I posted about this already, but wanted to repost it because it’s just such great fodder for comics ;o)

American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists Statement on Homebirths

Washington, DC — The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reiterates its long-standing opposition to home births. While childbirth is a normal physiologic process that most women experience without problems, monitoring of both the woman and the fetus during labor and delivery in a hospital or accredited birthing center is essential because complications can arise with little or no warning even among women with low-risk pregnancies.

ACOG acknowledges a woman’s right to make informed decisions regarding her delivery and to have a choice in choosing her health care provider, but ACOG does not support programs that advocate for, or individuals who provide, home births. Nor does ACOG support the provision of care by midwives who are not certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) or the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB).

Childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what’s fashionable, trendy, or the latest cause célèbre. Despite the rosy picture painted by home birth advocates, a seemingly normal labor and delivery can quickly become life-threatening for both the mother and baby. Attempting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) at home is especially dangerous because if the uterus ruptures during labor, both the mother and baby face an emergency situation with potentially catastrophic consequences, including death. Unless a woman is in a hospital, an accredited freestanding birthing center, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, with physicians ready to intervene quickly if necessary, she puts herself and her baby’s health and life at unnecessary risk.

Advocates cite the high US cesarean rate as one justification for promoting home births. The cesarean delivery rate has concerned ACOG for the past several decades and ACOG remains committed to reducing it, but there is no scientific way to recommend an ‘ideal’ national cesarean rate as a target goal. In 2000, ACOG issued its Task Force Report Evaluation of Cesarean Delivery to assist physicians and institutions in assessing and reducing, if necessary, their cesarean delivery rates. Multiple factors are responsible for the current cesarean rate, but emerging contributors include maternal choice and the rising tide of high-risk pregnancies due to maternal age, overweight, obesity and diabetes.

The availability of an obstetrician-gynecologist to provide expertise and intervention in an emergency during labor and/or delivery may be life-saving for the mother or newborn and lower the likelihood of a bad outcome. ACOG believes that the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets the standards jointly outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers.

It should be emphasized that studies comparing the safety and outcome of births in hospitals with those occurring in other settings in the US are limited and have not been scientifically rigorous. Moreover, lay or other midwives attending to home births are unable to perform live-saving emergency cesarean deliveries and other surgical and medical procedures that would best safeguard the mother and child.

ACOG encourages all pregnant women to get prenatal care and to make a birth plan. The main goal should be a healthy and safe outcome for both mother and baby. Choosing to deliver a baby at home, however, is to place the process of giving birth over the goal of having a healthy baby. For women who choose a midwife to help deliver their baby, it is critical that they choose only ACNM-certified or AMCB-certified midwives that collaborate with a physician to deliver their baby in a hospital, hospital-based birthing center, or properly accredited freestanding birth center.

Now that I’ve reread it, they don’t ’support’ a woman’s right to choice at all, they ‘acknowlege’ it. Making my whole comic sort of nonsensical. So, back to the drawing board! More comics to come!

and my friend Talithat (hi Tawaret!) wrote this…

This just in:

The National Association of Car Washers (NACW) advises all automobile owners that washing a car in one’s own driveway is placing your car at risk. While you may own the car, NACW cannot approve taking cleaning it into your own hands.
We advises all responsible owners of dirty cars to only allow licensed car washers to clean your car and only in licensed car washing facilities. Any other choice is to put both you and the vehicle at greater risk.

hee hee hoooooooo!
Love,
Heather

This Musing is directly related to this Comic Your Choice
This Musing is directly related to this MusingAnti-Homebirth Press Release and Response! And this Comic A Mile Away!

