Free Birth
Do-It-Yourself Delivery – washingtonpost.com
In Shanley’s view, many of the problems during birth are caused by the over-medicalization of a natural process.
Yes, that’s definitely true. But there’s a middle way between an over-medicalized hospital birth and giving birth at home alone or with the “assistance” of an untrained relative or spouse. The obvious answer is home birth with a trained midwife. There are lots of them out there and there are many excellent midwives who are not part of the “medical establishment”. They’re often called “direct entry” midwives. They usually train for several years under the supervision of an experienced midwife. They know how to do exams, they recognize different kinds of problems the mother or baby may encounter and they can often perform “non medical” interventions to solve these problems.
It’s irresponsible and, frankly, stupid for a woman to intentionally give birth without the assistance of at least an experienced midwife.
More disturbing yet, many of these “free birth” people also oppose routine immunizations for their children. I guess they’ve never seen what tetanus or diphtheria can do to a person.
So, these wack-jobs are intentionally endangering their children’s lives from the moment of birth onward — all for the sake of some nutty theories about how “evil” the mainstream medical establishment is? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater!
Posted by RebeccaHartong on July 31, 2007 under Uncategorized
Please do not resort to name calling. Seriously. Are you a grown up or a twelve year old?
What you, and most fail to understand is that we tend to be HIGHLY educated people who make informed decisions about everything. Not whack jobs or white trash (as a poster on the WP comments had said) or the myriad of other names we get from people who have not done the research we have, who have not informed themselves, etc. Who blindly trust doctors instead of trusting oneself. In a lot of places, midwives just are not available. I see you hail from Minnesota. I am in Northern Minnesota. Want to know how far away the nearest midwife is to me? 2 hours. Want to know how long my last labor lasted? 2 hours. While a midwife’s distance was not a factor for us, for a lot of homebirhting people it is and as such, they use it in making their decision about UC.
There are a lot of factors that just are not discussed in the mainstream because the mainstream would rather focus on the fear mongering and the ‘danger’ of birth. I can tell you having given birth on both sides of the fence, I am choosing UC again for my current pregnancy.
As for the vaxxing…I see not how UC and vaxxing are related because I know some UCer that do choose some vaccinations. We are a family that does not vaxx, and for a variety of reasons, all of which are researched.
That is the key…doing the studying and researching that the majority of us do, and not just falling into it blindly. If you did some yourself about UC and vaxxing, you might just be surprised.
“Please do not resort to name calling. Seriously. Are you a grown up or a twelve year old?
Whereas asking whether I’m “a grown up or a twelve year old” is the height of reasoned argument, right? Heh, heh…
If ever one needed proof that being HIGHLY educated is no guarantee of overall intelligence, this is it. (And how proud you must be of that education — with HIGHLY in all caps!)
Choosing to give birth without the assistance of at least an experienced midwife is dangerous and, in my opinion, a kind of child abuse. You are unnecessarily putting your unborn/newborn child into a potentially life-threatening situation. (And please don’t bother to follow up with “Babies die in hospitals too”. Yes they do, but they aren’t likely to die from simple things like breech birth or a prolapsed cord — things a midwife would know how to deal with.)
Just because you believe you’re making an “informed decision” doesn’t mean it’s an intelligent decision. One of the real hallmarks of being an intelligent person is having the ability to weed through all the “studies” about unattended birth and vaccinating and separate the scientifically valid ones from the ones that are pretty much complete bullshit. (Hint: anecdotal “evidence” of the safety of unattended birth or of skipping the vaccinations is no evidence at all.)
Understand, I completely agree that childbirth has been medicalized in a way that’s unhealthy for mothers and babies. Going it entirely alone, though, isn’t an intelligent solution to the problem. When you’re giving birth, your mind and effort must all be involved in the experience itself — you should not and you CANNOT maintain the objectivity necessary for thoroughly monitoring your own and the baby’s health during the process.
