Deep thoughts from Amy

WARNING: Infant loss mentioned (in this entry and the link posted). Figured you'd want to know ahead of time.

















Anyways, I read the blog little birdie, little bunny... - it's one of the blogs over there in my blog list. It's written by a mom who had planned a homebirth with her first child, birdie, who unfortunately passed away during labor. She transported during labor, had an emergency cesarean, but her baby had passed away. She just had another child, bunny, in September I believe... he's right around Caroline's age. Anyways, she just posted a couple of posts over the last couple of days which got me thinking, namely this one and this one. As you probably known, I'm a huge proponent of homebirth. Henry and Caroline were both born at home, and I truly believe that in most cases it is a safe option for healthy, low risk pregnant moms. When I first read her post, I wanted to comment, but I know that nothing I say will change her mind about homebirth. And I don't think it should be changed! I'm 99.99999% sure that if one of my children had passed away during labor at home, I'd be having any future children in a hospital. Unfortunately, not all hospitals are like the one she delivered her children in. For many women, it's not only a choice about location, it's a choice about having control. It's a choice about having what the research has shown to be best for baby in most cases - a labor which starts naturally. A labor which is not augmented with pitocin. Freedom to move around. Intermittent versus continuous fetal monitoring. A labor which is not dependent on the clock. Freedom to eat and drink during labor. In some hospitals, you can get all that, but not many hospitals, at least around here. The US has a cesarean rate of over 30%. One in three women have their babies via major abdominal surgery. No one can look me in the eye and tell me that one out of three women honestly cannot have a baby the old fashioned way. If that's so, it's a wonder the human race hasn't fallen off of the face of the planet. Anyways, I digress. It happens when I start talking about pregnancy and childbirth lol. So back to my thoughts about the posts. I kind of agree with her, to a point. I think women need to know ALL of the pros and cons of homebirth before they make a decision to have their baby at home. Usually, everything goes fine. Usually. Sometimes, it doesn't. Usually, when it doesn't go fine, there is a competent, trained midwife, like the midwife who caught Caroline and Henry, who can either deal with the problem, or knows that it is outside her scope and it is time to transport. Sometimes, there isn't. Women need to research their options, and decide what is best for them. For some, it's homebirth. For others, it's a hospital. I think my only problem with her posts is that it sounds like she's saying homebirth is never a safe option. I think what she's actually saying is that she wishes women who chose homebirth realize that things can go horribly, tragically wrong, and she's living proof. And it sounds callous when you face that reality head on and say "I know that babies die, but I'm still going to have mine at home." That sounds like you're cheapening her loss in a way. Like you want the experience more than the result. While I can't speak for everyone in the world who has a homebirth, I can speak for me. I said that. I know that babies die. I still wanted to have mine at home. I wrecked a car, in a big way, and STILL wanted to have my baby at home. When I write it out like that, it sounds really selfish. It wasn't, however. I wanted to have my baby at home because I had done all the research. I'd read everything I could get my hands on about homebirth, and hospital birth, and what could go wrong where. I knew that there was a chance, no matter how small it was, that my baby could die, but that small chance would be present at the hospital as well as home. I chose a midwife who I trust with my life, who is extremely knowledgeable, and who wouldn't hesitate to transport if it was necessary. And in the end, I felt in my heart that having my baby at home would be safer for both of us. And, I was one of the many women who had a safe, uneventful birth at home. I guess I'm lucky because of that. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if something had gone wrong and Caroline wasn't with us, but I think I'd feel that way if I had chosen a hospital birth, too. Anyways, I'm off on a tangent again. Someone said "Birth is as safe as life gets." I believe that, but I also believe that life isn't all that safe all the time. And the same goes for birth. I think I just hope that Birdie's mom understands that women who birth at home aren't doing it to be selfish, and they're not denying the fact that they could be in her shoes. They do it because they believe it's what is best for their baby. After all, isn't that what moms do? What is best for their children? I know I do, no matter how many times I joke about drugging them or duct taping them to the wall! My heart just breaks for Birdie's mom, and I wish no one, her included, would ever have to lose a child. So, if you're thinking about having a homebirth, make sure you do your research. Read her story. Read the statistics. Read about hospitals. Talk to other moms. Talk to midwives. Educate, educate, and educate yourself. And then do whatever it is that you feel is best for your child. And yes, a very pro homebirth mom is saying that! I'm the first to admit that if we all did the same thing the world would be a very boring place lol. And while I wish everyone would have a homebirth, or at the VERY least honestly consider it (I mean beyond the "oh, you can have a baby at home? huh, I didn't know that" consideration), I really think I'm on the same page as Birdie's mom when I say make an educated, informed decision.

And THAT would be Amy's random thoughts for the month. Don't expect another mega long blog post anytime soon!

Ricki Lake on Good Morning America

How Safe Are Home Births?
Watch the video!

I must say, I think I love the OB they interview!

Update: And on Access Hollywood

Speaking of the Business of Being Born and the AMA

I just got this in my email! Seems like Ricki Lake has been scaring the AMA - go figure!

