Childbirth Index
Compiled by LLM
see Lea's
Birth- A Case For "Undisturbed Birth"
For many excellent items regarding birth and
the postpartum period, see the Natural
Health page- this page includes protocols
for when your water "breaks" before
labor, preventing and controlling postpartum hemorrhage,
herbal remedies for the perineum, what is a normal
flow of lochia, and so much more.
Also see the Birth
Stories Index for hundreds of birth stories
of all kinds imaginable, and BirthLove's
Forums for much more birth-related topics.
See the Featured Authors' indexes for birth articles
as well (look in navigation units).
On this page:
Birth News
Assisted Reproduction
- Higher Rate
of Major Birth Defects Seen in ART Infants
Excerpted: "Babies born as a result of
assisted reproductive technologies had a significantly
higher rate of major birth defects compared
with children conceived naturally, according
to a large, retrospective cohort study. But
the rate of birth defects was increased across
various fertility treatments, including intrauterine
insemination (IUI), suggesting that the increase
may be a result of the parents' underlying infertility
rather than a result of procedures used to treat
it..."
- Popularity,
Success of in Vitro Births Rise in U.S.
A total of 40,687 births resulting from in vitro
and other fertility technologies were reported
in 2001- that was 16% more than the previous
year.
Meconium
Aspiration Syndrome More Common in Black Infants
Babies of color are almost twice as likely to
aspirate meconium- breathe in their feces during
birth. This links to pages on BirthLove that tell
how to prevent babies from aspirating in the first
place. (Number one way- don't cut the cord in
the "meconium stained neonate"- or any
other baby!!!)
Plus-Size Childbirth
Having been a big woman, and knowing so many others, I have to say it is criminal in how they are denigrated by the "health care" system. Big women give birth beautifully! Following are stories and articles links proving this.
Corina Rose's Birth Story (home waterbirth after cesarean before the midwife showed up to "catch")
Pablo Felix's Birth Story (home waterbirth after three previous cesarean sections)
Jenny's Journal, Entry 7 Jenny Hatch's pregnancy journal entry, shortly before giving unassisted homebirth to her fifth child. Read the rest of her journal, and birth story, here.
Does one have to be skinny for a homebirth? Midwives answer this question- and the answer is a strong NO. Being active and well-fed are far more important than weight is!
Are You a Size-Friendly Midwfe? Excellent off-site article from Plus-Size Pregnancy.org
Gentle Birth
By British Statistician
Marjorie Tew
Safest
birth attendants: recent Dutch evidence Marjorie
proves that homebirth is safer than hospital birth,
for all babies born after 32 weeks gestation,
and that obstetricians' care is fraught with risk.
A must-view!
Birth At Home is Safer, Even if You are "High
Risk"
Excerpt from the study Safest
birth attendants: recent Dutch evidence:
"It is obvious from the analysis of results
by birth attendant why perinatal mortality is
in nearly all cases so much lower for home than
for hospital births. It is demonstrated that,
except possibly for the extremely immature babies,
high technology can rarely make birth safer,
whether the predicted risk is high or low. This
is the conclusion reached by all previous analyses
of British data (Tew, 1985; Tew, 1986a, Campbell&
Macfarlane, 1987), of New Zealand national data
(Rosenblatt et al, 1985), of Finnish regional
data (Hemminki, 1985), and of specific studies
in other countries such as the US (Mehl, 1978).
The conclusion has been accepted by the World
Health Organization which recommends that the
contribution of modern technology to childbirth
should be reduced (WHO, 1985).
"In an editorial in The Lancet (Lancet,
1986) it was acknowledged that in the light
of the accumulated British evidence neither
the lack of safety of birth at home nor the
greater safety of birth in hospital had been
proved, a judgement contrary to established
medical claims. The results from Holland in
1986 now point to the strong probability that
birth at home is indeed the safer option and
that, despite all the technological innovations,
the claim for the greater safety of birth in
hospital cannot be sustained. If promoting the
welfare of mothers and babies is its paramount
concern, the maternity service needs urgent
reorganisation to take account of the unanimous
conclusions from world wide experience and to
reverse the policy of withdrawing low technology
options for childbirth."
Safer Childbirth?
