This story came up on my Facebook news feed yesterday morning. While I understand some of what the author is frustrated with, quite a bit of what she had to say is simply bad science, bad medicine, and actually dangerous. So I’m going to respond to as much of it as I can.
First of all, a disclaimer: I am a childless male, and thus have never been a part of any birthing process except my own, which I fortunately do not remember. I am also not a medical professional. However, the lack of personal experience regarding either the medical profession or the birthing process does not keep me from recognizing bad science and logical fallacies, any more than not being an alien keeps people from writing science fiction. I am also aware that I am giving “free publicity” as it were, to the author, but I don’t believe that all press is good press, so I don’t mind.
“I had a baby…at home…on the bedroom floor.“
Isn’t that…unsanitary? I mean, really. I walk on my floor, and my shoes are not something I want anywhere near bodily processes that are extremely susceptible to infection.
“Really? Having a vaginal birth without unnecessary medical testing and intervention, the way women have been giving birth since the beginning of time (save the last 200 years), puts my baby at risk?”
Yes, really. See, “natural” does not mean “safe”. Tornadoes and hurricanes are natural; let the folks from Florida, Louisiana, and Oklahoma tell you how safe those are. Volcanoes are natural; rattlesnakes are natural. Pregnancy is emphatically not safe – before the advent of those “unnecessary medical testing and interventions” you talk about, maternal death rate was something like 1 percent per birth – and if that sounds low, that’s twice the risk of a kidney transplant and only half the risk of a triple bypass heart surgery.
“So I did what any educated, normal, determined person would do:
I chose my bedroom floor.”
No. No. No. Those words do not mean what you clearly think they mean. Choosing your bedroom floor over a clean hospital is not something an educated person does. It’s not something a normal person does. I’ll give you determined, but determined for what? You voluntarily chose to give birth in an non-sterile environment. Seriously, the advent of a sterile environment for birthing mothers was one of the very first changes made to the way medicine dealt with birth, and just doing that saved countless lives.”
What used to be a sacred, respected, safe process carried out by a woman, her closest confidants, and midwife has turned into a 3-ring circus complete with flashing lights, ring-side seats, popcorn, and enough technology to re-wire a circuit. What used to be an event where women were engaged, connected, and present is now a detached process with intervention and discombobulation….Blood is taken, pee is collected in a cup, there are ultrasounds, monthly appointments, bi-weekly, than weekly appointments, flu shots, vaccinations, gestational diabetes testing, group b strep and genetic testing.”
Seriously, I can’t stress how much you’re wrong about giving birth being safe before medical science started getting beyond bleeding and leeches. All those “processes” you’re railing against are for the purposes of reducing your chances of dying while trying to bring a baby into the world. I understand that all the stuff to do is overwhelming, but you can’t seriously claim those tests are just boondoggles – they’re actually checking on the health of the baby, and your health.
“You’ll waddle into the hospital when you are one centimeter dilated because you felt the first twinge of pain – you weren’t told that laboring at your house is much more comfortable. Then you’ll be subjected to your first vaginal “frisk” of many, as if pap smears weren’t uncomfortable enough.”
Again, there’s a sanitation issue. Now, I’m not against home births in general – I understand they can be way more comfortable than a hospital visit, not to mention cheaper because really, the American medical industry is really, really expensive.
And you know where babies come from, right? So those “vaginal frisks”, while understandably uncomfortable, seem like they’re in the right place. After all, you don’t want your OBGYN saying, “Well, I see you’re in labor. I’m going to go ahead and start with an eye, ear, nose and throat check, and we’ll see how we feel from there, all right?” Of course not.
“If you were lucky enough to avoid the embarrassingly high 33% c-section rate in this country, you’re probably in the cold, uninviting, delivery room waiting for someone to tell you when and how hard to push.”
Yeah, the c-section percentage is this country is pretty high, for a variety of possible reasons, including insurance pressure, unwillingness to offer vaginal birth in subsequent pregnancies, and a cavalier attitude toward surgery in general. But hopefully that’s changing. But really, if you do need a c-section, it’s way better to be in a place where that can be done, rather than a hospital drive away, right?
“Your man? He’s probably munchin’ on some chips tuned into the t.v. detached from you because you’re detached from the process. Hey, at least somebody get’s to eat right?”
Sounds like you married a douchebag. This is not really an argument against medical intervention in birthing, it’s really an argument against having children with people who are assholes.
(From later in the article)”Your man meat wasn’t binging on chips. He was holding you because you needed him. You needed each other and it was a moment you shared together.”
Putting aside the condescending way you refer to your partner, are you actually saying men aren’t involved in the birthing process unless it’s at home? Do men have an asshole switch that only activates within range of a qualifying hospital? I don’t even know what you’re really trying to get at here.
All this amounts to a strawman of the medical industry in the US – which is impressive, considering the industry isn’t exactly the picture of generosity and integrity without the strawmanning. Obviously you have a solution, right?
“If you choose a natural birth (whether at home or at a center) you will establish care with a midwife who will work with you throughout your entire pregnancy. You’ll build a relationship with her and she’ll answer all your questions, lessen your fears, and calm your concerns. There’s no pressure, minimized testing (that you can easily opt out of without a speech), and the freedom to birth without confines preferably in the comfort of your own home.”
Ok, so as I said before, I don’t really have an issue with homebirths in general, but they do raise the risk of infections for both the mother and the child. And why is a doctor not qualified to “answer questions, lessen fears, and calm concerns”?
“Your midwife will be there doing what she does best, watching and waiting.“
Not going to lie, I laughed at this. The midwife does watching and waiting best? Well, hell, I can do that. That must mean I’m qualified as a midwife…or midhusband…or something.
“No medical intervention was needed and the emergency plan a good midwife always has in place can remain on the dusty shelf because it’s rarely ever used. ”
Ok, this is some sort of crazy idealistic world you live in, but again, all the “medical intervention”? It saves countless lives due to the fact it reduces not only maternal death, but also the baby’s death.
“ I say “employ” because your doctor (or midwife) works for you and like any boss, you call the shots. “
Gah. While technically this may be true, demanding that your doctor support you in doing things that are dangerous for you and your baby is a good way to not have a doctor anymore – as you found out when your doctor wouldn’t support you in your “natural birth” kick after you had an ectopic pregnancy.
“Your birth plan should be respected and revered as holy.”
What. Just….revered as holy? When it’s putting you and your baby at risk? When you clearly don’t know the first thing about medicine? Let me be clear – having a well-thought out, realistic plan is good. Slapping a plan together with your non-medical background is worse than having no plan at all.
Home births are not necessarily bad, as I’ve said – from what I understand, it can be a lot more comfortable than a hospital stay, as long as everything goes right. A midwife who’s job description is “watch and wait” sounds like a security camera, and pre-natal tests and care aren’t simply “something to do”, they can actually help doctors catch things happening to you and your baby before anything bad actually happens.
What it boils down to is this: women’s bodies are not magical. They don’t magically get manuals or mystical knowledge because they are pregnant. Doctors study the human body, and kind of know what’s going on. Pretending you have more knowledge and skill than they do is fairly arrogant, and puts you in danger. And while you have the right to do that, you probably shouldn’t encourage other people to put themselves in danger.
Clickbait 