Home Birth Advocate Dies After Her Own Home Delivery
- Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:04am by
Liz Klimas
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Caroline Lovell passed away due to birth complications that occurred during her home delivery. (Photo via Daily Mail)
An Australian woman who had lobbied the government for more support for pregnant women seeking home deliveries died herself after complications arose in the home birth of her second child.
The Daily Mail reports Caroline Lovell, 36, of Melbourne went into cardiac arrest during a Jan. 23 home delivery of Zahra, a baby girl who is in good health. Lovell is reported to have had a private midwife at the home but “unknown birth complications” resulted in heart failure.
The Daily Mail has more on Lovell’s lobbying efforts for home births:
In 2009 she told a health inquiry that midwives who assisted with home births needed proper funding and legal protection, in line with other countries.
Her written submission warned that “lives will be in threat without proper midwifery assistance” from the state.
She wrote: “On a personal note, I am quite shocked and ashamed that homebirth will no longer be a woman’s free choice in low-risk pregnancies.
“As a homebirthing mother I will have no choice but to have an unassisted birth at home as this is the place I want to birth my children.”
Lovell is also survived by her husband and 3-year-old daughter, Lulu.
The Daily Mail reports that in Australia pregnant women are discouraged from home deliveries. Beverley Lawrence Beech, chairman of the U.K.’s Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services, said that the “medical mafia” in Australia should provide better support for expectant mothers seeking home births, but she does note that complications from home births, like that of Lovell, are extremely rare. Lawrence Beech goes as far to say that it could even be safer than hospital deliveries because “you are much less likely to have unnecessary medical intervention.”
The Herald Sun reports a spokeswoman for Midwives in Private Practice as saying this is the first maternal death she has heard of in her 15 years as a midwife.
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Comments (82)
jwind
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:31amI’ve worked in the hospital labor and delivery area for 20 years. Women die in the hospital in childbirth too. Women are having homebirths all over the world and some will die there as well. It’s just a fact of life. Being in a hospital is not a guarantee of life. For you OR your baby. Sad that she died.
Report Post »FROTHYDISCHARGE
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 3:24pmNo it doesn’t guarantee life but a home birth guarantees morbidity or mortality if there is a serious complication. A hospital can manage postpartum cardiomyopathy (heart failure) but your midwife can’t even pronounce it. I think it’s unfair to call this poor woman names but people should think twice before taking the risk of a home birth.
Report Post »Tea Party Animal
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 8:38amShe had every “right” to “choose” to home deliver….she also has the right to be an idiot, and now she’s dead….oh well (shrug)
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:14amI can tell from this post that you are a member of the neocon TEA party. I think it is baseless and frankly quite disgusting for you to call a woman an idiot when she was fighting for decreased gov’t and increased personal liberty. It becomes even more relevant when you realize that the first thing a hospital does to a child is draw blood and give shots laced with mercury or aluminum. They then send the blood to a lab to test for genetic defects and track it on a national scale. They also keep samples of the DNA for the federal gov’t to use in identifying your child later in life. Trust me, they have the technology and manpower to do so. They already have a database that contains the DNA of every military member going back a decade or two and the manpower to sift through it.
There is nothing wrong with a woman choosing to have her child at home. Personally, I’d like my wife to have our children at home, but since the first child is always the riskiest, it looks like our first will be born in a hospital. I’d love to know that I could have my child born where there is competent and at the same time not over-zealous medical professionals who feel the need to poison my child and wife while taking their DNA against our will for some federal registry.
Report Post »janedough1
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:48amWow, SGTB, you must be clairvoyant. You can tell this is a neocon *********, eh? Whatever that means. I guess you don’t realize that a large proportion of the “teabaggers” are Democrats or Libertarians. You’ve probably never actually been to a ********* meeting.
The bottom line is that when you have increased liberty, you do sometimes make the wrong choice and suffer for it. She made a choice, she suffered the consequences. Sure, there are consequences of delivering in the hospital too. But there is no little liberty fairy that is going to come and protect you when you have increased liberty. Tea Party Animals is precisely right: she had the right to choose. She also had the right to suffer the consequences of her actions. It is a shame it happened for her and her baby. I don’t rejoice in seeing anyone suffer or die. But with increased liberty comes increased responsibility.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 10:37am@ JaneDough1, Apparently I didn‘t make my distinction between the real TEA Party comprised of Libertarians like myself and the Neoconservative TEA party filled with members who really just want gov’t to regulate the way they want and who want to go to war unnecessarily with any foreign nation like they are playing pin the tail on the donkey.
