not for lots of reasons. Some women who can't afford an IM will therefore free birth rather than go to hospital especially if their experiences with hospitals was traumatic in a prior birthing experience.

I wanted a free birth but ended up with the most medical birth ever!

I'm frustrated with this article. The guardian employs excellent journalists capable of pulling together good facts and figures. So why is this article almost wholly reliant on anecdotes with no real attempt to investigate the pros and cons of this method.

Where is Ben Goldacre when you need him?

Agree SunnyL Not a single robust study was sited. :-(