Sleeping with the enemy...

....so to speak. I decided to add the "Adsense" program to my blog to generate revenue. Nothing wrong with that, right? Well...yes and no. The whole thing is pretty foreign to me, and the learning curve is steep.

I was dismayed to open up my blog last night to see a link to a site debating homebirth. I am happy to debate the pros and cons of homebirth, and its safety, but this woman goes beyond. She is disrespectful and pours out fear and ridicule. Not wanting to give the author any more advertising, I will only let you know that she and I share the same first name. This "doctor", if she is one, likes to take poor research and statistics, as well as homebirth stories with bad outcomes, and use them as "proof" that homebirth is unsafe. She also has issues with attachment parenting. I could only read so much before I had to click off the page....not worth my time.

The unfortunate fact is that birth is never a 100% successful journey. Babies are born at home, babies are born in the hospital. Sometimes babies die. Harsh facts. Let's look at some other facts:

There have been many studies looking at the safety of homebirth vs. hospital birth. According to the Cochrane database, "Home birth offers a safe and acceptable alternative to hospital confinement for selected pregnant women, and reduces the incidence of medical interventions". They found similar rates of mortality and lower rates of poor Apgar scores, fewer lacerations, less intervention and a much lower caesarian section rate (5% vs. 31%).
http://www.cochrane.org/colloquia/abstracts/adelaide/ADELO219.htm

To be even more specific, in August of 2006 an Ontario study was released that also supported homebirth. You can read more here:
http://www.aom.on.ca/Communications/Media_Relations/Home_Birth_Study.aspx

Don't take my word for it. Go and Google "homebirth studies" for yourself. In order for the study to be relevant, mind you, please note what births are included. For many years, the safety of homebirth was questioned as studies showed higher rates of mortality. Unfortunately, the studies were flawed as they included ALL out of hospital births, and so included births where there was no prenatal care and no trained care provider present. We need to compare births with full midwifery care at home vs. births with full doctor care in hospital.

You can even go check out the enemy...the point of this blog is to provide you with information, inspiration, and empowerment. You need to make your decisions for yourself. For me, knowing that studies show the risks are similar for a home and hospital birth, I will choose homebirth every time. Why? Because studies can't take into account the emotional and mental risk of feeling out of control of my births. Because studies don't show what a natural high you have when you birth your baby of your own will and power. Because studies can't illustrate the comfort of curling up in your own bed with your new baby. Because the hospital doesn't guarantee me anything...but may give me more than I bargained for.