I agree that the right to liberty comes with responsibilities and among them is that you must accept the outcome of your actions. However, what is at issue here is the fact that the medical profession with the help of gov’t is striving to take away your liberty by making it riskier to give birth at home than it should be. The Australian gov’t was suing midwifes and was destroying their ability to provide adequate care.
And as for the term “*********”, don’t ever let me see you type it again. It is on par with any other derogatory name given to a group of individuals and I consider it a racist slander. I am a TEA party member and I have been to events from Oceanside, Ca to Washington D.C. For you to refer to me by a term describing a sexual act is abhorrent.
Report Post »jkrush
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 4:33pmSGTB, how do you expect to be taken seriously when you start your argument with an insult?
Report Post »JediKnight
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 5:22pm@SGTB: You might want to reread the article. She was fighting for increased funding aka more government, not less.
Report Post »I_can't_believe_this_stuff
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 7:15amNatural selection …
Report Post »sundance_sp
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 5:43amI know some of you might say, “what a heartless bastard”, but, I don’t think for a second that this lady, excuse me,,, mother would have it any other way. Yes, it’s sad. No doubt. However, if she was alive today, would you think she would change her mind in a similar story? Not even no, but heck no! Good for her, may she rest in peace. It is what it is. Best to walk away and appreciate what she tried to accomplish…
Report Post »krisiniL
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 12:07amIt is very true that this woman might have also died at the hospital, but are you saying her odds of surviving weren‘t diminished by the fact she wasn’t in a hospital? With my third child, I had a normal delivery and everything was fine. A problem arose, however, when the placenta would not detach from the uterus. I was bleeding out and had to be taken to the operating room. Luckily, it turned out okay, but what if I had been at home instead, bleeding to death with a midwife who doesn’t have the drugs or surgical skills to save me? Hospitals aren’t the best places to be, I agree, but part of being a responsible parent is having your baby surrounded by medical professionals that can intervene with extraordinary measures, if needed.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 6:59amShe said, “I will have no choice…“ and ”because I WANT…”
Report Post »The two are mutually exclusive. If it is something you “want” then you are choosing.
If it is a “right” or a “necessity” we can have that discussion, but, claiming you have no choice over something you simply “want” is a losing argument. We can even have the discussion over whether home birthing is more cost effective, and whether midwives are adequate. They were for thousands of years, but we also had a higher mortality rate among mothers and babies.
SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:20am@ TomFerrari, You are taking her out of context. It is her CHOICE to have her child at home. BUT, what was beyond her control was that the gov‘t would not allow midwife’s to freely practice their trade. The Australian gov’t has been suing midwifes for the deaths of mothers and when it becomes more costly to be a midwife than to stay at home, they will stay at home. She chose to have a child at home, but the gov’t forced her to have less than a standard level of care through their ignorant regulation and criminal prosecution.
Please take a second to critically think about what you read.
Report Post »maplestmom
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:03pmI have 10 children, 3 of them were born in the hospital and 7 of them at home. I too used to think like you until I read and studied and experienced more than a few unnecessary interventions. My first was a c-section caused by hospital policy that would not let me walk during my labor. I had to fight for the next 2 not to be c-section. That was 20 years ago, and every birth is so orchestrated that the term “natural child-birth” doesn’t even exist any more. Do they tell you in your childbirth classes that the epidural that they give the mother will interfere with the childs ability to latch on while breastfeeding, among other things? And that you and/or your baby can catch any number of hard to cure bacterial infections? The constant interfering with childbirth has brought the c-section rate up to over 25% which also increases mother and infant mortality rates. Homes are much safer to deliver low-risk babies. Hospitals are safer for high-risk pregnancies. But I am not sure that this mother would hae lived if she was in the hospital, either. It sounds as if it was sudden.
