Do you think that home birth mothers are putting the birth experience ahead of the welfare of their baby?

Question

I hear this a lot. If you are agree with this statement, would you explain to me why you believe that, including examples? I would like to better understand your point of view and why you think that way. It is appreciated.





Incidentally, I am a home birth mother, seeking to understand, not inflame. Thankyou.

Answer 1

That's definitely a loaded question. :)

As a mom who had two emergency c/sections, I am not for homebirths. Even a woman who has the most uncomplicated pregnancy can have a very complicated delivery. I do know of women who have safely homebirthed, and I think that's great for them. I myself would never risk it. With my son, both he and I went into distress, and had it not been for the quick response from the ob/gyn and his "team", my husband would have lost the both of us.
I had planned a VBAC with my daughter. However, it ended up as another emergency c/section, turned out that the cord was wrapped around her leg.

So, I stick with the safety of the hospital environment, which is fine with me. To homebirth moms, congrats for being able to do it. Just be careful, that's all I ask. Remember, emergencies can and will arise.

I do have to disagree with the person who stated that if the woman is at home and more relaxed, there are less complications. Complications can arise when a woman is at her most relaxed, there is no rule for how complications come about. If a baby is in distress, a baby is in distress. Cords wrapping around a baby's neck, placenta previa... that can happen in ALL environments.

Answer 2

Well, It is really up to the mom to decide and if her doctor, mid-wife, etc. gives the ok. I'm not a home birth mom and I couldn't see my self giving birth at home, with birth you never know what will be happening even if it is your first, second, third, etc. The hospital should be the best place or one of those birthing places were the baby and mom can be monitored at all times by doctors and nurses.
If a problem should arise everything that the staff needs is right there instead of having to call an ambulance to get you to the nearest hospital.
I think why some women may opt for a home delivery is probably they had bad experiences in the hospitals or have heard horrible stories from their friends, co-workers, your relatives and it kind of freaks them out.
Or they could just simply want to try some thing different, maybe they're a little selfish in wanting to have that "perfect" birth(there's no such thing as a "perfect" birth or a wedding for that matter). Either way, they should really considered their baby's well being.

Answer 3

I think it all depends. Home birth is not a problem for me if you are not high risk. I do believe you should at least have some kind of medical professional there over seeing everything. I don't even mean a midwife. I think an RN is okay as well. If you are high risk though the best place is to be in some kind of hospital or birth center. That is my opinion. I would love to have a home birth but becasue I am high risk I can't. I work in a labor and delievery unit and we have woman come in who had home births and everything is fine. It is realy in the long run up to you and your provider. Congrats to you for being able to do it at home! You go girl. Also waterbirths are becoming more popular at home but I believe for that you need a midwife present. I am not possitive though. If you go to Waterbirth.com I believe is the web site you can find out more.

Answer 4

Not really. Yes, there are some gung ho parents that want absolutely nothing to do with the medical community and go to great lengths to avoid it. I have never spoken to 1 homebirthing mom that has told a midwife no to getting to the hospital if things weren't right.

Most parents that homebirth have been educated either through their own research or by midwives or other parents on what to expect and they know what can go wrong. I have also never known a high risk mother to homebirth.

The thing is, women have been having their babies since the dawn of time without medical intervention. Pregnancy and birth are not illnesses that need to me treated. Homebirthing gives you the freedom to birth in whatever position you feel most comfortable, to eat if you want, to move when you need to...the list goes on and on for the benifits.

Also, the fact that the infant mortality rate for hospital born infants in America is rising and the infant moratilty rate for HB babes hasn't risen can be somewhat of a reason, too.

I cannot homebirth. I am majorly high risk for preterm labor and post partum hemmorage. I know the risks. No midwife would take me. I wish that I was able to birth the way I choose, instead of being hooked up to monitors, have IV's poking out of me, to not lay flat on my back to birth my child....

It is great that you will be homebirthing! Lucky.

Answer 5

I don't necessarily think they are putting themselves above the child, but maybe wanting the best experience for both, IE- comfortable, natural experiece for mother and baby with no intervention and unnatural practices.
However, I would personally never have a home birth as I have experienced a difficult delivery that needed a doctor and several midwives in attendance. If I had been at home I and the baby could've died if we had not gotten to medical help in time.
This is the only reason that I think they may be putting their own experience above the safety of the child. If something goes wrong you would want to have an efficient, quick plan in place to get to a hospital.
Otherwise, I think the idea of a home birth is great, but practically its not for me.

Answer 6

Personally I think that if the technology is there, because you NEVER know if there will be birthing complications, why not give birth in a hospital? Is the expereince more important than the end result? But what do I know. I dont understand why some opt for no pain meds when they are available. Like someone else once posted: They dont give out awards to those that deliver naturally. The bigger question to me is why have a home birth if you have other options? I am more interested in that question.

Answer 7

I personally would not have my baby in my home. Some mothers do, but considering the risks I think hopsitals are the best policy. As we all know many complications can occur during childbirth and some may be sudden & not foreseen so the best place for them to happen would be where emergency attention/care is available. the thought of bringing a helpless infant into the world whose life is dependant on the parents is a blessing & it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure they take every precaution necessary. Its better to be cautious before hand than to be sorry about it later. To each his own i guess.

Answer 8

Unless serious complications arise, studies show that giving birth at home is LESS dangerous to the health of the mother and the newborn.

http://www.babycenter.com/viewArticle.htm?articleId=168&page=2#articlesection0

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/forum/marylou/index.html

I'm planing on giving birth in a hospital, but I am at high risk, if you aren't having complications I don't see a problem delivering at home with the help of a midwife. You just have to do your homework and make sure you have all the details covered.
Find a reliable and certified caregiver to help you, have a backup plan in case of complications, etc..


STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine if there are significant differences in birth outcomes and survival for infants delivered by certified nurse midwives compared with those delivered by physicians, and whether these differences, if they exist, remain after controlling for sociodemographic and medical risk factors. DESIGN: Logistic regression models were used to examine differences between certified nurse midwife and physician delivered births in infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality, and risk of low birthweight after controlling for a variety of social and medical risk factors. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to examine differences in mean birthweight after controlling for the same risk factors. STUDY SETTING: United States. PATIENTS: The study included all singleton, vaginal births at 35-43 weeks gestation delivered either by physicians or certified nurse midwives in the United States in 1991. MAIN RESULTS: After controlling for social and medical risk factors, the risk of experiencing an infant death was 19% lower for certified nurse midwife attended than for physician attended births, the risk of neonatal mortality was 33% lower, and the risk of delivering a low birthweight infant 31% lower. Mean birthweight was 37 grams heavier for the certified nurse midwife attended than for physician attended births. CONCLUSIONS: National data support the findings of previous local studies that certified nurse midwives have excellent birth outcomes. These findings are discussed in light of differences between certified nurse midwives and physicians in prenatal care and labour and delivery care practices. Certified nurse midwives provide a safe and viable alternative to maternity care in the United States, particularly for low to moderate risk women.

Answer 9

no, they are not, if a mother is more relaxed in her home environment then her birth will go a lot better (less complications) than if she were somewhere she wasnt very comfortable.

Answer 10

I would never do it,but i give props to those that do.