Maternal Death Rate Triples??? Mamas, the Buck Stops With You

I'm a homebirther.  When I tell people I have my babies at home, most people say something to the effect of "Wow, you're brave."  That always strikes me as an odd thing to say.  It doesn't take bravery to have your baby at home.  Homebirth is gentle, and wonderful, and luxurious.  Giving birth in a hospital? Now THAT takes some serious bravery.

Your typical hospital birth (and no, I'm not referring to my many very-informed friends who have had successful, non-interventionist hospital births) seems to me like signing up voluntarily for some special brand of torture.  You get needles poked in you, you get tied to the bed by an IV line, you get something strapped to your belly, you get toxic drugs pumped into your body, you are poked in your nether regions by people you don't know.  Hell, your unborn baby even gets to partake in the experience, slurping up second-hand the drug cocktail you're enjoying, and perhaps even getting an electrode screwed into his scalp.

The crazy thing about this torture chamber? Everyone thinks it's safe!!  I mean, I can't count the number of people who've told me they considered homebirth, but went for a hospital birth just to ensure they were safe in an emergency.

Guess what folks? Hospital birth -  NOT so SAFE.  (no surprise to me).  Today, the San Francisco Chronicle published a shocking front page article indicating that the mortality rate of California women who die from causes directly related to pregnancy has nearly tripled in the past decade.  The mortality rate is now higher than in countries like Kuwait or Bosnia.  Why?  In large part, induction of labor.  And its first cousin, C-sections. 

Women routinely allow doctors to "induce" their babies out of them before the baby is ready to be born, and that causes all sorts of complications - starting with the heavy use of drugs during labor, proceeding to C-sections when the baby reacts badly to the drugs, and sometimes, tragically, ending in maternal death. 

Mamas - the buck stops with you.

Protect yourself - and your child - from these dangers.  Don't let (or for god sakes ask that) your baby be forced out of your womb.  Let your baby come when your baby is damn well ready to be born.  You're going to have to research like hell to do this - because your doctor is going to be really convincing about why it needs to be done.  If you're well researched, you will feel confident in the face of fear tactics.

And frankly, if you really want to protect yourself and your unborn child (and have a much better birth experience), stay the hell out of the hospital.*


* Canadian Medical Association Journal - "Planned home birth attended by a registered midwife was associated with very low and comparable rates of perinatal death and reduced rates of obstetric interventions and other adverse perinatal outcomes compared with planned hospital birth attended by a midwife or physician." CMAJ. 2009 Sep 15;181(6-7):377-83. Epub 2009 Aug 31.

* British Medical Association Journal - "Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States." BMJ  2005;330:1416 (18 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1416