Report Post »RobinMom12
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 11:28pmI’m a mother of 12. I had 10 of my children at home with a midwife. My first child was born in the hospital, because I hadn’t found a midwife yet. My sixth one was born without complications at a hospital because the cord was trapped under his head and the midwife was concerned. It moved by the time we got to the hospital, and I delivered before the doctor got there.
Report Post »I feel it is safer to have home births after hearing many stories from friends in church nurseries over the years. Doctors and hospitals cause a lot of problems by creating an atmosphere of tension and by trying to make things happen faster and more to their convenience. They also do not spend enough time educating mothers on how to deal well with the birthing process. I’m thinking about writing a book about my experiences. What do you think?
rlmeals
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 12:01amI say go for it! After two hospital births, I’m opting for a home birth next time…if only I can convince my husband! He’s okay with a birthing center and a midwife though, so I could compromise with that ;-)
I think it’s so important to educate women about the myths and truths of home birthing versus hospital birthing and everything in between. When I was a new expectant mom, I read books and literature, but it all had very negative things to say about midwives and natural births. My doctors both times basically scared me into needing to be induced, and never informed me of the dangers of pitocin, rather just said it’s “normal” to induce and has “minimal risks.“ It was presented as ”your baby’s too big, we need to go forward with this and induce“ and ”your labor can be under 30 minutes, especially with the first child, and you need to be induced so you’re not having the baby in the car on the way to the hospital. All of my concerns were rebutted with doctor-knows-best “I have your baby’s best interests in mind” type of responses. I was too ignorant to know that they were wrong and that I could have stood up for what I wanted.
They induced both boys 1 week early, put me on an epidural, and they only weighed 8 and 9.5 pounds. I was low risk, and could have proceeded naturally if not for their insistence. I got infected in the hospital, and my first kid was in NICU because the doc said he was “born too quickly”…well, yeah, on pitocin? D
Report Post »GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 12:28amGo for it!..it would be difficult to find a woman more experienced than you nowadays…God bless you!
Report Post »dr121273
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 10:58pmI have had 3 c-sections, rendering 3 10+ lb baby boys, who are now older and very healthy. I cannot and will not understand the obsession with “home birthing”, or no drug birthing, or a home-like environment for the birth, or whatever! The baby doesn’t remember it, I just wish people would stop focusing so much on how the baby comes into the world, but teach it something after it gets here. There are so many brats and completely moronic kids and teens running around bc mommy and daddy had them, and taught them very little or nothing at all! Kinda like the bride-zilla that only wants a perfect wedding and the actual marriage lasts only a couple of years!!! Geez!! BTW…..I do feel very bad for her husband and children living the rest of their lives without her there. This unfortunate accident could’ve happened at home or the hospital, just at the hospital, she might’ve been revived and treated. Hindsite is 20/20. I pray for her family.
Report Post »Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 1:18amTake a look at RLMEALS’ post directly above yours (assuming you’re reading latest entries first). I think home birthing is an understandably attractive option for many women. And it has no bearing whatsoever on the Bridezilla phenomenon, lol. That’s a separate problem.
Besides, what the heck is wrong with a natural birth? My own mother birthed three healthy babies, and the last one had to be a c-section. She’s got a humongous scar from it, which still hurts her sometimes. They sewed her up wrong, I kid you not. That’s major surgery, too. I mean…sheesh, if you can do it au naturelle, then go for it, I say.
And inducing labor? What the heck’s up with that? If you don’t absolutely need a drug, why the heck would you be introducing it both to your system and to the fetus? I can understand people being concerned with the sheer number of “pill popping” solutions doctors readily offer. Sometimes a little pain is better then webbed feet for the baby down the road.
And I say that very seriously: my own mother was prescribed a drug to help with nausea while pregnant with me- she took it only in half doses, and quit taking it at all after the first few tries. Guess what? Turns out that drug causes flipper babies, and has since been banned. Phew! Good thing she hates taking pills! (Can’t remember the name of the drug right now. >_<;)
Report Post »loki1830
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:18amMy wife has done all three. First at hospital terrible experience doctors and nurses. But it was all natural no drugs. Second home birth. Perferct birth no drugs no doctors no nurses messing with you. The third back at hospital, we are a little smarter so we had to be forceful with the doctors.
