Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Home Birth and Midwifery in the News...

There have been several articles in the news lately regarding Birth, Midwives, and Out of Hospital Birth, specifically Home Births.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/cdc-home-births-rise-us/story?id=9998349

http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2010/5/17/alabama-cesarean-rates-by-hospital-2008.html

http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2010/9/13/read-the-subtext-acogs-position-on-home-birth.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/28/home-birth-is-safer-than-hospital-birth.aspx?aid=CD945

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fireport.cnn.com%2Fdocs%2FDOC-478927&h=40f62

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/202532.php

http://www.seattlemidwifery.org/news.html

This year the CDC released a report on births, and they have seen that Homebirths are on the rise.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_11.pdf
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2847775/Staying%20home%20to%20give%20birth%20JMWH.jpd.pdf
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-04-homebirth04_ST_N.htm
http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/assets/big-push-nvsr-release.pdf
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/03/home_births_rise.html
"The number of Alabama families giving birth
out of hospital without regulated maternity care providers is
increasing faster than the national average." In AL the rise was 18% compared to 3-5% nationally.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-10-02/home-births-under-fire-amid-outcry-over-wax-paper/
Jennifer Block wrote an article about a study (a very poorly done study), that said HB is 3 times deadlier than hospital birth... This is part of what she had in her article...
*The medical community calls home births unsafe, but recent large studies comparing home to hospital show why women with uncomplicated pregnancies would choose the former: They are much more likely to avoid the complications of surgery or tearing, they are more likely to breastfeed, and they are happier.

...Meanwhile, rival journal The Lancet took the study at face value, publishing an editorial under the headline “Home Birth—Proceed with Caution,” with a stern warning: “Women have the right to choose how and where to give birth, but they do not have the right to put their baby at risk.”

“That was really offensive,” said Marjorie Greenfield, M.D., a professor of OB/GYN at Case Western Reserve who submitted a letter to The Lancet along with several other physicians. “But you know, I can understand, because there’s such a deep, deep belief that it is unsafe to have a baby at home. I used to believe that! But when you look at the good studies of home birth, there’s no difference in baby outcomes, and probably improved outcomes for mothers.” Still, she added, “most people I work with think it’s self-indulgent and risky.”

Last week here in Alabama we had families from all over the state gather in 7 cities and we Walked for Midwives, in an effort to help bring awareness to the issue, and to garner support. The Alabama Birth Coalition is trying to help get legislation passed to allow and License Certified Professional Midwives.
Here in our fair city... we caused a stir!
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.al.com%2Fbreaking%2F2010%2F09%2Fmidwife_advocates_march_throug.html&h=65d6b

In response to this -
The President of the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote an article
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.al.com%2Fpress-register-commentary%2F2010%2F10%2Fyour_word_lay_midwifery_an_unn.html&h=65d6b

This was then written in response to the article:
*The president of the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics displayed his woeful ignorance of birth, midwifery and the current proposed legislation to provide Alabama women with birth options.
I urge people to learn the facts and then educate him on the topic. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.frazzalicious.com%2F&h=65d6b
This is the official response from the Alabama Birth Coalition to the specific article written by Dr James C. Wiley.
http://blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2010/10/your_word_a_wonderful_option.html
They make sure to explain that ABC is not trying to get licensure for untrained 'lay' midwives, but are seeking recognition and licensure for Highly Trained and skilled Certified Professional Midwives.

Things have certainly been heating up... Now if we can just get the law passed here in Alabama, so many mom's would be so happy, and planning for their births would be so much nicer as well!

1 comment:

Wendyrful said...

another one http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/28/home-birth-is-safer-than-hospital-birth.aspx?aid=CD945