"Extreme Birth" article in New York magazine

[D'sMama]

http://nymag.com/news/features/55500/

1. Homebirth is hardly "extreme". Come on. Even HBAC, twin, breech - atypical, and more risky, but not exactly extreme, IMO.
2. I wasn't aware there was a "homebirth movement". Is there? Really? I thought there's always been women homebirthing and fighting for the right to have homebirths and it's just that the BoBB has brought it to more people's awareness (like the article's author) via mainstream media, hence the obnoxious idea that homebirth is just a trend.
3. I'm not sure his wife's own personal experience with Cara should be the basis for an entire article that kind of calls her a reckless renegade. It strikes me as a little unethical, journalistically. JMO. (And I did not use Cara for my homebirth; never met her).

I have mixed feelings about the whole article.

What do you think?

[yamilee21]

I think ACOG and AMA have super-long tentacles which is why all these anti-homebirth articles keep appearing.

Cara Mulhahn is in a tough position because BoBB has in a way made her the face of modern urban midwifery, so it isn't surprising that negative things will appear about her. I have met her, know a number of people who worked with her, and don't think she is doing anything radically different than what the other NYC metro-area homebirth midwives are doing; she just happens to have gotten into the public eye because of BoBB. Some of the other midwives are much more discreet and low-profile, that's all.

There were some errors in the article - only 9 homebirth midwives in NYC? I counted 11 off the top of my head, not including the ones in the surrounding counties that also attend NYC births. The movie only shows homebirths or very medicalized hospital births, and those are the only two options? What about the in-hospital midwife attended birth in BoBB? What about the birth centers in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and the midwives who attend births only in hospitals? Overall, the article read like a sensationalist expose.

[Full Heart]

I think one can argue the difference between "going in to fashion" and plain ole' education. More people were exposed to hb, that doesn't mean its a trend. It can be, sure why not. There could be some people who are doing it because of that. I hardly doubt most women WANT to go through natural childbirth at home just to be part of a trend though . Its like they are down playing the education as a trend. What women are learning, its just a silly trend. :

[peainthepod]

Just speaking anecdotally, I think it's very possible that homebirth is becoming a trend (in the sense that more women are considering it as an option, not that it's becoming a "cool" thing to do).

I know several pregnant women through various classes and social connections and I'd say about half of them are planning homebirths in their NYC apartments. Whether this is a regional thing or not, I can't say, but I do agree with yamilee21 that AMCOG is behind this new wave of anti-homebirth articles. They don't like competition.

I like to think that women who are educated enough about homebirth to think of it as a real option won't take the article seriously, but of course this gives new fodder to people who irrationally oppose homebirth, so it's putting just that much more pressure on pregnant women to submit to hospitalization unnecessarily... :

In any case, I dislike reading tabloids disguised as journalism, so I just canceled my subscription to New York, effective immediately, and cited Andrew Goldman's article as the reason. If I want to be told I'm "extreme" about birth and childcare, I don't need to pay for it. Going to the park and striking up a conversation with other mothers will usually suffice.

[Belle]

I chock it up to ACOG encouraging bad press about anyone associated with BOBB.

“It was a feeling of, ‘Oh my God. Here are people in their white lab coats who know what they’re doing, and there’s equipment and medicine here.’ Then I looked over at Cara with her crazy hair and ragtag clothes and I said to myself, ‘What was I thinking?

Of course the midwife who had been up for 86 hours looked a bit more harried than the "professionals" in their lab coats.

[zoebird]

i also think that there IS a movement. there's been a movement since the 70s at least in regards to homebirth.

there are protests and rallies to support homebirth, to keep it legal, etc. there are organizations that actively promote homebirth to the public, etc etc. it's definitely a movement with momentum.

but, it's a grass roots movement that is fighting about 100 years of power and money, and so it seems small and renegade and what not.

it isn't. it's diverse, though. i'm sure there are renegades (i'm sure i'd be considered one), but there are also very mainstream folks too.

[D'sMama]

Originally Posted by Belle

I chock it up to ACOG encouraging bad press about anyone associated with BOBB. Of course the midwife who had been up for 86 hours looked a bit more harried than the "professionals" in their lab coats.

Ugh. That quote was so obnoxious for so many reasons! Besides, midwives come with equipment and medicine too, just not epidurals or cEFM like you're used to! I just want to ask: If she put on a white lab coat, would that have made you respect her more? So silly.

[Burnindinner]

That is a good point that a "trend" does not necessarily equal "doing it just to be trendy". That's a big difference! I too think new parents are just educating themselves and trying to get away from over-medicalized, highly interventive births. So? Because it's a "new" swing, it's "just trendy" and bad?

