October 11, 2008
"Freebirthing" to air on the Discovery Health Channel
I am thrilled to announce that the Discovery Health Channel is going to show the Freebirth Documentary tonight at 7pm mountain time.
Since 1989 I have been working diligently to learn everything I could about home birth. Giving birth to my own five children, and teaching childbirth class in my home for eight years was the stepping stone to my online birth activism that began in 1997.
The goal was simple, mainstream homebirth and make it possible for any woman to give birth in whatever setting she felt was appropriate for her child.
Unassisted Childbirth was and is the answer for any couple that honestly wants to have a peak experience welcoming their own children into their lives.
Wether McCain or Obama win the presidency, the fact is that we as a nation are moving towards socialized medicine, and when we get socialized fully in America, childbirth is going to be about a million times more dangerous in the hospital than it already is, for mothers and babies.
Taking personal responsibility for our health: including prenatal care, birth, and postpartum infant care is the key to families being able to weather whatever storms may blow in our nation.
Learning these skills for myself has been the key to ultimate female empowerment and fulfillment. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that gentle, ecstatic birth will heal women of all that ails them, physically, emotional, and spiritually. I have experienced it and I know this is the JOY that our Heavenly Parents want us to feel when we are welcoming our children into our homes.
Laura Shanley has a new blog post sharing the details around the new Discovery Health Documentary Freebirth.
And a new web site titled Freebirthing that Laura Shanley put together has some video clips and still pictures from the Documentary.
QUOTE:
"While this is not brought out in the program, nine pregnant women were actually interviewed for the documentary, and all nine went on to successfully give birth at home unassisted. None of the women sought medical care during the births, and only two sought non-emergency care after the births - one for a slow placenta (that came out easily, on its own in the hospital), and another for stitches.
For more information about this program please contact Laura Shanley. To learn more about unassisted childbirth visit:
Bornfree! The Unassisted Childbirth Page.
Tune In: Freebirthing
A growing movement of women in the US and in the UK are defying medical advice and choosing to give birth with no drugs, no midwife and absolutely no medical support. Supporters claim it's how having a baby was always meant to be. Doctors say this new 'freebirthing' craze carries great risks.
In this program, we chart the stories of three pregnant women who have decided to go against the advice of their doctors and go it alone. With intimate access, we follow the challenges they have to overcome from negative family opinions and medics, to their own fears and through to the eventual and extraordinary births.
Watch the premiere, Tuesday, October 21 at 9 pm on Discovery Health!
Freebirth: A Message to Obstetricians from Jenny Hatch
Here is my own Joyful Freebirth Movie:
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:50 AM
September 18, 2008
For someone who wears Wal Mart clothes, I guess it's hip to be cool
Fashionable 'freebirths'? Birth is about baby's survival, not being trendy
Yet another tsk, tsk from our pals across the pond. Some of us choose Freebirth because we want the best for our babes and for the long term emotional and spiritual development of our families.
But hey, if the Leslie Thomas thinks it is trendy to birth alone at home...I'll go with it. Never considered myself much of a fashion queen, actually, I am the anti-fashion fem. I have absolutely no fashion sense, I wear what is comfortable and on sale....either at the thrift store or Wal Mart.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 9:50 AM
September 15, 2008
Spirit Led Birth: Susana Baig - Freebirth Trendy and Competitive or not
Susana Baig has some choice thoughts about Freebirth being "Trendy".
I wholeheartedly applaud and endorse her words:
Link to the Telegraph Article she is responding to.
I have given birth unassisted 4 times. I do not birth this way for bragging rights or some competition. I did it because my two midwife attended hospital births were terrifying, painful and humiliating.
During my hospital births I didn't get an episiotomy, even though the instruments were all laid out. I didn't need forceps even though I was stuck in bed with my feet in stirrups with no less than 4 people staring at my crotch. I didn't need a cesarean even though I had a monitor strapped to me. I didn't get an epidural even though I cried like a baby.
Yes, vaginal birth in the hospital is possible, but let me tell you it was hard to do! Though I was able to birth vaginally, I would not call them natural births. And frankly I felt like a victim, powerless to help myself.
During our 4 freebirths I didn't get any vaginal checks and didn't even birth in bed (I actually gave birth in a different position every time, standing, sitting, kneeling.)
And guess what... I didn't cry like a baby nor feel helpless. I enjoyed it, felt in control of my own body, and felt spiritually connected. (How dare I!)
Following my hospital births, yet before my UC births, I gave birth at home once with a midwife. I didn't cry during that birth either but the midwife pressured me during labor and needlessly insisted on breaking my water.
I don't embrace uc because it's "trendy." It seems to me what's trendy and bragged about are the epidural and scheduled c-sections.
I can't tell you how many women I have offered to help achieve a natural birth and they have almost all responded,"I don't want a natural birth. I just want my epidural!"
Guess what.... If you don't want a UC, don't have one! But I believe that having a natural, private, powerful yet painless birth is almost impossible in the hospital so I have chosen UC.
How about spending your time writing articles that encourage the medical establishment to bridge the divide and provide better communication and a safety net for homebirths. We shouldn't have to be completely on our own if we want a uc or midwife assisted homebirth. I wouldn't have minded having a doctor, midwife or hospital to communicate with in case of emergency. But as it is now a days, (in my state esp.) there is this great chasm.
I know many believe that homebirthers don't deserve help in case of emergency. Problems are their own fault because of their audacity!
To me that just shows how competitive and proud hospital birthers are. Such thoughts also reveal the "controlling perfectionist instincts," that doctors and midwives are exhibiting on behalf of their "work place."
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:04 AM
August 15, 2008
Fullerton Woman Gives Birth On Front Lawn
Fullerton Woman Gives Birth On Front Lawn
Dead Mama? Nope.
Dead Baby? Nope.
Mother and baby just fine...
Birth does NOT kill mothers and babes - too many drugs and knives are the source of the increase in maternal morbidity/mortality and infant perinatal mortality in America.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 11:02 PM
August 3, 2008
Mail Online: Another Freebirthing story out of the UK
Yet another paper in the United Kingdom has published a story on Unassisted Birth.
Go here to read all about it.
Laura Shanley has a great montage of Clios birth and life since her Freebirth.
Freebirthing: Is it madness or the ideal way to give birth?
By Natasha Courtenay-Smith
Last updated at 10:50 PM on 28th July 2008
Comments (60)
Add to My Stories
Six months pregnant with her second child, Clio Howie logged onto the internet to find out more about labour and delivery.
Until then, she had imagined her baby would arrive in the same predictable and clinical manner as her first child Orion, now four - the same way as most babies born in this country: in the labour ward at the local hospital.
'It wasn't even as if I had a particular problem or issue with that sort of delivery,' says Clio, a housewife who lives in Pembrokeshire with her partner Lee, 28, a farmer.
'I can't describe giving birth to Orion as a positive experience - my labour, in an NHS hospital, lasted more than 24 hours, and was both painful and frightening at times - but it was not particularly traumatic and I just assumed that was the deal when you had a baby.
'All I'd heard from other women was how painful and difficult labour was, so I'd never expected anything different.'
But what Clio, 26, discovered online that evening was to change her outlook, and turn her in to the public face of the largely underground trend towards freebirthing, also known as unassisted birth.
In her Google search for methods of pain relief, Clio came across a link to 'Pain-free' birth. There, she found a report by a woman in America who was advocating freebirthing - the term used for giving birth at home with no health professional involved.
That means no midwife support, no clinical monitoring, no modern technology during labour and no emergency resources should anything go wrong.
'I read her blog and scrolled through a load of images of her giving birth, and I sat there with my mouth open,' says Clio.
'There were photographs of her at home giving birth in a pool, and in most of the pictures she was laughing. She didn't seem to be in any pain at all. I couldn't believe anyone could bring a child into the world so easily.
'From that moment, I became obsessed with researching 'pain-free' and 'unassisted' births. It seemed such an incongruous idea. But I found many blogs from women who'd done it. I wanted the same experience.'
Risks that horrify doctors
Not surprisingly, freebirthing and its growing popularity horrifies many doctors and obstetricians, who fear it could endanger lives.
