Conference turris::womannotes-v1

    Most births (other than high-risk pregnancies) happen
    smoothly, and could occur with great success and satisfaction
    just about anyplace.
    
    And then there are the other few percent with unexpected
    last-minute emergencies.  We rarely lose the mother these days,
    even in an emergency, but there is less time to save a distressed
    baby in a difficult delivery.
    
    Without going into details, suffice it to say that my first
    daughter was a "normal" pregnancy, and a normal delivery up
    until the last few minutes, when various signs of fetal distress
    were evident...and the heartbeat was no longer detected.  The
    doctor was going in after her (vaginal delivery, didn't need a
    C-section at least) while they were rushing me down the 20 foot
    hall from the labor room to delivery room.  She needed a bit of
    extra support for the first few hours (umbilical cord was wrapped
    around her neck:  as she emerged, it grew taut and was strangling
    her!), but was and is FINE.
    
    Many hospitals have "birthing rooms" these days.  They are decorated
    like a bedroom, and in some cases, the entire family (even young
    siblings if you like) can be there for the joyous occasion.  And
    if you feel fine, you can just get right up and go home.  No, they
    cannot stop you...though you will be responsible for any liability
    if you leave AMA (Against Medical Advice).
    
    Why risk being one of the unfortunate few?

    A friend of mine had her baby a couple of weeks ago.  Everything was
    normal, she'd seen the doctor 2 days earlier and the baby was
    definitely head down.  Her membranes broke at 4 am, they went to the
    hospital, and surprise! the baby was now breech.  Since the membranes
    had broken they couldn't easily turn the baby, and continuing with a
    normal birth was a 20% risk to the baby, so she had a C-section and her
    daughter was born, healthy, at 7:22 am.

    If everything is normal, home birth is fine.  If anything goes wrong
    you are a helluva distance from the resources needed to help mother and
    child stay alive....

    You might want to check in the conference WORDS::PARENTING.
    
    A great many of the noters there have been through a wide variety
    of birthing experiences and will be glad to compare notes with you.
    
    --bonnie
    

    ah, but I have finally figured it out after 2 years of noting...
    
    as Tamzen Canoy explained it to me...after you put in a note, type
    set note /conference=node::filename.
    
    Any noter can do this for their own note...moderators can do it
    for any note in the conference that they moderate.
    
    Bonnie Jeanne

    RE .0
    
    Go for it!  You haven't had any problems yet, and I assume you have
    a competent midwife or doctor.  (hospitals can't guarantee a perfect
    baby or delivery any more than a midwife at home can.)  I had my
    first in a hospital, and had a horrible birthing experience.  The
    doctor was in too much of a hurry to explain things to me.  My second
    was born at home in my own bed with my closest friends and a very
    good lay midwife.  Carrie never had to leave our sides.  What a
    diffence!  I was allowed to deliver in whatever position was most
    comfortable for me.
    
    However, in Colorado, you have to remember that home births are
    extra-legal.  If something does go wrong here, you can be prosecuted
    for child endangerment, and your midwife can also be busted, so
    they do very careful screening of potential mothers.
    
    Good luck and a happy birthday celebration to you and your family.

	RE: the topic

	On the other hand, I suspect that the risk of infections and
	catching strange diseases is *much* lower at home than in
	a hospital.  The experiance might also be of a much higher
	quality due to the lack of unnecessary technical interventions.
	
	I suspect I would try and find some compromise.

	...Karen

    Re: .6
    
    >On the other hand, I suspect that the risk of infections and catching
    >strange diseases is *much* lower at home than in a hospital.
    
    Why would that be?
    
    >The experiance might also be of a much higher quality due to the
    >lack of unnecessary technical interventions.
    
    What, exactly, are "unnecessary technical interventions"?

    Re: .7 (infections)
    
    All sorts of bad stuff is floating around the average hospital.
    Ask a doctor about staph infections sometime.
    

    Not to terrify anyone or anything, because hospitals are good places
    too, but
    
    remember the $6000000 Man?  Remember that crash scene at the beginning?
    It really happened.  I used to work at NASA Dryden, I'm from that
    part of the desert, and I got to meet the real test pilot.  The
    docs did some amazing surgery and put him back together.  He had
    an eye that was mostly detached, and they managed to get it back
    together, but he lost it anyway--due to staph.  Karen's right.
    Hospitals are pretty germy places, despite the excellent work everyone
    does.  I'd suggest doing something that combines the best of both--
    access to quick care in case of emergencies but all the good things
    of privacy and cleanliness.
    