My friend Amy has been telling me about this for some time, and I’ve let it go without mentioning. Yet, it’s sooooooo important. Those of us on the other side of pregnancy, need to pitch in and make our voices heard. I’m posting about it quickly without the usual matching comic, because the vote is tomorrow. I’ll try and come up with a comic later today, I’ve been slogging in the garden all day (dearest superhusband got about 60 plants from work, so we had to get them all in the ground. It’s gorgeous!!!!) AND I was doing a podcast with Tanya of the Motherwear Blog AND finishing up the 2nd draft of the THIRD Hathor book ZINES,SLINGS, and OTHER DO IT YOURSELF THINGS.

anyway, on with the action alert. (a disclaimer, whenever I post about anti-depressants, I always hear from a couple of mothers who feel like anti-depressants saved their life. Okay. Great. Take a deep breath, and realize that this is about the bigger picture, EVERY woman being tested in pregnancy for PPD. The test being HIGHLY subjective. MOST woman being prescribed anti-depressants. And ALL women having no choice in the matter. Being able to take an anti-depressant if you feel like you really need it, is very different from HAVING to take one whether you want to or not).

STOP THE MOTHERS Act - A nationwide screening program for psychiatric disorders which encourages drugs to pregnant and postpartum women
URGENT - VISIT http://uniteforlife.org/MOTHERpress.htm and call the HELP Committee and HELP Committee Chair Senator Edward Kennedy TODAY! 2/13/08 They are looking at this tomorrow, Valentine’s Day. OBAMA is a cosponsor.

To the HELP Committee of the United States Senate:

For years, the March of Dimes has warned not to use meds while pregnant. Why now encourage mothers to take drugs?

Please register this extreme objection to the proposed MOTHERS Act (S. 1375) which is now before you in committee. It is my earnest hope that you will immediately defeat this bill in committee. The bill has been brought to you under the guise of ensuring safety or support for new mothers- however, nothing could be further from the truth.

The bill was originally proposed in response to the death by suicide of Melanie Stokes, a pharmaceutical rep. who took her own life by leaping from a balcony several stories off of the ground. Contrary to popular understanding it was not post-partum depression that killed Melanie, but the numerous antidepressant drugs she was taking, which the FDA confirmed double the suicide risk.

Nobody is suggesting that new moms do not ever experience mood swings, depression, or even psychotic episodes. The more important issue is what the effect of this bill will be and why nobody is addressing potential methods of prevention. Everyone knows how many young moms experience gestational diabetes, but who is addressing the even higher rate of gestational hypoglycemia, which often initially manifests as depression? This is a physical condition that is treated with diet and is exacerbated by antidepressants (which list hypoglycemia as a side effect).

To simply screen women for post-partum mood disorders and ensure that they get “treatment,” we would be setting families up for the expectation of tragedy and increasing the chances of that actually happening when we refer them to medical “professionals” who are oblivious to the negative mind-altering effects of psychiatric drugs. A popular opinion among medical caregivers these days is that “post-partum mood disorders” must be a sign of an underlying biochemical imbalance and would be corrected with drugs.

Current drugs used on post-partum women include SSRIs, atypical antidepressants, and even antipsychotic drugs. These pose a significant risk to the immediate safety and health of women as well as their children and families. SSRIs carry a black box warning for suicide and the most popular one, Effexor (the same med. Andrea Yates was taking when she drowned her 5 children), has the words “homicidal ideation” listed as a side effect. Nearly every recent case of infanticide which has made news can be clearly linked back to a psychiatric drug. These drugs endanger babies and mothers.

Additionally, the drugs can be extremely addictive and also pose a risk to nurslings or babies exposed in subsequent pregnancies. Some babies have died from SIDS linked to exposure from pregnancy or nursing; others have experienced coma, seizures, GI bleeding, heart defects, lung problems, and many babies died before reaching full term or soon after birth.

The bill does not address the fact that studies show that biological agents (antidepressants for example) cited in the bill and already prescribed to pregnant women can cause congenital heart birth defects where children have had to undergo open-heart surgeries to correct this. Also, some babies are being born with organs outside their bodies, requiring immediate surgery.

In closing I want to re-emphasize the total lack of any real answer to post-partum depression posed by this bill. If we can prevent post-partum depression or support moms through it, or offer proven SAFE and EFFECTIVE natural alternatives to dangerous drugs, then we should. However we should never, ever become party to a pharmaceutical campaign to push drugs on the public. We will set ourselves up for disaster if we allow an invasion into the privacy of every family in the country and suggest to our most vulnerable citizens that they might be mentally ill.