'For a healthy woman, with no known complications, who is tuned into her body and her baby's needs, labour is usually straightforward,' says Mary Newburn, head of Policy Research for the National Childbirth Trust.
'However, the issue with freebirthing arises if complications occur that the family cannot cope with and the birth is not attended by a trained midwife.'
Others simply regard it as a voluntary return to what are effectively medieval conditions. But women like Clio say the problems of childbirth are exaggerated, and the notion that labour is frightening and dangerous to either mother or child is a symptom of our 'overmedicalised' attitude to childbirth in the Western world.
'You're not going to have an easy birth if you arrive in hospital feeling terrified and anticipating being in agony,' says Clio. 'A painful and difficult labour, which needs medical intervention, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because women get so worked up about it and so afraid.
Birthing suite: A shiatsu practitioner sits beside her birthing pool, where she intends to give birth without using any of the usual painkillers
'Everything about childbirth in this country is overmedicalised and regimented. For instance, hospitals insist the placenta is delivered immediately, whereas freebirthers believe it can be delivered up to two or three days later.
'There is no pressure with an unassisted birth, and no system that has to be rigidly stuck to. It is a purely natural birth in a sense that is beyond the comprehension of most medical professionals.'
After discussing the possibility of unassisted birth with her partner and her mother, both of whom were supportive, Clio dropped out of the NHS system.
'I didn't bother telling my midwife or obstetrician I was going to have a freebirth as there was no point,' says Clio. 'They would have filled my head with scare stories and negative opinions - these people see birth as a medical condition which needs to be managed, whereas I'd started to feel that, in fact, it didn't need to be managed at all.
'It was my decision and nothing to do with them. As it was, I stopped going to appointments and no one seemed to give two hoots anyway. The more I read, and the more people I chatted to online, the more I became convinced that I was making the right decision.
'I started to think of birth as being painless and pain-free, and not a medical emergency.
'The problem is that as soon as you walk into a hospital, you effectively hand over your body, and control of your body, to a total stranger. No wonder you end up feeling tense.
'But when you understand that birth is not frightening and does not mean you are ill, then you can take control of the situation yourself. In doing that, you can avoid feeling pain.'
The role of fear
While it is easy to dismiss Clio as being a little misguided, to say the least, she is far from alone. In the U.S., the freebirthing movement is led by Laura Shanley, a mother-of-four from Colorado, whose motto is: 'If you want the job doing right, do it yourself.'
She has had five unassisted births and has written a book on the subject. She speaks candidly about her experiences, saying she caught one baby herself as it was delivered, her husband caught another, she pulled a third out by its feet and gave birth to another alone while her toddler sons slept in the next room.
However, critics seize on the fact that, tragically, Shanley's fourthborn, a boy, was born prematurely and died shortly after birth of a heart defect, pneumonia and sepsis. Shanley insists the coroner told her a hospital birth wouldn't have made a difference.
'I had all my children at home without the help of doctors or midwives,' says Laura.
'Neither my husband nor I had been trained in midwifery, but we both believe that problems in birth can be traced to medical intervention and fear. When a woman is afraid in labour (which most women are), she sends messages to her body telling it now is not the time to give birth.
Blood and oxygen flow away from the uterus and into the arms and legs so that the frightened woman can run from the supposed danger or fight it. Without blood and oxygen, the uterus cannot do its job and childbirth indeed becomes painful and dangerous. If you take control, you prevent all that fear and agony.'
However simplistic they may sound, these are sentiments shared by Sophie Clarke, 37, a full-time mother from Wiltshire.
Outdoor freebirth
Sophie, who lives with her husband, James, 40, had freebirths with her first two children, Chloe, now four and Autumn, two, and is now considering an outdoor freebirth with her third.
'I heard about freebirthing when my cousin in America said she was going to have one,' says Sophie. 'I attended her birth and it was an incredible experience, watching her deliver her child without a midwife or any other medical intervention.
'I didn't plan on doing the same with my first child, who was born a year later, but I decided to have a home birth with a midwife who was supportive of freebirth. In the end, she encouraged me to give birth on my own, with her in the next room, so she could help if there were any complications.'
Sophie's first freebirth lasted five hours and she delivered alone, without her husband at her side.
She admits to being nervous and that her friends and family thought she was mad. I would be lying if I said there weren't moments when I felt like changing my mind,' she says. 'But the midwife was reassuring, and was on hand to give me advice.
'Mostly though, she left me to it. I realised I enjoyed being in total control, being able to move about as I wanted to and not feeling restricted in any way. The birth was painful, but my daughter arrived safely.'
When Sophie fell pregnant for the second time, she didn't consider anything other than a freebirth. And she didn't phone a midwife until after her daughter, Autumn, was born.
Now pregnant with her third child, and having recently witnessed her cousin giving birth to her fourth baby in her garden, Sophie would like an outdoor freebirth.
'It was amazing watching my cousin give birth in a pool, surrounded by the trees and greenery of her garden,' says Sophie. 'I'd love to do the same thing, although given that my baby is due in December, the weather means this might not be possible. I would recommend a freebirth to any mother, even if it's her first baby.
'The trick is to focus on your body and not the pain, and make sure there are no distractions, annoying partners or other family members to put you off. Birth is natural, and if you allow your body just to get on with it, then there is nothing to fear.'
In preparation for her own labour, Clio Howie turned her guest bedroom into a birthing suite. She bought a birthing pool, put up her favourite picture and filled the room with orchids and candles.
Preparation
She spent her evenings studying practicalities such as how to cut an umbilical cord, but admits she did not focus too much on what to do in an emergency. While some may think Clio irresponsible, she was confident that there would be no emergency.
'Worrying about things like emergencies would simply have meant putting the fear back into labour,' says Clio. 'I know it's hard for people to understand but I had a belief in my ability to give birth on my own.'
Clio went into labour on October 30 last year, and her son Lucien was born in just two hours. She says she was in no pain, and the video of the birth - it has been posted on YouTube and viewed thousands of times - shows her appearing totally calm. She even laughs as her baby arrives.
Later that day, Clio phoned her midwife to get a discharge certificate from the hospital. When asked why she hadn't called for help, she said the baby had arrived too quickly.
Since her video has gone online, Clio has been contacted by a number of other British women wishing to follow her example. All are planning to have their unassisted birth in secret, because they know they are not likely to find support from midwives at their local hospital.
One, a 35-year-old mother-of-two from Greenwich in East London, says she will attend all her scans and ante-natal appointments, but will not be attending the hospital when she goes into labour in September.
'I don't feel I can tell my friends what I'm doing, let alone anyone at the hospital,' she says. 'They would all try to put me off. But I've had two children, I know what I'm doing and my husband will be there to support me.
'Having read up about freebirthing and watching Clio's video of her own birth, I decided I didn't want to go to hospital and be forced into some sort of production line.'
Clio insists she has no regrets over Lucien's birth and would do the same again if she had another child. 'The moment I first saw Lucien's face under the water is one I'll remember for the rest of my life. I scooped him up and thought: "I just delivered my own baby."
'I felt like a changed person. It's left me with a new confidence that I never would have had otherwise. I only wish more women felt able to experience the same thing.'
It is a utopian sentiment which will appeal to many women. The only question is quite what use orchids and candles would be if something does go seriously wrong?
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
Being trained in self hypnosis will remove the fear and make the mother relax for an easy birth. Should be a 'must' on the National Health!
- Kate Anderson, Hastings, 29/7/2008 11:57
My sister-in-law had both her children at home assisted by my brother. My mother had six of us at home in bed, assisted by the district nurse. In principle, I can't see anything wrong with it, but - as another poster pointed out, a normal pregnancy does not mean an uncomplicated birth. It would be wise to have some arrangement in place for emergencies.
- Sarah N., London, UK, 29/7/2008 11:43
I agree - i gave birth 5 weeks a go with no indication anything was amiss but required intervention as the cord was too short - my son and i would be dead without the medical help we received
- Katie, London, 29/7/2008 11:26
Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1039407/Freebirthing-Is-madness-ideal-way-birth.html
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:17 AM
July 9, 2008
The Second International Husband/Wife Homebirth Conference and Provident Living/Birthing
My Journey to Unassisted Homebirth by Jenny Hatch:
Watch this Unassisted Childbirth Video on My Share Page at One True Media
The You Tube Version of that same UC Birth Video:
These past few months I have had an increase in spiritual promptings around Provident Living.
