Green Options

An otherwise healthy young woman entered a hospital to give birth. She contracted bacterial meningitis, was transferred to another hospital, and died.

While many people around the blogosphere has been pointing to the death of homebirth advocate Janet Frazer’s baby with a gigantic, “See?…See?!” (followed by a “Na-na-na-na-boo-bo!”), this, too can be an example of how even hospitals can–gasp!–royally screw things up.

Actually, 2 moms were infected in the maternity ward at Ohio’s Mary Rutan Hospital. Now, both the hospital and the CDC are baffled by the cases:

Babies were healthy, moms were healthy.

Well, the moms were healthy when they arrived. Not so much after giving birth.

The C-section is now the most common procedure performed in the United States. A third of American children are born through the belly instead of vaginally. Every year for the last decade, the States has set a new record for the number of C-sections.

Now that I have your attention, there is an increasing gap between the traditional Western medical community and that of midwife-delivered, woman-based care. A couple of recent articles, in Time and in the LA Times, explore this gap.

Here we are, discussing health care reform, and at the top of that discussion should be the way we bring babies into this world. One Oregonian midwife, Melissa Cheyney, has begun to examine the differences in care.

The U.S. has a limited idea of what it means to have a positive outcome at the end of a delivery. Basically it just means that everyone’s alive.

You’ve heard it, and I know I’ve said it, “You got the prize in the end!” Sure, you have the baby, but did you receive the care that was appropriate to your circumstances?

There has been a bit of controversy about unassisted childbirth after Janet Fraser, the birth activist who coined the term “birth rape“, gave birth to a baby girl who died. Afterward, the was a lot of finger-pointing, some support and sorrow.

In my traversing this natural parenting bloggy world, I’ve been lucky enough to encounter a handful of amazing, brave women who have had incredible unassisted birth experiences.

I thought I’d share one with you. Introducing Sheryl, who writes at A Much Better Way, the bloggy site for her store. After enduring a bad, bad experience with a “medwife“, she chose an unassisted birth for her second daughter. She was kind enough to enlighten me (and you, too, I hope!).

… at least in Spain:

This great video has been circulating around the birth-activist regions of the blogosphere recently, since it first aired a few days ago.  It’s a television commercial for a bed, and the characters in the commercial are no actors.  It’s actual scenes from an actual family, giving birth at home while a peaceful soundtrack plays, and voiceovers talk about the miracle, the specialness, the joy of birth, and the tradition of birthing at home.

There is no fretting about whether or not home birth is safe.  There is no screaming and panicking.  There is a secure and confident woman with her family by her side, bringing her baby into the world in front of our very eyes.

Those crazy Europeans. They think that–gaffaw–home birthing is safe! Haven’t they heard about home birth activist Janet Fraser and her very personal tragedy? You know the story: an unassisted childbirth ended with her baby’s death, for reasons that have not yet been determined. And now some are calling for her head, while others are criticizing at home births in general (though not the same as freebirthing).

A large-scale study in the Netherlands has found no difference in death rates of either mothers or babies in 530,000 births. Whether you give birth in the hospital or in the comforts of your own home, the stats are the same.

Remind me again how home birthing is a crime?

(Ready, Cate? 1. Open can of worms. 2. Dump on head.)

NPR recently reported that in some Planned Parenthood clinics, the abortion rate is up.

We’ve seen some people who said that they didn’t really think that they would ever be making this decision, but recognize that this is a time when they have to think about taking care of the families that they have.

I’ve mentioned my mama before around here. She’s the home-birthin’, articulate and soft-spoken, intelligent and wonderful mother of 6 girls. Six vocal girls.

She raised me and my sisters to be pro-life feminists. Then, when I was pregnant with my first child, I became pro-choice.

Here’s why.

Bit of a WARNING: Though I’m not too graphic, I’m discussing something that makes many a tummy turn. Might want to put down that breakfast for a moment!

One of the hazards of natural living: you probably know someone who ate the placenta.

Officially, it’s called placentophagy: the act of mammals eating their own placenta after giving birth. Even herbivore mammals and our cousins, the gorillas.