June 18, 2008

Dear BOBB Friends and Supporters:

We wanted to make sure you are all aware of the news story that has exploded over the last 24 hours regarding the recent AMA Resolution against homebirth and Ricki's response to being named in it.

In February of this year, one month after the premiere of BOBB, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reiterated its long-standing opposition to home births. In an obtuse reference to The Business of Being Born, ACOG stated, "Childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what's fashionable, trendy, or the latest cause célèbre." If that wasn't enough, ACOG, this past weekend, introduced a resolution to the American Medical Association (AMA) at their annual meeting. The resolution commits the AMA to "develop model legislation in support of the concept that the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital...". The reasoning for this resolution begins, "Whereas, There has been much attention in the media by celebrities having home deliveries, with recent Today Show headings such as "Ricki Lake takes on baby birthing industry: Actress and former talk show host shares her at-home delivery in new film...". (Resolution 205).

Since when did Ricki become an evidence-based data point? What are they so afraid of?

Just last week, Medical News Today reports that "about 8.2% of infants born in the US in 2005 had low birth weights, the highest percentage since 1968." US infant mortality rates continue to rank us below 30 other countries, 22% of pregnancies are induced, and most worrisome of all, in the last 4 years, the maternal mortality rate has risen above 10 per 100,000 for the first time since 1977. To us, these seem like the troubling trends, not home birth.

News outlets including the AP quickly picked up this story yesterday as it hit TMZ, E! USA Today, Daily News, FOX.

Ricki will be featured on Good Morning America this Saturday discussing the controversy. (If you Google "Ricki Lake, AMA" you will see the bloggers are all over this!)

Filmmakers Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake teamed up with journalist and Pushed author Jennifer Block to pen the response (following at the end of this email) for the Huffington Post.

Late yesterday, the AMA changed the final wording on resolution 205 to omit the mention of Ricki. (Hmmm...) The AMA says that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) drafted the initial statement so any issues should be taken up directly with them.

Stay tuned for more news to come...

The BOBB Team



DOCS TO WOMEN: PAY NO ATTENTION TO RICKI LAKE'S HOME BIRTH

Ladies, the physicians of America have issued their decree: they don't want you having your babies at home with midwives.

We can't imagine why not. Study upon study have shown that planning a home birth with a trained midwife is a great choice if you want to avoid unnecessary medical intervention. Midwives are experts in supporting the physiological birth process: monitoring you and your baby during labor, helping you into positions that help labor progress, protecting your pelvic parts from damage while you push, and "catching" the baby from the position that's most effective and comfortable for you-hands and knees, squatting, even standing-not the position most comfortable for her.

When healthy women are supported this way, 95% give birth vaginally, with hardly any intervention.

And yet, the American Medical Association doesn't see the point. Yesterday it adopted a policy written by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists against "home deliveries" and in support of legislation "that helps ensure safe deliveries and healthy babies by acknowledging that the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital" or accredited birth center.

"There ought to be a law!" cry the doctors.

The trouble is, they have no evidence to back up their safety claims. In fact, the largest and most rigorous study of home birth internationally to date found that among 5,000 healthy, "low-risk" women, babies were born just as safely at home under a midwife's care as in the hospital. And not only that, the study, like many before it, found that the women actually fared better at home, with far fewer interventions like labor induction, cesarean section, and episiotomy (taking scissors to the vagina, a practice that according to the research should be obsolete but is still performed on one-third of women who give birth vaginally).

Which is why the American Public Health Association supports midwife-attended home birth. The British OB/GYNs have read the research, too, and have this to say: "There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications... it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families. There is ample evidence showing that labouring at home increases a woman's likelihood of a birth that is both satisfying and safe"

The other trouble with the American MDs is that they seem to have lost all respect for women's civil rights, indeed for the U.S. Constitution - the right to privacy, to bodily integrity, and the right of every adult to determine her own health care. The "father knows best" legislation they are promoting could indeed be used to criminally prosecute women who choose home birth, say, by equating it with child abuse.

Research evidence be damned, the doctors want to mandate you to go to the hospital. They don't want you to have a choice.

We think they're spooked. The cesarean rate is rising, celebrities are publicizing their home births (the initial wording of the AMA resolution actually took aim at Ricki for publicizing her home birth on the Today Show!), people are reading Pushed and watching The Business of Being Born, and there's a nationwide legislative "push" to license certified professional midwives in all states (The AMA is against that, too, by the way).

The docs are on the defensive.

After all, birth is big business-it's in fact the most common reason for a woman to be admitted to the hospital. And if more women start giving birth outside of it, who will get paid? Not doctors and not hospitals.

"The AMA supports a woman's right to make an informed decision regarding her delivery and to choose her health care provider," the group said in a statement. But if it really supported women's birth choices it wouldn't adopt a policy condemning home birth and midwives.

Because if U.S. women are to have real birth choices, everybody needs to be working together to provide them, not engaging in turf wars at their expense.

