Extraordinary People - Outlaw Births (Is this legal??)

[yummymummy4]

I have just seen the following advert on C5:

Extraordinary People - Outlaw births:
Documentary following three womean as the prepare to give birth without medical care, midwife intervention or pain relief

I can understand trying to give birth without pain relief / Medical intervention but without a midwife?

I could not imagine going through it all without a midwife, it also appeared from the advert (though it could just be leaving parts out) that one pregnant womean at least had not had any midwife support as she was getting her blood pressure checked at a supermarket machine.

Is this legal?, what if something happens to the baby?.

I am not sure if the womean shown had even had a scan.

Have any other mums here come across this?

can i watch this on pc as do not have channel 5 anyone?

Pinktulip, ah I see, insurance has been an issue so far in my situation so not officially booked per se, but have not actually asked about fee, but do know my insurance will cover shortfall should the fee be 5k. I am roughly the same geographically as you (are we neighbours ) but I didn't think the fee related to distance. Other 2 midwives are kind of out of action, one very very selective due to other commitments and one will be on maternity leave herself, so yes I do have the same one as you (in theory). If I were you, I would have a chat to the Ballinrobe one, what's the worst she could say, no? And look at a doula service, can recommend an excellent one, is a fraction the cost of a homebirth. Am very at the hijack of this post. Sorry!

My midwife had four homebirths but had to be transferred in to hospital with her fifth child and had an emergency c-section.

There is no way you can predict the outcome of a birth.

I do not admire freebirthers. I don't think they are brave or gutsy. I think they are burying their heads in the sand or adopting a supremely arrogant attitude with regard to their "ability" to give birth safely.

My midwife already had four children but would she have felt neutral if she'd lost the fifth? I doubt it very much.

I cannot think of freebirthing without thinking of poor Elisabeth Fritzl. I doubt she found it very romantic. Why take this risk on behalf of your baby?

But our human rights to take the risks we wish is more important. Fighting the nanny state and state interference even when it is in effect supporting positions we don't approve of like a right to home school is vital.

At the moment it's allowed. To change the law woudl involve changing a whole load of other rights for women over their bodies so I don't think legally it could easily be done.

I find it amazing that a circumstance which, besides free birthing, also involved rape, incest and kidnapping can also be raised in the same breath as compatible with one where women are choosing to exercise control over her own body.

"Freebirthing" is at the very edge of the human rights of the baby v the mother.

Suppose something happened to the baby during the birth process, that a midwife would be likely to have spotted and prevented?

There is nothing clever or sensible about freebirthing. If a woman is forced into it or it happens by accident that is one thing, but to choose this path on behalf of a fully grown, healthy baby is just irresponsible.

@Rosalina and Xenia- I wish you two would READ MY FIRST POST further up this page. We are in the documentary. We are not retards, we are not stupid, we would not say "oh well" had our baby died. We are intelligent people who researched all the facts. We knew exactly what to expect and we are NOT martyrs- had anything gone wrong, we would have been at the local hospital in a blink. Don't be so judgemental and small minded.

Message withdrawn

yasminclair, please don't get upset, it's the nature of MN for every viewpoint to come forth.

although i'm considering do it myself, having had a baby born flat with the cord around her shoulder i can see exactly where those who have reservations are coming from.

while if it went well which it most likely would i would feel enpowered and be delighted, if i was one of the small percentage of women whose babies don't survive birth i would always wonder if the outcome would have been differant in a hospital.

oscy, am in ballaghaderreen, anyone stalking me via internet has my address by now anyway so no harm saying that lol would you mind emailing me as i'd love to chat further about the homebirthing but don't want to hijack this thread any more than i already have

dee _ pinktulips AT hotmail DOT com

Pinktulips, have done!

I've met someone who gave birth alone. Her 4th child. She said it was an amazing experience and she wants to do it again.

2 days after giving birth she drove 300 miles home - so she was certainly in a better state than I was after giving birth

We only met briefly so I haven't had a chance to ask more. Will do though if we meet again.

I think you muddled me up with someone else. I was saying women have a legal right to do this and that that right is very important in our society. I was comparing it to other rights women have over their own bodies. There is far too much state interference in all kinds of areas and I wish more mothers would lobby and protest to ensure fundamental rights are not removed. There is a massive attack on rights at the moment in this country and most people don't seem to care less about the principles of it. But they will care when they see the erosion of the rights moved into some area they happen to care about.