Even if you don’t know someone who did this, you may have at least seen the blog story from MomLogic.com about twin sisters Kathy and Chrissy who shared a placenta feast (including leftovers). To your considerable gag reflex.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think these women necessarily deserve all the hatin‘ they’re getting. I don’t believe they are “cannibals” or “vampires” or some of the other nasty comments following the blog, though the collective “ICK!” of the commentators was funny.

I agree with some of the more positive thoughts: If you eat meat and are so far removed from your food, why are you disgusted by this nutrient-rich “meal”? As someone rightly pointed out, this is the only “meat” that comes from life, not death.

Personally? I wouldn’t do it. Not ’til I grow a tail. If you consider yourself crunchy but can’t stomach the placenta eatin’, let’s explore some other options, shall we?

Many of you read and supported me in my “Medicalization of my Natural Birth“. Thanks, yo.

I never had to face a Caesarean section. Not with these birthin’ hips. I know, and am even related to, women who have. It’s a tough recovery for many, both physically and emotionally.

Now there’s a movement to make the C-section more “natural”. Vaginal birthing has had a natural movement over the last 20 years, and one doctor wants the C-section to have the same.

British professor Nicholas M. Fisk wants to encourage the same bonding that is present in many natural vaginal births in his C-section patients. He thinks C-sections should be more “woman-centered.”

But with 1/3 of all American labors ending in surgery (in the UK the C-section rate is 24 percent), is this something we should encourage? Do we really want him to soothe us into the decision of a C-section?! “There, there. At least it’ll be natural.”

What’s next…is he going to “naturalize” the vasectomy?!

It’s not long before the birth of our baby makes his debut into the world. Preparing for a home birth can be overwhelming but for the most part it has really put things into perspective. For instance, having to get your home ready by doing all the cleaning and sorting and laundry seems to be the overwhelming aspect. Ordering the birth kit and receiving our water birth tub put things into perspective as I realize the birth our baby is not far off. After that, it’s mostly preparation in the home which seems to be a large task but if done at pace, isn’t so bad and well worth it. 

Having the labor and birth items 6 weeks before you deliver is usually key. The cleaning and sorting part can wait till the last few weeks. If you’re anything like me though- it can’t wait. I feel so much better working on things here and there as the weeks go along. Rather than trying to scramble and get it all done in one day or week seems more nerve-racking to me than spacing it out. At this point, I’ve been able to get to all the nooks and crannies that I feel should get cleaned prior to delivering a baby in our home. Focusing on the bathroom and birthing room is a must.

First the AMA and now Dr. Phil:  the attacks on a family’s right to chose a home birth never seem to end. As a mother who has birthed both of her children at home, neither of which were “normal” births, I find such negative campaigning disturbing and upsetting. Just as I won’t tell a woman what to do with her body after conception, I believe a woman has the right to birthing choices as well.

I’ve never been a fan of Dr. Phil.  I feel sorry for the people who are so desperate for help that they air their problems on TV, thinking a talk show host will give them the solutions. I admit, I succumbed once hoping Dr. Phil could help potty train my son and watched his show, but as each child is unique. I had to wait for my child’s readiness.  Now, Dr. Phil is seeking out guests to share home birth horror stories.

Did  you have a child at your home?

Did you want to have a soothing experience where you were in control and could bond with your child?

Did it not go the way you planned?

Do you regret having a home birth?

Do you regret using a midwife instead of going to a hospital?

Did you have your second child the traditional way in a hospital?

If you or someone you know regrets having a home birth please tell us your story below.

I woke up in the early morning and knew that our baby was ready to come into the world. My husband and I had created a vision for how we wanted Leona’s birth to unfold, as a peaceful decent. My breath and a positive perspective were my greatest tools in manifesting this.  We found an alternative birth center within a suburban Chicago hospital, so that the setting would match our intentions. Natural birth has proven itself billions and billions of times across the globe and was how I wanted to deliver our child.

I spent the next few hours sitting on an exercise ball in a “birth zone.” A hypnobirthing class taught me a few breathing techniques and visualizations that allowed me to open gracefully to the experience and the journey that lay ahead.