By Ricki Lake, Abby Epstein and Jennifer Block for The Huffington Post

The Business of Being Born

I thought I had posted about this, but all I can find is a mention of the screening that the Birth Fund put on back in November. So, I guess I DIDN'T really post about it! Go figure. Anyways. If you're pregnant, thinking about becoming pregnant, have a wife/girlfriend/daughter who is pregnant, you need to watch this movie. It's the documentary by Ricki Lake which just came out on DVD not too long ago. If you're in the area, I know someone you could borrow it from (hint hint). Or, if you are one of the unfortunate people who do not have a Mac, you can watch it on demand or whatever they call it on Netflix. Or add it to your Netflix queue. Anyways, my point is, WATCH IT!!!! It's not just a movie trying to convince people to have their babies at home. It's a movie about the sad state of maternity care in the US. And trust me, it is one sad state.

Father Knows Best Meets Big Brother Is Watching

Father Knows Best Meets Big Brother Is Watching
Physician Group Seeks to Outlaw Home Birth—Is Jail for Moms Next?
To read more...

Just in time for Father’s Day, at its annual meeting last
weekend, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a resolution to introduce legislation
outlawing home birth, and potentially making criminals of the mothers who choose home birth with the
help of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) for their families.

“It’s unclear what penalties the AMA will seek to impose on women who choose to give birth at home,
either for religious, cultural or financial reasons—or just because they didn’t make it to the hospital in
time,” said Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for The Big Push for Midwives 2008 campaign. “What we do
know, however, is that any state that enacts such a law will immediately find itself in court, since a law
dictating where a woman must give birth would be a clear violation of fundamental rights to privacy and
other freedoms currently protected by the U.S. Constitution.”

So, I guess midwifery is sort of like that two steps forward, one step back thing. I have to say, though, it's a bit scary that the AMA feels that it can outlaw homebirth. Aren't they just the American Medical Association? Like, not the lawmakers?!? Start raising my bail money!!!

Birthing women win legal decision

As someone who has her babies with a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife), I am very excited about this!
Birthing women win legal decision

Diane Goslin, 50, had been under a cease-and-desist order from the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine, which had charged her with practicing medicine and midwifery without a license.

But the Commonwealth Court panel, in a 5-2 decision, nixed that order yesterday.

"I am very excited," Goslin, from New Providence, said shortly after she learned of the decision. "This is such an encouraging day of victory for women and families."

The state had charged Goslin because she is not a nurse-midwife, that is, someone with a nursing degree who specializes in childbirth. State officials have argued that in Pennsylvania, a woman must be a nurse-midwife to practice midwifery.

Goslin is not a nurse-midwife. She is a certified professional midwife, having obtained certification through the North American Registry of Midwives 12 years ago. Twenty-two states, including New Jersey, recognize the certification in their licensing and regulatory requirements.

Rising Moon Midwifery Birth Scholarship Consignment Sale

Rising Moon Midwifery believes that all women, regardless of income status, should have access to homebirth. Until PA allows CPMs to bill all insurance companies, including Medicaid, we are developing this fund to help make that access possible. If you have other ideas for fundraisers, please let us know! Directors of the Birth Scholarship fund are Nicole Schwartz: ndilliplane@gmail.com, and Amy Borrelli: amy@journeybirthservices.com.

Rising Moon Birth Scholarship Consignment Sale
Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th 9am-6pm
(1/2 price Sunday afternoon!)
Presale Friday afternoon, October 5th 1pm-6pm

Location: 104 Leonards Lane, Phoenixville, PA

Clean out your closets and turn clutter into cash!!!
Do you have baby clothes, furniture, and toys piled up in your garage? How would you like to get rid of it and turn it into cash? Just bring your new or gently used items to us and we’ll do the work for you. All you do is sort and tag your items, drop them off at our designated locations, and wait for your check in the mail!
*Anyone can be a consignor, just register for a number.
*Consignors are invited to our Presale, where you get to shop the pick of the sale items before we open to the public!
*You must submit at least 20 items or a total value of $75 (this could be just 1 or 2 big items!) to shop at the presale.
*You get to set the prices.
*You make 70% of your sales.
*Checks are mailed within 2 weeks.
*There is a $5 participation fee which is deducted from your final check, so there’s nothing to pay up front (or get it waived, see Incentive below!).
*If you don’t have $5 worth of sales, there’s no charge.
*Unsold items can be picked up at the end of the sale or donated.



EXTRA INCENTIVE - Want to have that $5 participation fee waived?
Have your friends sign up too! When 2 new consignors reference your name during registration (and show up with items to sell), your consignor fee will be waived. Get out there and spread the word.
Another way to get your fee waived is to volunteer to work during the sale (setup to teardown). We'll waive the fee for ALL workers, plus you get to shop even earlier than consignors!

To register for a consignor's number, call Amy Borrelli at (610)765-1252 or email her at amy@journeybirthservices.com.

Don't want to be bothered with the tagging and sorting? Feel free to donate your items so that all of the proceeds of their sale will go to the Birth Scholarship Fund, and we'll tag and sort for you! Call or email Amy for more information!
Don't want to sell, but interesting in supporting? Come to the sale, or make a donation. To make a financial donation please contact either of the Birth Scholarship Directors.