Sunday, February 17, 2008

Things that make you go, hmm

I was reading a few blogs that I like and I stumbled across some different perspectives. As most of you know I am a crunchy granola kind of gal. Not on all things but on many things. So I was reading a post on this blog and while going through some of the comments I read one from Dr. Amy. I've run across Dr. Amy's hatred before a while back on this blog. She absolutely despises home birthers, home birth advocates, and lay midwives. There is so much venom in her words it is shocking. All the way from how ignorant home birthers are to how uneducated midwives are. I am not sure why she is so angry but she has it out for all of us stupid, ignorant and uneducated people.

Normal low-risk births are safe to have at home with a midwife. There are studies that back it up. Midwives aren't untrained or uneducated. There are national requirements for midwives to become certified that requires schooling through an accredited school, apprenticeship, and a national exam. No they don't tend to have degrees from Yale or Princeton but that doesn't mean that they don't learn everything they can about all things surrounding birth including complications. Just because they don't learn how to do c-sections in a hospital doesn't mean that they aren't educated.

Please know that I think doctors are needed and are necessary for higher risk pregnancies.

Take a read through the links if you so desire.

7 comments:

Coni Sanders said...

I don't think there is anything wrong with mid-wives or home births... I just wasn't brave enough to do it and well - let's face it.... I needed nurses to throw things at... OH - an a C-Section because I gave birth to a cow.

Coni

Amy Y said...

I think having a home birth with a mid wife is the most natural thing in the world! Women were doing it for centuries before hospitals came along!
I wish I had the balls to do it sans~drugs ... I think it'd be much more comfortable to give birth in your own home!

Amy Y said...

Oh and P.S. It really bothers me that women think that they have the right to tell other women what to do with THEIR bodies and THEIR babies!! We should all be allowed to do what we think is best, without the criticism of those who should be our biggest supports!

Tori said...

Funny...
My aunt is a nurse midwife who did actually study midwifery at Yale so na na to Dr Whats Her Name. I would have given anything to have had my babies at home but couldn't afford it! Crazy but it was cheaper to have the babes in hospital covered by the insurance! Only my OG/Gyn liked me at our hospital as he understood that I didn't want drugs. They kept forcing them on me and I would say NO...
I was meant to deliver at home really - bummer I never got to!

ellen said...

Tori- I totally understand about the cost. It was pretty expensive for us to have our 3rd at home but definitely worth it for us. I know homebirth isn't an option for all.

Yale, huh? Sweet.

Paula Ebert said...

When I was having my two children at home - Ellen, unfortunately, having been delivered at the Army Medical Hospital in Denver - I had no medical insurance, and we were on a payment plan with the midwives, so it worked out quite well. I think it is a shame that such a huge part of a family's income goes to medical insurance, leaving you with no other options for health care. I have medical insurance now, but it is insane - with "managed care" I have to go to a primary care physician for a complete physical, when all I need is a referral to see the eye specialist about my glaucoma!!! So, I see the internist so I can have the pressure taken in my eye. This is why our medical system is so broken. In the meantime, I can't go without health insurance because the medicine, etc., that I probably will have to take is so expensive, and really, the specialist exam is wildly expensive, so I can't just not have health insurance and pay cash for the exam. There. I'm on my soapbox and while I'm at it, I can't believe that some presidential candidates want to FORCE middle class people to pay for health insurance, even to the point of taking wages away to do so.

Amy, it is so much better to give birth in your own home, no words can express it. My husband was totally against it, but I prevailed, and now he says it was one of the best experiences in his life.

ellen said...

Our health care system is a mess. Universal health care isn't without problems either. It can take months to get a routine screening done. Our insurance company doesn't make you get referrals. That is one good thing about them. Which candidate is talking about forcing people to pay? (Yeah, I follow closely. :))

Homebirth is a wonderful option and it should be recognized, as in Europe, as a safe alternative for healthy moms.