I have found myself tweaking and resupplying our food storage. And I have had an increase in preparedness dreams.
I have had these dreams my whole life. Ever since I was a child I was drawn to survival literature, stories, and real life accounts of individuals and families struggling through this situation or another. My parents spent quality time teaching me the gospel of Jesus Christ and I learned at a young age that the scriptures provide a map to the future that can safely guide and direct our lives.
My friends Lauren and Kent have been helping me with some musical productions. This picture was taken last week at a rehearsal.
As I have studied and learned the skills that have enabled me to break free from the snares of the Medical Gestapo, I have come to believe that some of the most empowering information parents can aquire are in fact those tied to birthing and parenting autonomy.
For me, Unassisted Birth has always been about Living Providently. Planning and preparing for a time of medical self sufficiency simply because during that time we may not have the luxury of driving to a hospital for help with a birth.
So many scenarios in our world could bring on that time when doctors and hospitals may not be available to help with the birth of a child. This recent article from WND outlines one of the little known challenges that present with terrorism. I wonder what effect a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack would have on electronic fetal monitors, epidural machines, and obstetric operating theatres???
It is not my intention to catalog the various situations that may present. All one has to do is read the Book of Revelations and Matthew 24 to get a sense of the trials and tribulations that confront us today. In fact, it was while reading Matthew 24:19 that I first began to feel the need to learn Childbirth and Mothering self sufficiency.
It is my intention to once again point parents to the empowering information contained in the carefully prepared texts of my books and the video that has been continually available on my web site for the past seven years, sharing the stories, information, and testimony from families who have walked down the Unassisted Childbirth path.
If you would like to read my book Elijah Birth, prepared especially for Fathers during this time in our worlds history....Go Here to purchase the E-book.
If you would like to watch the 2nd International Husband/Wife Homebirth Conference on a web stream E Video, Please go here to purchase the conference. A conference transcript is also available for purchase.
These materials have been thoughtfully and prayerfully put together to help families quickly focus on the principles and practices that will help them during a time of upheaval and distress.
I pray that all families will take the time to ponder and prepare for a time of Childbirth self sufficiency.
Setting reasonable goals - like putting in a two week water supply, a 72 hour kit, and a three month supply of basic foods like wheat and beans will comfort and protect the innocent as well as provide insurance against a time of want and need.
As stated above, the spiritual promptings I have had lately have been unusually strong these past few months. Please take the time to ponder your life without a car, water flowing from the tap, electricity, and/or access to medical professionals. And then spend some time thinking about how to MITIGATE problems before they show up.
Many people have commented to me over the years how amazed they are by the LDS Church's focus on Provident Living.
One of the main reasons Mormons take all of this so seriously is that we believe the scriptures are real, the prophecies are real, and unlike some of our Christian brothers and sisters, we actually believe the prophecies around the end times are going to happen. And so we prepare.
It is my hope and prayer that you who are reading this today will step back from your life for a couple hours and thoughtfully think through some scenarios and preparations that may help you and your family.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:19 AM
Another UK Freebirth Story
I thought this article was pretty good, and the pictures with it are incredible!
Rise of the 'freebirthers': the mothers defying their doctors
"So emphatically did she believe in the power of her body that she allowed her unassisted birth to be filmed for a Channel Five documentary, Extraordinary People: Outlaw Births. It is an incredible event to witness. Howie calmly sits in the birthing pool, smiling and talking while her baby boy emerges and is lifted out of the water. At no point does she cry out in pain or scream – if ever there was an advert for an "ideal" intervention-free birth, this is it.
"It was a spiritual experience," she says. "I wanted my son to enter this world as a pure being and without fear. The best way to do that was by having an unassisted birth."
PS The comment section tied to the article has some great conversation as well. Here is the comment I made (don't know yet if they will publish it)
"Alexis,
The most "scarily uninformed" mothers in my life are those who blindly trust the medical profession to hand them a healthy baby.
You Said:
"Unfortunately, I have encountered some scarily uninformed UCers. Some do not do prenatal care. Others believe that if you just "trust birth" it will all go well. This is not true. I had a perfectly normal, healthy pregnancy until I suddenly developed preeclampsia at 38 weeks. I did not know I was ill. I felt fine. I didn't know there was a problem until my urine came back 4+ protein and I was admitted to hospital."
Preeclamsia is completely preventable with a high protein diet. Do some research on the Brewer Diet. Proper nutrition is a mothers key to a healthy baby.
Only a self absorbed medical profession blinded by Big Pharma money and useless obstetric training in surgical interventions would overlook prenatal nutrtion education for mothers, but that is what they have done."
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:42 AM
June 22, 2008
Jenny Hatch, My thoughts on Homebirth and the American Medical Associations "Model Legislation", which as far as I'm concerned they can write up, propose to congress, and then shove that legislation where the sun don't shine.
UPDATE:
Good Morning America posted the video and story that ran on sunday morning on their web site. Go check out this link to see the story. And the Comments.
Here is the comment I left on the site:
"PS: I don't have time to respond to any more comments by Dr. Tuteur."
It is my humble opinion that party pooper Dr. Amy Tutor, the bloggin' doc with a personality disorder and ax to grind against home birth, is a paid hack for pharmacuetical companies. As a blogging doctor she advocates a 39 week c-section as the best birth choice for babes and mothers. Anyone with half a brain knows that major surgery is far more risky for mom and babe than a natural vaginal birth.
And hey, she has the Big Pharma funded study to back up her claim - so you nasty, wasty home birthers just shut up, because nothing you will ever say will ever ever ever change her mind or get her to accept that family centered birth has anything at all, ever, to offer to a husband and wife relationship or help bond the family with the new child.
Only thing to do with someone like her is to blow her a big fat raspberry as you orgasmically push your baby out into his/her fathers hands. She is the killjoy of the homebirth movement. I debated her all last summer. But Dr. Crappen pulled the debate hosted on his blog.
The Salon debate was fun and my personal favorite, the unassisted childbirth debate hosted at the Washington Post.
What rockin good times we had last summer! She just magically appears any time someone mentions home birth on the internet.....What a busy beaver!
Check out this thread to see more about Dr. Amy!
Posted by:
JennyMHatch 8:25 PM
Lately Ben and I have been playing alot of Monopoly. He loves it and we have both enjoyed the leisure hours spent playing this fun Capitalistic board game.
These past few days I have been pondering the recent document TMZ published from the American Medical Association.
The OB's currently enjoy a near monopoly with birth in America. And the usual suspects are claiming that AMA resolution 205 on Home Deliveries statement is NOT a step towards criminalizing home birth. It says:
"RESOLVED, That our AMA 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, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the 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."
Now, I don't know what all of you think "model legislation" implys, but to me it leans towards outlawing or banning/criminalizing homebirth and homebirthing mothers.
Or making the rules of engagement so tightly conformed that only a woman between the ages of 34 and 35 who has already sucessfully given birth to four children vaginally in the hospital, who only gains 23 pounds during her pregnancy, who has an ambulance waiting in the driveway, who goes into labor at midnight at week 39 of gestation, and lives within four minutes of a NICU (with pre paid doctor standing by), and who pays out of pocket four thousand dollars to the MEDwife who has been trained, credentialed, and sanitized by the AMA, will be allowed to give birth at home.
So for the twelve women in America who meet the criteria outlined.....You Go GIRLS!!! Have your babies at home. The American Medical Association says you can if, and only IF you meet their "model legislation" rules of engagement.
The rest of us, who have previous c-section scars, who have bled out after a birth, who have been troubled with post partum emotional illness, and/or who dare to go past our due dates with a ten month gestator well, sorry Mama, you are NOT WORTHY to give birth at home, because we have RISKED YOU OUT!! Too bad...so sad. Now conform to our rules or we will take your baby away, lock you up in jail, and rip your family apart...because hey, we are the Gods of Modern Medicine and we know what is best for you and your family!!!
Barf!! Gag, Gag...
More bloggers weigh in on this topic:
Hatch Family one week after Benjamins Home Birth!
