Freebirthing

[Laura]

I'll have no problem being hooked up to an IV to be hydrated, and have a monitor strapped to my belly. And yes, I'll tell them to load me up with painkillers. I don't want to feel the pain of childbirth any more than I want to feel teeth being pulled out or a bone set. They're not going to give me a medal if I go through it without drugs.

I don't consider pregnancy a medical problem, but for me, I want to make sure that if something goes wrong, I'm in a hospital where they can help me and my baby get through birth without complications.

 

[Maggimus]

Erotic Birthing?? I must tell DH he missed out on a great opportunity 3 weeks ago!

Someone could always make a new post asking if anyone here has ever eaten their placenta after giving birth and WHY they did it...:scared:

Off to look for a new thread...lol I'd be interested to hear the WHY ... because I can't think of one reason why that would even be imaginable.

 

[Maggimus]

A midwife I know in Florida who worked at a birthing center said that some dehydrate the Placenta and grind it up to powder, then put it in empty pill capsules to give to the Mother. Supposedly, some think by doing that the dehydrated placenta helps with Postpartum Depression. Not something I'm willing to try!!!

Im with you on that one ... No way, no how...

 

[MinnieMe87]

Im with you on that one ... No way, no how...

I know right?! Gross!!

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

HAHA!! He's ready.. DH is a cop... He said he'll be cleaning his gun when the boys come by.

LOL..that is too funny.

Maybe your kid and my kid should get together when they're older. DS is only 4 1/2 but he's already attracting girls like cows attract flies. I think it's because he's gentler and not as aggressive as the other boys, so the girls naturally like to play with him more.

 

[DebIreland]

I had my last two at home with midwives.

I think that's wonderful. Well done. Two of my friends had their babies at home and had great experiences too.

 

[arminnie]

Maybe all of this is part of a Darwinian plan to drop a little bleach in the gene pool of these people.

 

[princess pooh]

I didn't care one bit about my experience except that I wasn't enthused about it being painful. I wanted what I felt was safest for DS.

That's exactly how I felt. I don't know why so many women get caught up in planning their birth exeprience? I had a prolapsed cord and the doctor had to get the baby out very quickly. My husband and I were so scared that we would lose him. I didn't give a crap about the experience...all that mattered was that my baby was alive and healthy.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Little weirded out by the poster who said "The women of yesterday did it fine."

What, you mean back when childbirth was the leading cause of death for women (and, incidentally, any baby they were carrying)?

 

[dogluva]

I have no problem with someone wanting to do a freebirth. Why should I? Today we treat childbirth as a medical condition and have to be hooked up to machines and IV's, when the whole process is completely natural. That is what I think people forget these days.

If someone wants to have a freebirth at home, that is fine with me. If a medical problem arises, that is what the hospitals are for. Now, I think you should be informed of what needs to be done and if this happens - do this - or that happens - do that. I dont think it is safe to go into blindly, that is for sure. But with the proper information and training, I dont see why anyone would be upset over their choice.

I think this is crazy. If I had three of my kids at home, they would have died (three emergency c-sections). My mother delivered two stillborn babies, I would never take the chance and deliver at home just because "it is natural". Please, give me a brake. The bottom line is a healthy baby, not how the baby is delivered.

I have had three natural births, three sections and they all were the same to me, a healthy baby.

Deliver your baby in a hospital, this isn't the 1800's.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I don't know why so many women get caught up in planning their birth exeprience?

I don't know either. The only 'plan' I had was to be induced and I wanted to make sure I had enough warm socks, my fluffy pillow and my favorite blanket from home.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I think this is crazy. If I had three of my kids at home, they would have died (three emergency c-sections). My mother delivered two stillborn babies, I would never take the chance and deliver at home just because "it is natural". Please, give me a brake. The bottom line is a healthy baby, not how the baby is delivered.

I have had three natural births, three sections and they all were the same to me, a healthy baby.

Deliver your baby in a hospital, this isn't the 1800's.

You would have never been approved for a homebirth with your medical history. A qualified midwife would have never risked it.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

You would have never been approved for a homebirth with your medical history. A qualified midwife would have never risked it.

Well what about these women who give birth at home without a midwife? Or what if it is your first birth and there is no history? While I would like to never have to stay in the hospital, I want to know that God forbid there is a problem the medical staff is RIGHT there. Not an ambulance ride away. Sure, being home would have been great but again- I am not willing to take the risk. JMHO.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Well what about these women who give birth at home without a midwife? Or what if it is your first birth and there is no history? While I would like to never have to stay in the hospital, I want to know that God forbid there is a problem the medical staff is RIGHT there. Not an ambulance ride away. Sure, being home would have been great but again- I am not willing to take the risk. JMHO.