We must do everything in our power to protect innocent children, and giving their mothers addictive drugs which pose a significant risk of causing suicide and violence does not protect anyone. It does cause the child to become addicted while still in the womb and sets up drug dependence which can be lifelong.

We still have no idea what effect most drugs have on developing brains. It might take decades for the impact on the developing brain to become apparent.

For information on the research pertaining to the risks of antidepressants and other treatments for new moms and their babies, details about the Melanie Stokes case (or you can read the letter by Dr. Ann Blake Tracy at http://uniteforlife.org/MOTHERSact.htm#drtracymothersact), as well as information on prevention strategies and safe, effective treatments for post-partum mood disorders, please contact us.

Sincerely,

Amy Philo
Founder, www.uniteforlife.org
Co-Founder, www.chaada.org

Camille Milke
Founder, www.copesfoundation.com
New Mexico State Director of the ICFDA (http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html)
Mother of a victim of psychiatric drug-induced suicide and grandmother to a now motherless child

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy
Executive Director of the ICFDA
http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html
Author of Prozac: Pancaea or Pandora? Our Serotonin Nightmare

Addendum

(available online: http://www.uniteforlife.org/MOTHERpress.htm)

Prevention and Alternatives Information from UNITE (www.uniteforlife.org):

I. Danger of drugs
A. Inducing suicide and homicide
http://uniteforlife.org/SSRIs%20and%20Suicide.html
http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html
www.ssristories.com
www.breggin.com
www.healyprozac.com
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/default.htm
http://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/2007/Effexor_XRPromo.pdf
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/04n0330/04N-0330-EC16.html
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/04/slides/2004-4065OPH1_04_Bostock_files/frame.htm#slide0012.htm,

B. Addiction, subsequent pregnancies threatened, nurslings threatened:
http://uniteforlife.org/motherdetails.htm (details on spontaneous abortions and other pregnancy risks)
http://uniteforlife.org/breastfeeding.html
http://uniteforlife.org/antidepressants%20in%20pregnancy%20articles.html
http://uniteforlife.org/developing%20brains.htm
http://uniteforlife.org/health%20risks%20ssris.html
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2005/Paxil_DHCP%20Letter_Dec%202005.pdfhttp://www.fda.gov/medwaTCH/SAFETY/2002/Zoloft_USPI_rev4.pdf (See pages 17-18, Pregnancy paragraph - which states that an increase in stillbirths and newborn deaths occurred from pregnancy plus nursing exposure)

Note: despite claims of minimal exposure to nurslings by some health professionals, the data on “safety” of nursing a baby while taking SSRIs and antipsychotics is based on an extremely small sample (nevermind that serious adverse events have been observed even in the few studies actually done). For SSRIs the studies amount to a few dozen people, many of which were also supplementally feeding formula. The Zyprexa study purported to study only 7 nursing couples and only examined 6 children’s blood. See http://uniteforlife.org/zyprexa%20objection.htm for more information on the risks of Zyprexa.

II. Prevention of Post-Partum Mood Disorders:

A. Avoid interventions in childbirth: HOME BIRTH or midwifery or otherwise natural childbirth statistically results in LESS PPD…

Mothers Can Avoid (Specifically):

1. Labor drugs, including pitocin which interferes with normal oxytocin stimulation of uterine contractions (oxytocin is the love hormone and sets off many chemicals in the brain associated with normal maternal bonding & protective behavior)
2. IVs with glucose water during labor which can lead to complications in the newborn like perceived excessive weight loss, hypoglycemia, thus creating “mommy guilt” from feeling as if she is unable to sustain her own baby’s survival due to perceived inadequate milk supply and subsequent breastfeeding difficulty when baby is inevitably given supplemental feedings
3. Avoid epidural which can cause breastfeeding difficulties in the newborn and may be associated with mood problems (the anesthesia fentanyl in the epidural is derived from cocaine)
4. Avoid episiotomy which can lead to excessive blood loss and fatigue as well as significant pain leading to use of pain medications
5. Avoid restrictive dieting before / after childbirth which can cause preterm labor (not having enough calories and protein leads to low albumin and high blood pressure), low blood sugar and lack of energy
6. Avoid epinephrine, which is often necessary in labor because of fetal distress or maternal distress (trouble breathing, low blood pressure) which are side effects in both mom and baby from pitocin or other augmentation as well as epidurals. Epinephrine is synthetic adrenaline and has been linked to mental disturbances.