Jenny and Ben three hours after our Home Birth. I felt GREAT!!!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:05 AM
June 18, 2008
American Medical Association declares WAR on Home Birth!
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on the subject of Home Deliveries
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists......A WALL of obstruction for mothers and families who desire to give birth holistically....
Huffington Post:
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 at its annual meeting 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 and the American College of Nurse Midwives support women choosing 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 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 waging turf wars at their expense.
Jenny Hatch with baby number five, Benjamin J. Hatch, born at home into his fathers hands after a six hour labor of love. Lotus born on day six postpartum. A nine pound son born at 42 weeks and 3 days gestation.
This just in from Ricki Lake:
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, click here to read).
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,
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 for the Huffington Post (click here to read).
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
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:41 PM
June 12, 2008
Lynn Griesemer on the Natural Moms Radio show!
Go Here to listen to this excellent broadcast!
Lynn Griesemer, mom of 6 and author of Unassisted Homebirth: An Act of Love is my guest this week.
Lynn joins us this week to talk about women who choose to go it alone - giving birth without the assistance of a Doctor or Midwife.
Why do some moms choose this path? What are the benefits? How does a couple prepare for unassisted homebirth? What challenges do couples who choose unassisted birth face?
Lynn also shares information about her Childbirth Success Kit which is available for purchase on her website.
While an unassisted birth may not be for everyone, Lynn’s experience and those of other unassisted birthers show that it is the right choice for some… and this topic is great for opening dialogue about our cultural ideas around birth.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:30 AM
June 7, 2008
Fox News: Greta Van Susteren interviews Jenny McCarthy "On the Record" on her sons Autism
I thought this interview was the best one Jenny has done so far. Thanks Fox and Greta for taking the time to do such a great interview.
PS Who does not bother to be "fair and balanced" on this blog, and thus will NOT share the recent letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics on Autism and the Green our Vaccines Rally.
My blog Mission Statement is "Healthy Families Make A Healthy World". Vaccines are being used by Globalist Elitists to implement a Population Reduction Agenda in our society. Because of that fact, I do not, nor will I ever trust a Big Pharma Vaccine for me or my children and will go to jail rather than allow my little ones to be poisoned.
Here are three documentary movies that will help educate you about these statements of fact:
David Ayoub, M.D. goes through the relations of Mercury to Autism as well its connections to “National Security Study Memorandum 200”; for population control. Showing its shocking connections to today’s G.A.V.I. Are powerful forces really trying to help the poor people or could it be for another agenda; the sterilization of the poor?
This is an upsetting video, so brace yourself.
Endgame by Alex Jones
We Become Silent
These are my three favorite videos that expose the frauds of the Pharmaceutical Companies.
Take the time to give them a look. Then the Vaccine Story will make sense to you as a consumer of health care. These movies and the types of information they contain explain WHY I call the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical companies that give them their marching orders, the Whore of Babylon as described in the Book of Revelations in the Bible.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:59 AM
June 6, 2008
More Freebirthing Stories, Unassisted Childbirth on 60 minutes Australia, Lynn Griesemer on the news!
Lynn Griesemer on the news!
Here is a link to the video on the 60 minutes Aussie Show.
This just in from Laura Shanley:
Australian 60 Minutes will be featuring a segment called "The Great Birthing
Debate" this Sunday. UC will be discussed, although as usual I don't know
what their take on it will be. I corresponded with the producer several
months ago, and she seemed friendly (but they almost always are!). To see a
brief promo, click on the "60 Minutes Video" box on the right side of this
page -
I suspect that the woman who says, "I would happily do it, but...." is a doctor, a midwife, or a nurse. And of course we all know what usually comes after the "but." The "person of authority" then goes on to state all the things that can go wrong when we are foolish enough to trust our bodies.
None of these shows have been willing to deal with the fact the majority of problems in birth (in "developed" countries) are due to physical and/or psychological intervention. Instead they perpetuate the myth that things go wrong in birth simply because birth is inherently dangerous and unpredictable. As long as women continue to believe this, the c-section
rate will continue to climb.
Here is the information they have posted about the show. If anyone out there participated I'd love to hear from you.
Laura
Mother's Choice
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producers: Kirsty Thomson and Stephen Taylor
There's nothing unusual about women having babies.
Understandably though, every mother-to-be feels unique.
And Tara Brown is speaking from personal experience.
If all goes well, come October Tara will be a mum for the first time. Soon Tara will have to make THAT decision - how she wants her baby delivered.
These days, one in three Australian babies are delivered in an operating theatre. Caesarians are fast becoming the norm.
Right at the other end of the spectrum, some women have their babies at home, with no medical intervention at all.
Not a doctor or a midwife in sight.
So, natural or the knife - on Sunday night the intimate stories of women who've already made that difficult choice. And we should mention some viewers may find some scenes confronting.
Full transcript arrives Monday
"Lynn Griesemer (author of Unassisted Homebirth: An Act of Love) was interviewed by a company that's similar to Associated Press TV. We're not sure who, if anyone, aired it but it's posted here -
Once again, Lynn did a nice job. There are the usual negative comments from a doctor, and once again Lynn addressed these, however as usual her comments were edited out. If anyone sees this on their local news please let us know.
Thanks!
Laura"
Thanks Laura for keeping us all up to date!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:53 PM
New Birth Documentary: Orgasmic Birth
I was first introduced to the idea of sexually fulfilling childbirth when I read Robert Bradley's book Husband Coached Childbirth in 1988. Since that time I have watched in horror as the c-section rate and fear level of most women has skyrocketed all over the world.
It pains me to think that any woman in this day and age would believe that childbirth was meant to be a series of traumatic medical interventions.
Our kind and glorious Heavenly Parents want nothing more than for us to experience deep ecstatic joy while birthing our babes. And so, in the spirit of sharing good and enlightening information, here is the trailer for the Orgasmic Birth documentary. I look forward to seeing this movie in the fall at the screening to be held in Boulder in September.
For those of you who are local here in Colorado a Boulder Orgasmic Birth Screening has been scheduled and tickets are available for purchase on line.
When: Wednesday September 3rd, 2008
Please join us for a pre-screening reception, doors open at 5:30pm.
Screening starts at 7:00pm and will be followed by a question and answer session with the filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro.
Advanced ticket purchase is recommended as space is limited and this is sure to be a popular event.
$15 purchased in advance and $17 at the door the day of the event.
Where:
Nomad Theater
www.nomadstage.com
1410 Quince Ave
Boulder, Colorado 80306
Babies in arms or slings welcome.
“Debra Pascali-Bonaro (Director/Producer) is an internationally renowned childbirth expert, a 26-year speaker in childbirth education, and a Lamaze-certified veteran in maternity care with a passion for birth. Debra travels the world working to ensure women and their partners understand their rights related to the circumstances of giving birth.
In the U.S. she teaches nursing, midwifery and medical students at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and New York University, has spoken about doula care at the White House, and been instrumental in the development of several hospitals and community-based doula programs.
Debra is Co-Chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative, which works in collaboration with global leaders and groups to reduce maternal and infant mortality and improve care for mothers, babies, and families. She serves on the Board of Directors for Childbirth Connection, and is a DONA approved Doula Trainer.
She has co-authored Nurturing Beginnings: Mother Love’s Guide to Postpartum Home Care for Doulas and Outreach Workers and received the Lamaze International Elizabeth Bing Award in 2002.” -www.orgasmicbirth.com
This will also be your opportunity to purchase a copy of the “Orgasmic Birth” DVD and soundtrack, which will only be available at select screening events. You will NOT be able to purchase this online or through the Orgasmic Birth website until later in the year.
Orgasmic Birth brings to the screen the ultimate challenge to our cultural myths by inviting viewers to see first-hand the glorious emotional, spiritual, and physical heights attainable through birth. Featuring 11 women who say YES to this journey, Orgasmic Birth gives us an intimate view of them laboring undisturbed, free to move their bodies to the internal rhythm of labor, laughing, kissing, and moaning through their contractions.
