I probably have one of the strangest hobbies on the planet. I really enjoy birth, especially of the natural variety. I like to read about it, learn new things about it, meet up with my other birth-nut friends and discuss it, and bore my husband with random facts about it.
At this point, I'm certain most of my co-workers think I'm crazy after raving about how great homebirth is (mostly because she told me I was) and how much I wish Pitocin didn't exist. I don't think anyone believes me when I say laboring unmedicated at home with Rowan was actually FUN and significantly less painful compared to my druggy hospital birth with Corbin. I've never been especially good at relating to people (such is the life of a geek-girl) but when this is your passion, it tends to complicate relationships with the outside world even more.
I suppose in the end I don't mind very much as long as it serves a purpose. If I can convince you 'regular' people that having a baby peacefully at home isnt' the strangest thing they've ever heard of, I'll gladly endure the weird looks and constant questioning of my sanity.
So consider yourself warned to expect more on this topic in the future. For now, I will leave you with a few fun facts:
• Home births with a qualified attendant have been shown to be safe for healthy women. Countries with large numbers of home births have less maternal morbidity and mortality than the United States.
• Hospital birth puts women at considerable risk of preventable cesarean surgery.
• Approximately 99 percent of births in the United States take place in hospitals.
• The World Health Report (from the World Health Organization) indicates that the neonatal death rate (death in the first 28 days of life) is greater in the United States than in 35 other countries; the United States is ranked 41st among developed countries.
• No research has ever found hospital births to be safer than home births.
• When attending births outside the hospital, both Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Professional Midwives referred fewer than 1 in 20 mothers for cesarean surgery, while obstetricians performed cesarean surgery on nearly 1 in 5 low-risk mothers in hospitals.
March 5, 2009
2:04 p.m.Report inappropriate content
Too messy. Do you have to keep a mop and bucket handy?
March 6, 2009
12:26 p.m.Report inappropriate content
How do you know it's messy? When was the last birth you witnessed? :P You get some absorbent disposable chux pads at Walmart (exactly like pet pee-pads which you can use if you can't find them) for when your water breaks, and keep an old dish pan handy for the afterbirth. Or if you're smart, you set up a pool with warm water to labor in (it's glorious and better than drugs!) and just toss it all out at once when you empty the pool. It's not unmanageable.