Report Post »Low risk pregnancy the best route is home birth way better.
Woman with c sections have so many problems afterwards. Lots of woman are idiots and just give a yes sir to their doctors orders. Sad. They should post hospital horror stories. THE US is on the bad end of mortality rates for new borns
dr121273
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:48amMy first c-section was emergency, last two were choice bc of the complications i had with big babies. I had very little pain meds after and no problems from all c-sections to follow, but that is just me. Bottom line, we all need to use the common sense that God gave us, period. And then, after we do, face the consequences, whatever they may be…….we need to be accountable for our CHOICES……..
Report Post »GoldenRudy
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 11:18amSpot on. I think there is more concern about how birth is accomplished than what is the safest way of doing it. Remember in the early 1980′s when those in the know said a women did not fully experience being a women without having a “natural” birth and that Caesarians were to be avoided if the women wanted to achieve full womanhood? If my wife had believed in that crap, she and our first child would have died. Nature did not provide her with a suitable delivery passageway for the baby. Having a baby at home when a hospital is nearby to me is like driving without a seatbelt securely fastened.
Report Post »avgconservative
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 10:26pmIn fact, obstetricians are opting for no labor and more c-sections in hospitals. They want to take all the liability out of it, but don’t want to miss that $5k for delivery, and the $15k for the hospital they work for. CRONY CAPITALISM!!!! it’s in almost every level of medical care. Built in costs and “medical opinions” keep the lawyers at bay… who also want a piece of the birthing pie. Hagfish… all of them!
http://FlipTheLib.com
Report Post »408 CheyTac
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 1:13amthey all need to force them to use breathalyzers… just ask the prez
Report Post »Momof3forGOD
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 1:27amDue to how often c-sections are being done nowadays, Dr‘s won’t even know how to deliver a baby the way God intended. Very very sad.
Report Post »TexasRedlocks
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 10:28amI wonder if the obgyn’s pushing for c-sections warn women about the risks of long term health issues associated with major abdominal surgery.. ie: adhesions (scar tissue)…. I’d really like to see some data about the number of women who, after having a c-section, end up with life long issues with abdominal adhesions.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:49pmIt is both unfortunate and sad. It will likely engender knee-jerk political response to complicate other women’s lives with prior restraint to make it harder for others to do home birth for no real benefit for the prohibition. Just like when a psycho goes off shooting up a shopping mall engenders knee-jerk anti-gun legislation to make it harder for innocent gun owners to go about their lives.
Life is dangerous. Wear a helmet. Do not crusade for helmet laws.
Report Post »RedRay777
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:35pmThis is so very sad. But having a baby in a hospital will not guarantee the survival of the mother or child.
Legislators somehow think they can save us all with laws saying we can only do things in a given manner.
But sometimes we still die with our seatbelts on.
Homebirth is a wonderful option that every woman should have as their own choice.
Report Post »Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 11:53pmYea it is. But if something goes wrong, you have a better chance of survival in a hospital. Thinking otherwise is Tea Party logic.
Report Post »onegodinkansas
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 11:56pmWell stated.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:34amToo true. My sister just had one of her 30 year old friends go into seizures the other day. She was rushed to the hospital and then died on the table. According to doctors, they have NO IDEA what happened. It appeared she was in good health and just died. The medical profession thinks they know more than they do.
BTW, The gov’t is still fluoridating your water to make you more docile. And in case you don’t believe that fluoride has any neurological effect…
The drug Prozac, goes by the alternate name of fluoxetine. It is an organic molecule containing a methyl group that is tri-substituted with fluorine. And should I mention that among its side effects include such things as erectile dysfunction? A hundred years ago, men were having children into their 60′s. Now they have to get a little blue pill to even have a chance. Could it just be coincidence that they are also drinking fluorine on a daily basis or are we more sane than that?
Report Post »American Capitalist
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 1:38pmEh… 100 years ago most men weren‘t LIVING into their 60’s
Report Post »ellietoo
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:20pmMany hospital have created “birthing centers” to make hospital delivery a more home like experience. People can have a room that looks much like a bedroom in a house but it is close to everything that is needed in case of emergency. Why deliver at home and take the risk? Go to the hospital and deliver. Then go home.