Joyous, sensuous, and revolutionary, Orgasmic Birth, intersperses commentary by experts such as Dr. Christiane Northrup and Ina May Gaskin, with stunning moments of women in the ecstatic release of childbirth. Filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro gives us an inside look at an approach that is more pleasant and statistically a whole lot safer and healthier for both mother and child.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:16 AM
May 14, 2008
My humble apologies to Dr. Amy Tuteur MD
Yesterday Dr. Amy of the Homebirth Debate blog wrote that I made up a lie about her that is making the rounds on Motherings Discussion Boards.
She wrote:
"it came out a few months ago that "Dr Amy" is on the payroll of ACOG (That's a lie made up by Jenny Hatch. Of course, if anyone would like to pay me to write what I am going to write anyway, I'd be happy to accept it. Maybe someone can call ACOG and tell them I deserve to be paid.)"
I am very sorry Amy that my public suspicion of you is gathering steam and people are throwing around the idea that you are a paid shill for ACOG.
The obstetric WALL - a movie produced by Jenny Hatch
When we were debating at Salon last spring, I honestly could not believe that anyone will half a brain could believe the things that you write. And it was in a letter I wrote to Salon that I first began to explore the idea publicly that you are a paid harpie.
Unassisted Childbirth with Doula Care
I said:
We all know Dr. Amy is a Party Pooper, but is she a fraud too?
Dr. Amy,
I've noticed that you don't have any pictures up on your three blogs. You also have no video, and rarely if ever, talk about your family.
You don't talk like a real woman. I have had contact with hundreds of women in my circle of life. Friends, my eleven sisters and sisters in law, those who took my childbirth class, and fellow Bradley Teachers etc etc.... And you don't express yourself like a real woman.
You are a caricature of a person spewing the party line over and over and over in the various places you post and write and defend to the death the obstetrical model of birth.
You know who I think you are?
I think you are four Public Relations dudes from Eli Lilly set up as a blogger to defend the staus quo on the web.
It is up to you to prove that you are real. Post a video of yourself on You Tube. And while you are at it, let us see your birth certificate and credentials in that video.
The thing about the web is, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but if you are a blogger fraud, you will be found out.
Times up DR. AMY, the onus is on you. Prove that you are real. DO IT NOW, and do not write one more word against home birth until you do.
The Reuters UC Birth article is up. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL2148514320070522
You are swimming against a flood of evidence based birth practices and I believe it is simply time for you to go away.
Jenny Hatch
Laura Shanley and Jenny Hatch respond to the Business of Being Born Movie
Since that day, almost exactly a year ago, I have read much more of what you have written, and I have come to sadly realize that you do indeed believe everything you write on your blog.
Wether you are paid to write your blog and defend hospital birth to the death in chat rooms and comment sections on newspapers by pharmacuetical companies, ACOG, or any other Medical entity is not something I can prove at this time. It is simply something I have long suspected about you. But I don't have any evidence that anyone in the medical profession is paying you to write your blog.
Our Journey to Homebirth by Teresa
I have lived in a birth cocoon here in Boulder Colorado. Surrounded by free thinking women who give birth in tents, backyards, oceans, and yes, even their own bedrooms. I have filled my mind with the empowering words of the very writers you most condemn, and I worked for many years as a Bradley Childbirth Teacher. I had no idea that in our modern day and age when woman are being encouraged to literally fly to the moon as astronauts, a female like you would be bullying them into "doctor knows best" birthing situations.
But you do exist and you do have your opinions, and as a loud supporter of free speech and a defender to the death of open and honest debate in any given area of controversy and opinion, I have to step back from my original assumptions about who and what was motivating you to write the things that you do and simply apologize for calling you and some of the people in your comment section "Paid Harpies for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists".
I have zero evidence that you are getting paid for said opinions, and I have zero evidence that your commenters are paid for the time they spend spewing against home birth. I only suspect that you and some of your commenters (like Antigonos) are paid for your blatherings.
Please accept my heartfelt apologies.
It was very wrong of me to write publicly that you were whoring for pharmaceutical companies however much I might assume and/or suspect that such a thing could be happening on your blog and in chat rooms.
Benjamin Hatch, A Lotus Born Child
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:22 AM
May 7, 2008
The Business of Being Born is now out on DVD!!!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:59 AM
Yet another emergency childbirth...Mother and Baby are doing fine
I'm still waiting for the screaming headline.....
Mother gives birth unexpectedly at home.....
She died of a massive hemorhage and the baby is permanently brain damaged....
But no, MSNBC has this new story
Teen gives birth in shower, walks to hospital
Umbilical cord still attached during the trip — baby is fine
"LONG BEACH, Calif. -
A 17-year-old girl gave birth secretly at home, then walked four blocks to a hospital with the baby still attached by its umbilical cord.
"I was just a little nervous" when the labor began, Xochitl Parra said Friday from St. Mary Medical Center as she cradled her 8-pound, 3-ounce son, Alejandro.
The boy was normal and "eating like a champ," said Dr. Jose Perez, director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit."
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:35 AM
April 28, 2008
The Hatch Family A Freebirthin' Montage
Here is a montage of some pictures from our family life of the past nineteen years. We have evolved to a lifestyle that is extremely removed from current medical care around birth and babies.
Jenny Hatch
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:31 AM
Reuters: Women in Labor turned away from hospitals in the UK
Just another reason to have an unassited home birth.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:25 AM
April 19, 2008
Three UC Birth Stories from Susanas Site
Three more great birth videos...
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 1:20 PM
ABC News: A Mother's Nightmare: Babies Switched at Birth
Another Reason to have Home Birth
A Mother's Nightmare: Babies Switched at Birth
Within a Few Hours the Hospital Said It Realized Its Mistake
By CHRIS STRATHMANN, RICH McHUGH and IMAEYEN IBANGA
April 14, 2008 —
New mother Kassie Hopkins had an eerie feeling when she was handed her newborn son after his March 28 birth at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill.
Elsewhere in the hospital Mary Jo Bathon, who also had given birth to a son March 28, had a similar feeling. Still she went home the same day with her infant, caring for him and breast-feeding him even stopping for baby supplies on her drive home.
But within hours, Bathon's odd feelings were justified when she received a telephone call from the hospital saying it had sent her home with the wrong baby. She didn't have her son, Hunter Allen Bathon. She had 17-year-old Hopkins' newborn son, Riley Howard Spencer.
The switch apparently happened when the boys were taken at the same time to get circumcisions. Riley and Hunter wore identification, but somehow the IDs were removed and inadvertently put on the wrong baby, according to the women's attorney John Womick.
"We genuinely regret the circumstances surrounding the discharge of these infants. Fortunately, the situation was quickly identified and corrected within hours," said hospital spokeswoman Staci Bynum.
But the hospital's apology wasn't enough for the mothers. Hopkins and Bathon have sued Heartland Regional Medical Center and its parent company, Community Health Systems Inc., of Franklin, Tenn.
The women have asked for monetary damages of more than $50,000 a piece and a jury trial in a Williamson County court.
"I think it's outrageous," Womick said. "If they aren't careful with babies, then what are they careful with?"
Womick said he wants the court to require the hospital to investigate what led to the switch to ensure it doesn't happen again.
"I think they need to look at the system, admit what happened and correct it," Womick said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 1:12 PM
March 29, 2008
Freebirth: A Message to Obstetricians from Jenny Hatch, "Physician Heal THYSELF!!"
This video is hosted on My Share Page at One True Media
In the past few months four obstetrics societies have made public statements about Unassisted Childbirth.
The Canadian Doctors (SOGC):
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)
The Australian and New Zealand Doctors:
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College (RCOG) in the UK:
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
And in a recent article in the Denver Westword Newspaper (I was interviewed for this story)
A Spokesperson for ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) claimed freebirth was "dangerous".
Childbirth goes solo.
By Jared Jacang Maher
Published: May 10, 2007
"According to the guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the organization "strongly opposes" any birth not performed inside a hospital. A spokesman for the ACOG has a one-word assessment of freebirth: "dangerous."
I have just one message for these doctors, and it is this:
"The moral of the proverb is counsel to prove your trustworthiness with your own affairs before attempting to tell others what they should do."
Break out of the Matrix!
When the various obstetrics societies PROVE that they have the will to reform themselves internally by setting up standards of care that are more about the mother and the baby than they are about the doctor and staff at the hospital, then I will feel more open about listening to any edicts they have about my lifestyle.