B. Post-partum period:
1. FOR MANY WEEKS MOMS WILL NEED: someone to help with meals, chores, child care, etc. Without that, women ARE FAR MORE LIKELY to feel “symptoms” of depression, anxiety, etc.
2. MOMS WILL NEED someone to help with breastfeeding if they are inexperienced or have problems. They can contact a La Leche League Leader or an IBCLC. Loss of breastfeeding is sometimes associated with PPD due to additional hormonal changes in moms, while breastfeeding itself is thought to ease PPD due to numerous factors.
3. MOMS (and families) WILL FEEL BETTER if they cosleep because they will be well-rested and breastfeeding will be easier. For safety tips on cosleeping moms can use common sense or write to amy@uniteforlife.org for more info. Contrary to campaigns by the Crib Manufacturers SIDS is actually more common in cribs.

III. Alternatives to Drugs:

1. Screen for underlying medical conditions such as Thyroid disorders, anemia, etc. and treat those as safely as is possible. Thyroid disorders such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism (or both - postpartum thyroiditis) are quite common and can cause depression or anxiety. Often the first sign of hypoglycemia is depression which can be handled by eating often - 6 small meals per day helps keep the blood sugar level normal.
2. Omega 3 Supplements (From Fish Oil, Flaxseed, etc.)
3. Exercise (although initially excessive exercise will not help a woman, after childbirth it is necessary to rest in order to recover, and not lose too much blood)
http://uniteforlife.org/exercise.html Medication shown to cause relapse, exercise MORE effective than antidepressant drugs
4. Some people feel that counseling is effective
5. Some people find alternative treatments effective, for example: chiropractic, homeopathy (even for PSYCHOSIS), accupuncture, energy work, etc.
6. MOMS can FIND A SUPPORT GROUP or helpful PERSON but NOT one that will push them to use drugs.

IV. Alternative Ways to Support American Families:
If the government really wants to help moms, why not educate on these common sense strategies, push for better maternity leave allowances, improve obstetric cooperation with midwifery, or promote paternity leave or leave for grandparents who can help new mothers during their time of need?

V. The Bill Violates Basic American Principles and Rights:
Mothers want time in PEACE and PRIVACY to be with their new babies to bond. They DO NOT need to be dragged off to an invasive and dangerous screening for mental problems. The power of suggestion alone is enough to scare a significant amount of moms and this invasion of privacy goes far beyond anything EVER imposed on the U.S. Public.

Furthermore, similar programs like Teen Screen have been a total failure with an 84% or higher misdiagnosis rate. The vast majority of these misdiagnosed students were referred to mental health practitioners and put on drugs.

==================
Additional Critiques of the Bill
==================

There is no language in the bill that protects thousands of mothers being erroneously screened and drugged with antidepressants that medical studies show cause birth defects and withdrawal symptoms, devastating families and driving up health care costs to treat these iatrogenic-caused conditions.

The bill seeks more appropriations to the National Institutes of Health to research postpartum depression but doesn’t specify how the funds are to be used. For example, during the past 3 years, NIMH has already spent more than $10 million on 38 studies of PPD, yet the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine lists no grants on its website for such research.

There is no language about the diverse medical opinion and studies about “post partum depression” and whether it exists as a mental disability or as a physical condition that can be treated by normal medical or alternative means.

While the bill promotes more research into the condition, it doesn’t provide safeguards about this research and the effects of biological agents on the fetus–with studies suggesting that antidepressants may exert an impact on developmental processes of the embryo, and cause higher rates of premature delivery, low birth weight, admissions to intensive care units, and poor neonatal adaptation, including respiratory and feeding difficulties in infants.

