I think it's patently absurd to say that hospital childbirth is affordable in this country.
That doesn't say to me that we need to make homebirth more accessible, though - it means that we need to make hospital childbirth more affordable (free or nearly free, IMO - I don't think anyone should have to worry about being financially crippled simply because of giving birth).
I've had 3 textbook, normal, uncomplicated pregnancies (and 1 that wasn't). All 3 of those pregnancies came with unexpected complications at/after birth. My first would've required a transfer from a home birth even if it hadn't ended in c-section, thanks to immediate hemmorage. I just can't get behind "complications are rare, and often no big deal in normal pregnancies" train of thought.
Complications are probably rare in the grand scheme of things. But of all the complications that do occur how many of them occur in otherwise normal pregnancies? It seems like you don't know you're going to have a complication until you have it. Car accidents are also fairly rare but we still all wear seatbelts because you just never know....
Post by CheeringCharm on May 5, 2016 11:10:42 GMT -5
I'll be honest and admit that I probably wouldn't choose a home birth for myself, though I certainly see the appeal in it for others. I am cautious by nature and would feel overly anxious about it but other women feel differently and they should be free to choose their own path. It's their body and their experience. Childbirth is one of the more momentous stages a woman will pass through and I believe she has the right to choose for herself how she wants to experience it. This is something that reading these boards has really changed my mind on over time. I find it especially compelling that research suggests other countries are able to provide safe conditions for women with uncomplicated pregnancies to do it with a CNM present. We should be able to do the same here.
I think it's patently absurd to say that hospital childbirth is affordable in this country.
That doesn't say to me that we need to make homebirth more accessible, though
That is fair enough but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make it safe and accessible either. It's not an either or situation. We can theoretically make hospital childbirth cheaper and make safe alternatives to hospitals available.
Complications are probably rare in the grand scheme of things. But of all the complications that do occur how many of them occur in otherwise normal pregnancies? It seems like you don't know you're going to have a complication until you have it. Car accidents are also fairly rare but we still all wear seatbelts because you just never know....
Right but that's where medical professionals come in. There is risk in everything and medical professionals, in this case CNMs help us make informed decisions to manage those risks. We're not talking about freebirthing here.
If women should be able to abort at any time and for any reason in consultation with a medical professional, I see no reason why birthing should be any different.
I'll be honest and admit that I probably wouldn't choose a home birth for myself, though I certainly see the appeal in it for others. I am cautious by nature and would feel overly anxious about it but other women feel differently and they should be free to choose their own path. It's their body and their experience. Childbirth is one of the more momentous stages a woman will pass through and I believe she has the right to choose for herself how she wants to experience it. This is something that reading these boards has really changed my mind on over time. I find it especially compelling that research suggests other countries are able to provide safe conditions for women with uncomplicated pregnancies to do it with a CNM present. We should be able to do the same here.
It's not just other countries. But plenty of states in the US provide this. I had my home birth in VA covered by my insurance with a CNM. Why is that ok to provide in VA but not other states is what I don't understand?
I think safe home birth with a CNM should be available for all women in the United States.
I think it's patently absurd to say that hospital childbirth is affordable in this country.
That doesn't say to me that we need to make homebirth more accessible, though
That is fair enough but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make it safe and accessible either. It's not an either or situation. We can theoretically make hospital childbirth cheaper and make safe alternatives to hospitals available.
No, I didn't mean to say it only had to be one or the other. I'm just saying that I don't think the answer to expensive hospital births should be more home births. Every woman should have a hospital birth available to her without a major financial burden. It's horrifying to me to think that women in the United States would think "well, I can't afford to have my baby in the hospital so I guess I'll have to have a home birth.' That is utterly unacceptable.
I feel less adamant about making sure women have unlimited access to home births, but I do think that it can be a relatively safe alternative with the proper structure and regulation.
No, I didn't mean to say it only had to be one or the other. I'm just saying that I don't think the answer to expensive hospital births should be more home births. Every woman should have a hospital birth available to her without a major financial burden. It's horrifying to me to think that women in the United States would think "well, I can't afford to have my baby in the hospital so I guess I'll have to have a home birth.' That is utterly unacceptable.
I feel less adamant about making sure women have unlimited access to home births, but I do think that it can be a relatively safe alternative with the proper structure and regulation.
I'm sorry no. I'm going to need stats here because if this were remotely true, then we'd see far more lesser served populations choosing this option instead of it being primarly white, middle class families mostly of the off the grid, hipster, and/or APing variety.
I've heard cost mentioned as a contributing factor but one low on the totem pole and mostly in defense of the idea that hospitals are so very dangerous and expensive because rich doctors want to get to their tee times.
I have yet to see anyone start their I decided to have a home birth story with "my deductible was high as fuck . . ."
The financial aspect when voiced is usually a moral objection and not a monetary one. "Hospitals cost too much, it shouldn't cost that much to have baby, and doctors make too much to care about you are a person" vs "Ain't nobody got money for that."