I feel for Cara too - she's really in the spotlight. How many off the cuff statements and reactions are going to be taken out of context??

[holyhelianthus]

Here's an even better (sarcasm) spin with even more intelligent (sarcasm) comments.

http://jezebel.com/5182118/popular-e...-home-birthing

[laralee16]

“No one who loses a baby in a hospital says, ‘Oh, I wonder if this would have been better if I’d done it at home?’ ”

Really? I bet you 100 bucks I can find at least one woman.

:

[Burnindinner]

Originally Posted by magstphil

Here's an even better (sarcasm) spin with even more intelligent (sarcasm) comments.

http://jezebel.com/5182118/popular-e...-home-birthing

That author straight cut and pasted the most inflammatory stuff and then added a summary paragraph. Bad reporting, writing, and so much for unbiased!

[Gena 22]

Salon reviewed this article too, and although I thought the New York article was at least mixed, the Salon summary had me seeing red. As you could see if you wade through the comments and find my letter.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/...ves/index.html

The Salon article made homebirthers look like dogmatic zealots out to make all other mothers feel bad, and who ignored the risk because they wanted a flowery, candlelit birth. Like it's HBers pressuring women to do it their way. As if the pressure were even equal to that we get from the medical establishment.

I used to like Salon, and even paid money for it. But I stopped when I saw that editor Joan Walsh was a "friend" of Dr. Amy (most of us know who she is!), and that Dr. Amy is a frequent contributor to Open Salon. So, to see such a irresponsible piece in Salon's Broadsheet, and to see how ignorant many of the comments were did not surprise me, but it does make me really sad.

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by laralee16

Really? I bet you 100 bucks I can find at least one woman.

:

No kidding!

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by laralee16

Really? I bet you 100 bucks I can find at least one woman.

:

Yeah, ME! I didn't lose a baby, but my baby went to the NICU with a 101 degree fever after a nasty, traumatic, painful labor, a vacumn delivery, leaving me with a 2nd degree tear. I wondered a whole hell of a lot if things would have been better at home. Actually, I take that back. I don't wonder. I know

I thought the article was highly biased in every way, and I did not appreciate the tone they used at all. *deep sigh* I know there is more to say but I'm honestly a bit speechless.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by laralee16

Really? I bet you 100 bucks I can find at least one woman.

:

crap... I bet you a dollar I can find a hundred.

Women are starting to think for themselves (GASP!! ) and wonder, "why can't I birth the way I want?"

for some that may be in a sterile area surrounded by highly trained medical professionals, for some that may be it their own tub supervised by no one but their cat.

[Full Heart]

Originally Posted by peainthepod

Just speaking anecdotally, I think it's very possible that homebirth is becoming a trend (in the sense that more women are considering it as an option, not that it's becoming a "cool" thing to do).

I know several pregnant women through various classes and social connections and I'd say about half of them are planning homebirths in their NYC apartments. Whether this is a regional thing or not, I can't say, but I do agree with yamilee21 that AMCOG is behind this new wave of anti-homebirth articles. They don't like competition.

I like to think that women who are educated enough about homebirth to think of it as a real option won't take the article seriously, but of course this gives new fodder to people who irrationally oppose homebirth, so it's putting just that much more pressure on pregnant women to submit to hospitalization unnecessarily... :

Absolutely there are more women hbing now because of movies like BOOB and Pregnant in America. My mw even commented to me about how she wondered what was going on cause she got super busy. But if trend = in style or vogue then no def not. I think if someone hears that its just a trend and not something that actually has merit they are more likely to dismiss it.

Funny how 100 years ago the norm was birth at home and the Trend was to birth at the hospital. And in that sense it was def in vogue and in style to birth at the hospital.

[AmieV]

This was super upsetting:
"Muhlhahn calls St. Vincent’s her “backup hospital.” About 10 percent of her patients end up transferring there during labor. But her relationship with the hospital is not exactly formal. “St. Vincent’s is her dump,” says one former obstetrics resident who’s treated Muhlhahn’s transfers. “She could say any hospital is her backup, because no hospital is ever going to deny a woman care. She’d bring her patients in, holding their hands, find out we were going to have to do a section, and then she’s out the door. To me, that’s a dump.” Other doctors on the floor have referred to her transferred patients as “train wrecks.” "

Ok, so are we facing the same issue of the NYT article that accused the doula of "leaving" when her client got an epidural, when the truth revealed that she was actually not allowed in the room during the procedure? Not all of our area hospitals will allow anyone but the husband in the OR for a cesarean. So what does "out the door" really mean? If she's truly abandoning clients that's one thing, but if the hospital doesn't allow her in for the surgery or recovery (as the one where I work wouldn't) what is she supposed to do?