A Critical History of Maternity Care, Chapter
1 Marjorie's classic discourse about what
results the influx of obstetrical care has been
on women and babies. A must-read for ayone who
thinks OB care is the safest way to go (or medicalized
birth care altogether). The bottom line of Marjorie's
research: low intervention is preferrable to high
tech birth attendance for safety (including "high
tech" of the early twenteith century).
* * * * *
See: "My Cervix
is My Own"- a BirthLove newsletter about
women reclaiming "vaginal exams".
* * * * *
The Bag of Waters in Birth,
and Before
The Water
Bag: If intact leave alone, if leaking handle
with care Two midwives discuss how they deal
with waters breaking before labor, as well as
the foolish cruelty of actually breaking a woman's
bag of waters. Included: ways to prevent infection
if waters break long before birth (well over 24
hours), and mention of lovely, intact births.
* * * * *
Doulas
Birth
Companions Lesia, a doula, writes about her
organization, "Birth Companions". It
is comprised of doulas who assist women who give
birth while incarcerated. Included in this article:
the difficulties that pregnant, birthing and postpartum
inmates face, and the beautiful results that support-
both from doulas and other women prisoners- engenders;
especially in breastfeeding.
The BirthLove Newsletter:
Doulas An index, of sorts, of doula informaion
in BirthLove, including the BirthLove Column-
"The Power of the Doula".
Doula Course
Gloria Lemay assists doulas and others with learning
the art of empowered and gentle birth attendance.
* * * * *
Hypnosis in Birth
Also see: Hypnosis in Homebirth birth stories.
Spiritual Childbirth Kerry Tuschhoff, HCHI, CHt talks about her dream for gentle birth for women and babies, as well as about Hypnobirthing, and what it can do for families. Includes the benfits of hypnosis in birth, in point form.
Gentle Beginnings
"HypnoBirthing truly does involve a lot of good things- babies coming into the world through a birth path that is truly untraumatized.
"The babies are breathed down to birth. No pushing, so no one can blame later incontinence on pelvic floor damage or rush them into a surgical birth to avoid pelvic floor damage for a subsequent birthing. We also are seeing no decels as the babies travel down the birth path, and no postpartum hemorrhage.
"Another plus is that our moms don't experience postpartum depression; it is just the opposite. They think they are so great for having birthed their babies in a calm, gentle, and comfortable way, many, even first-time moms (we don't have 'primips' or 'multips'), in a matter of two, three and four hours. They are ready to take on the world. No time for depression; they are shouting their accomplishments from the rooftops. Read their testimonials on our website.
"Do I have stats? Heck no. We don't birth by numbers in any sense. When medical people ask me for evidence, I tell them that we have just about as much as is available for the protocols that they follow during birthing."
-Mickey Mongan
HypnoBirthing Institute
Hypnosis for Birthing A hypnotherapist talks about just what hypnosis in birth is, and its myriad benefits and rewards, including maternal empowerment and freedom from pain.
Hypnosis for a Wonderful, Calm Birth A mother having her first child used hypnosis to have a birth without pain- and it worked! Says Maggie about what hypnosis is- "...you are having a chat with your subconscious while your conscious is fully aware of what you are doing."
* * * * *
Not Suctioning for Meconium
Suctioning
for Meconium Doesn't Save Lives Suctioning
doesn't change meconium aspiration risk or improve
neonatal mortality (save babies' lives). Includes
a helpful chart.
No
Benefit Seen With Suctioning During Birth of Meconium-Stained
Neonates "A single study back in the
1970s was the foundation for the recommendation
of suctioning when meconium staining is evident...but
the practice is 'widespread- and it's done around
the world.' However, the current study shows that
suctioning before the shoulders are delivered
does not prevent meconium aspiration or its complications."
Also see: Don't
Cut the Cord for the Meconium Stained Baby!!!
-a midwife's wisdom and experience in delayed
cord cutting. When the cord is cut, the baby gasps
for air- thereby deeply breathing in meconium.
The doctors create the problem of meconium aspiration
when they aggressively suction!
* * * * *
Natural Protection
Cervical
Plugs Have Antimicrobial Properties A good
reason to not break a woman's waters, and wash
this protection away prematurely.