Report Post »Personally I was glad to have my babies at the hospital because I would have had to get out of bed and feed everyone right after delivery if I had done it at home!
momof5children
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:56pmfor the record, and you can do the research yourselves. home birth is safer.
Report Post »many women and babies die in hospital births too, you just never ever hear about them!!! i have friends and family members who have had their babes at home without any problems at all. there are always risks, but i believe that women should have a legal choice to choose where they want to birth their baby.
after all, women have the choice to kill their babies if they so choose to have an abortion !!!!
if i were having a baby today, it would not be in a hospital!! period!
confederacyofdunces
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:56pm“chips1
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:12pm
It‘s the woman’s choice. Why should the tax payers pay for it?”
Report Post »In Australia they have socialized medicine, or should I call it a single payer system because that is what we will get after next year. The Government is going to pay if it is in a hospital but not the lesser cost if it happens at home? Ridiculous. One more example of a government run amok. I thought that people give some authority to the government to improve society at large but in turn the government must listen to the people. It seem that Governments are just running wild like some evil stepmother.
THIS ELECTION WE MUST DECIDE IF WE WANT AN INSOLVENT SOCIALIST COUNTRY OR NOT.
SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:45amI agree that this election is important. However, with the choices in the general looking like a pairing of either Newt or Romney against Obama, what real choice is there? Romney basically drew up the plans for Obamacare and is nearly as progressive. Meanwhile, Newt is a big gov‘t statist that doesn’t believe in man’s right to self defense and he believes in anthropogenic global warming; meaning that cap and trade will be at the top of his list along with paying back all of his campaign contributors with gov’t contracts or preferential tax code.
The way I see it, the only one who even had a chance of doing this right was Ron Paul. And since it looks less and less likely that the morons voting Romney or Newt will ever wake up, I think that the US will run aground on its debt in during the next presidency. Either we will continue to add over a trillion a year (1,000,000,000,000) in debt, or we will hit the point at which the general taxpayer will have to start repaying all of the federal bonds held in the Soc. Sec. trust fund so that the retired slaveholders will still get their checks. And yes, I do mean slaveholders in a very literal sense. When you hold a claim over the work and productivity of another, you are a slaveholder. It just so happens that the slaveholders in this nation hold their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as slaves.
Report Post »Herecomestrouble
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:22pmWhat an unnecessary, tragic death. A shame her husband and girls are left alone. Hospitals could/should work with how you want a delivery. There’s no reason for this.
Report Post »American Mensch
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:58pmTo all the arrogant people commenting on the stupidity or selfishness of women who wish to go the home birth route, stuff it. Sorry for being so blunt, but women have been giving birth for thousands of years without our miraculous medical technology, and if a woman wishes to have a home birth, what the hell is it to you? This woman’s death is horrible, but I am not going to jump on the anti-midwife and home birth bandwagon and start piling on an already tragic death. I, myself am considering home birth and recognize all the risks. I like to have control over my body and how I will give birth. If my doctor determines that my pregnancy is high risk, than I would not hesitate to go to the hospital. Most pregnancies are not life threatening, in fact some women even die during childbirth in the hospital, with all that impressive technology. I pray for Ms. Lovell and her family. I hope her daughter, Zahra knows how much her mother loved her and wanted the best for her.
Report Post »yiddishlion
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:34pmAnd for thousands of years women died tragic deaths during, and from complications of child birth at home. Advances in modern technology are a GOOD thing. I’m sorry if you are too stupid to comprehend basic wisdom.
Report Post »dr121273
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 11:03pm@American…….I am a mother, and I DO NOT consider myself arrogant at all. This story reminds me of the man that built his house on the sand……the hospital is there for a reason. Oh and people have been doing alot of things for many many years, but if we have the means to make something better, we should utilize it….
Report Post »Jewd1951
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:46pmAs an OB nurse of 25 years I can’t under stand anyone with half a brain having a home birth with only a midwife in attendance. The ratio of home births VS. hospital births makes the ratios of morbidity unreliable. I have had the unfortunate task of witnessing babies brought ot the neonatal nursery barely breathing as well as a Mom who lost her life due to postpartum hemmorrhage from a home birth. Why in the world would anyone insist on a home birth when we have state of the art hospitals with the equipment to handle such emergencies.
