Stupidly ignorant article on homebirth in the Times this morning!!

[sparkle12mar08]

Here.

Had me practically bouncing in my seat with rage - I've never been so close to shouting out loud in public. Melanie Reid - you should be ashamed of yourself. Why let perfectly good research get in the way of your own petty, ignorant opinions eh?!

I could take her article apart line by line (it's that riddled with crap), but I'm just to incoherently angry an amazed right now!

Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhh

What a load of bs (the article not you!)

Thank goodness my parents read the Telegraph - my mum's already staunchly against my homebirth plan!

Outstandingly stupid article, and ooh, lets have a go at extended breastfeeding and the nct while we're at it, because they are obviously Very Bad Things. Like wearing sandals

Yeah she doesn't seem to know very much does she?
Like, how much of a rest do you get on a ward you are sharing with half a dozen mums and crying babies who set each other off? And when your dp can't stay around to help because of visiting hours.
And the fact that with a home birth you get a midwife to yourself, not one dashing from one room to the next.
I don't think she realises what a pragmatic decision home birth is for lots of women.

What a strange article .

I could never consider a homebirth cos I'm a total wimp and know I couldn't cope with the pain - however, I only stayed in one night with my DS as I didn't get one wink of sleep and missed my dh desperately. If I thought I could manage the pain I would jump at the chance of a home birth, not having to worry about who was going to look after my son, etc.

It's a shame that this undermines all the good press about home births in the news yesterday .

OMG - I can't believe this woman ! The reality is that you get better care at home than you do in hospital and the moment anything looks vaguely wrong you are blue lighted there anyway.

I hardly think that holding up the USA and France as examples of countries that have this right is appropriate either

The figures aren't low because women chooe hospital, the are low because of lack of choice for most women.

The tone of the article left something to be desired, but I think her points about women feeling safer in hospital are relevant, and a pity they weren't expanded on by some sort of informed research/opinion.

B etter one in the indie, though!

She's a journalist writing an article. Her job is to write about a subject and to give her slant on it. In all fairness it was considerably more accurate than a lot of articles tend to be and she wasn't doing the (all too usual) Thou Shalt Not Differ but it was just her opinion on a subject that's in the news at the moment. If you don't agree then just ignore it, it wasn't written strongly enough to try to really educate or change peoples' views.

Ok then Melanie Reid - lets take it one step further and become the ultimate in intelligent, educated (non-sandal wearing) women. Lets all have plaaned c-sections and bottle feed our babies if that is the more 'English' thing to do!!!!

This is the most stupid, ill informed piece of journalism I've read in ages

It's the fact that she talks about supporting choice for those that want it - but not acknowledging and disseminating accurate research is not providing choice, is it? It does matter matter how safe home deliveries are proven to be. It does matter that the NCT "bangs on about the spiritual, emotional and practical virtues of home birth" - if nobody puts these things in the public eye, how else are women going to start getting the knowledge that allows them to make an informed choice?

Home birth is not a "whimsical, perverse idea that we should turn our backs on modern medicine's starring role in safe childbirth"

• home birth is a medically supported birth that just happens to be at home. Yes there are cases where women have died at home when they wouldn't in hospital - but the same is true the other way round. We have to present women with these stark facts - birth, no matter where you are, is not 100% safe. And therefore it is up to the individual to then make their own decision based on all the information, and the risk level they are comfortable with. The decision one women takes shouldn't then limit the decision someone else comes to.

I'm still amazed at just how angry she's made me. And just how dare she accuse me of being disrespectful to those millions of women who have died in childbirth - my own mother nearly did (in hospital at that). How dare she?

funny how 2 threads about the same topic can go in different directions

Oh yeah let's hold up the USA as the role model, has she actually done any reasearch on that? How many unnecessary interventions are made? You only have to read the stats for The Farm to see modern hospitals don't always do the best thing.

What is with the idea that homebirths are turning their backs on modern medicine . If anything I think most women who choose a homebirth do so to get one-to-one care during their labour, a relaxed environment to encourage labour to progress and the back up of a transfer to hospital if needed (which will probably be noticed earlier cos your midwife isn't flitting about between a few labouring women).

Oh and it was the "modern medicine" that led to my dd's failure to breastfeed and my pnd despite a strightforward birth, so err thanks but I'll take my chances at home this time.

I would like to rip that woman a new arsehole.

Oh, I feel better for blurting that out. That is a terrible example of writing.

Yes it's an opinion piece, her opinions are her own - I've no beef with that. But she's a) factually wrong on a number of things, and b) very badly researched. Just shoddy, sensationalist, nasty writing.

But it's not "accurate", Nekabu: she's doing that common thing of misusing statistics to suit her own agenda.

Put it this way: do you think that the statistically low levels of rape cases and convictions in the courts actually reflects the number of sexual assaults that take place in this country? No? Then you wouldn't use the low percentages to bang on about how lucky women are to live in such an enlightened country where rape is so rare.

Similarly, it's false to imply that the statistically low levels of home birth are about "choice" in any straightforward way.

I've just commented - what a ridiculous article

She's just another one of the 'I don't want it so no-one else should have it' brigade of selfish people.

I have also chosen hospital over home birth as I feel that it is best for me (and especially dh) but I uphold the right of women to birth at home if the circumstances are right for them.

If she didn't write contentious stuff they probably wouldn't employ her, that's her world. Sad really.

Well the indie person got employed for her article.

Penthesileia, I didn't say it was accurate, I said it was "considerably more accurate than a lot of articles tend to be". Considering the huge inacurracies in a large number of articles, that isn't saying a lot but at least it looks as though she may have read the original story she based her article on.

StarlightMcEggzie, I expect the same story will be covered in a few papers by a variety of journalists, most of whom will have been paid for it.

Just because they happen to write their opinion in a tabloid does not mean they are the Voice of All Knowledge.

Aaargh, what is wrong with timesonline/my laptop????

Cannot get onto the site at all

I actually think it is quite a good article and not at all ignorant. Many (not all, of course!) women do have a slightly romanticized vision of homebirth and somewhat less than realistic expectations. I think very few actually have a realistic idea of what the risks actually are. As a medical professional who has worked in obstetrics, I have seen things go wrong. Usually, they don't, of course, and in most cases thankfully all is well wherever the birth occurs. But, when things go wrong they sometimes go wrong very suddenly and dramatically - and usually totally unexpectedly, in 'low risk' women, sometimes with serious or even fatal results. By definition, in the high risk women problems can be anticipated and therefore dealt with. But when something dramatic happens at home, sometimes the time taken to transfer to hospital can be the difference between a manageable problem to very serious situation.

Now that is not to say that because of that noone should have a homebirth.

However, anyone considering such an option does need to be truly aware of the reality, and not be taken in by spin from midwives or the NCT. If they then choose that is what they prefer, then fine, good luck to them.

I would personally NEVER choose to give have a homebirth, by the way. The only situation in which it would happen is a precipitae labour before I can get to hospital and I have no choice in the matter.
In fact, I am having an elcetive C-section iin 3 weeks anyway, and it would never be an option for me even if I wanted to.