Since there’s obviously a need for midwives up in the part of northern Minnesota where you live, why don’t you get some training, apprentice yourself to an experienced midwife, and fill that role for other women? That would be one step towards solving the problem you’ve encountered.
it is actually already in the works. I stopped seeking my Masters so that I could seek becoming a midwife for those who don’t trust the medical establishment but also have a bit of fear left over birth.
Once again, you resorted to attacks instead of being a grown up in your discourse.
Regardless, for our family, UC is the way to go. You make it seem, as do many who object to it, as though we are telling you you MUST give birth this way. That is not what anyone is saying at all. The majority of us have all made these decisions based on what is right for our family and are not taking anything irresponsibly or lightly.
You said it yourself, your mind and effort must all be involved in the process and they are! My mind, knowledgeable in the physiology of my pregnancy and birth, is aware of what is going on, is calm and responsive and clear thinking.
My husband, a former trauma tech, said it well last night when we were discussing this, that when he would attend people in accidents or whathaveyou the first thing they ask is what hurts, how are you feeling etc. Who is the better judge of how my body feels, is reacting, etc. than me? Not a single other person, that’s who.
making an informed decision does not mean basing my decisions on pseudo science like you may believe. In every decision my husband and I make for our family, we weigh ALL aspects of both sides of the decision to come to our conclusion. That is how a thinking and logical mind works.
Instead of making assumptions and being angry about other’s decisions, how about try to become more learned about them and make your decisions in an informed manner.
Tasha-Rose said:
“My husband, a former trauma tech, said it well last night when we were discussing this, that when he would attend people in accidents or whathaveyou the first thing they ask is what hurts, how are you feeling etc. Who is the better judge of how my body feels, is reacting, etc. than me? Not a single other person, that’s who.”
The problem is that this analogy really doesn’t work when it is extended to unassisted birth. Of course people are asked what hurts (and I really do know — I have worked as a trauma RN), but if a patient tells you “I am having crushing substernal chest pain radiating to my left arm and jaw,” how would your husband respond? The patient may well know how he/she is feeling, but asking him/her to respond to those subjective feelings in an objective, practical way is bit unrealistic, don’t you think?
After determining how the patient “feels,” is your husband more likely reassure the patient that he should just relax and trust his body, or to get the doctor in that room pronto?
You may argue that birth is normal, and (aside from deflating your analogy) for the most part it is. The trick is to determine not only when it is deviating from normal, but to what degree it is deviating, and how much intervention is necessary. You (along with many UCers) may argue that you are educated — you read books, you watch videos, you talk to other UCers and you read along on various Yahoogroups lists. But no amount of “book-learning” can replace the knowledge that comes from the experience of actually seeing too much bleeding, or how long is too long when determining shoulder dystocia, or when a baby is just not the right color. Ask your husband how much he learned through experience and how that compares to what he learned in a classroom or from a book. Like a trained, EXPERIENCED trauma tech, a trained EXPERIENCED midwife can make all the difference in the world.
A midwife-attended homebirth is absolutely a safe option for healthy, low-risk women. Study after study has shown that to be true. We simply have NO comparable research to show that UC is a safe alternative for those families who want to give birth outside of a hospital. You may claim to be making an “informed choice,” but without any real evidence, your choice is not truly informed but is based on a combination of anecdotal stories of good outcomes and a willingness to play “beat the odds.”
I am going to refer you further to the MDC forum on UC and this particular discussion.
Once again, I, together with my husband, have made decisions, based on research and science, not anecdotal information and personal risky tendencies. Once again, I, together with my husband, have made choices based on what is right for our family, the same as our choice not to vaccinate our children, or our choice to bedshare, babywearing, extended breastfeeding etc. It is all based on knowledge and information, not anecdotal stories and pseudo science, as you might like to believe.
here is the link, perhaps more persepective may help you in understanding that we are well informed and completely capable of making these decisions for ourselves and our families.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=721738
I must have touched a nerve. “Tasha-Rose” posted this on another forum:
“want to add this from a particularly hostile blogger, it is actually one of her other commentors,
‘You may claim to be making an ‘informed choice,’ but without any real evidence, your choice is not truly informed but is based on a combination of anecdotal stories of good outcomes and a willingness to play ‘beat the odds.’