The way in which the bill is currently worded could lead to thousands of suits as hundreds have already been filed concerning antidepressant use during pregnancy that has resulted in infants being born with a life-threatening lung disorder, PPHN and that between 10% and 20% of infants born with PPHN end up dying, even when they receive treatment.

Love,
Heather

First,I love this article (thanks Jennifer! and I hope you’re enjoying Asheville!We miss you!) I especially like how the celebrity mamas seem to think that the MORE midwives the better. Isn’t that funny?

Celebrity home births

As homebirths become more popular, more and more celebrity mums are opting to have their babies at home. Interestingly enough, all the Kings and Queens of England were born at home, including the current Queen. In fact Princess Diana was the first member of the Royal family to have her babies in hospital.

Celebrity midwife April says, “Celebrity or no, every woman deserves the right to privacy, if she wishes, regarding her choices. Homebirthing will always continue on and in my opinion it is the famous who yearn to have what we the homebirthing tribes have; the simple, strong, without-fanfare birth that champions our beliefs best.” So which other celebrities are birthing at home and, more importantly, what have they got to say about the experience?

Party-loving Charlotte Church gave birth to a baby girl at home in her beloved Wales. The 21-year-old singer bought a birthing pool for the delivery which was attended by two midwives.She and boyfriend Gavin Henson, wept tears of joy at the arrival, according to reports.Read our news report on Charlotte’s birth.

Big Brother’s ‘Big Mutha’, Davina McMcall is a huge advocate of home births and she must know what she’s talking about, having given birth to all three children at home. Of her first child’s birth, Holly, Davina said “It was the best experience of my life - well apart from making her!”

Pamela Anderson had both her babies at home, with two midwives and her then husband Tommy Lee present. Other actresses who birthed at home include Lisa Bonet, best known for her role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, Meryl Streep, and Demi Moore who had all three of her children at home.

John Travolta’s wife, Kelly Preston, also had a homebirth with their daughter Ella and spoke of her experience as a Scientologist and the practice of labouring in silence. She said a silent birth was “just a peaceful, beautiful entry into this earth,” although she remembers at one point during her 13 hour labour shouting out, “Throw me in the car! I want an epidural!”

British actress Jemma Redgrave gave birth to 9lb 4oz Alfie at home after a six-hour labour with no pain relief and no postnatal complications. Her midwives were from the Birth Centre and after the birth she said, “The NHS is superb, but the staff can seem insensitive because they never see the same patient twice. I’ve always felt it was important to have some sort of relationship with the midwife. On the day I gave birth to my first child someone I didn’t know delivered me. The Birth Centre experience was totally different from the NHS. I felt like I was surrounded by friends.”

Supermodel Stella Tennant also gave birth at home with midwives from the Birth Centre. She says, “I am not afraid of hospital but I felt that if there were no complications with my pregnancy I would prefer to give birth in the familiar surroundings of my flat. I wanted to take as much responsibility as possible for the birth of my child.”

Singer Nellie Furtado is a self-confessed ‘hippie mum’ and proudly talks of the birth of her daughter Nevus, declaring, “I had a homebirth with midwives.” And mum Cindy Crawford had all three of her children at home with her husband Rande Gerber and three midwives on hand. She said, “I didn’t tell anyone last time because a lot of people are against home birth and tell you horror stories. Even my husband said at first, ‘Why are we doing this?’ But she says that her experience was ‘absolutely surreal,’ even though her son Presley was born after a gruelling 17 hour labour.

“I’m a big advocate of home births if the pregnancy’s been healthy,” she says. “We also didn’t let anyone come around for the first three days. We really kept that time for ourselves to get over everything.” Actress Lucy Lawless, best known as the leather-clad Xena, warrior princess, also gave birth at home with her husband, Xena producer Rob Tapert, and a midwife by her side. She described her home water birth as totally natural saying, “‘Nothing was more natural than having him in water. “The water temperature in the birthing pool is similar to a mother’s body temperature. The baby is essentially floating in water for nine months so it’s a smoother transition when they are born.” And Ricki Lake, who gave birth to son Owen at home in a bathtub said, “Having a child turns your world upside down. My goals in life have changed drastically since the second he landed on this planet.” The talk show host was so impressed by her home birth that she became an advocate for women wanting to deliver their babies at home. She trained as a doula and has since helped deliver several babies for pregnant women wanting to have a natural home birth.

and here’s the documentary link The Business of Being Born it’s coming out on Netflix in a week or so, rent it and invite over all of your friends!

