Woman on Lorraine Kelly this morning who had home birth with her first baby.

[Eulalia]

Did you see her with her baby girl and husband. I just wanted to slap her smug face. "Oh I just did all the right research and everything was fine" then the doctor contradicted her of course but she just sits there looking so bloody pleased with herself.

Got nothing against homebirths of course but the woman wouldn't acknowledge that she was LUCKY to have an easy birth and it wasn't because she was so bloody clever.

Anyone else see this? I've forgotten her name, probably just as well.

FioFio - yes but the reason why so many women used to die in childbirth is not because they gave birth at home. In fact when women first started going in to hospital to give birth the mortality rate went up. Childbirth is safer now than ever before and that is largely due to better nutrition and improved standards of hygiene and infection control. Not because there are less homebirths.

i heard an AMAZING programme about midwifery on the radio and the midwife was actually crying about some of the interventions they used to routinely make in hospital when the docs started getting involved. she'd gone from largely self-managed homebirths to birthing by the clock in a matter of months and couldn't handle what she was being forced to inflict on mothers. some of it was barbaric.
(not relevant to today, don't panic, expectnant mums).

My midwife pointed out to me that even if you're in hospital and an "emergency" situation develops you will still have to wait 15-20 mins for them to prep theatre, gather up the anaesthetist and surgeon etc. By which time you prob could have been at the hospital in an ambulance and be all ready to go straight into theatre. OK the ambulance ride would be awful but perhaps the risk wouldn't be that much higher.

The main factor in reducing maternal mortality in the UK was the development of professional midwifery services, backed up with accessible emergency obstetric services. The place of delivery is fairly immaterial - it is the quality of the care recieved and the ability to detect and respond to complications. If all maternal health services were discontinued tomorrow in the UK our rate of maternal mortlaity wouldn't be much different to subsaharan africa - nutrition has very little to do with it (although is a much more important factor in child health). Rather than arguing about where is the best place to give birth, the debate on maternal health care should be more about how to maintain / improve quality of midwifery care, and ensuring prompt access to high quality emergency care for those who need it.

exactly so diplodocus. at home you will get 1.an experienced mw x 2, and 2. one to one care with the same mw through your labour.
both of these things will certainly help yuo to have a straightforward birth.

My great grandmother was the unofficial village midwife in England in from about 1910 - 1930 I suppose. A lot of women could not afford to pay the doctor to come to the house so as she'd had 17 children herself and presumably was quite competent but completely untrained (although one of her daughters did become a nurse and midwife with formal training in due course) she used to go over for a very small fee to people's homes. Then if there was a complication and people could afford the fees (this was before the NHS) the doctor would come out.

Diplodocus - agree with you that development of midwifery had a lot to do with improved health of all and I am sure I am not alone in being shocked and saddened at what is happening with midwifery in this country. I just wrote to my MP about this very subject, actually. In fact I don't believe there is a "best place" to give birth, I think that decision is for each and every mother to make for herself. The important thing is that we have that choice.

It's pretty sad if she has an awful attitude about it, because ultimately I'm sure it might be a great experience for some people and she's doing nobody and favours making it a 'I'm so great' kind of thing.

I'd be very concerned that it was unnecessarily risky, for her and the baby. But if it was for some reason important to her to do it that way, well, who are we to stop her...I just think she was foolish.

I was very lucky to have my second baby at home, but don't hold any sort of proud flag up about it, as I was terrified and in a lot of pain...also at risk because of a few complications (OP presentation, heavy blood loss PP) but it was all handled superbly by the midwives and didn't go wrong.

That was down to skill and luck and I would never think any the less of someone who delivered in hospital...I'd have been there like a shot once I knew what the pain was like! But it was too quick to transfer.

I'm personally glad to have the experience under my belt (as it were) but to me it's not an issue of competitive birthing, and I think that kind of sentiment is misplaced...particularly in this case.

I didn't see the programme but I have to agree with MrsM that its all about choices, and we can't deny the woman her choice of having a freebirth if she truly believed that it was her best option.
We might not agree with her choice, but then again, a lot of people outwith MN probably would not agree with our choice of wanting a homebirth or an elective c/section or an epidural or a lotus birth etc. But at the end of the day, this was her choice, and I would support her completely.
One of my friends had a successful freebirth a few years ago, following a homebirth for her first, and found it an incredibly empowering experience.
Its a pity this woman came across as being smug about it, I think the general attitude might have softened a bit if she had been a bit more humble, but I still dont think we should judge her harshly for her decision, which, in the end, was right for her.
It must have pissed the DP off being told to wait in the other room though

There's no need for smugness. She was just very very lucky.

ouch
some bitterness on this thread! glad it's chilled a bit at the end.
fully agree with harpsichord and lulumama
as i didn't see her, i've no idea if she was being smug or not, maybe just proud of herself and why not? maybe it is mostly down to luck but she's had a wonderful experience and wants to share it with others.
one of my reasons for stopping at no3 (as well as the money aspect, ahem) is I just could not face another birth in case it ended in hospital, interventions, c sections etc. I genuinely worry for my mental health in that case. I've had enough of all that kind of thing. maybe that is the reasoning behind some freebirthers? each to their own