Report Post »Hossua
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:02pmWhich is still not a guarantee that you won’t die from complications. I agree it is nice to already be in the hospital if anything goes wrong, but being in a comfortable setting has its benefits too.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:12pmIt‘s the woman’s choice. Why should the tax payers pay for it?
Report Post »blackstone22
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 10:17pmAmen to all you said.
Report Post »treas54
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:39pmThat’s exactly why they put an IV in even if you plan on a natural birth with no meds. If something happens and you go into shock your veins may collapse so they do it ahead of time just in case an emergency c section has to be done. Your blood pressure and heart rate would be monitored too. It’s sad that in this day and age the simplest thing as a breach birth or a cord around the neck would result in brain damage or the death of the child or mother. It’s plain selfish.
Report Post »Paul -Indiana
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:37pmPaging Mr. Darwin!!!!
Report Post »ImmediateRealityCheck
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:21pmWe had our last (5th) child at home with a midwife and it was the most amazing and bonding time for us and our children. Putting two of the above comments together, only one death in fifteen years of homebirths is an amazingly safe record- one I daresay is not matched by any hospital delivery room! Safe to say the statists regulators will use this bad news to pass even worse laws restricting homebirths. My condolences to the family.
Report Post »Jewd1951
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:39pmThe ratio of home births vs. hospital births does not make the statistic of morbidity you quote applicable.I worked as an OB nurse for 25 years and I can’t imagine anyone with half a brain allowing a child to be born at home with a midwife. I have had the unfortunate job of caring for an infant that has been brought to the hospital barely breathing from an at home birth as well as a maternal death due to an out of control postpartum hemmorhage. Why in this day and age would anytone take the chance of this happening when we have such state of the art Ob care in hospitals???
Report Post »Titania
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:53pmYes, I fear you are right. Our “protections’ come at great cost- like the ability to refuse them. Home births are not necessarily more dangerous, but as the above poster mentioned, there are sometimes complications. I seriously doubt, however, the true ‘safety’ to mother and baby from unnecessary medical interventions and silly hospital safety precautions. I won’t belabor the point, but as a mother of four, I know personally the asinine rules and ‘measures’ taken in the name of ‘safety’ while unnecessary c-sections and induces births are, of course, ‘for the best’ (of whom? The doctor? Hmmm…)
Report Post »dr121273
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 11:06pmSo what your saying is all of us who were born at a hospital did not “bond” as well as your children did???? This is a very selfish and irresponsible decision to make in these times. Sorry, my opinion.
Report Post »Darlie
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 12:06amI had all of my children in a hospital. Due to doctor stupidity and arrogance, I nearly lost two of them at birth and nearly died myself with the last one. I don’t have a single friend (each a middle class, clean-living young lady) who has had a safe experience having a baby in the hospital. Everyone seems to have an “emergency,” a premie and a c-section. My friends who have their babies at home do just fine. I’m not going to blame anyone for chosing what it best for her family. Women die in the hospital, women die outside. I am sorry for this woman’s family, though.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 9:50am@Jewd1951, The complications that you saw could have been treated at home by anyone with proper knowledge of the situation. The best source for such life-saving information is a book called “Where There is no Doctor”. It teaches how to stop internal hemorrhaging and the like and I would say that it has more practical information than any doctor would ever give anyone.
Also, seeing as how you are a part of the medical system and our willingness to depend upon you for a service drives your ability to make an income… your opinion on the subject is entirely suspect if not summarily dismissed by all parties who read it.
Report Post »YesNdeedie
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:20pmThis is especially sad since today at approximately 7 am I became a grandfather to a 6 pound 14 oz little girl……..now I’m more than just a person, I’m Papa T. There were complications since mom was too small to have a normal delivery so in the hospital they had to do the c section…..all is well.
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:02pmCongratulations Papa T!
Report Post »flatbroke
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:38pmPrior to the 1930s everyone was born at home unless your family was rich, and could afford to have your baby in the hospital, dangerous, yes, many complications arised leading to the deaths of many women, yes, but that when women had many children 5-9, per women, and having a midwife was a necessity, before insurance. the same thing is done in many third world countrys today. tragic story, very sad.