Speaking of Documentaries what happened to this one? Born in the USA did anyone see it?

And of course here’s the Anti-Homebirth Statement by the UCOG Read it and Weep (thanks Erin N!)

and just when you’re ready to give up hope, here’s a THINGS TO DO list compiled by Susan Hodges (thanks Eva A.!)

Following up on the ACOG anti-home birth press release (see Grassroots message 801012 or read the release at: http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-06-08-2.cfm), here are some thoughts, resources and facts that may be useful if you have an opportunity to respond to press coverage in your local paper, or respond on-line to news coverage or blogs.

Consider using any press coverage of ACOG’s press release as an opportunity to put out accurate and positive facts about home birth and direct entry midwives and the Certified Professional Midwife credential, and minimize references to ACOG. That way instead of adding to the attention and authority of ACOG, you make the most of the opportunity to have people remember home birth and midwives with positive information. One trick is to make sure that you avoid mentioning “ACOG” last. And rather than trying to address all of the issues in one letter or blog, pick the one or two that you think are most important, or that you feel most confident about.

Feel free us use as resources the following (and you can send either or both of the press releases directly to your local newspaper if you think that would be useful):
· ICAN’s press release http://www.ican-online.org/advocacy/ican-responds
· The Big Push for Midwives press release http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/pdf-bin/news.020708.pdf
· Childbirth Connection’s thoughtful and thorough analysis and critique of ACOG’s home birth policy statement (the basis for the latest ACOG press release) http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10465

You can find some tips on writing letters to the editor (print news) at http://cfmidwifery.org/Resources/Item.aspx?ID=2

Here are some facts you can use, in no particular order (and I’m sure you will think of more!):

· Twenty-four states license direct entry midwives, several for more than twenty years. Twenty-two use or recognize the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential administered by the North American Registry of Midwives (www.narm.org) as the basis for licensing, and two states have voluntary licensing. In all these years, no state has repealed their midwifery law for any reason. Furthermore, in 9 states licensed midwives receive Medicaid reimbursement for their services. These records demonstrate that CPMs do not pose any threat to the health and safety of pregnant women and newborns.

· An economic analysis of the cost benefits of a licensed midwife program (Washington State) indicate that the cost savings to the health care system (public and private) is estimated to be ten times the cost of the program, even with this licensing program being the most expensive in the country. (Midwifery Licensure and Discipline Program in Washington State: Economic Costs and Benefits, (A report to the Washington Department of Health), Health Management Associates, October, 2007)

· Contrary to ACOG’s uninformed assertion, many rigorous scientific studies, published in leading medical journals, have found that for a healthy woman having a normal pregnancy, a planned, midwife-attended home birth is as safe as a hospital birth and with far lower rates of medical interventions. The most recent is also the largest study, based on prospective reporting for all the births attended by Certified Professional Midwives in 2000, published in 2005 in the British Medical Journal . (“Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America.” Kenneth C Johnson, senior epidemiologist, Betty-Anne Daviss, project manager. BMJ 2005;330:1416 (18 June). Published online at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom ) Also see CfM’s summary fact sheet at: http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/CPM2000.pdf .

· About 99% of births in the US take place in hospitals. If standard obstetric practice is so good, why does the US rank so abysmally when it comes to maternal mortality and neonatal mortality?

