"This isn't a fringe feminist issue. This is a human rights issue. This is an issue for humanity."

[primroseburrows]

Comments

[takieya.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea that they were doing this in Australia... it's very disappointing. No one has the right to make home birthing illegal. :/

[mark356.livejournal.com]

That looks like a pretty cool documentary. Shame about making home birth illegal, though-- that's ridiculous.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Ok. I agree, this is not something that should be dictated by a government. I'm absolutely on the same page here.

And, I don't mean to be antagonist, I really don't. But, from the perspective of a Blood Banker, (which I am) who's been at work and scrambling to get blood set up when more women than I can count (in my career) have gone into DIC, what does one do when this happens?

I mean, for me, just for my peace of mind, I'm assuming that all of these women don't have pre-existing conditions (like breech babies, or eclampsia, or placenta previa, etc)??? I would hope not.

I'm concerned about the women who start hemorrahging post delivery. What happens to these women? Is there some pre-natal blood work done to ensure that they don't need Rhogam after delivery, or that they don't have antibodies, making finding compatible blood all the more time consuming?

Again, I'm really not trying to be snarky, I really want to know out of concern for them and their loved ones. It just seems that there's alot of info that is not given here, and I realize it can't be done in a 3 min video, so I'm just curious.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

It's bad in the US, but so far there's not anything federal in place (in fact, more states are starting to allow home birth). I haven't followed the whole story, but I'd love to know how something like this craziness even started.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

In developed countries, births taking place at home have outcomes similar to or better than hospital births. Also, countries that routinely use midwives have the lowest maternal and neonatal mortality rates. The US, for all its technology, hasn't lowered its maternal mortality rate since the eighties.

Rhogam is routinely given to Rh-negative women after giving birth to or miscarrying an Rh-positive fetus/infant. And yes, this can be tested (and even given) prenatally, and I would think can be given by midwives at home.

I don't know the stats on DIC, but I do know that it's a rare condition. I would think working at a blood bank would make the numbers seem much higher than they actually are. I'll do a search of stats and see what I can come up with (after Monday when Juliana's mum comes home and I can actually think for more than two minutes during the day).

A complete placenta previa would rule out a vaginal birth, let alone a home birth. For the most part, pre-eclamptic women end up with C-sections as well, or at least inductions. As for breech, I don't think it's necessarily a rule-out for home birth if the midwife is skilled in the dying art of breech birth. But even if the law were to prohibit homebirths for breeches, it would still be better than the across-the-board banning Australia faces now.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Ok, *whewwww*, I feel better now!

Yes, DIC is rare, and in the 25 some odd years of me working in a blood bank, it (LUCKILY), doesn't happen often, but it's scary as hell when it does; the scary part being it happens during or after birth, a lot of times with no pre-indication that it's going to happen. If you don't have the proper equipment there to help women in distress, (and I'm showing my igonorance here by not knowing what goes on at a homebirth), then it's negligence in my opinion. It also would make me feel better knowing that the home birth moms do have some sort of intial testing at a reputable hospital that can handle such a trauma if it were to happen.

Funny, I had a similar discussion with a very strict Catholic LJ friend of mine who was dead set against abortion, and the legalization of it (though she lives in Poland, I'm not sure of the rules there...).

I tried to explain to her that although morally I personally don't agree with it, (and I won't get into the details of why I do agree at times), as a health care worker, it absolutely HAS to be legal. I can not imagine if it weren't legal, what ramifications would be to women. It scares me.

Anyway, long rant, but yeah, ok, I see what you're saying. In healthy women, with properly skilled midwives, there shouldnt' be an issue.

And yeah, who the F*ck are these people to tell women what to do?

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Tests aren't required in RI, but definitely can be done if the woman chooses it. [ETA: since midwife-assisted home birth is "alegal" in RI (a rant for another day), it's kind of a moot point. My daughter had her RI with a midwife from Massachusetts because so far in RI midwives aren't allowed at homebirths]. I'm not sure about other states; patchfire would know more about that than me.

Funny, I had a similar discussion with a very strict Catholic LJ friend of mine who was dead set against abortion, and the legalization of it

It's interesting that when it comes to reproductive rights there's plenty of dialogue about abortion and not a whole lot about childbirth choice. It almost seems that prenatal and birth choices aren't part of what most people think of as reproductive rights, which, um, if they're not what are they? The politics of pregnancy and those birth are seen as separate issues, which I don't get, because it's all a part of the same spectrum.

The different types of midwives in North America are listed here (along with some other stuff that's interesting to us birth geeks *g*). I'm woefully ignorant about certification/professional training in other countries, but I bet Australia is at least on par with the US and Canada as far as training goes.

Anyway, long rant, but yeah, ok, I see what you're saying. In healthy women, with properly skilled midwives, there shouldnt' be an issue.

Exactly. :)