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The most traumatic day of my life was when I gave birth to my son at a hospital.  No one explained (or even mentioned) the risks associated with pitocin, episiotomy, or manged third stage.  I received all three and developed complications with them all.  The nurses had the pitocin at a higher dose than my doctor had prescribed which caused my uterus to become exhausted and unable to clamp down after the birth.  I was loosing too much blood from my episiotomy, and while my doctor was trying to rush the delivery of my placenta, my exhausted uterus would not clamp down and I hemmorrhaged.  I was unconscious for the better part of a day and unable to hold, nurse, or bond with my son.

    Was I going to go through that again?  No way in hell.  When I was pregnant with my daughter I found a midwife and eight months later gave birth to her in a kiddie pool in my own house.  My midwife was very experienced, very competent, and (gasp!) uncertified.  I had an amazing, healing experience supported by two women who had gotten to know me and care about me as a person, not a patient.  Although my second labor was longer (17 hrs as opposed to 5 hrs) than my first, I was able to walk around, eat and drink to keep my strength up (what a concept!) and (gasp again!) use the toilet!  I felt safe and calm, loved and cared for.  

    I am now pregnant again, due in December and you can guarantee I'll be taking my "chances" at home again!

posted 3 years ago
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That being said, I personally believe that while it may be possible, it is highly unlikely to have a natural birth in a hospital.  Hospital protocols make that almost impossible.

   My sister lived in Chicago and had a very low-risk, uncomplicated pregancy until a few weeks before she was due.  She was found to have group B strep (a very common bacteria which can in rare cases cause respiratory problems in the newborn).  She had been planning a natural birth with a midwife at the hospital and she wanted no interventions.

   When she arrived at the hospital in labor, they immediately started her on IV antibiotics.  Because of the IV, the nurses would not let her walk around, not even to use the bathroom!  If they saw her walking around they would literally grab her by the arm and lead her back to the bed.  My sister was still coping with her contractions without medication so she did not have the concentration to argue with them.  As a result of not being able to empty her bladder, it became distended and her baby couldn't decend all the way. 

    After pushing for three and a half hours, the midwife called a doctor in to assist with a vaccume.  Her recovery was horrendous and her bonding time was greatly inhibited by pain.  She refers to her daughter's birthday as the most traumatic day of her life. 

posted 3 years ago
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    There have been many studies that show home birth for low-risk pregnant women to be just as safe as (if not safer than) hospital birth. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7998417.stm

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/midwife-home-birth-as-safe-as-hospital-says-study-20090416-a8wu.html

    The ideal scenario is for low-risk pregnancies to be with a midwife either at home or at a free standing birth center and for high-risk pregnancies to be with an OB.  This is the way it is done in many other developed countries and it is obviously working well due to the fact that their infant and maternal mortality rates are much lower than the United States.

http://show.mappingworlds.com/world/?subject=MORTALITYMATERNAL

    There are also studies that would suggest that hospital protocols and interventions endager pregnant women.  One of these interventions is the Cesarian Section which has a recomended rate by the World Health Organization at 15%.  The United States has a C-section rate at over twice that and climbing.  Complications arising from a C-section is the number one cause of maternal death.  A low-risk pregnant woman is many times more likely to end up with an unnecessary C-section if she gives birth at a hospital.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/80743.php

   At the hospital, a low-risk pregnant woman is also more likely to be injured from episiotomy, forceps, vaccume, even epidurals can cause lifelong back pain and headaches. 

posted 3 years ago
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