Free Birthing, Thought this was quite interesting

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article on Free Birthing

What do you think?

that should be too for you grammar pedants

hippmummy - I've only given birth once, but already I feel that next time round (if...) I will be a lot better prepared. One of the things I liked about having a natural birth was that I would learn how to do it. Presumably in the past when women had a lot more babies they did improve their birthing performance over time. Practice makes perfect.

Hi Ana - I agree totally agree that natural birth is the ideal we should strive for and after my first birth ( DS1 5 weeks prem, very medicalised) I was determined that I would learn how to have the best birth I could for number 2.
Sadly, despite all my preparation it ended in an emergency cs.
I completely believe every woman should have the chance to have a normal natural birth and (if!) I have another I will attempt a VBAC.
But having had 2 births which have ended up very medical, I feel trying to birth with no support at all could be very risky because no matter what your intentions and preparations, the experience of childbirth may be very different.

hippmummy - I quite agree.

To my mind, the ideal birth scenario is to try for natural birth and to be supported by midwives in that, but to have all medical equipment and personnel at hand in case they are required.

I do think quite a lot of women are unnecessarily scared, due to ignorance and misinformation, of giving birth naturally before they have even tried. That's not their fault, but it's a pity.

like the good old days of no medical care or hospitals - mums here can choose but for many women round the world 'freebirth' is the only type of birth they can have.

Good point, MaisyM. Although as somebody said, I think most women do try to have at least SOMEONE there, no matter where they are in the world.

I mean, I guess freebirthing in the west is a bit of a selfish luxury, because they KNOW that if everything started to go tits up they could call an ambulance and have professionals there within ten minutes most times.

As I said earlier, the idea of no prying eyes and people looking at their watches does appeal, but I don't think I could do it without at least having someone outside and the phone strapped to my hand just in case. I think you owe it to your baby.

I know in the article one woman's child died at birth, and she was told it would have happened in hospital too, but christ....under any other circumstances, if you'd chosen to do it and something had gone wrong, how would you ever forgive yourself, when medical help was freely available to you?

Plus how do you go on if you have a bad tear or some of the placenta is left inside? Surely it can't be completely non-medical for that reason alone?

Message withdrawn

I thought it was an interesting article too (though agree that some of the women are scarily mad!).

I have good reason to thank the medical establishment with all its interventions (scans, c-section and so on), as dd1 and I would both be dead without it. (Grade IV placenta praevia lots of bleeding, etc.)

However...

I also felt quite strongly before I had an experience of labour (dd2 was a VBAC), and even more stronly afterwards, that my preferred way of giving birth would have been to have been alone for most (though not all) of the process. I know this sounds sacrilegious, but I really felt that dh and the midwives were completely superfluous for most of the process. The only time I really wanted someone there was right at the end, to reassure me that the cord wasn't round the baby's neck or anything and to catch her when she came out. I was glad dh was there for his sake, as he wanted to see his baby born. But for myself I really just wanted to go into myself and to focus on my body and my baby.

I would never ever refuse medical support (as opposed to intervention) - that is, I'd always go for antenatal checks, register with a hospital, etc. - but I would love to give birth on my own, somewhere comfortable (home or hospital, I don't mind) with a midwife nearby and call-able, but not actually with me. (All presupposing that there were no obvious complications, and that if complications arose I could call for medical help.)

Am I weird?

I think it is a great idea! i had a lovely birth with dd but to be frank i would do nothing but worry about my baby so surely i would give birth betta knowing that i have all the help i needed in yelling distance!

Ellbell - no, you're not weird at all.

I was alone for most of my labour. It started at home (in my parents' house) and I took care of myself from 00.50 am until 4 am when I woke my mother to drive me to the hospital (I had spoken to the hospital twice in that time). My mother stayed with me in the labour room from 4.30 until 7.30 am, with a midwife popping in and out, and both of them annoyed me quite a bit with their chit chat. At 7.30 am another midwife took over, she put me in the bath in another room until 9 am when I started pushing, and I finally gave birth with just the midwife at 9.45. While I was in the bath with contractions I was pretty much on my own.

I wouldn't have wanted any more help than that.

Afterwards I talked about my feelings with my mother and she agreed that, when giving birth, she just felt like hiding away.

I had very intense thoughts/feelings during labour that I didn't want to share with anyone.

Oh, the "polarising" comment wasn't aimed at you at all, giraffeski, it was in response to the article. I got the feeling that some (not all) of the people interviewed had got into a "medical=bad" mindset which I think is very limiting, not to mention risky.

having read the article I too can see elements of the attraction. but I can't get my head round rejecting ante-natal care (like the woman featured who wrote about her experience in the article). and whilst I quite like Ellbell's idea in theory in practice I think it could be flawed in that I'm not convinced you would always know when there was a problem.

Yeah it does sound nice to be in hospital but to be able to tell everyone to bugger off and you'll shout them when you're done/if anything feels wrong.

If only!!

bananabump - I didn't shout at anyone, by the way. I was externally very calm (quiet) throughout my labour.

hehe, I don't think I'd be that calm! Although I wouldn't want to piss off the midwives, given that I might need stitching and wouldn't like to piss off the person wielding the needle! ouch!

well seeing as there is no longer a domino scheme in our area, i won't be able to pay for a midwife and my last 2 births in hospital only served to reinforce my hatred of it i think my next baby (whenever we decide to have one) will be unassisted

i wanted to stay at home to have my last 2 but dp was so worried i gave in and agreed to go (albeit as late as possible) but i can't face the thought of it again. i want my next birth to be on my terms not whatever way is most convenient to a mw and no being allowed to leave afterwards and being yelled at by docs for my decisions.

i will wnt dp there though, he's very good at holding my hand

Oh yes, I don't think my plan would work in practice... but I'm unlikely to do this again anyway, so I can dream....

aviatrix - I'm sure you are quite right in that there is a correct expression "to deliver the mother of the child".

However, most people seem to use the expression "deliver the baby".

My mother-out-of-law has a wonderful (hilarious) framed photograph of herself in 1965, all coiffed and made up in a lacy nightgown and bedjacket sitting in a hospital bed with my partner in her arms. The very picture of "my baby has just been delivered" (by the postman?) - ie it was no effort on her part at all.

PT - why won;t you be able to pay for a midwife? You can pay for an independent mw regardless of the NHS system in your area. The only restriction will be if you end up going to hospital - some hospitals (but not all) won't allow your independent mw to continue to be your mw. she can still be your birthing partner though. iyswim.

lol anna, i'm barely dressed in any of my post birth pictures... boobs and tum hanging out every direction and i look like the walking (well sitting) dead!

i'm in ireland and there are very few independant midwives available, all of them are ridiculously expensive. while we will be in a better financial position when we decide on a third we're never going to be wealthy people so the cost is prohibitive

PinkTulips - that would have been me too, only I wouldn't let anyone get near me with a camera at that point...

My mother-out-of-law had a general anaesthetic for the birth of her two sons...

ah. Like you I had a miserable hospital delivery with dd1. so I did end up choosing an independent mw for dd2. so sorry that's not an option for you. and when you say no domino, I take it that means no home births? how crap

domino was/is a scheme run by the hospitals where you could stay home for the birth, be examnined at home and come in at 8/9cms and leave immedietly or be examined at home and panic madly and run into hospital and stay there for days... whatever felt comfortable. our area doesn't have enough mw's to keep the scheme running though so it was scrapped.

i hadn't heard about it til a week before brith with dd so it was too late and when i had ds last year it was gone