Did you make your decisions based on anecdotal stories and risky personal tendencies?
I know I surely did not.”
“[P]articularly hostile blogger”? Zow. Defensive much? Ah, but that’s right…any disagreement or awkward questions are referred to as “hostility.” Interpreting a reasonable question as an ad hominem attack excuses one from having to actually respond to that question in any sort of objective, analytical way.
It is also interesting to look at how my original reference to a “willingness to play ‘beat the odds’” has been restated as “risky personal tendencies.”
At any rate — ok. So you claim to have NOT made the choice to UC based on anecdotal stories and a willingness to gamble on the odds. Fine. Then what exactly was the analytical process you went through in deciding to give birth on your own? Since you didn’t rely on anecdotes, what statistical evidence did you use to determine that this was a safe, reasonable choice? Where is the objective research that shows UC to be a rational alternative to either hospital or midwife-attended homebirth?
I am very familiar with the Mothering forums, as well as your comments there (as you may gather from my preceding post). Thanks for your concern regarding the broadness of my perspective, but I already have more than a passing involvement with the safety and politics of homebirth and midwifery.
The question, however, is very simply this: You claim that your decision to UC is based on “research and science.” Which research? Which science?
Research?
The medical professions assumptions about birth and the legal professions own crazy laws are the most compelling reason to give birth at home alone.
I chose to give birth to my fifth baby after researching colorado laws regarding home birth.
If I had chosen a direct entry midwife, two colorado laws would have kicked in that would have compelled me to transfer care to an OB.
First: My water broke three days before the birth. Midwives are forced to transfer care to an OB 24 hours after rupture of membranes.
Second: I went three days over the 42 week marker for when midwives in Colorado are forced to transfer care to an OB.
Theses two rediculous laws would have assured me a pitocin drip – which carries multiple risks for the baby and makes labor extremely painful for the mother, and perhaps even a section if my forced labor did not result in a baby within the time required – hospital policy is usually 12 to 24 hours to produce a baby.
During those three days when my water was broken, I did many proactive things to make certain I did not get an infection, and the number one thing I did not do was allow anyone to give me a vaginal exam. I chose to forgo my water birth, and we patiently waited for my labor to begin naturally. After a six hour labor I gave birth to my 9 pound son, no problem.
Who says that an induction three days before he was “supposed” to be born would have been what was best FOR HIM???
I give birth alone because I believe it is best for the baby.
As for the science, even the doctors understand the hormonal dance that takes place when a child is born, which is why they spend so much time reproducing in a laboratory the synthetic hormones to be used to induce labor, speed it along, and then clamp down the uterus after birth.
The “science” side of Freebirth is simply an acknowledgement that using the natural hormones of the body for labor, birth, and after birth passage of the placenta is the superior way to welcome a child. Safer for the child, safer for the mother, and safer for the passage of the placenta.
I would refer to this article by Michael Odent to further educate you on these principles:
http://www.birthpsychology.com/primalhealth/primal4.html
QUOTE:
Physiological data are supported by clinical observation. A survey in Warwickshire (UK) indicates that women who had put their own babies to the breast for the first feed were more likely to be still breastfeeding (71%) at around six weeks than those who had someone else put the baby on for them (38%) (46). It is obvious that when women give birth in physiological conditions and the first contact between mother and baby is not disturbed, there is no need for somebody else putting the baby at the breast.
If the duration of breastfeeding is to a great extent determined in the period surrounding birth it would be surprising that the current situation can easily be improved. We are at a turning point in the history of childbirth. Until recently, in order to have a baby, a woman was obliged to release a complex cocktail of hormones that play a key role in the initiation of lactation. Today, in many industrialised countries, for the first time in the history of mankind, most women give birth without releasing such hormones. Either they rely on substitutes for natural hormones (drip of synthetic oxytocin plus epidural anaesthesia) or they give birth by caesarean section. The issue of breastfeeding cannot be dissociated from the issue of childbirth.”