Newborn
Skin has Antibacterial Skin Defense Babies'
skin is equipped at birth to ward off dangerous
microbes. Yet another reason to not wash babies
with soap!
* * * * *
No Perineal Massage!
BirthLove Columns by LLM:
Hands Off
the Birthing Woman Keeping hands off of women's
perinea (regions between vagina and anus) is birth
attendants' best way to attend births, says Austrian
researchers (and others in the know). No perineal
massage, please!
* * * * *
Delayed Cord Cutting
Regarding cutting a cord that is around the
neck:
“Let the loop be loosened to enable it
to be cast off over the head. … [or] by
slipping it down over the shoulders. …
If this seems impossible, it should be left
alone; and in the great majority of cases, it
will not prevent the birth from taking place,
after which the cord may be cast off. …
Should the child be detained by the tightness
of the cord, as does rarely happen, … the
funis may be cut … Under such a necessity
as this, a due respect for one’s own reputation
should induce him to explain, to the bystanders,
the reasons which rendered so considerable a
departure from the ordinary practice so indispensable.
I have known an accoucheur’s capability
called harshly into question upon this very
point of practice. I have never felt it necessary
to do it but once. … The cord should not
be cut until the pulsations have ceased.”
- Charles D Meigs, M.D. Professor of Midwifery
Philadelphia, 1842. From: Neonatal
Resuscitation: Life that Failed
Leaving
Well Alone: A Natural Approach to the Third
Stage of Labour In this excellent article,
Sarah Buckley, MD talks about just why the active
management of the third stage of labor- the time
before the placenta comes out- is such a disastrous
idea for women and babies. Aggressive handling
of mother, child, cord and placenta cause insurmountable
harm. A must-read for anyone interested in birth
as a beautiful, normal, life-enhancing event.
Cord Closure:
Can Hasty Clamping Injure the Newborn? Early
cord clamping deprives the baby of 54-160 ml of
blood, which represents up to half of a baby's
total blood volume at birth.
Excerpted: "Clamping the cord before
the infant's first breath results in blood being
sacrificed from other organs to establish pulmonary
perfusion [blood supply to the lungs]. Fatality
may result if the child is already hypovolemic
[low in blood volume]".
* * * * *
The Myth of CPD
(cephalopelvic disproportion- baby's head
too big for mother's pelvis)
"CPD is a Crock"
(babies do fit, dear) -a BirthLove newsletter
summing it all up.
"This study confirms what I have said in
my article Pelvises
I Have Known and Loved. Isn't it nice to see
the studies following our women's knowledge."
-Gloria Lemay
Use of fetal-pelvic index in the prediction
of vaginal birth following previous cesarean
section. Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2003 Apr;29(2):104-8.
Wong KS, Wong AY, Tse LH, Tang LC. Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kwong Wah Hospital,
Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China. cw1wong@netvigator.com
AIM: To clarify the usefulness of the fetal-pelvic
index as a predictor of vaginal birth after
previous lower segment cesarean section.
METHODS: One hundred and seventy women with
one lower segment cesarean section who attempted
for trial of vaginal birth were enrolled. Pelvimetry
was performed to measure maternal pelvic inlet
and mid-cavity circumferences at 37 weeks gestation.
Ultrasound was performed to measure fetal head
and abdominal circumferences at 38-39 weeks.
The fetal-pelvic index was derived. The predictability
of fetal-pelvic index in the predicting the
outcome of delivery was calculated.
RESULTS: Fifty-seven (33.5%) women required
repeated cesarean section and 113 (66.5%) delivered
vaginally. Twenty-two women with positive fetal-pelvic
index had repeated cesarean section. The predictability
of positive fetal-pelvic index was 48.9%. Ninety
of the 125 patients with a negative fetal-pelvic
index delivered vaginally. The predictability
of negative fetal-pelvic index was 72.0%.
CONCLUSIONS: Fetal-pelvic index derived in
the antenatal period has low predictive value
in predicting of successful vaginal birth after
cesarean section. This index is not useful in
clinical practice.
PMID: 12755531 [PubMed - in process]
The following articles showcase the beauty of
women's pelvises and natural birthing abilities.