Hey Doctors: why don't you set some goals....
1. No inductions before 41 weeks
2. 10% C-section rate
3. No elective C-sections
4. Full acceptance of Lay and Nurse Midwifery both in the home and at the hospital
5. A Complete and total acceptance of VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean)
6. A willingness to embrace proper prenatal nutrition as the foundation for a healthy pregnancy as outlined by the Brewer Pregnancy Diet
When society stops locking up our midwives for bogus reasons, embrace and promote natural mothering as the IDEAL for a new baby (Natural Childbirth, Attachment Parenting, and Long Term Ecological Breastfeeding), then I will believe you have found your soul as doctors.
Until then? Well, I am going to continue promoting freebirth and encouraging families to break away from your way of giving birth, because frankly, the way you do it stinks.
Lamaze International has a white paper on Elective cesarean Vs. Vaginal Birth (PDF)
American College of Nurse Midwives:
RISKS OF CESAREAN DELIVERY ARE UNDERREPORTED,
BENEFITS OVERSTATED
Media Briefing Highlights Concerns In Advance of NIH Conference
QUOTE:
"Only women themselves can tell us if they are actually demanding cesarean section surgery. With what we are learning from Childbirth Connection today, we now know that women VERY rarely schedule first cesareans by choice without a medical reason," says Susan Hodges, president of Citizens for Midwifery. "Only women can tell us what kind of informed consent process was provided to them. Citizens for Midwifery believes that women are not being given adequate and unbiased information about all the risks and benefits of cesarean sections. Research is needed to understand who and what are now influencing decisions to perform major abdominal surgery 'for no medical reason' despite substantial evidence that all cesareans increase harmful risks for mothers and babies."
Free yourself from the Matrix~!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 2:35 PM
March 27, 2008
Freebirth in the News - Australia
Aussie Free Birth story on the Today Show. (With Video)
"Many women are reverting back to nature when it comes to giving birth.
The trend follows decisions by State and Territory governments to close smaller maternity units in an attempt to centralise birth in large hospitals.
Dr Ric Gordon joins the show to explain how the process works and why many women may not be aware of the hidden dangers.
Unassisted childbirth, also know as free-birth or unhindered birth occurs without the assistance of a medical or professional birth attendant or drugs.
"The reasons for choosing to give birth unassisted range greatly from mother to mother but a few key factors are common to most," he explains.
"There is the conviction that birth is a normal function of the female body and therefore not a medical emergency," he says. "This argument is correct that women are able to conceive and carry a child, giving correct reason to believe they can give birth naturally."
Many also believe that most interventions commonly used by the medical profession during birth cause more harm than good in a normal birth, he says.
"There are however, risks involved with giving birth naturally," he says. "It means a woman increases the natural risks of birth, these natural risks are what hospitals and assisted births try to avoid. Hospitals and maternity wards are there so the level of natural risk can be minimised and if it does occur women and their babies can be helped during the birth process."
"When choosing to have an unassisted birth, parents must look at the risks," he warns.
"If there is history of complications with previous births then you may have a higher risk of something going wrong," says Dr Gordon.
"It is extremely important to make sure that you have another person with you as back up should something go wrong," he warns. "It is also wise to have contacts for people handy should you need help."
Dr Gordon suggests that being a close distance to a doctor or hospital is a good idea.
"Parents who choose this style should try and educate them selves as much as they can on what could happen during the birth," he suggests.
"There is also the issue of obtaining a birth certificate for a child born at home unassisted," he says. "Parents will need to register the birth within 60 days of the child being born. If you do not, there will be fees for late registration, and you could get fined."
This story included a clip from the AP wire service Unassisted Childbirth clip filmed this past summer and now available all over the world.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 10:23 AM
March 25, 2008
Another UC Birth Story
How Unassisted Birth Impacted my life
"I am certain it has impacted my husband, though only he could tell you exactly how. He has expressed to me that catching his own baby, being the first to touch him, makes him feel more deeply bonded with him. It also seems to have strengthened his confidence in himself as a father and husband.
Perhaps it put him deeper in touch with his paternal instincts. He views birth differently now, less like a medical emergency and more like a simple, normal, natural life event. The man who was once hesitant about having a homebirth now recommends homebirth, even freebirth, to all. His military colleagues think it's extraordinary that he "delivered" his son, though we've tried to explain to them that it's as simple as playing catch! One thing I know for certain is that it has brought my husband and me closer together. It is a testament that together we can do anything."
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:51 AM
Unassisted Childbirth in the Media: Blog Talk Radio
Lynn Griesemer on the radio AGAIN!
Go Lynn Go!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:38 AM
March 19, 2008
UC Birth in the News!
Three New Unassisted Childbirth News Stories!
From India:
Women of Courage
From The UK:
Junior Pregnancy and Baby Magazine
iParenting:
Text from the India Article:
Reba Daniel
ONCE in a blue moon, somebody among us excite our minds by proving that the will of an individual is mightier than the collective conscience of society.
For 30-year-old Reba Daniel, the healthy girl child she delivered 23 days ago bears testimony to such a deed.
Reba, a media professional-turned-baker, gave birth to a healthy baby at her house in the city without any medical assistance. ‘Free Birth’, she says, is as good an idea as freedom!
Braving the warnings of her relatives and friends, who joined together in ridiculing the folly of her Utopian concept, Reba and her husband Paul Thomas welcomed the new ray hope in their life with smiles in the early hours on February 12.
Paul had to act as the ‘midhusband’ since the search of the couple for a midwife to help Reba deliver a child was not fruitful.
"We were about to give up the idea when we couldn’t find a midwife. At that time, I chanced upon the concept of Free Birth on Internet. The website of Laura Shanley, a Californian mother, was indeed an encyclopaedia," said Reba.
The website had a number of Free Birth stories, which boosted our morale. The idea of Free Birth is slowly gaining momentum and is being practised by hundreds of women across the world, said Reba.
Reba had consulted doctors during the early months of pregnancy. "But, I insisted that no medicine should be prescribed. I took some Ayurvedic medicines. A special diet comprising fruits and vegetables was followed during the pregnancy period. I used to practise Yoga and meditation that gave me the mental strength," she said.
According to her, as long as the body is toxic-free, the chance for a safe delivery is very high.
After birth, Reba didn’t cut the umbilical chord of the child. "The child should benefit from the blood flow from the placentas. I cut the umbilical chord after two days. My request to young couple is that you should at least delay the cutting of the umbilical chord for some hours," she said.
The very next day of the delivery, Reba began to do cooking and other household works.The out-of-the-box ideas don’t end here.
"We have decided not to give any vaccination to our daughter. She is healthy now and we are sure that she will acquire the necessary immunity without vaccination," said Reba.
She said the unusually bold concept was made practical with the whole-hearted support of her husband. "Paul understood me thoroughly. On the eve of the delivery, he was spending hours searching Internet to learn the chemistry of a delivery," said Reba.
There was another reason that shaped the decision of the couple - the tragic death of Reba’s mother, weeks before the delivery. She died as a result of an infection acquired from a private hospital in Kochi where her father had been undergoing treatment. "How can we say that hospitals are safe?," asked Reba.
Paul Thomas is the creative director of Kriya Studio, Vellayambalam. Reba had worked as creative writer and content manager in some software companies. She is running a small-scale cake-making unit at home now.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:11 AM
March 15, 2008
Trust Birth Conference Round Up
So did Laura Shanley:
Dear Friends,
I’m happy to say that the Trust Birth Conference far exceeded my expectations! It was wonderful to connect with so many people I had corresponded with over the years but never met in person. All the sessions I attended were excellent. Each of the speakers stayed true to the Trust Birth slogan: Birth is Safe; Interference is Risky. Speaking of which, apparently the sign we had posted in the lobby (which bore the slogan) did not go over well with some of the hotel guests. A group of surgeons complained to the management, and asked that the sign be taken down! The surgeons felt we should not be able to make a political statement (dare I say, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet?!). Fortunately, the sign remained. :)
I wish I could say I took lots of pictures but I didn’t. The reasons for this are as follows: when it comes to photography, I suck, and I truly wanted to immerse myself in the experience and not be concerned with documenting it. Believe me, I was there! Thankfully other people took pictures. Click here – http://www.flickr.com/photos/24647564@N03/ - to see Brenda Capps’ pictures,
and here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/22818838@N03/sets/72157604098594121/ - to see Gloria Lemay’s.
