Homebirth in the news...

[lwuertz]

Instead of posting an individual posting for each article that inspires or riles us up, I thought I would start a thread where we can post links to news reports about homebirth.

Feel free to post others that you come across and discuss what you think about them. I'll start things off with a few I've found over the past few weeks:

Christian Science Monitor: Laboring to save homebirths

Chicago Tribune: Homebirth, should it be illegal?

Journal Sentinal: Don’t stymie choice of home childbirth

St. Petersburg Times: A bundle of debate over giving birth at home

[ferretbees]

Thanks for posting the links lwuertz!

The article in the Christian Science Monitor is close to my heart, as I live in Berks County, PA. Every homebirther or homebirther-to-be followed Diane Goslin's trial with trepidation. We thought our choice for future homebirths would evaporate.

[*MamaJen*]

Good idea on the macro thread. I've been seeing a lot of news coverage on homebirth. Some of it is a response to the Acog/Ricki Lake smackdown , but I think the news coverage is great in general because it serves to normalize homebirth.

[lwuertz]

Yeah I think coverage in general is great because it gets the word out there. I'm trying to use some of my local news connections (I used to be a journalist) to get coverage done here. I've almost got one of my producer friends sold on doing a story about the debate.

[Snow~Pea]

There was an article in The Detroit News yesterday about homebirth in MI. The article was disappointing, but there have been some great comments posted from local supporters of homebirth.

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by Snow~Pea

There was an article in The Detroit News yesterday about homebirth in MI. The article was disappointing, but there have been some great comments posted from local supporters of homebirth.

I read this too! I couldn't really get if it was for or against homebirth, or just neutral.

[lwuertz]

Originally Posted by belchers1

I read this too! I couldn't really get if it was for or against homebirth, or just neutral.

Well most *good* journalists try not to take a stance either way. I read the article and it seemed like they were trying to present both sides, but I felt like the ACOG friendly stats/evidence had a bigger impact than the personal/profile stories from either side. I would have liked to see stats and info presented from home birth friendly countries/organizations for the article to have been more balanced.

[belchers1]

Originally Posted by lwuertz

Well most *good* journalists try not to take a stance either way. I read the article and it seemed like they were trying to present both sides, but I felt like the ACOG friendly stats/evidence had a bigger impact than the personal/profile stories from either side. I would have liked to see stats and info presented from home birth friendly countries/organizations for the article to have been more balanced.

I agreee!

[lwuertz]

Here's a few more I found:

Baltimore City Paper: Home made, inside Baltimore's home-birth underground

Reproductive Health: Who's catching your baby?

Cumberland Times-News: Area parents benefit from help of doulas, midwives

WXII 12: Home birth advocates push for change in law

Riverfront Times: Certified professional midwife, coming to a yellow pages directory near you

Ha'aretz, Israel: Why are hospitals opposed to women giving birth at home?

[lwuertz]

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Special delivery - Giving birth at home

PolitickerMD.com: Dr. Mike Hargadon Supports a Woman's Right to Choose Home Birth

[papschmitty]

Subbing now so I remember to come back and read all of the links. Great thread!

[*MamaJen*]

I periodically do a google news search on homebirth and it's been pretty dry lately. It's mostly British or Australian news stories, where homebirth is more normal, and it isn't the main element in the story.
When I was researching my homebirth last year, there was this crop of stories out of the UK about an NHS shortage of midwives, and people were all enraged that there weren't enough midwives to guarantee a free homebirth to everyone who wanted one.

[lwuertz]

Originally Posted by *MamaJen*

I periodically do a google news search on homebirth and it's been pretty dry lately. It's mostly British or Australian news stories, where homebirth is more normal, and it isn't the main element in the story.

Yeah that's how I'm finding these stories. Sometimes I've noticed with Google news that stories continue to surface on the first page because they have been updated (probably to correct something like a typo) since their original post date. So I usually go through a couple pages at least to make sure I didn't miss anything. The other thing is that Google doesn't seem to have everything. I can sometimes go to other news sources that I check periodically, do a search and come up with something they'd ran recently that Google didn't pick up for whatever reason.

[momto4kids]

:

[lwuertz]

The Daily Reflector: Play highlights child-bearing choices in America

Northwest Arkansas Times: Ozark Profile - Creel intertwines her life with process of birth

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Trial to begin in midwife fatality case

East Valley Tribune: Labor Day play delivers childbirth issues

Minnesota Women's Press: Giving birth to a gentler world

Ecorazzi: Laila Ali is expecting to be a green mom and asking for help

[shanahan]

from our local paper this week:

http://pioneerlocal.com/1151844,on-h...108-s1.article

its actually very supportive of hb, and calls the ACOG's "judgement" into question.... It also brings up the limited options in Illinois


Also, check out on that site the "related stories" called "just asking" - this was a side bar in the main article that says that the ACOG didn't return the writer's call, but if they had, here were the questions that would have been asked - they are pretty good....

[lwuertz]

Originally Posted by shanahan

from our local paper this week:

http://pioneerlocal.com/1151844,on-h...108-s1.article

its actually very supportive of hb, and calls the ACOG's "judgement" into question.... It also brings up the limited options in Illinois


Also, check out on that site the "related stories" called "just asking" - this was a side bar in the main article that says that the ACOG didn't return the writer's call, but if they had, here were the questions that would have been asked - they are pretty good....

OK, if I were having my baby in a hospital I want that obstetric nurse in the first vignette as my nurse!

[lwuertz]

Star News Group: Water baby

The Sydney Morning Herald: Home-birth baby dies

The Age: Women 'deprived of choice'

San Antonio Current: Midwived Texans cast into citizenship ‘black hole’

KXRM: More women turn back to the idea of home birth

WAFB: Family delivers baby at home during Hurricane Gustav

The Age: Doctors attack midwives proposal

[*MamaJen*]

I like this story from the UK-based Daily Telegraph: Home Births still rare despite government pledge.
The article treats home births as a totally normal, desirable event but notes that inadequate government staffing means that some women who want homebirths can't get them. You'd expect to hear a similar tone in an American news story about, like, a city bus line that wasn't offering enough routes to meet the needs of commuters.

"The Government has promised that by next year, all women in England should be given the option of where to have their baby. However, a shortage of midwives often means that women are not offered a home birth, or have it cancelled at the last minute and are forced to go into hospital. "

[lwuertz]

Traverse City Record-Eagle: Midwives Push On - Conference, film festival focus on birth, families

Natural News.com: The Medical Establishment’s Ridiculous Opposition to Home-Births