Also see birth stories from women who had cesareans
for "CPD" then went on to have homebirths
with bigger babies- click
here.
- CPD
and FTP = Bad Practice (or, "there's
no evidence to support a belief of brokenness")
-by Gretchen Humphries. Women are not broken:
caregivers' ingrained disbelief in women's birthing
abilities, and their subsequent routine manipulation,
is.
- Cephalopelvic
Disproportion (CPD): rare, and massively
over-diagnosed Midwife Gail Hart tells how
women's uteruses need rest in labor, instead
of evermore stimulation to make them work faster.
Women are said to have "CPD" when
in fact they just need rest, food and to be
left alone.
- Is CPD
Real? A study shows that CPD is hard to
define, very rare, and way over-diagnosed.
- Pelvises
I have Known and Loved Gloria Lemay talks
about the beautiful elasticity of women's pelvises;
an talks about births she has attended with
women who would have been sectioned had they
been in OB care.
Dangerous Medical Interventions,
Drugs and Procedures
For articles about Cesarean and Vaginal Birth
after Cesarean, click
here.
Neonatal
Resuscitation: Life that Failed An obstetrician
discusses the sad results of cutting a sick baby's
blood circulation just after birth; the results
could be disastrous, as can resuscitation. Morley
also quotes nineteenth century doctors' wisdom
regarding cutting the cord too soon, such as:
“Another thing very injurious to the child,
is the tying and cutting of the navel string
too soon; which should always be left till the
child has not only repeatedly breathed but till
all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise
the child is much weaker than it ought to be,
a portion of the blood being left in the placenta,
which ought to have been in the child.”
- Erasmus Darwin, Zoonomia, 1801 [24]
Birth- A Labour
of Love A grandmother shares her learning
about birth issues; sometimes writing with great
anger about the cruel and senseless danger of
medicalized birth.
Technology
in Birth: First Do No Harm by Marsden
Wagner, MD- pediatrician, neonatologist, perinatal
epidemiologist, and former Director of Women's
and Children's Health for the World Health Organization.
This could possibly be the most important
article you will ever read about birth. Written
as if speaking to a first-time mom, it tells how
technology such as epidural and cesarean section
kills women, and why doctors are so deadset
against changing their practices. (i.e.- OBs make
well over a quarter million dollars a year.)
For more by Marsden Wagner, MD go to his index
page.
Rape of the Twentieth
Century Site editor Leilah's first six birth
stories, and a crucial discourse abut the dangers
of medicalized childbirth. This is now translated
into Spanish- LA
VIOLACIÓN DE SIGLO XX
Radical BC Birth
Stats Statistics have faces; figures feel
pain. They represent bellies and vaginas, hopes
and dreams gone painfully awry as women endlessly
choose to give birth within the hospital machine.
One's birth determines one's wellbeing later
in life:
Be Born
by the Sword, Die by the Sword
Violent
birth makes one up to 5 times more likly to
commit violent suicide later in life
* * * * *
External Fetal Monitoring
Electronic
Fetal Monitoring- Useless in "Low Risk"
Women
External fetal monitoring (EFM- the straps around
the mom's belly in labor to record contraction
strength and fetal heart rate) has been proven
to be useless in "low risk" women's
births. It actually causes more harm than good.
Says Ros Goddard in the British Medical Journal
(he's the specialist registrar in obstetrics and
gynaecology at the Royal United Hospital) BMJ
2001;322:1436-1437 16 June:
"By the 1990s systematic reviews of randomised
controlled trials of electronic fetal monitoring
versus intermittent auscultation during labour
had shown no effect on neonatal outcomes such
as metabolic acidosis at birth, low Apgar scores
or admissions to neonatal intensive care...Electronic
fetal monitoring did, however, have an effect
on women in labour. Levels of obstetric intervention,
augmentation of labour, epidural anaesthesia,
instrumental delivery, and caesarean section
consistently increased...The impact on the mother
and her experience of labour was therefore considerable,
without any gain for the baby...[in fact] The
intervention rate increased significantly with
no effect on neonatal outcome...So the evidence
is strongly against the routine use of electronic
fetal monitoring."