Your medical history also includes family history. It includes a lot of info outside of the pregnancy. Most complications are found during pregnancy. A qualified midwife spends more time with her patients than a doctor does. Almost all other emergencies are known early in labor. It is important to have a back up plan with the hospital in case of an emergency...or if you change your mind and want to deliver in hospital. Doctors have a good idea of emergencies way before the patient does. This gives the impression that you have less time to intervene than you actually do....in most cases. I would never have a planned home delivery without the assistance a certified nurse-midwife. There is less unwelcomed interference with the birthing process. There is also less chance of infection. Homebirths aren't for everyone but, are much safer than most realize.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Your medical history also includes family history. It includes a lot of info outside of the pregnancy. Most complications are found during pregnancy. A qualified midwife spends more time with her patients than a doctor does. Almost all other emergencies are known early in labor. It is important to have a back up plan with the hospital in case of an emergency...or if you change your mind and want to deliver in hospital. Doctors have a good idea of emergencies way before the patient does. This gives the impression that you have less time to intervene than you actually do....in most cases. I would never have a planned home delivery without the assistance a certified nurse-midwife. There is less unwelcomed interference with the birthing process. There is also less chance of infection. Homebirths aren't for everyone but, are much safer than most realize.

I bolded. Childbirth is not an exact science. You have no way of knowing everything. Even doctors cannot predict much. While homebirths can be safe, it is much safer to give birth in a hospital where you have expertly trained staff there in case of ANY emergency. Yes, the hospitals are really backwards in the way they treat a woman in labor, (postion to give birth comes to mind) but why take the risk that in the event of an emergency you could be wasting valuable time? Some people live an hour away from a hospital! That is not a good plan imo. I don't have a problem with a midwife at all. I think they can be great. I just think that since you cannot accurately predict anything in childbirth you should be in the place that offers the least risk.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

It is a mistake to assume that a hospital birth is safer than a home birth. There have been many, many research studies done on this, and they've all shown that when appropriate screening is done, the outcomes for mother and baby are slightly better for home birth when compared to hospital birth. There are more interventions done in hospital births, and all of these have some risks (for example, while epidurals are generally safe, there have been cases of women dying as a result of getting one - just as there is a small risk with any anaesthetic), and the risk of infection is also much higher in hospital (especially now there are all those MRSA bugs around). It's well-known that stress can increase risk, so women who feel very stressed in a hospital environment may significantly reduce their risk by having a home birth. All births have some element of risk, it's a matter of weighing the risks of one birth setting against the risks of the other.

My best friend lost her baby - a beautiful little girl, born perfectly healthy, in the hospital because the baby picked up one of those resistant infections in the hospital nursery. Just one example of a baby who would have lived if she'd been born at home, but didn't because she was born in a hospital.

Teresa

 

[Mouse House Mama]

It is a mistake to assume that a hospital birth is safer than a home birth. There have been many, many research studies done on this, and they've all shown that when appropriate screening is done, the outcomes for mother and baby are slightly better for home birth when compared to hospital birth. There are more interventions done in hospital births, and all of these have some risks (for example, while epidurals are generally safe, there have been cases of women dying as a result of getting one - just as there is a small risk with any anaesthetic), and the risk of infection is also much higher in hospital (especially now there are all those MRSA bugs around). It's well-known that stress can increase risk, so women who feel very stressed in a hospital environment may significantly reduce their risk by having a home birth. All births have some element of risk, it's a matter of weighing the risks of one birth setting against the risks of the other.

My best friend lost her baby - a beautiful little girl, born perfectly healthy, in the hospital because the baby picked up one of those resistant infections in the hospital nursery. Just one example of a baby who would have lived if she'd been born at home, but didn't because she was born in a hospital.

Teresa

I am so sorry about your friend. That is just awful.
To be honest I do agree with all you say about hospitals. I just think that while many homebirths can be very safe, there are quite a few people out there that are so consumed with having what they call "the prefect birth" that they omit pertinent medical information from their midwife. They just want that homebirth and don't care what they have to do to have it. That makes me sick. I do think it would be great to be home and not in a hospital. I just think that some women are so hung up of their "plan" that they do not think of the child. I think it is selfish in those situations.

 

[mdbehr]

I had an unattended home birth with my youngest daughter. Granted, I had not planned the unattended part, my labor went so fast that the midwife did not make it in time and my husband delivered our daughter. but it was the most perfect moment of my life and I would trade nothing for that. Especially after having my son almost die because of the hospital staff trying to "manage' my labor just 2 1/2 years before that.

Don't be so quick to judge. it could be argued that mothers take pain medications during birth without any regard for their babies health but are more concerned for their own comfort. plan c sections for convenience without regard for their babies. Home birth isn't for everyone, but it can be a wonderful experience and no more risky than a hospital birth for many women and their babies.

 

[mdbehr]

It is NOT safer to have a hospital birth than it is a home birth in all cases. In my case, it most definitely was not.

 

[mdbehr]

I don't understand how so many people can condemn a natural birth by saying it is selfish and then condone pain medication in the same breath. You do realize that getting an epidural poses a RISK to the baby right? Many people have decided that risk is acceptable to them. Does that make them selfish and unfit to be a parent?