    Now, admittedly, I'd probably rather have surgery done at a hospital
    than at home, but it's kind of iffy.  :-)  I used to work in a
    hospital and hang around in the labs.  Never met a finer kind of
    people than in a hospital (except for tying with test pilots and moms :-) ).

    Re .0:
    
    Although home birth isn't for everyone, I have had my last 2 (out
    of 7 children) at home.  One was born in a log cabin in old Mexico,
    and one in a mobile home is Salt Lake City, UT.  These were the
    easiest births I ever experienced.  The babies were more alert since
    no medication was used, and I just enjoyed the experience.  I also
    delivered one of my grandsons at home.  It was planned, and both
    mother and baby were fine.  
    
    You will hear a lot of pros and cons, but in the end, you must live
    with your decision and its consequences.  I would suggest you do
    it whatever way you feel is best, since the rest of us will all
    have different opinions.  Either way, I wish you and your family
    the best experience ever!
    
    Regards-
    Barb

    	Having seen films of home births, I've always thought it would
    	be a wonderful experience.
    
    	Having been one of those who did experience complications during
    	childbirth (in spite of having used Lamaze with no painkillers at
    	all), I'd be too nervous to have a future child away from a
    	hospital environment.  
    
    	When Ryan was born, he was put on the critical list immediately
    	(and I followed less than two hours later.)  It was confusing
    	and distressing enough (even with hospital personnel and equip-
    	ment handy.)  I'm not sure that either of us would have made
    	it under other circumstances (especially Ryan, who was in trouble
    	with his first breath.)
    
    	For me, the ideal situation would be in a "birthing center"
    	environment (or whatever it's called when you give birth in
    	a room that is decorated like a home bedroom) -- in a hospital.
    
    	As others have said, it's best to do whatever feels the most
    	comfortable.

I just gave birth in the new birthing center here in Colorado Springs.
Although Shellie and I both liked the idea of the freedom of a home birth,
now neither of us is likely to ever try it.  My labor was difficult and 
there were problems that could have caused both Evan's (my baby's) and
my life.  I am glad we choose a hospital, and really glad that we have
such a nice setup so close to home.

                Carol

       I've followed this discussion with some degree of interest: being
       male I have until now felt I had nothing to add - maybe the
       readership will feel that I am not adding anything, who knows...

       I was born at home - it wasn't intended, far from it. I should
       have been born in a hospital. Unfortunately when my mother
       reached the point when she should have gone to hospital the area
       was paralyzed by a blizzard. The ambulance couldn't reach us.
       Indeed nothing vehicular was moving and the hospital was 15 miles
       away.

       The doctor came on foot. Two midwives also came (as did a number
       of Rabbis from the seminary next door, but apart from offering
       comfort to my parents and preparing food and hot water as all
       concerned required they were probably non-essential).

       The birth was difficult - my mother was in labour for 22 hours
       and in the end I was born breech. My twin brother was still born
       and my mother suffered serious complications concomitant on the
       birth, but she survived well enough in the end...

       Despite all of this if hospital births were the de facto standard
       there would be no competency in pre and post natal care in
       general medical practice, and there most definitely would not be
       a midwifery service. Without this support service it is quite
       likely that both my mother and I would have failed to survive
       this problem.

       So... it is nice to have a hospital to go to when you have the
       luxury of planning the circumstances, but when you don't, when an
       emergency strikes, or simply when you choose to birth at home,
       surely the option should be available and the medical
       establishment should not be attempting to eliminate the choice
       ... or is it more accurate to say that the cost of medical
       malpractice insurance is tending to eliminate the choice?

       /. Ian .\

       PS: the above happened in England ... not the U.S of A.

    Although I never wanted a home delivery myself, I am particularly
    thankful that I had my daughter at a hospital.  After a perfectly normal
    pregnancy and labor, Caileigh was born thru emergency C-section
    with an Apgar score of 0.  Had the means to perform a section within
    minutes and put her immediately on life-support systems not been
    available, she would have died.  Today she is a healthy, beautiful,
    active, intelligent (oh, but I brag...) 16-month-old.   There's
    no doubt where I'll choose to have the next one.
    
    Tracy