How indeed can a woman give birth properly when
confined- literally caged in by- monitor straps
and electrodes? And why does the monitoring continue,
despite papers such as this? More selective grasping
of obstetrical fact, one can only assume. View
the paper here-Fetal
Monitoring useless in "low risk" women
* * * * *
Drugs
Induction Drugs
Induced Labor
and Informed Consent in Canada by Gail J.
Dahl. This is the story of how one woman's hospital
birth experience turned her from a real estate
agent into a bestselling author and childbirth
and midwifery activist. A must-read!
Being Seduced
to Induce: What Women Should Know About Their
OBs Included is discussion about how dangerous
cesareans are.
Induction Dangers
References and stories about the dangers of chemically
inducing birth.
The Devil
Cytotec Birth stories, articles, links and
Cytotec research about the ulcer drug used illicitly
by thousands of doctors and midwives to induce
labor- with agonizing, even deadly, results.
Activist news items:
* * * * *
Painkilling Drugs
the epidural catheter
Epidural Damage
"My mom works at a rehabilitation center
for spinal cord and brain injuries. She's had
two older woman patients in the past year with
permanent damage from epidurals during abdominal
surgery. This damage is serious enough that
they needed months of rehab and will never regain
full use of both legs. Six months ago I was
at our local pool talking with a lady who had
limped in, her leg in a brace. She suffered
permanent damage from an epidural administered
for an elective repeat c-section. Her daughter
is two years old and she has never been able
to carry her daughter and walk around because
of the weakness in the leg. Finally, my mother
also had a patient last year who is a parapalegic-
resulting from an epidural administered for
some kind of abdominal surgery.
"I am frustrated that even the better
birth literature downplays the range of dangers
inherent in the use of epidurals, but happy
that you are providing a service to get out
'the real truth' about so-called modern obstetrics
and all its trappings." -Amy
Gow, Fredericton, NB
Epidurals-
Real Risks for Mother and Baby Epidurals cause
so many troubles- and their benefits are misconceived
and transient.
Drugs in
birth make babies more likely to be drug addicted
later in life
Painkillers
may prevent mother-infant bond--study
Birth
drugs 'could prevent bonding'
Russia:
Gas Was Opiate Fentanyl The gas that killed
119 people in a Russian theater was the same drug
that women get in their epidurals, by the minute
all over the world. A Russian health expert says
the people died due to hunger, fear, captivity
and exhaustion- the same sort of condition that
birthing women are so often in. Women, beware!
Links
* * * * *
Episiotomy
For episiotomy birth stories, click
here.
BirthLove Columns by LLM:
- Rips, Snips and
a Promise Doctors are finding that tearing
into women's bellies during c-sections actually
helps promote better healing afterwards. So
why not just tear into vaginas instead of cutting
them open with scissors during episiotomies?
- "I
Killed my Laptop" and "The Future
Will Cry" Revisited Breech babies
get castrated during episiotomies. How can I
not cry...
- There is Only Now to to Give Safe Birth,
There is Only Now to Not Get Cut (view
column here) I saw my first episiotomy photos...
I am distressed that they cause so much pain-
and are overwhelmingly of no value whatsoever.
Rectovaginal
Fistula Question and Answers A mother writes
in for help- does she have a fistula?- all the
symptoms are there. What can she do to help herself?
The
Shame of Mandatory Episiotomies British Independent
Midwife Mary Cronk talks about her days as a NHS
hospital midwife, and the episiotomies she was
ordered to perform by a violent, egomaniacal Consultant.
This includes a brief mention of incidences when
episiotomy might actually be a good idea.
Episiotomy
Scar Question and Answers How can one make
an episiotomy/tear site feel better months or
years after birth?
Why has so much surgery (episiotomy) been
performed on the female genitalia in North America?
Because:
"Healthy young women recover
and heal from this abuse amazingly well.
- It's hard to imagine that a baseball can
get through a keyhole.
- Women are medicated and can't kick the guy
with the scissors in the head.
- All the grandmothers who should be warning
their daughters not to have the surgery are
stoned on tranquilizers or hormone replacement
therapy.
- Women were not taught in high school how
wonderful and stretchy their perineums are.