Now I believe that it is absolutely pathetic that the first child I had in my arms during the immediate hour following birth was my fifth unassisted baby. All four of my previous babes were taken from me for one reason or another within thirty minutes of giving birth, and I had nothing to say about it.
I give birth alone because I trust my natural hormones to expel the baby, expel the placenta, and line things up properly to exclusively breastfeed my child.
Now please share with me some research and science that makes the case that having a midwife or doctor with me will ensure that my hormones are not messed with and their stupid laws are not fumbling the birthing process.
Jenny Hatch
“The medical professions assumptions about birth and the legal professions own crazy laws are the most compelling reason to give birth at home alone.”
Frankly, I find your reasoning quite disturbing.
The decision about where and how to give birth should be based first and foremost on what’s safest for the baby and the mother.
You talk a lot about what midwives are “forced” to do but the actual truth of how direct entry midwives, in particular, actually manage the care of their clients is quite different from the picture you’ve painted. The direct entry midwives I’ve known have pretty much always kept the safety and health of mother and baby first and foremost in their minds — even when that meant NOT following the usual mainstream medicine protocols. (In fact, most direct entry midwives are “direct entry” because they understand the mistake of medicalizing normal childbirth.)
I believe you’ve really got an unrealistic idea of what midwifery can be like. A good midwife is going to give you every opportunity to have your baby naturally. As long as the baby’s vital signs remain normal, they’re not going to rush you to the hospital or force you to speed things up with pitocin.
There simply is no science to “freebirth”. It’s based on wishful thinking and a child-like reluctance to face the hard truths about how easily mother and baby can be injured or even killed by unexpected problems during birth. Understand, that doesn’t mean I’m saying all births should be attended by physicians. For the vast majority of women, childbirth is a normal and safe thing. There are unexpected crises, though — and those are the times when you really REALLY need someone with lots of experience to help out. That someone should be a trained midwife.
Our ancestors gave birth with the help of midwives for millennia before the first OB-GYN doctor came on the scene. They didn’t enlist the help of a midwife because it was stylish or because there were social pressures to do so.
They did it because it increased the chances that both they and their babies would survive the birth.
That’s what it’s all about — that’s all it should EVER be about. Healthy mother and healthy baby. And the best way of ensuring that is to have someone on the scene who has LOTS of experience with attending births. Our great, great, great, great grandmothers knew it. How did some of us manage to forget it?
Jenny said, “Research?
The medical professions assumptions about birth and the legal professions own crazy laws are the most compelling reason to give birth at home alone.”
See, this is the problem. I asked for the “research and science” that supports UC as a safe alternative to hospital and midwife-attended homebirth, and you respond by pointing fingers at the medical and legal professions. This is a child’s “argument.” It does nothing to respond to the actual issue, but attempts to justify UC by complaining about how bad the doctors are. Presenting UC as the lesser of several perceived evils does nothing to bolster your case.
Let’s try it again. Where is the “science and research” (to go back to Tasha-Rose’s phrase) that supports the safety of UC?
Alright, I have read this entire post thus far, and I will try to clear up some things that are needed.
#1 – Science and Research
I will get you started with this direct link to a woman that has been collecting stats specifically for UC’s
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/stats.html
#2 – Rebecca
“The decision about where and how to give birth should be based first and foremost on what’s safest for the baby and the mother.”
This is the very reason why I have chosen to give birth at home, unassisted. The MAIN thing you have to open your mind to, is the fact that UC’s are NOT for everyone. If you are dependent, or not in tuned with your body, or blinded by any propaganda, then you are not a candidate for unassisted birthing.
