A little frightened here..

[BeLIEve]

The AMA supports the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ official recommendation that “the safest setting for labor, deilvery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and ACOG.” -AMA

I'm having my first baby in August, and my wife and I are having a hard time deciding if we should homebirth after reading this. It's got her and I a little scared.

[MsBlack]

The more you listen to the AMA and ACOG, the more scared you will be. I personally don't much listen to those guys, because they have WAY too much investment, financially and politically, in holding onto their control over birth.

Do more research on homebirth, and seek out your answers from those who know homebirth instead of those who don't!

good luck

[gossamerwindweb]

Doctors would lose their jobs if no one birthed there. Of course the AMA will say that. I respect your decision whatever you choose, but read more about homebirth before taking whatever the AMA says at face value. This goes for any other medical problem you have. Check it out before just believing the doctors or the AMA.

[AutumnAir]

to MDC! It's great that you're both doing your research and considering various options, and this is a great place to get support for whatever you chose.

I would agree with PPs and recommend that you look at a wide range of studies on the safety of homebirth before making up your mind. Almost all the studies out there show that homebirth is as safe (or SAFER) than hospital birth - so you have to wonder on what exactly are the AMA basing their recommendation. It's worthwhile bearing in mind that they are not completely disinterested when it comes to the issue of where a woman gives birth.

If you go into the homebirth forum here you will find a sticky at the top of the page with plenty of references and sources for studies on the safety of homebirth. Good luck making the best decision for your family.

[Beccadoula]

Here are some great resources for you. First, good books...
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer
Gentle Birth Choices, Barbara Harper, RN
Birth, Tina Cassidy

And some of the very best links for information:
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/
http://spinningbabies.com/index.php
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/
http://www.waterbirth.org/mc/page.do

Please, take the time to read these. I think you'll be very glad you did.

[TanyaS]

Read Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities by Henci Goer.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...computerdo-20/

[murphysaangel]

The World Health Organization supports home birth. http://www.who.int/reproductive-heal...2Part1.en.html I'd also recomend The Home Birth Advantage by Meyer Einstein. He's an MD who supports hb and has some great statistics.

[MegBoz]

WELCOME!
Yes, I SO RELATE! It's crazy, isn't it? I started going to OBs & planned to deliver at Johns Hopkins hospital - one of the best in the nation! I considered myself lucky to have access to such high quality medical care. Then I read "Thinking Woman's Guide" & my eyes were opened. I asked a few pointed Qs & found out Hopkins is NOT a good place for a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy to birth, & thankfully I transferred to a practice of hospital-based CNMs who are very natural birth friendly.

Still, it still kinda blows my mind that the quality of care at Hopkins is not only not good, but bad. (senseless, damaging, routine interventions for all births.) It's nuts!

Originally Posted by gentlehandsdoula

First, good books...
....The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer
Please, take the time to read these. I think you'll be very glad you did.

:
In particular, I also recommend starting with "Thinking Woman's Guide." This book clearly communicates how much of what OBs in hospitals do just make things worse ("iatrogenic" doctor-caused problem.) Then of course they believe it's so vital for you to be in a hospital so they can save you from those (iatrogenic) problems.

To really get a picture of politics around birth & WHY the AMA/ACOG are the way they are, I also recommend, "Born in the USA" by Dr. Marsden Wagner. That will really clarify things for you on why AMA/ACOG have that stance in the face of extensive scientific evidence to the contrary.

And finally, I always think it's worth bearing in mind that in The Netherlands, about 30% of all births are home births. Really, it's only the US where HB is viewed as reckless, crazy, & endangering to the baby. I think it's ACOG who are the crazy ones for their stance!

[laohaire]

I can understand having some doubts (though I am an avid supporter of homebirth) - but feel in this case, this isn't a question worth worrying about another second.

Of course doctors recommend that women birth with doctors. But please keep in mind there is conflict of interest in this regard (as well as a geniune preference for medical intervention; doctors would not be doctors if they did not prefer the tools of the trade).

[chandasz]

Remember the AMA is a lobbying organization and these are the two groups who have pushed our c-sections rates to 30+ %.

Birth = BIG money.

AMA is trying to keep that money at home in hospitals.

If you feel safer at home. Stay home. If you feel safer in hospital- go there.

Do your research first. Many great suggestions in this thread. See Business of Being Born and Born in the USA.