- Women were not told that "peri"
means around and "neum" means the
temple. In many cultures the perineum is considered
the seat of the soul and would never be desecrated
by scissors.
- We didn't have the video camera until recently
and we didn't know that other women were giving
birth in water tubs and unassisted.
- Women will do anything for their children
and they thought the doctor knew best."
-Gloria Lemay
obstetrical forceps
Episiotomy Links
- Benefits
and risks of episiotomy: A review of
the English-language literature since 1980 by
Robert J. Woolley, MD. 60% of North American
women get a procedure done that can kill them,
and castrate their babies- even though there
is no evidence for its use. Pass this one on
to your doctors... Key points:
- "Episiotomy causes anal sphincter
damage, poor wound healing, infection, pain,
dyspareunia [painful sexual intercourse],
and excessive maternal blood loss. Less
common, but particularly severe consequences
of episiotomy are extreme fear of subsequent
delivery, intractable rectal hemorrhage,
massive vulvar hematoma, necrotizing fasciitis
and myonecrosis (deathly gangrenous infections),
relapsing toxic shock syndrome, brain abscess-
seeded from an infected episiotomy site,
hypersensitivity reactions- including anaphylactic
shock, from latex contact during episiotomy
repair, endometriosis arising in the episiotomy
site, granular cell tumor of the vulva in
the episiotomy scar, clear cell carcinoma
arising in the episiotomy site, and the
episiotomy scar can become a site for metastasis
of carcinomas, particularly of the cervix.
- Episiotomy DOES NOT prevent or relieve
the following in babies: fetal injury, intracranial
hemorrhage, intrapartum asphyxia, fetal
distress, shoulder dystocia. Rare but serious
damage to babies include: castration [in
breech babies], eyelid laceration, methemoglobinemia
[red blood cells being unable to release
oxygen], lidocaine toxicity, increased rate
of vertical transmission of HIV."
- Episiotomy
causes anal incontinence (This is in direct
contrast with 1994
findings that blame instrumental delivery.)
- Obstetric
Myth Versus Research Realities -a well-respected
book by Henci Goer. This page includes her full
chapter on episiotomy.
- 90%
of women in Latin America get episiotomies
Postpartum Issues
Also see Birth
and Postpartum Health
Preventing
postpartum hemorrhage by Gloria Lemay Also:
just how much blood is normal for a woman to pass
before birth.
Postpartum
Depression Linked to Later Violence in Children
Research points to depression in mothers as a
risk factor for later violence (A good reason
to prevent postpartum depression in the first
place by having gentle births. Also see- Born
by the Sword, Die by the Sword.)
Birth Trauma Study Needs
Volunteers
"A group of researchers in England are doing
a study on PTSD following childbirth. They need
women to answer two questions- a)What is the source
of the trauma and b)What could have prevented
the trauma- and be willing to answer some follow-up
questionaires. The answers can be sent to Maureen
Treadwell at www.birthtrauma.org.uk
and click on "email." She said they
especially need to hear from people who have experienced
negetive reactions to medications."
Post-traumatic stress disorder
in women (and men) after birth
Hard
Labour An article from the Guardian validates
what many women have known for years- that their
abusive hospital births cause severe pain and
anxiety, even years later; in their husbands,
too.
PTSD
AND CHILDBIRTH, a new website, from TABS -
Trauma And Birth Stress, NZ.
Homebirth and
Homebirth Safety
Click for articles about:
BirthLove Columns by LLM:
Older Moms
and Homebirth Midwives share their experiences
with women in their forties birthing their babies
at home. This includes birth story links.
Non-hospital
births gaining acceptance A newspaper article
that showcases one mother's homebirth experience,
and the safety of homebirth (with a focus on midwifery).
Commons
committee calls for more choice over home births,
Upasana Tayal BMJ 2003;327 249-0.
Home
vs Hospital Birth: Experience AND Safety A
nurse talks about the dangerous illogic of the
hospital way of birth, and cites several references
in defense of homebirth safety. Note that Molly
had a homebirth herself; her story is linked from
the bottom of the article. Included within:
"I feel that truly natural birth has been
so medicalised that it is no longer recognizable
to most people in today's society...natural
childbirth is not just an endangered species
in hospitals, it is extinct. From the continuous
electronic fetal monitoring, the lithotomy position
for delivery, and the Pitocin spiked IV running
through her veins, any chance that a laboring
woman thought she had to deliver without intervention
is out the window.
