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Thanks so much for having this discussion.  I know it is a polarizing topic in many circles.  We lived in a community where homebirth with lay midwives is the norm.  However, due to a history of major post-partum hemorrhage, my husband and I agreed that homebirth was not a good option for our third child.  We chose not to use the OBs in our coastal community, nor the local hospital, since they had a very high C-section rate and I had been warned by several nurses in the area to go elsewhere.  We drove more than an hour up the coast to find a midwife with hospital privileges.

I gave birth to my first child in Missouri, where midwifery is illegal.  My child and I had a horrendous experience, were manhandled and endured every intervention (and the resulting complications) one can have and still have a vaginal delivery.  I gave birth to my second child at Southwest WA Med Center with Pacific Midwifery (a wonderful practice, btw).  I was shocked when my nurse told me that it was the first natural childbirth she had ever attended!!

My third child was born at Samaritan North Hospital in Lincoln City, with the only practicing hospital midwife in north Lincoln County - JoAnne Kort, CNM.  She was amazing, and I had a 10 1/2 lb baby boy with no complications, no interventions.  Careful monitoring and medications after birth insured no repeat of the hemmorhage, despite the large size of my son.  I felt I had the best of both worlds - the safety net of the hospital, and the ability to birth my child naturally, with my wishes and needs respected.

Anyway, the point I am trying to articulate is that while homebirth is a safe, viable option for many women, there needs to be a greater range of choices than homebirth with a DEM or lay midwife vs.  intervention-filled hospital birth with an OB (who, as JPoundstone mentioned, is a surgical specialist, not a specialist is normal childbirth).  For those of us who cannot choose a homebirth (because of insurance, medical conditions, etc), the option of a safe, natural, unmedicated vaginal delivery in a hospital attended by a CNM should be made available.

Thanks again for discussing this topic!

posted 3 years ago
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