I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Home Birth As Safe As Hospital Birth
A new study is out from the Netherlands that gives us home birthing mothers a nice little pat on the back. Despite the labels of “dangerous” and “unsafe” by some, once again it’s been found to be just as safe as giving birth in a hospital. From the BBC:
The largest study of its kind has found that for low-risk women, giving birth at home is as safe as doing so in hospital with a midwife.
Research from the Netherlands – which has a high rate of home births – found no difference in death rates of either mothers or babies in 530,000 births.
This is great, especially with the recent attacks on home birth, and specifically freebirthing, lately since the unfortunate death of Janet Fraser’s baby. The snarling “I told you so” attitude has been on high all over the internet by people who apparently never heard of babies dying in hospital settings as well. No, if one baby dies at home it’s proof that all home births are dangerous, but the thousands of babies who die in hospitals is just a part of life.
And please, don’t even get me started on the birth rape issue. I don’t care if your c-section was rainbows and glitter, if another woman felt so violated by her’s that rape is how she describes it then you can just shut the hell up. You, and no one else, has the right to tell a woman what her personal experience was and wasn’t.
Studies are showing us, once again, that home birth is safe. Do tragedies sometimes happen? Yes. But you could also suddenly have a stroke this afternoon while driving home, and yet you wouldn’t spend your day in the hospital waiting room just in case. Sometimes people die unexpectedly. Even in a hospital surrounded by all the medical staff and fancy machines available.
Thanks for posting this. Jessica @ Eco Child’s Play also wondered if Fraser’s acts should be considered a crime. I may have to “borrow” the BBC story and also blog about it for ECP.
Next week I’ll be posting an interview (and response to the aforementioned ECP blog) with a fellow blogger and unassisted birther.
Good topic!
Cate\´s last blog post..Chemical-Free Kids, Please?
I’ve had this discussion with several family members on more than one occasion. Yes, things can go wrong at home. Just like they can go wrong anywhere. People die in hospitals, too. It’s sad, but it’s the truth.
Amber\´s last blog post..Egg Marketing Boards
It’s something that is well known and well documented, though not publicly. I think it’s because doctors, like the rest of us, like to make as much money as possible. I can tell you, as being an EMT for over a decade, that giving birth at home is safer than in a moving ambulance.
Thomas\´s last blog post..Abandoned Farm
The tone of the article makes me so sad. They have no sympathy for a poor woman who just lost her baby in a horrible random way.