"I also taught childbirth classes, and
it was continuously frustrating to me how with
all the techniques I taught, and what I knew
was proven to be the most beneficial, was not
facilitated by the staff at the hospital. What
was more, since the classes I taught were sponsored
by the University, I was explicitly told not
to tell the true dangers of medications used
routinely by laboring women because 'they did
not want them too scared'."
Reclaiming
Every Woman’s Birth Right by Sarah Buckley,
MD. Why haven't women grown more passionate about
defending their inherent rights to give birth
in sanctity and autonomy? And are women even aware
of just how dangerous medicalized birth really
is? Most likely not, or else they wouldn't tolerate
their births to be aggressively managed.
Responses to: "My
husband won't let me have a homebirth!"
-from everyone from mothers to doctors.
Welsh Health
Minister Encourages Home Birth She stresses
that "women with normal pregnancies should
be able to consider consider home as an appropriate
alternative to hospital for giving birth".
Re: "Risk
only natural in natural childbirth" Letters
written to a newspaper regarding an editorial
that basically stated that homebirth is a dangerous,
irresponsible choice compared to hospital birth.
This includes references about the incredible
dangers of hospital birth, and the people who
attend them. Updated 2/11/03 with a new letter
Woman
dies of toxic shock after giving birth to baby
in Vancouver hospital Evermore reason to consider
homebirth.
From
an OB Nurse about Hospital Birth
* * * * *
Homebirth and Homebirth Safety Links
- From the British Medical Journal:
- Outcomes of planned home births versus
planned hospital births after regulation of
midwifery in British Columbia View the full
paper here.
Research in in British Columbia, Canada shows
that women had less episiotomies, cesareans,
and induced and drugged births with regulated
midwives attending.
- American College of Domiciliary Midwives
Comprehensive Review & Critique on the Pang-Benedetti
Study on Home-based Birth click
here Why the new "homebirth is dangerous"
study does not measure up to good science.
- Homebirth
Safety from the College of Midwives -a must-view
resource.
- Safety
of Alternative Approaches to Childbirth
For his doctoral dissertation written at Stanford
University, Peter F. Schlenzka finished an extensive
study of perinatal outcomes in out-of-hospital
and in-hospital births. His findings were incredibly
supportive of homebirth and midwifery. Note
that you can download the entire paper from
this page.
- Home
Birth Is A Safe Alternative by Ingrid Gold.
Excerpted:
- "A research study entitled 'Scientific
Research on Childbirth Alternative' by Lewis
Mehl, M.D. compares 1,046 hospital births with
1,046 homebirths. Couples from each group were
matched couple by couple based on a variety
of factors, including number of previous pregnancies,
maternal age, socio-economic status, educational
background, attendance at childbirth classes
and individual medical risk factores. Differences
between the two groups are striking:
- Fetal distress during labor- 119 cases
in the hospital vs. 20 at home.
- Incidence of newborn resuscitation- 52
in the hospital compared to 14 in the home
group.
- Birth injuries- 30 in the hospital compared
to none in the home group (These were significant
injuries such as fracture of the skull and
paralysis of the facial and trachial nerves,
most were associated with forceps delivery).
- Cesarean Section- 8.2% for the hospital
group vs. 0.4% at home."
- Birthing
The Future by Suzanne Arms. This link
takes you to the site's "birth today"
page; please read EVERY SINGLE link provided
at the bottom of the page to articles within
the site. (link fixed 6/9/02)
- Home
Birth Reference Page Includes considerable
research (that is put in an easily-digested
form) and a "how to talk to your doctor
about homebirth" section.
- For
a Natural Birth, There's No Place Like Home
by Mary Lou Singleton, LM.
- Web
references about the safety of homebirth
- The
Safety of Home Birth References and
abstracts.
-
- Home
Birth and Out-of-Hospital Birth: Is it Safe?
- Gentlebirth.org
- created and maintained by Ronnie Falcao,
licensed homebirth midwife.