· The Complete Mothers’ Index 2007 shows that mothers in the US have a higher lifetime risk of maternal mortality than the mothers in 27 other developed countries http://www.savethechildren.org/campaigns/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report/2007/mothers-index.html
· The World Health Report (from the World Health Organization) indicates that the neonatal death rate (death in the first 28 days of life) is greater in the United States than in 35 other countries, http://www.who.int/whr/2005/annexes-en.pdf

· ACOG claims that “complications can arise with little or no warning even among women with low-risk pregnancies”. However, complications seen in low-risk women laboring in hospitals are often related to the many routine practices and interventions that disturb the birth process and cause or lead to complications and more interventions. In fact, most of these practices were adopted without being studied for safety, and many are still routine even after being studied and found to be either worthless or harmful or both. (Enkin et al. A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth www.childbirthconnection.org ) Midwives attending home births avoid unnecessary interventions and the use of drugs, allowing normal birth to proceed. They are trained and experienced in noticing any signs of problems and taking appropriate action, including transfer to medical care in a hospital when necessary, which is rarely. (see the BMJ article cited above)

· The press release states “ACOG acknowledges a woman’s right to make informed decisions regarding her delivery…” but goes on to say that ACOG does not support any of the alternatives to a doctor-controlled birth in hospital or birth center, or anyone who provide or supports home birth. So how is ACOG supporting informed decisions?

· ACOG claims that an “emerging contributor” to the rise in cesarean section rates is “maternal choice.” However, there is no evidence for this claim. In fact, recent surveys of mothers found that less than 0.08% of pregnant women request a C-section. Applying these numbers to a recent figure for annual births, a scant 2,600 out of 4.1 million pregnant women actually requested a C-section. (Declercq ER, Sakala C, Corry MP, Applebaum S. Listening to Mothers II: Report of the Second National U.S. Survey of Women’s Childbearing Experiences. New York: Childbirth Connection, October 2006.) Clearly, this number is so small it could not possibly explain the doubling of cesarean section rates in the last decade. Furthermore, when he was President of ACOG, Benjamin Harer publicly promoted maternal choice cesarean sections on popular TV news and talk shows, for reasons for which there was not evidence. (for example: Benjamin Harer on Good Morning America, 2000. http://www.sciencebasedbirth.com/temporary02/CEO%20synop%20politics_of_cesarean_2004.htm ) Having actively worked to create a market for cesarean sections for no medical reason, based on lies and misinformation, ACOG is now blaming women for the increased cesarean rate??

· When attending births outside the hospital, both Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Professional Midwives referred fewer than 5% of mothers for cesarean sections, while obstetricians were performing cesarean sections on nearly 20% of low risk mothers in hospitals. (see CfM fact sheet with references at: http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/cesarean2x.pdf)

· Some women are going to choose to deliver their baby at home, for a variety of very legitimate religious, social, health or economic reasons. These women deserve to have the best care available the care of a well-trained midwife with experience in out-of-hospital settings.

· While ACOG states that childbirth is a normal physiologic process, today’s obstetrical profession performs cesarean sections for nearly one third of births, induces labor in nearly half of births, and administers drugs of one kind or another to more than two thirds drugs that pass through the placenta and harm the baby. In fact, almost the only women who give birth with no interventions are those who give birth at home. (Listening to Mothers: Report of the First National U.S. Survey of Women’s Childbearing Experiences. New York: Maternity Center Association, October 2002.)

· Apparently obstetricians are not trained to support normal birth, but oppose the very health care providers who are: midwives who are trained and experienced in attending births outside the hospital. The Certified Professional Midwife credential is the only maternity care credential that requires experience in out-of-hospital settings.

There are many more comics coming!
Love,
Heather

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

There was a screening of the movie at a local theater at 11:00 am on a Sunday. I left the kiddies with darling super-husband and went ALL BY MYSELF. Silly, I go to the grocery store and other types of shopping by myself sometimes. But, I can’t remember when, if ever, I went to a theater by myself. Quite fun actually. The theater filled to capacity, the movie was VERY good, if it won’t change minds about how and where we birth, I don’t know what will. I was completely convinced that homebirth is the way to go. Of course, I was convinced before, but now even more so ;o) After the movie we were able to ask questions of Ricki Lake (the producer) and Abby Epstein (the director) which was definitely a perk of living in a giant city, and made me feel all star-struck and stuff. Netflix is going to release the DVD on February 26th, so start planning your home viewing/party/gathering now!

this is also a good time to sign up to come to the Trust Birth Conference! in early March. I’ll be there all weekend and already have plans to meet with a mama friend from this lovely cyberworld of ours. If you come to the conference, send me a note and we’ll all go out for eats together!