Report Post »LimaBean
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:18pmYup, my father had two great grandmothers that gave birth to 10 children each. Pretty sure all were born at home.
Report Post »inferno
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:22pmMillions of people were delivered at home . True there were casualties. There have been casualties in
Report Post »hospitals as well. Child birth is not predictibaly safe 100% of the time. No matter how or where it happens, it’s sad for all concerned.
pattybbb1
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:08pmThis is very sad story. I had a baby at home, my 3rd son. At that time, our state had Lay Midwives that were actually certified through the health dept. (1980). So I had an 80 year old lady named Madie that delivered my 11 lb. son. I wish the best for the family.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:35pmI’m truely impressed…11lbs. WOW! Here in the US, we have been able to hold onto the traditions of the past while using the scientific breakthroughs of today to make things like home childbirth much more safe than it once was. This poor woman was forced to go it alone with no help. Mothers 50-100 years ago weren’t even forced to give birth by themselves. That is just despicable.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:27pm4X;
Report Post »Forced? Are you idding me? It’s what she wanted to do. Probably wasn’t forced to become pregnant, either. Women’s choice!!!
frank_reuben_floyd
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:03pmSuch a sad story so I will keep my comments general – There’s a segment of society that lacks the basic faculty of critical analysis. You know who they are – people going nuts over “alternative” medicine. Think People!
Report Post »cruffler78
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:22pmAgreed : there is a segment in society that lack the skill of critical analysis and my my experience has been that half of them are in the medical field and the other half are in the NUTJOB alternative medicine category, I have had children in and out of the Hospital and my wife votes for the Home birth every time but then again she is perfectly healthy and perfectly healthy people die in and OUT of the hospitial every day. The bottom line is that as an individual I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY OWN HEALTH not the GOVERNMENT and if I cant afford a Hospital it is WRONG for me to expect society to pay for it just because I want it, especially when there are cheaper alternatives.
Report Post »thekuligs
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 7:54pmI agree with the above responder. I am likely having a home birth this time. Why because I nearly died last time in the hospital after my unnessisary c-section. Then one of my twins almost died because the mucus she should have expelled during a ******* delivery never left her and she couldn’t breathe. More people die on the operating table than die having home births every year.
And I am not some crazed hippie. I even knew a healthy woman who had a stroke and died during child birth at a hospital. It’s not risk free, and it’s not “alternative medicine” it’s not “medicine” at all–you aren’t sick.
Report Post »rlmeals
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 9:13pm@THEKULIGS: Thank you for saying that! I’m beginning to get quite livid over the hateful comments about how stupid and selfish having a home birth is. It’s not an illness at all! Of course women used to die in childbirth, and there are good things about modern medicine, but all the unnecessary measures that are customary in a hospital put you and your child in greater danger than having a child naturally. I’m seriously considering a home birth for my next one, or at least a midwife at a birthing center. I don’t have a problem with having a natural birth in a hospital with a midwife, but there’s where your “rights” get fishy…where I’m from, midwives aren’t allowed in the hospital, and if you want a natural birth they won’t let you not get an IV, and if you don’t deliver in 12 hours, they try to force you to be induced and/or go in for an “emergency” C-Section. Whatever happened to letting childbirth happen naturally?
I’m not a hippie either, far from it in fact. I even thought all this home birth stuff was a bunch of hog wash until I had two less than pleasant hospital birth experiences. I was biased against it because the “crunchy” liberal hippies were for it. Now that I understand it, I’m totally in favor of it. But insurance won’t cover it. The medical community is very non-supportive of a woman’s right to choose how to birth. The stats show it’s actually safer than a hospital birth, but good luck getting the AMA to admit that.
Report Post »Misty5
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 5:50pmWow, talk about irony. But I feel bad for those poor children who now have to grow up without their biological mom.
Report Post »skitrees
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 6:28pmIt’s not ironic – it’s prophetic…she said this would be the result, and it was the result. We must also remember: there is absolutely no proof she would have been any better off in the hospital. It is a strong reminder of how precious and delicate life is.
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