Referring to her transfers as "train wrecks?" I'm sure they do, because their idea of a train wreck is so narrow. I'm positive the staff was looking at us like we were nuts when we showed up at the hospital with a 42+ weeker because you're lucky to even make it to your due date with traditional care. That doesn't mean we did anything dangerous, and the complications I had really had nothing much to do with my baby being overdue. They assume because they've never seen it or been taught a certain way that something is a train wreck because it's different than what they would have done, plain and simple. We had a ped look at our baby and say with total judgment and disgust in his voice "because she's CLEARLY been overcooked." And yeah...she was, but she was still perfect and healthy. It's the doctors that are ignorant, not the midwives.

It's also ridiculous that they chose a shoulder dystocia to crack on her about. I can think of 2 people off the top of my head who had injured babies with SD in the hospital. Shoulder dystocia sucks, no doubt, but there's nothing different that can be done in the hospital, in fact, I'd rather have an experienced m/w dealing with a SD than just about any OB, AND, it's totally not even all that related to size of baby from what I have read. Just proportions.

I'm also really sick and tired of these articles showing up that seem to imply that "see, here's how the birth went down and why it would have been scary at home" or that no cEFM=no monitoring. You're not telling me that a HB midwife wouldn't have noticed the decels his baby was having and dealt with it appropriately, including a hospital transfer.

I knew I shouldn't have read that. GREAT picture on the first page though.

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by AmieV

This was super upsetting:
"Muhlhahn calls St. Vincent’s her “backup hospital.” About 10 percent of her patients end up transferring there during labor. But her relationship with the hospital is not exactly formal. “St. Vincent’s is her dump,” says one former obstetrics resident who’s treated Muhlhahn’s transfers. “She could say any hospital is her backup, because no hospital is ever going to deny a woman care. She’d bring her patients in, holding their hands, find out we were going to have to do a section, and then she’s out the door. To me, that’s a dump.” Other doctors on the floor have referred to her transferred patients as “train wrecks.” "

Ok, so are we facing the same issue of the NYT article that accused the doula of "leaving" when her client got an epidural, when the truth revealed that she was actually not allowed in the room during the procedure? Not all of our area hospitals will allow anyone but the husband in the OR for a cesarean. So what does "out the door" really mean? If she's truly abandoning clients that's one thing, but if the hospital doesn't allow her in for the surgery or recovery (as the one where I work wouldn't) what is she supposed to do?

Referring to her transfers as "train wrecks?" I'm sure they do, because their idea of a train wreck is so narrow. I'm positive the staff was looking at us like we were nuts when we showed up at the hospital with a 42+ weeker because you're lucky to even make it to your due date with traditional care. That doesn't mean we did anything dangerous, and the complications I had really had nothing much to do with my baby being overdue. They assume because they've never seen it or been taught a certain way that something is a train wreck because it's different than what they would have done, plain and simple. We had a ped look at our baby and say with total judgment and disgust in his voice "because she's CLEARLY been overcooked." And yeah...she was, but she was still perfect and healthy. It's the doctors that are ignorant, not the midwives.

It's also ridiculous that they chose a shoulder dystocia to crack on her about. I can think of 2 people off the top of my head who had injured babies with SD in the hospital. Shoulder dystocia sucks, no doubt, but there's nothing different that can be done in the hospital, in fact, I'd rather have an experienced m/w dealing with a SD than just about any OB, AND, it's totally not even all that related to size of baby from what I have read. Just proportions.

I'm also really sick and tired of these articles showing up that seem to imply that "see, here's how the birth went down and why it would have been scary at home" or that no cEFM=no monitoring. You're not telling me that a HB midwife wouldn't have noticed the decels his baby was having and dealt with it appropriately, including a hospital transfer.

I knew I shouldn't have read that. GREAT picture on the first page though.

You said everything I was thinking but couldn't quite formulate into words.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by rachel616

Ugh. That quote was so obnoxious for so many reasons! Besides, midwives come with equipment and medicine too, just not epidurals or cEFM like you're used to! I just want to ask: If she put on a white lab coat, would that have made you respect her more? So silly.

That occurred to me, too. I mean, that would make the white-coated "make-up artist" employee at the Clinique counter more qualified than my midwife . . .

[moderngal]

I do feel for Cara. It must be hard to be "the face" of HB after the BoBB when she previously was just another mw doing her best to give women the birth they want.
And I like her no-nonsense attitude- reminds me of my own mw.