Final thoughts

 In my research these past few weeks, I have read a lot of different opinions on whether home birth is a safe option or not. What I have come up with is that if there are no abnormal findings leading up to delivery. It seems a safe practice to have a highly trained, licensed midwife attend a home birth. I believe it has health benefits as well as cost benefits. It seems that a lack of knowledge and fear of something going wrong is the biggest problem when it comes to considering home birth as an option for most women. I have talked to a few midwifes about what they think, and the most popular response is “we work very close with the women we deliver, and there is a trust that builds between us. If there is no trust than the woman is better off going to the hospital”. It is important to make an informed decision, and be comfortable with your care provider. Birth is a natural process, when I think of natural. I think of a Native American Indian women going off into the woods, and plopping out a kid. I do realize that sometimes there are complications, but the midwife knows this as well and is trained to handle it. Sometimes a home birth ends up in the hospital setting due to complications. Statistics show a very low fatality rate in home births, almost the same as hospitals. I think if we look into the facts and stats a little closer, it would not be so scary to consider a midwife. I have learned a lot and hope to learn more on this topic. I feel comfortable writing this argument paper now, but  before all this research I was not sure I could try to convince someone that home birth was even a good idea. Now I think it is pretty awesome and will definitely be open to it when I start having kids!

This little guy was born in Haiti about a week after the quake. the mom came to our little make shift clinic, and delivered fours hours later! That is Kim holding him, she is a P.A.

some more info

(1)According to this article pain is one of the main considerations when thinking about giving birth. “Pain is not a purely physical response but is unique to an individual and comprises a complex sensory, cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social response.” (British Journal Of Midwifery 18.8 (2010)

If a woman is uncomfortable, or has fear during labor it can cause an “Increase in muscle tension decreases flexibility/ mobility and so the person moves against a resistance, which can increase pain.

Fear is an important factor. Evidence has shown that the use of non-pharmacological pain relief in the form of complementary medicine in labor, along with continuity of caregivers, is more likely to lead to physiological labor and spontaneous vaginal delivery (Hodnett et al, 2007; Yogev, 2004; Albers, 2007; Hatem et al, 2009).

This article also states that “Emotional status during labor can have a drastic effect on the perception of labor and the ability to cope with pain. There are clear physiological causes of pain in labor but psychological resources may impact on the ability of the woman to relax, in turn, affecting relaxation of both the pelvic structures and muscles easing the passage of the newborn through the birth canal, along with continuity of caregivers, is more likely to lead to physiological labor and spontaneous vaginal delivery” (Hodnett et al, 2007; Yogev, 2004; Albers, 2007; Hatem et al, 2009).

So we now know that emotional status is very important, a woman is naturally more comfortable in her own environment, and this could help with how long the labor lasts. This article also pointed out that child birth is such an individual experience and home birth verses hospital birth is something that the woman needs to be comfortable with.  

(2)“Evidence that midwifery outcomes meet or exceed Canadian maternity care standards is mounting. Canada is among the safest countries in the world for those experiencing pregnancy and birth (25). From the perspective of Canadian women who chose midwifery care, evidence supports the acceptance of registered midwives as facilitators of positive birth outcomes and satisfactory maternity experiences and the commitment of funding to ensure that greater numbers of women have the opportunity to benefit from this important maternity care option. Women in this study reported that they were more satisfied with their maternity experiences if their prenatal care and ⁄ or delivery provider was a midwife than any other health care professional; they also experienced fewer interventions as recommended by the SOGC and World Health Organization guidelines”.( Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey 2011)

This was a great article about how safe home birth is and had a lot of statistics to back it up. These women were so happy with their home birth experience and it’s really cool to see that this option is more available than in past years.

I found both of these great sources from Academic Search Premier and just typed in home birth.

         

Works Cited

(1)McNeil, Alexander, and Julie Jomeen. "'Gezellig': A Concept For Managing Pain During Labour And Childbirth. (Cover Story)." British Journal Of Midwifery 18.8 (2010): 515-520. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.

(2)Pearl Herbert, et al. "The Experience Of Pregnancy And Birth With Midwives: Results From The Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey." Birth: Issues In Perinatal Care 38.3 (2011): 207-215. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

more sites

I found this article by going on the web http://lii.org and typing in “midwifes”

According to this article there are a few different options when it comes to child birth. It explains there are nurse- midwifes, they can deliver your baby at home or in a hospital. This article gives some other options as well like birthing centers, or using a doctor in a hospital setting. These nurse-midwifes have access to talk to a doctor for advise if needed. This article states that 90% of births are incident free. According to Dr. Frank Oski, M.D., Professor and Director, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, "Between $13 and $20 billion dollars per year could be saved in health care costs by developing midwifery care, demedicalizing childbirth and encouraging breastfeeding."

This seems like a very credible source and I hope to make my argument stronger by using some of this article. It covers a lot of information and the more I read it seems like this is a good find for me!   

