Monday September 15, 2008, 8:29 pm
Many of the reasons given for homebirth are quite good. Except one.

"Homebirth i safer." That statement should have been qualified - WAY qualified.

Yes, there are fewer antibiotic-resistant germs around your home. And fewer sick people. But balance that against the fact that a perfectly normal, healthy pregnacy can go very wrong - very suddenly. For the mother or the baby.

Midwives are very well trained and can handle all the normal births - and even some of the problem ones in an emergency. But there are some things which require immediate and lifesaving treatment. In a hospital. By a physician. And, in the time it takes the paramedics to reach the home, the mother may have bled to death. Or the child may have been deprived of oxygen long enough to have died - or suffered serious brain damage. There are so many things which can go wrong in a heartbeat.

I've heard it said by many home birth proponents that "pregnancy isn't a disease." Quite right. It isn't. But it can CAUSE very real and sometimes life-threatening conditions. Most of the time it won't - at least, not at the last minute. But if it does - isn't it better to be where those problems can be immediately cared for? In the end, the whole purpose of childbirth is to have a healthy baby. And a mother who survives the birth intact. What else can possibly matter more? Shouldn't that matter more than being able to burn your incense or give birth out in your backyard?

Monday September 15, 2008, 8:40 pm
I forgot to add something that I had meant to say.

Why not choose a birthing center attached to a hospital? The one my sister-in-law chose was very home-like and comfortable, her family stayed in the room the whole time, she wandered around whenever she pleased, and she had excellent medical care (and access to hospital facilities was literally next-door.) And the labor/delivery nurse was there throughout the birth - and I would imagine had just as much knowledge and experience (and empthy) as any midwife.

Wednesday September 17, 2008, 3:25 pm
Life is inherently risky, and sometimes shit just happens. People die in the hospital, as well.

We just decided to educate and prepare ourselves, instead of living in fear. If there is or was an indication of high-risk or danger, we would certainly get medical help.

I believe it's safest to be where you are the most comfortable. If that's the hospital or birthing center, then that is where you should be.

Wednesday September 17, 2008, 4:12 pm
I would agree that a woman should give birth in a treetop if she wanted to - if her wishes were all that mattered. However, since the baby's life and health are also at stake, I think that the mother should put aside her own wishes and do whatever will give the baby the best chance at being born healthy. So many women are willing to go through "natural" childbirth, with no pain medication, just to save the baby from any potential complications. I would think that those same women would be willing to give up the comforts of home and all that goes with that just to give the baby a better chance as well.

Again, I'm not saying that in most cases it's going to matter. Most births will be normal and a midwife can handle any minor problems. But in the cases where something does happen suddenly and catastrophically - the results can be tragic. And unlike, say, a baby picking up an infection in a hospital that he might not have gotten at home (with there being time to treat the infection) certain conditions have to be handled instantly and there simply may be no time to get to the hospital.