I am a very independent person, I like to keep to myself. I WANT to be in control of my life, in every aspect. I am a free spirit. When I entered into the hospital to give birth to my daughter, I gave them my birth plan (that I printed off of the hospital’s website!!), they literally threw it out of the window, and all it was asking was to give birth naturally, to have the lights dimmed, and to keep the disturbances to a minimum. They were listening to my husband and I talk through the nurse intercom (I know this b/c after saying something in private to hubby, they would come in and try to sell us on the exact thing we were discussing of objecting too – EVERYTIME!) I had planned on doing a hypnobirth, and was meditating with great ease! The head nurse came in, my husband said to remain quiet (to the nurse) and she looked at the monitor… and yelled out “OH my goodness!! Honey! Are you in Pain?? You are having VERY strong contractions, one on top of the other!!” I said, “No, I feel fine” with a smile. After that moment, the nurses decided to come in and check me every 5 minutes!! They decided they “couldn’t get a direct pulse from the baby b/c my heart rate was too loud”, so they wanted to put a very invasive monitor directly connected to my daughter’s head… I didn’t have a choice, according to them, and they literally raped me in the hospital (I use the term rape b/c I declined the procedure – and they ripped my legs open and did it any ways – the baby was fine). I started to get VERY uncomfortable, and now could feel every contraction and was disturbed so much, that I couldn’t proceed with my hypnobirth plan. 17 hours later, I had only dilated 1.5 cm, and I had not eaten anything… and had been hooked up to an IV that had been dripping saline into my vein (making my whole right side cold and swollen – oh yeah, they blew out 5 veins – arms and hands – trying to get the IV in – also another thing they wouldn’t let me decline after 2 hours of arguments)They decided to put pitocin in my IV, against my will. Another 17 hours, I had dilated another 1.5 cm, and the on-call OB called an anesthesiologist in, and had 4 nurses PIN ME DOWN so I could get an epidural. I passed out for an hour and woke up saying, its time to push… the nurse ignored me and walked out of the room, and I relaxed, and hypnobirthed my baby out, with out 1 push… the OB came in to check on me, and screamed she delivered.
They still charged me for the OB’s services of delivering the baby… and all the other charges to go with it. I currently have an open law suit against the OB, the nurses and the entire hospital.
I will close, reiterating: Rebecca said: “The decision about where and how to give birth should be based first and foremost on what’s safest for the baby and the mother.” I TOTALLY agree! I feel, whole heartedly, that had I not been in the hospital with my first child… my daughter would have a different birthday (a whole day ahead), the hospital would not have been involved, thus I would not have put my daughter at risk with any of this:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/ecstatic.html
(more research and science for ya!)
I would not have been interrupted, and would have been able to replenish my energy by eating and drinking as I pleased. I would have been able to relax, and focus on giving birth. And I wouldn’t have been crying for weeks after I had given birth with the image of them reaching inside of me, violating me as they had done.
THAT is my own research I had chosen to do, based on what is the norm for hospitals… based on the “policies and procedures”, based on what society tells you what to do and what you shouldn’t do.
I would rather, in a heart beat, know that I am safe, with my child, to know that I can breast feed for as long as my child needs it, to know that my child will receive all the nourishment from the placenta (letting it finish its job before cutting it), and finally, knowing that I can be at peace, in my own home, enjoying a VERY intimate experience with my husband.
I forgot to mention, that I have also interviewed all 54 midwives in my city, within a 2 hour diameter… they all have ties to an OB for transfers, that they press on you over and over again, and about half of their “sales pitch” is about their luxury van they have, and their OB, etc. About 50% of them had some kind of ritual with prayers and dancing and this special oil/water mixture that they would be sprinkling on you during labor… and all this incense they would float around your body. (Their prices ranged from 5k-9k) And the other half were either too busy with other clients to see me, or going on vacation, or just ridiculously over priced (7k-10k) and still required that you get all of the supplies (and made you take childbirth classes, and had suggestions of where to go). What was I going to pay 7-10k for??