The next article is from Online Library Databases I looked up; is water birth a safe option?

I used this website because I find the articles here very interesting and I like that they are peer reviewed.

This database also gives you all the different ways to site sources in MLA, APA, and AMA format. also this is a cool website because you can down load it in a PDF file!

According to this article, Water birth” presents no risk to the adaptation of the neonate to extra-uterine life. We found no increased risk of neonatal infection or aspiration pneumonia” (Journal Of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine )  This article also showed that labor is quicker, easier, less pain and less traumatic for the baby. There is a lot of debate concerning if water birth is safe or not. This article shows that water birth is absolutely a safe practice and benefits mom and baby. This interests me because I want to know more about how to make the first moments of life in this world more peaceful. I hope I can incorporate these sources into my paper without losing my voice. I want to make sure this just makes my paper stronger and not let this information take it over.  

 Works cited

Roads Into the Profession of Midwifery
by Cordelia S. Hanna, BA, CCE, CBA

F. Ploner, et al. "Review Of 1600 Water Births. Does Water Birth Increase The Risk Of Neonatal Infection?." Journal Of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 17.5 (2005): 357-361. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Good places to find credible resources!

According to CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 181.6/7 (2009): the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom has issued a statement supporting home birth as a “viable choice for women with uncomplicated pregnancies”.(377)

This article shows studies of survival rates in home births and makes a strong argument that home birth is really a safe practice. Studies show that death rates in home births are less than 1 in 1000. It goes on to explain that midwifes are highly trained medical professionals and it would be safe to trust them. (383)

“The decision to home birth in the US is impeded by government regulation of the government, but also by professional organizations, society and the insurance industry” (Cassidy, 2006 pg650). This article talks about how the “home birth rate would be higher if women were offered a viable alternative to hospital birth and if women perceived birth as a natural and social event rather than a medicalised event”. (650) This society seems to view child birth as always hazardous when in reality it is a natural process and there are not usually complications.

I chose these two references from the online library database because I found the sources to be credible and they have been recently updated. I can use this up to date information to help make my case that home births are indeed a safe practice. The research used in both these articles contains a lot of data and make a point of just telling the facts. I think there is enough information provided to give a good overall picture, and I like that they use so many graphs because I ‘am a very visual person. I have used the online library before and find it user friendly and easy to navigate so that is where I like to go when I need to find a trust worthy source. I have also been looking at google scholar and so far I’m impressed with how organized it seems. I will also be using that as one of my main resources. I really like learning about this topic and am really happy with how much research is already done concerning it!

Works Cited

Shoo K. Lee, et al. "Outcomes Of Planned Home Birth With Registered Midwife Versus Planned Hospital Birth With Midwife Or Physician." CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 181.6/7 (2009): 377-383. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

  Ashley, Sarah, and Jane Weaver. "Factors Influencing Multiparous Women Who Choose A Home Birth --A Literature Review." British Journal Of Midwifery 20.9 (2012): 646-652. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Analyzing some info

There are so many women that have their baby in the hospital because they do not even realize there are other options. For a hospital birth the woman has to leave the comforts of her home, pack some things and drive to a hospital. She gets checked into a room that is not comfortable or familiar and waits for things to start. The birth is uneventful and soon they are being discharged. This is when the dad realizes in his haste to get his lovely bride to the hospital, he forgot the car seat. A few hours later the family opens the door to their house and enters with their newest addition. The mom is so tired and starts crying because she can’t remember what the nurse told her about breast feeding, so she decides to bottle feed instead.

Now we are going to look at a home birth. The woman goes into labor and so she calls her midwife. The midwives shows up about thirty minutes later and assess the mom, everything looks good so now they wait for the hard labor to begin. As they wait the midwife reassures the woman that she is doing great and they talk about ways to make the process easier. a few hours later the woman delivers her baby and the midwife assessed mom and baby. All is well, so the midwife get the birth weights and encourages the mom to drink fluids. The midwife shows the new mom how to breast feed, and helps her get settled. The dad is also doing things to help and is relived that the midwife will be staying overnight to help out. The next morning the midwife leaves and the family starts to readjust to their home life.

The difference in these two births is that when you are in the hospital, you leave the comforts home behind and add some stress because you are in an unknown environment. Delivering a baby in a hospital would cost upward of $10,000, compared with the roughly $3,000 it would cost to hire a home-birth midwife to take care of the entire pregnancy. (Michelle Goldberg Jun 25, 2012 4:45 AM EDT)

According to the National Center for Health Statistics Home births have a lower risk profile than hospital births, with fewer births to teenagers or unmarried women, and with fewer preterm, low birth weight, and multiple births. (Home Births in the United States, 1990–2009)

So there is a cost difference and it is NOT as scary to have your baby at home when you realize the survival rate is good and the health might be even better than the hospital. We need to start looking at more facts and not just deliver in the hospital because someone tells us that it is safer.