No, I didn't mean to say it only had to be one or the other. I'm just saying that I don't think the answer to expensive hospital births should be more home births. Every woman should have a hospital birth available to her without a major financial burden. It's horrifying to me to think that women in the United States would think "well, I can't afford to have my baby in the hospital so I guess I'll have to have a home birth.' That is utterly unacceptable.
I feel less adamant about making sure women have unlimited access to home births, but I do think that it can be a relatively safe alternative with the proper structure and regulation.
I'm sorry no. I'm going to need stats here because if this were remotely true, then we'd see far more lesser served populations choosing this option instead of it being primarly white, middle class families mostly of the off the grid, hipster, and/or APing variety.
I've heard cost mentioned as a contributing factor but one low on the totem pole and mostly in defense of the idea that hospitals are so very dangerous and expensive because rich doctors want to get to their tee times.
I have yet to see anyone start their I decided to have a home birth story with "my deductible was high as fuck . . ."
The financial aspect when voiced is usually a moral objection and not a monetary one. "Hospitals cost too much, it shouldn't cost that much to have baby, and doctors make too much to care about you are a person" vs "Ain't nobody got money for that."
I'm certainly not claiming that this is a primary reason for people having a home birth, but IMO, even one woman making this decision on cost is too much. It just should not be a factor.
And none of this changes the point that childbirth in this country - the safe, hospital birth - is entirely too expensive, ridiculously so. That is mostly a separate issue from home births, although more than one person in this thread has said they are linked for them personally, which is why we're talking about it.
No, I didn't mean to say it only had to be one or the other. I'm just saying that I don't think the answer to expensive hospital births should be more home births. Every woman should have a hospital birth available to her without a major financial burden. It's horrifying to me to think that women in the United States would think "well, I can't afford to have my baby in the hospital so I guess I'll have to have a home birth.' That is utterly unacceptable.
I feel less adamant about making sure women have unlimited access to home births, but I do think that it can be a relatively safe alternative with the proper structure and regulation.
I'm sorry no. I'm going to need stats here because if this were remotely true, then we'd see far more lesser served populations choosing this option instead of it being primarly white, middle class families mostly of the off the grid, hipster, and/or APing variety.
I've heard cost mentioned as a contributing factor but one low on the totem pole and mostly in defense of the idea that hospitals are so very dangerous and expensive because rich doctors want to get to their tee times.
I have yet to see anyone start their I decided to have a home birth story with "my deductible was high as fuck . . ."
The financial aspect when voiced is usually a moral objection and not a monetary one. "Hospitals cost too much, it shouldn't cost that much to have baby, and doctors make too much to care about you are a person" vs "Ain't nobody got money for that."
In religious communities that I know of cost is the number one reason for choosing homebirth. These women aren't doing it because of birth experience. It's because they have a ton of kids, they are one income families, and homebirths are cheaper. Period.
There was a documentary I once watched about homebirth and I'm sleep deprived and can't remember the name. I think it was called Home Delivery. Anyways, they followed a WOC living in a poor part of NYC. She was choosing homebirth because she was a single mom of three kids and had literally no one to watch her kids while she would be in the hospital delivering/recovering. So homebirth wasn't her only option just because of finances, but also because of family circumstances.
Just because the only birth stories you hear are on internet message boards written by hipsters of means doesn't mean there aren't many other kinds of women out there having homebirths. Those women just aren't the type to frequent baby boards and chat rooms.
I've had 3 textbook, normal, uncomplicated pregnancies (and 1 that wasn't). All 3 of those pregnancies came with unexpected complications at/after birth. My first would've required a transfer from a home birth even if it hadn't ended in c-section, thanks to immediate hemmorage. I just can't get behind "complications are rare, and often no big deal in normal pregnancies" train of thought.
are you arguing that because it wouldn't have been favorable in your experience it shouldn't be available at all?
I've had 3 textbook, normal, uncomplicated pregnancies (and 1 that wasn't). All 3 of those pregnancies came with unexpected complications at/after birth. My first would've required a transfer from a home birth even if it hadn't ended in c-section, thanks to immediate hemmorage. I just can't get behind "complications are rare, and often no big deal in normal pregnancies" train of thought.
are you arguing that because it wouldn't have been favorable in your experience it shouldn't be available at all?
I don't care about this debate AT ALL but she says what her argument is right in the post and that's not it. It's the dismissive complications are rare argument people keep making that she disagrees with. She doesn't say anything about it being unavailable because of her own personal experience, just that that as an argument in favor of home birth isn't compelling.
are you arguing that because it wouldn't have been favorable in your experience it shouldn't be available at all?
I don't care about this debate AT ALL but she says what her argument is right in the post and that's not it. It's the dismissive complications are rare argument people keep making that she disagrees with. She doesn't say anything about it being unavailable because of her own personal experience, just that that as an argument in favor of home birth isn't compelling.