See especially Homebirth-
Safety and Benefits
- Raven's
Perch- A Journey to Homebirth This page
includes a fantastic listing of links that prove
homebirth safety.
- Evaluated
Childbirth This contains incredible
research on common birth interventions and much
more; with great links to many sources. Bonni's
main page is also a real treat.
- The
Homebirth Choice- by Jill Cohen and
Marti Dorsey. This page discusses the option
of homebirth as one of the many avenues toward
a successful birth.
- But
What If...? Questions Commonly Asked of Homebirth-ers
-by midwife and homebirth mother Kim Wildner.
Birth Around the World
- Naissance.ws
is the French-language portal to resources on
free and responsible birth and parenting. It
contains links to reference sites, a search
engine, a bibliography, a selection of scientific
articles, testimonies and pamphlets, and an
up-to-date directory of birth-related nonprofit
societies in France.
- Gabi's
Story This birth story, written by a midwife,
details the typical birth in Costa Rica.
- Partos
Vaginales Despues de Cesárea Questions
asked and answered by a midwife in Spanish for
women wanting vaginal births after cesarean.
- Midwives
Rallying to Change Birth in Greece -a Portuguese
newspaper excerpt.
- Why
Do Brazilian Women Get So Many C-Sections?
-written in response to a BMJ paper about how
most c-sections in Brazil are unwanted by women.
- Brazilian
c-sections in the BMJ
- Up to
90% of Brazilian Women get C-Sections From
the Wall Street Journal: "In Brazil,
the death rate among all women who gave birth
by Cesarean in 1998 was five times as high as
for those who delivered vaginally, according
to the health ministry. Babies born by Caesarean
are also more likely to suffer problems such
as respiratory distress syndrome, a major killer
of newborns."
- Most
caesarean sections in Brazil are unwanted
(Note: for more about c-sections in Brazil,
including a BMJ-published letter by LLM,
go here.)
- Up
to 83% of Women in Chile Get C-Sections
- Childbirth
in Hungary
- Childbirth
in Croatia
- Childbirth
in Singapore
- Childbirth
in Belgium
- English
childbirth experiences, and responses -a
mother wants a homebirth but finds challenges.
- The Birth
of Hayleigh Rose, and Midwifery in the Yukon
- Australian
Women at High Risk of Instrumental Delivery
Childbirth Links and Extras
- Gentlebirth.org
-see the Midwives' Archives.
- March
of Dimes -this website includes many important
articles about maintaining optimal pregnancy
health to prevent prematurity and other problems,
as well as important research about infant and
maternal mortality and morbidity (death and
injury) around the world.
- Robbie
Davis-Floyd, PhD Articles about pregnancy
and birth by this renowned cultural anthropologist.
Robbie is the author of:
Birth
As An American Rite of Passage This
page is required reading for anyone considering
a hospital birth
- The
Online Birth Center
- Sheila
Kitzinger.com This site has been featured
as an eBMJ site
of the week.
- A
Burden To Share -a personal account
of the effect of childhood sexual abuse on childbirth,
by Christine.
- The
Pregnancy Centre Learn how to correct and
prevent from a physiotherapists' perspective
some of the long term and hidden problems associated
with pregnancy and childbirth, including pelvic
floor problems, prolapse, incontinence, and
back pain.
- Articles
by Amy Jones A wonderful collection about
pregnancy and birth related topics, ranging
from the beauty of the babymoon, to dealing
with rh-.
- Poorest
women 20 times more likely to die in childbirth
Note that this page includes responses from
childbirth activists.
- Antibiotic-resistant
hospital infections increasing
- Cochrane
Library: Pregnancy and Childbirth Group,
Abstracts of Cochrane Reviews. The Cochrane
Library Issue 1, 2002. Find many interesting
and valuable references here.
- Homebirth.org.uk
- Why Paying
Too Much Attention to Studies is Pointless
"Popular research" is often contradictory
and funded by those who influence the findings.
Never mind it!!
- Forced
Treatment of Pregnant Women A collection
of links that show how "women's rights"
are very tenuous.
- Quilt
for Mothers Who Have Died in Childbirth
- Woman
catches her own baby in the hospital- and is
outraged
- The
first thing LLM wrote, ever, about
childbirth
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