One of the MANY highlights for me was the panel discussion on “Why Women Stay Home...Alone!” Several of us on the panel had been a bit concerned that we might endure criticism from midwives, but I can honestly say that not one of the midwives in the audience had anything negative to say about UC! After my fellow panelists (Melissa Collins, Heather Cushman-Dowdee, Jody McLaughlin, Rixa Freeze, Heather Brock and Emily Reeves) and I shared our reasons for choosing UC, the discussion turned to how we can build a bridge between UC and midwifery. I was thrilled to learn that there are many midwives who truly want to help women in their quest for a UC, whether that means being a back-up, doing prenatal care, offering knowledge and support during the pregnancy and/or checking on the mom and baby after the birth. (Personally, as most of you know, I never felt I needed this but I understand that some women do, and so I’m thankful there are midwives who are willing to provide this service.) The discussion was so productive that midwife and UCer Kristi Zittle set up a Yahoo group with the following description: “An elite group of women joining together to find a common bond between hands off midwifery and the power of the unassisted birthing woman. Our goal is to meet the needs of all women without interfering with the natural processes of birth; and, through the dispelling of birth fears!” To join the group click here - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/sistersforbirthfreedom/join
Of course I know that not all midwives support UC, and even some who do are reluctant to help those UCer’s that request it for fear of losing their licenses should something go wrong with the birth. This is why my midwife friends (and I suspect many of the midwives in the audience) have tended to fall into the following categories: no longer practicing (either by force or choice), unregulated, underground, or licensed and regulated but willing to break the law. As several of the midwives pointed out, a midwife basically has to decide who she’s going to answer to: the woman or the state. Those who decide to answer to the state may be able to help women that have text book labors, but they will hinder women whose labors deviate from “the norm.” Does a woman truly need to transfer if her water has been broken for more than 24 hours, or her placenta isn’t delivered within an hour of the birth? In most cases, I don’t think so. But a midwife who answers to the state will do this in spite of the fact that she knows this is wrong. This is why I’m having a hard time getting behind the “Big Push” for licensing midwives.
There is so much more I could write about (and so many people I could thank/praise) but I’ve been home since Monday and I still haven’t unpacked! To those who would like to read more about the conference click here - http://trustbirthconference.com/reviews.html
The OBGYNs are talking about it too!
In response to the announcement of the conference one OB said:
"Do they also offer flying lessons for broomsticks? el"
Who says el gets the prize for originality and humor....comparing midwives to a certain troubled lady who travels around on a broom...ha ha heeee haaa snort. El, you are just too funny, original, hilarious, creative, and slap happy...I think I just died laughing.
Wonder whose profession is going to be labeled by history the worst thing that ever happened to the family in the oracles of mankind? Hmmmmmmm....
No one has ever answered my query...."why is the doctor in the ACOG logo wearing a Superman Cape???"
I'll add more links and quotes as those who attended start sharing thoughts on the birth blogs and chat rooms.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:57 PM
March 8, 2008
Pot, oh Pot....Did you know you are BLACK???
Sometimes when I am reading the various posts over at Dr. Amy's Homebirth Debate Blog, I get the feeling when she is dissing those of us who promote homebirth that she thinks we are some organized group of women who all think alike, believe alike, and get together daily to hash out what it means to be an advocate of this type of birth.
I barely have time to talk on the phone to fellow activists, much less spend hours and hours in a smoky back room plotting and planning how to share the good news of home birth with other women.
By lumping us all together as the most naive, undereducated, simple minded people on the planet when the topic of birth comes up, she implys that a conspiracy of sorts is out on the web, manipulating innocent young couples into the dark dungeons of unscientific and indefensible home birth.
Home Birth activism is sort of like Home Schooling...
As an active member of my homeschooling community here in Boulder, for many years I rubbed shoulders with some of the most amazing, dedicated, and informed parents in our county.
Yet I never met a parent who had the same focus, used the same curriculums, and had the same outlook on education as my husband and I did.
We were all different, committed to giving our children the best education possible, but every family had a unique focus and differing take on how best to teach children. What we all shared in common was a sense that something was very off in education and we were better equipped than the education professionals to teach our own children, especially at the elementary level.
Does this mean all I believe all education is bad and the public schools having nothing to offer my family?
Nope. All three of my school aged children are attending a wonderful charter school in our district and I have been thrilled to have them in a public school for the middle and high school grades. I love that they are involved in sports and theatre and have the opportunity to play in the band and sing in the choir.
Did our homeschooling efforts HURT them academically during the five years we kept them home and taught them ourselves? No, all of them have been honor students, my oldest daughter Michelle made the deans list, and all are competing in classrooms with some of the brightest children in Boulder County.
Now plenty of education professionals would consider a mother teaching her own children how to read a travesty and threat to their profession. Yet based on statistical evidence everyone knows the public schools suck at teaching children how to read.
So, who is right?
The educrats who have all the credentials and have come up with a system of teaching that ensures huge swaths of Americans will never move past a third grade reading level? Or parents who simply want children to know how to read, (and for this dedicated reader, LOVE TO READ for the sheer enjoyment of it).
I was not willing to leave it up to chance and so I made certain all of our children learned how to read, and they now all spend hours and hours every week reading for pleasure. This is the mark of an educated populace, and based on the current stories coming out of California, I think we can safely say the educrats have collectively lost their minds.
(California recently passed legislation that would mandate the teaching of homosexuality and communism in the schools, and this past week effectively outlawed homeschooling.)
The education establishment is playing out a socialist agenda in varying degrees and levels in all of the states of America. With humanism, collectivism, and the brain numbing promotion of marxism actively being promoted in every state, I think we can safely say that those pioneering homeschoolers of the 70's who were the canaries in the coal mine warning parents about the direction our schools were heading and who carried the bulk of societal scorn and rejection around home school issues were spot on in saying parents could do just as good of a job and in many instances far better of a job than the most credentialed of educrats.
Birth activists and homebirth promoters are those same sorts of people. Birth Junkies and home birthing mothers are generally those people who have stepped away from the group think of the doctors and are taking a long hard look at what exactly is going on with american birth.
And when talking about smoky back rooms, agendas, and conspiracies, for some reason the ACOG doctors and their multitudes of lawyers, staff, paid lobbyists, PR, and promotion efforts unwittingly come to my mind.
See, I don't reject any person in my life based on life choices. I honestly do not care how other people bring their own children into the world. I am friends with hospital birthers, home birthers and all sorts of people with different views and daily practices than my own.
But doctors sure do have a one size fits all protocol for the practice of obstetrics. Our Birth, Our Licensing, Our Midwives. And plenty of professionals have been harrassed and heckled for not practicing the way that ACOG demands. Birth centers have been shut down, millions of dollars of personal investment lost and lives and careers ruined all because individuals have not contorted themselves to fit into the rules and regs of a profession gone mad.
Dr. Amy thinks all homebirth promoters think alike, behave alike, and promote alike, but this is the pot calling the kettle black. It is the doctors and the medwives who have banded together collectively to shut out all other forms of birth, who have shut down, bullied, forced, and manipulated the whole system into a collective that is hurting women and costing the taxpayers a boatload of cash.
And now the democrats want to socialize the whole mess and take it one step further by rationing and looting the current system so that everyone can partake of the abomination that is Allopathic Birth.
Know what? Even if it is free, some of us don't want to submit to the rules and regs of "cover your legal butt" obstetrics.
As a homebirth promoter I challenge every mother to seek out the care that fits into her life and her pocketbook. I trust that she has the wisdom and the intellect to choose whatever type of care will serve her family best and I challenge the movers and shakers in our government to work towards easing up the laws around birth away from groupthink into the wonderful world of freedom, where every family will be empowered to make the health care decisions that fit for them without any fear of being prosecuted for so called Medical Neglect.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 2:30 AM
March 6, 2008
Healthy Baby?
Hat Tip to Laura Shanley for sharing this image with me. Whoever came up with this visual made the point perfectly!
