Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Homebirths in the news again....


It is interesting that the debate is always around homebirth...is it safe or not.... however should we ban hospital births because babies die there as well. The language used "doctors divided" "the Health Dept" is allowing homebirth to continue... where is the choice factor here for women.. in fact where is the discussion with the women... in what other form of health treatment do you get autonomy so blatantly ignored as in this one...if someone refuses treatment the doctors accept this ...why is it so different in this instance.... Women have the right to choose where and how to birth....a well informed woman will make the right decision for herself and her baby....no where do I see any of these considerations here.

See the full story on 6 minutes Doctors divided over homebirth reports
We all know that statistics can be manipulated.... and the figures don't break down the women who choose to birth at home when they know their baby is going to die through an abnormality.

I would also like to know if BBA (Born before Arrival not planned homebirth) and en route births are registered as a hospital or homebirth.... also we know that statistics can be manipulated to which ever outcome you want....the figures also do not separate the women who choose to have a homebirth whose baby has an abnormality:

The other group of women that are missing from the report are the ones that Freebirth.... this is an unknown entity...we know it happens and these figures would alter the homebirth outcomes.... so really we still don't have a good indication as to the statistical value of the current outcomes.

The more the medical profession demand that women birth where they want them to the more the divide will grow…. It is time to listen to what women want…. The choice to have information and make and informed choice whether it is one the medical profession agrees with or not…... It is called autonomy. Dome doctors are openly hostile about homebirth. It is about communication, trust, building a therapeutic relationship, not based on fear, it is about being flexible and learning new ways of doing and communicating with women about birthing options.

The one thing that’s a reality is that women are being bullied and made to feel guilty, for choosing a homebirth. Their autonomy is being eroded and paternalism reigns supreme. It is time to change this……its about informed choice and autonomy.

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