love,
Heather

Guess who’s gonna come to the Trust Birth Awards Dinner? I hear Ricki might stop by ;o) ! You know, because of her awesome new movie? ! The Business of Being Born Speaking of which, it’s showing here tonight, and I CAN”T go, because it’s right at bed time ;o( And of course, I MUST be here to sing ‘inchworm’. Like every night, until they’re thirty or they beg me to stop (side note: the other day we were reading a book and It came up ‘what is 16 + 16′? and I asked the girls and they had NO IDEA! I said 16 and 16 are….? You KNOW this! they didn’t. They’ve heard the song a bazillion times and they didn’t know. Of course when I said 32! they all said YEAH!). hee hee. I’ll just have to wait for the matinees.

But, if you’re waiting to register for the Trust Birth Conference, it’s time! Stop Waiting! And this is the only one! (spread it around…) Think of all the great folks that will be there: Michel Odent, Laura Shanley, Henci Goer,Dr. Sarah Buckley, gloria lemay, ME! That’s just a few of them check it out here: Trust Birth Speakers
And Register Today!!!!!!!

Carla Hartley, director of Ancient Art Midwifery Institute, has brought together an amazing group of speakers who are not only passionate and articulate, but who are at the forefront of knowledge and activism.

At the Trust Birth conference you will be inspired and informed, with practical ideas that you can take back to your own community and professional work.

Be informed by the hard evidence from Henci Goer, whose ability to summarize and critique the medical studies is among the best in the world.

Be challenged by Michel Odent, who asks if humanity can survive our current obstetric practices.

Be trusting of birth and its safety for mother and baby, as Sarah Buckley gives you the medical evidence and the amazing hormonal story of why birth is safe and intervention is risky.

Be nourished in your practice by Jan Tritten, editor of the wonderful magazine Midwifery Today who will share ‘The wisdom of the grandmothers’: what midwives all over the world know about the safety, sacredness and importance of birth.

Be entertained by Heather Cushman-Dowdee, aka Hathor the Cowgoddess, whose antics have given a laugh and a dose of sanity to mamas all over the world.

Be inspired by Debby Takikawa and her film “What babies want” which distills the evidence for gentle treatment of babies – and support for parents.

Be moved by Rachel Correa, whose profound story of homebirth and stillbirth was a highlight of the recent Australian Homebirth Conference.

Be activated by Heather Brock’s workshop on getting our post-birth bodies in shape, including our pelvic floor and abdominals. (They must be here somewhere!)

Be educated outside the box with midwife Gail Hart’s workshop as she discusses whether Gestational Diabetes is a scare tactic or a legitimate concern.

Be amazed by Lennon Clark as she describes the ability of babies to communicate their elimination needs, which can eliminate the need for diapers and help save the earth!

Be pushed in your ideas around pushing in labor, as a panel of midwives discusses the “P’ word: is it useful, and whether our bodies can do it for themselves.

Be immunized against false information on immunization, as Kristi Zittle shares wisdom about the risks of immunization and the benefits of natural immunity.

Be compassionate as you hear the lovely Marcy Axness shares stories, research and soul perspectives on post natal depression.

Be expanded in your mind and pelvis as Gloria Lemay shares her amazing pelvic perspective, in ‘Pelvises I have known and loved.” (based on one my all-time favourite articles.)

Be safe or not: what does safety in birth mean, and how does it apply to birth choices? Join Rixa Freeze who is writing her PhD on the unassisted birth movement.

Be adventurous and discover more about why women stay at home alone, choosing unassisted birth. Panel with Rixa and other freebirth advocates and mamas.

Be thrilled to meet some of your heroes and heroines in the birth movement.

Don’t forget to bring your books for signing, or buy copies at the conference!

Be reinvigorated when you leave, filled with wisdom and inspiration to continue the important- perhaps the most important- work for mothers, babies, fathers and families everywhere.

Dr Sarah J Buckley
GP/ family physician
Author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth and parenting
www.sarahjbuckley.com

I’ll see you there!
xox,
Heather