If it was YOU, contact me so I can give proper credit!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 1:05 PM
March 2, 2008
Chicago Sun-Times: Unassisted Birthing
Families take birthing out of the hospital
Pretty good article.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 2:50 PM
February 24, 2008
40th Birthday Party
Last night I celebrated my 40th birthday with seven friends.
I was able to procure a copy of The Business of Being Born for the party and we watched it together. It was a joyful experience to celebrate my birthday with these friends as we shared the beauty and empowerment of that movie.
I received wonderful gifts of flowers, books, and candles from my friends, but mostly the party was blessed with the spirit of the Lord as we talked of true things and how to heal mothers and babes and the family overall from the overmedicalization of birth.
After everyone left the party Laura and I watched some of the extra footage from the DVD. I pulled out my camera and had my daughter take a couple pictures. I had forgotten to take pictures of the actual party, but this little montage shares our reaction to the movie. I have now watched it four times and I still believe it is the biggest leap forward for birth activism of the past thirty years.
I would highly encourage anyone reading this to purchase the movie when it comes out on DVD and have a party to share it with all of your friends.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:41 AM
February 22, 2008
Whose your Daddy?
I was just over at the Home Birth Conclusion....I mean, Debate Blog and read this post by Dr. Amy about Evolutionary biology.
For me, this is the crux of the debate and it is why I will never come to a meeting of the minds with people who believe what she believes.
She Said:
"A basic principle of homebirth advocacy is that women are "designed to give birth". A variety of further claims flow from this: birth shoulded be "trusted" because it is designed to work; the incidence of death in childbirth must be low or "we wouldn't be here"; complications are caused by intervening with the natural process instead of respecting it. These claims are spectacularly wrong because the basic principle is spectacularly wrong.
Women are not "designed". Their bodies are the result of evolution. Evolution does not create perfection. It produces a wide variation in many traits and then selects for those that improve survival in the existing environment. The scientific discipline of evolutionary biology seeks to apply our knowledge of evolution to understanding the basis of human health and health problems. It has important implications for our understanding of childbirth and it reveals why claims that women are "designed" to give birth vaginally are both unscientific and foolish."
Why would I as a Christian Woman who believes that my husband and I are divinely created in the very image of our Heavenly Parents ever in a million years go to someone like her for help with our births?
It's one thing to use a doctor who has a foundation of Judeo/Christian or Muslim faith who believes in God and that he is our Heavenly Father. It is quite another to go to a doctor who has believed every scientific lie taught to him in medical school about evolutionary biology.
If that evolutionary doctor was delivering my child, his basic premises and beliefs, you know, that I evolved from slime and my genetic and biological mutations have made my pelvis WAY too small to deliver a large child, or any child without his help, would most certainly impact his attitudes and beliefs about childbirth, my childs birth. Why would I as a faithful woman pay him thousands of dollars to practice on my divinely created body?
See, I don't just believe that I am created in the image of my Heavenly Parents, I KNOW IT. It is one of the foundations of my life.
Ironically the evolutionary doctor who would take issue with me birthing without his help would have me transfer all of my Faith in God to Faith in Him and his drugs and surgical interventions to birth my child.
Not going to happen.
I KNOW who my Daddy is. And I know that he designed birth perfectly, I know that the various ebbs and flows of hormonal connectedness and interactions were designed by a loving Heavenly Parent who is only a prayer away while I am in labor.
I KNOW that my body has the ability to birth alone, safely, happily and perfectly at home.
The scriptures have counseled me to put all of my Faith in God. Not in the fleshy realm where doctors live, breath, and function. I love the quote that says "what if something went wrong during my birth and all I had to trust in was GOD?"
Carol Balizet
In Proverbs 3:5 it says
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
In 2 Nephi 4:34 this advice is repeated again:
"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm."
I don't particularly Trust Birth, I trust the Lord, whose daughter I am, who is sending these little children down to our home to live and be taught and loved and cherished. I have found that by trusting the Lord to help me while I birth, I have developed a greater Love and Faith in Him. And I defy the Godless Professional who would step in between my relationship with my Father in Heaven and start dictating to me what I should or should not do as a mother.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:05 PM
A freebirthin' Family
As a family we have traveled down a path from medical birth to family centered birth and natural family living.
This montage shares some photos of our family during the various pregnancies of our five children. Starting with our hospital birth with oldest daughter Michelle, A C-section for Breech Presentation with Second Daughter Allison, an Empowering Hospital VBAC with Jeffrey, and finally a home birth with 11 pound Andy.
Our Journey to Unassisted Childbirth has brought amazing amounts of Joy into our family life.
Our fifth child Ben was born Lotus Style at home attended only by his Father.
We believe freebirth is the most gentle way to welcome a child into the world, and promote it as a wonderful addition to Family Life.
My Share Page at One True Media
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 4:54 PM
The Third International Husband/Wife Homebirth Conference
Just thought I'd share an update on our 2009 Birth Conference.
The update is that we are working on it, and there is not much to update.
However, if you are in the mood to attend a really great birth conference, head on out to California to the TRUST BIRTH conference which will be in two weeks!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 9:05 AM
February 21, 2008
Mama Raisin had a Freebirth!
Here is a link to the birth montage of Mama Raisin
She also had a great blog post about Lotus Birth: Go Here
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:02 AM
February 18, 2008
Go Vote for Dr. Amy, I did! Bloggers choice awards
UPDATE: Next Day...
Thankyou dear readers, in the past day or so The Homebirth Debate Blog has reached #2 in the WORST Blog of all time catagory at the Bloggers Choice Awards 2008. With 63 votes as of today, the quack who claims to like debating about home birth has once again proved with this little survey that she has the most pointless BLOG on the net.
I checked WIKI for the antonym of Debate (For those of you who did not attend Medical School, (and are perhaps simply ignorant, not stupid, just not as enlightened as some Bloggers with REAL credentials), An antonym is the opposite of the word being defined.
Synonyms for the word Debate are: discussion, argument, dispute, deliberation, examination, consideration
Antonym: conclusion
IF Dr. Amy is willing to change the name of her blog to Home Birth CONCLUSION, I will stop dissing her.
The funny thing is, I don't know one person in the homebirth community who thinks that all hospital birth is all bad all the time. We ALL agree that Allopathy (Drugs and Surgical Birth) has its place in our world. But to claim as ACOG and Dr. Amy do that no birth should ever, ever, ever take place at home, they have come to the CONCLUSION that NO BIRTH should ever take place at home and those of us who do it for any reason whatsoever are selfish, ignorant, and just not quite as enlightened about the facts of birth as they are.
My reasons for choosing to birth my last two sons at home are tied up in the Colorado Rules of Engagement for Midwives and Birth. I am the daughter of two families who have been notoriously "late" gestating babies. My Dad was a 44 weeks babe and My Mother gave birth to a 44 weeks son. One of my sons was a 45 weeks gestator, and my fifth child was born exactly 42 weeks and three days after the first day of my last period. If I had chosen to hire a midwife for a homebirth she would have been compelled by Colorado Law to transfer care to an OB THREE DAYS before my son was ready to be born.
I TRUST my childrens ability to decide when they are ready to be born. This flies in the face of current medical dogma around gestation.
In looking at all of the factors involved, and knowing several women in my community who were induced with CYTOTEC with horrifying results to them and their children, I decided that I was far safer waiting at home for my own labor to kick in than in being induced.
As a mother with a C-section scar from my second birth, I weighed all of the factors and decided that a natural birth would serve me and my children best rather than being induced with artificial hormones days or weeks before they were ready to be born.
This choice was not made ignorantly. When Ben did in fact go a few days past the 42 week marker, I was very grateful that I did not hire a midwife to help me with the birth.
When and if Colorado decides to factor me and my children into their laws for birth, I may have a change of heart around assisted birth. But I recently heard from a woman who is a labor nurse at a midwest hostpital with an 80% C-section rate where every mother is induced at 37 weeks and the only women to give birth naturally with no augmentation are those lucky souls who happen to go into labor early and give birth as soon as they get to the hospital.
Let's just say the trends are not lookin too good for natural, spontaneous delivery at the local hospital and various places around the country.
I guess the point is that every mother has to decide for herself what type of birth will best help her achieve her goals for a healthy baby, and I support every woman having the ab