[Degas]

You and your wife should watch The Business of Being Born. It's a documentary about birth. The AMA and American College of O & B came out with this statement soon after The Business of Being Born became such a hit. I believe they were afraid of all there business was going to be taken away from them, since this documentary exposes the fact that for a healthy woman and healthy pregnancy, a hospital is *not* the best and safest place to have a birth.

[dylan1984]

Another great site, with some really good information and great objective information/studies:

http://www.childbirthconnection.org

[Romana]

I think it helps to look at other countries where homebirth is supported by the health authority, such as the UK. There are a lot of non-medical (i.e. political, social, economic) reasons why homebirth isn't supported by ACOG or the AMA in the United States.

[cathicog]

I second the previous posters...OB's are surgeons, and as such, are risking a great deal of income for themselves and the hospitals if they are homebirth friendly.It's really a shame, cuz the evidence of safety in normal births is on the side of homebirth and midwives. It is as safe or safer to have the baby at home. Midwives don't usually tinker with the normal process of labor and birth. Read the Homebirth resources sticky, and keep up the good work! Hope you have a wonderful homebirth!

[erin_brycesmom]

Make sure to read the actual evidence and not just the recommendations from groups with vested interests in hospital birth. Ask yourselves, what are you scared of? And examine each thing specifically and not just for homebirth but for all birth settings.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

@@ at ACOG.
Doctors as a rule do not attend homebirths. And they don't like competition. Of course they're going to say this. All evidence is to the contrary.

[BeLIEve]

Wow, thanks for all the welcomes!

My wife and I have been reading up on this topic like crazy for the last 6 weeks.

I'm a Paramedic and she's a teacher at a well known university in the area. I have on several occasions in the field where I had to deliver on the spot, and then transport to the hospital for after care. It's really not as difficult as people think, being such a natural process.

The thing is, I'm kind of a control freak, and I would not feel comfortable being the delivering the baby. I'm always the lead Paramedic on scene (I've been at this for awhile) and feel that resigning that to my wife, or a complete stranger would be almost the same as having it in a hospital setting.

AHHHH Medics make the WORST PATIENTS!!!

With all that being said, is the baby doesn't present properly, I suppose they can transport me to the hospital, which is only minutes away.

Thanks for all the good thoughts and idea's guys. You make me feel very welcome!!!

[dylan1984]

If you get a good midwife, your baby won't be delivered by a complete stranger. My midwife has taken more time to get to know me and my family and our actual personalities than any doctor ever DREAMED of. She is truly like a family member now. Also, if you are a control freak, you are going to have a much better time communicating your wishes to the midwife than the doctor - being a paramedic, you probably have an idea of how flexible doctors are when it comes to "treating" their "patients" (laboring women are not sick patients and do not (typically) need treatment...just support). I am having a HB for that exact reason - to gain back a bit of the control I completely lost with my first (hospital) birth. Best of luck to you both!

[jennyfah]

Originally Posted by dylan1984

If you get a good midwife, your baby won't be delivered by a complete stranger. My midwife has taken more time to get to know me and my family and our actual personalities than any doctor ever DREAMED of. She is truly like a family member now. Also, if you are a control freak, you are going to have a much better time communicating your wishes to the midwife than the doctor - being a paramedic, you probably have an idea of how flexible doctors are when it comes to "treating" their "patients" (laboring women are not sick patients and do not (typically) need treatment...just support). I am having a HB for that exact reason - to gain back a bit of the control I completely lost with my first (hospital) birth. Best of luck to you both!

:

A big yes to all of this!

The average OB appointment is about 7 minutes; the average appointment I had with my homebirth midwife was an hour. One of the best parts of homebirth, IMHO, is complete control over who's there. NO STRANGERS!

(And as a sort-of-funny aside, my first birth was in a hospital, and at one point some random maintenance worker came into my room when I was in labor and changed the curtains. Not to mention the 20-odd strangers who were in and out of the room over the course of 24 hours. . .)

[Materfamilias]

Check out Ina May Gaskin's books too. She has some lovely stories in there written by the women themselves. It shows what a normal process birth is. It's really been hijacked by the medical profession. I second (third? fifth?) reading Henci Goer too. Explore your options. If you decide to change to a midwife you might want to just check with the ones in your area to get an idea of their availability.