Delivering their own babies at home, all alone???

Question

They are known as ''freebirthers". They confidently catch their offspring as the child leave the womb. They say, ''birthing uses the same hormones as lovemaking - so why would you want anyone poking n prodding u, observing u and putting u under a spotlight?''. This women insist having a baby is as intimate an experience as having sex.
Dis women delivers their own child alone- without the help of doctors or midwives. They say," its a natural process. It didnt make sense to me that something that ensures the continuiation of the race would be a dangerous and scary event. We r giving birth for thousand of years and we're still in this world. If it was that dangerous we wouldn't be here".
All this things seem so natural, but doctors protest it.
As we all noe the complications involve in delivery.
Is it so natural then why we are neglecting it??
There is a whole community which follows ''freebirths'', many women around the world is a mother of ''freebirth'' child.
What you think??

Answer 1

we have had 4 of our kids at home, unattended (OK one was in the car but that was an accident.)

1 in 4 women never died in childbirth, I wonder where that idiot got that number. Here's a real number, 90% of women birthing in hospitals in the US have SOME KIND of intervention (IV, drugs, surgery) and the US (which has the highest rates of interventions) actually has one of the highest rates of infant/maternal mortality (26%- sounds a little like MORE than 1 in 4) In the past, when women were "dying in childbirth) it was more often due to bacteria-ridden tools and male "doctors" arriving at home to deliver babies using the same tools they used on sick patients, with little or no knowledge of how babies are born. wealthy women who used doctors in Victorian times died more often than the poor women who used midwives.

Most women who birth independently take great care to ensure proper nutrition and educate themselves on the normal events that occur during a birth. Knowing when to call for help and how to handle unexpected things is simply part of being a responsible parent.

Handing your body over to people who get paid more when you are sicker or closer to death is just plain stupid.

visit http://www.unassistedchildbirth.org

great topic!

and that lady up above who used the term "digging for the placenta- eew. it comes out on its own, that was disgusting and uneducated, anyone so uninformed shouldn't birth at home anyway

Answer 2

Alone? No. With a qualified midwife with lots of experience and a good safety record? Sure. Midwives are a lot cheaper than the hospital (usually $2,000 - 4,000 total for all prenatal care, the birth, and mother/baby checkups through 6 weeks postpartum) and will usually work with you on a payment plan. Statistically a professionally attended homebirth is at least as safe (sometimes safer) than birthing in a hospital. But no, I would not suggest unassisted childbirth. Midwives have the proper equiment and training to deal with complications, you don't.

Answer 3

I think there should be someone ther...With my first baby, if I had been 'alone with my experience', I would be dead. A statistic like thousands of women prior to medical advancements, I would have bled to death, and my baby still connected to my body, would have been alone.

If you want that 'freebirth' thing go for it, but have a monitor, so if there is a problem, someone can at least save the baby.

Answer 4

While I am sure there are cultures out there where this is the only way to have a child, I do not think it is a good idea. I think there should be someone trained in case something happens. If you want to deliver at home, that is fine, just have a doctor or midwife with you to help keep track of your health, and check the baby after it is born.

Answer 5

Good for them.. but me.. honestly. I'd WANT those Dr's around. Atleast to care for the baby... what if there was something wrong with baby and these 'freebirthers' are no where near a hospital. Not EVERY labor is prefect and free of complications. Sorry i just feel better knowing thier are ppl around that know (are trained) to do if something arises. Just too many Pros to having Dr/midwife around then being by myself. Like i said before ... not every pregnancy is perfect and free of compliactions. What if babies not coming out right and a C-section is needed.. *shudders at the thought* So yea. You'll see me in that hosptial when its time :P

Answer 6

My greatest fear is not knowing what to do when its happened to anyone next to me. I read books on how to deliver a baby so that I wouldn't be panic when come to this situation.
Well, I think we should learn but not practising it and leave it to
the doctors although there is nothing wrong doing it yourself because I have encountered those kind of people before.
Believe it! It is natural besides doctor is always not around when you need them. Its "freebirths" anyway.
In Singapore it is simple the doctors are everywhere waiting for you when your time comes.

Answer 7

I have never heard of a women doing that. In the olden days the mother to be always had a few other people around to help. Weather it was a close friend or her mother. There was always someone there to help with the delivery and clean up after the baby was born.

I see nothing wrong with having home births or going to the hospital. I think the women that is going to have the baby should make that choice. I myself prefer to be in the hospital. That way I know my child will be taken care of and if something goes wrong they will be able to help me and my child.

Answer 8

The bottom line is that people assume it is safer to have a baby in a hospital, and that is simply not true.

"Studies done comparing hospital and out-of-hospital births indicate fewer deaths, injuries and infections for homebirths supervised by a trained attendant than for hospital births. No such studies indicate that hospitals have better outcomes than homebirths."
http://www.gentlebirth.org/format/myths.html

Now, I'm not saying that every woman should give birth at home unassisted. I'm just pointing out that many people's assumtions about hospital and home births are unfounded. Do the research.

Answer 9

I know a few women who have unassisted births. If you are a healthy woman, having a low risk pregnancy and are educated about birth, I think it's your body and your choice. I do think you should see a midwife at least a couple of times during the pregnancy if at all possible to help make sure that you are low risk and everything looks normal.

Answer 10

Are you a guy? the last thing any female thinks of when in childbirth is sex, there is no correlation. just the opposite,
with all that labor going on I've hear women scream they're going to 'chop that thing off' when they get home, all the bleeding, stretch marks. etc. It's very un-glamorous. You don't even THINK about sex for a while. So get real. Any sane female knows there can always be complications even today w/some moms, during childbirth. We shouldn't romanticise the American indian woman or any other, plenty of them had tragic experiences.