Seems like the Marie Claire article made it to print, as suddenly the internet version has about 200 comments. The picture is also showing up now!
On another note, Zari is becoming quite audacious about walking on her own. She gets this really happy, and somewhat surprised look, whenever she takes off by herself.
My goodness, there are a lot of posts about that article. Way to be calm, practical, and informative in your own comments, Rixa. (I fear my own reaction would've been different!)
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me that a lot of the negative comments could just as easily have been written about a midwife-attended homebirth -- the need to have technology immediately adjacent to the birthing mother seems to rank high for a lot of people.
None of the arguments against were anything new. Really, it seems like when this issue comes up, it's just the same thing over and over again. I liked your comments at the end - very clear and concise, and got to the bottom of it---> do the research if you are interested, and make your own decision. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYes, Lynette, you're right that homebirth with midwives would attract the same comments. Perhaps slightly less virulent, but you'd still get the "I would have DIED if I hadn't been in the hospital" or "Doctors go to medical school for a reason" remarks.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found ironic were the comments accusing freebirthers of being selfish & irresponsible, juxtaposed against other comments calling freebirthers hypocrites because they'd go to a hospital for an emergency situation. You just can't win, can you?
Totally shallow comment here...great picture :)
ReplyDeleteOh, lord. *covers eyes* I stopped reading after seeing, "Me and my baby would have DIED!" "Eating placenta is gross - this isn't the Dark Ages!" and "What if your baby is bigger than 7 lbs?" I can only handle so much stupid in one day. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm still glad to see that the semi-majority of posters (at least as far as I read!) are in agreeance with the idea of freebirth. Even if they wouldn't ever have one themselves, they still think it's great.
Awesome article! Too bad so many comments had to go off on the "OMG you're all going to die!!!" tangent. I always wondr how many of the "if it weren't for my doctor we would have died" people had dangerous births BECAUSE of their doctors?
ReplyDeleteWow...clearly I know nothing about birth! Its dangerous. We should make machines to do it for us...(sheesh) *rolls eyes*
ReplyDelete*hem* the article was wonderful and I think you were very well spoke! Couldn't see the pic but the article was awesome.
Comment #157
ReplyDelete"A woman should consult her husband and then follows his wishes. For a pregnant woman to be left to make this kind of decision alone is very risky. A pregnant womans decision making process is already severly restricted so why leave something as important as a potential birth of a son and head of the familly, to chance."
I just vomited a little in my mouth. Seriously, eating placenta is fine, but that? I need a tic-tac.
I would have said that there, but my comment wouldn't post.
Yes, some of the commends were, ahem, less than articulate, shall we say?
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the magazine has closed the comments. I am glad I put mine in when I did.
"Ah, the drama!" Surely you mean that in jest. You love the drama! That's what your blog is all about!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I am not sure what you mean here. How do you know what I like or do not like? I certainly do not think my blog is about drama; that's definitely not "me" at all. Scratching my head about why you made this comment...
ReplyDeleteYou know why...to start drama. That's what the "anonymouses" always like to do. ;)
ReplyDeleteYour blog is the most drama-free out of all the ones I visit! In fact, the only people who bring drama are the ones who never sign their names.
Honestly, I do think that this blog has a lot of drama. It is devoted to a rather far-out concept to most industrialized minds. Furthermore, I think that most bloggers have a component of "hey look at me" to them. Why else would they be blogging? Just my opinion. By the way, I don't have to sign up on any web sites to post a comment anonymously. It's just the path of least resistance.
ReplyDeleteBut sign me Sarah in St. Paul.
Just found your blog when searching for research on unassisted birth and it seems you would be a good person to ask.
ReplyDeleteI realise collecting data on unassisted birth is very hard, but I have a recollection of seeing some on Amish women, but I can't locate it, have you ever come across anything?
Great blog!
There hasn't been any studies done on Amish women as far as I know. There was a small study of the birth outcomes of one specific religious community that avoided all medical care (needed or not). Obviously that's not really the same thing as the current unassisted birth movement.
ReplyDeleteSo women in 3rd world countries die from UC, so that means we shouldn't do it? This is akin to telling your child they should eat their food because there are starving children in the world. Lame!
ReplyDeleteI just have to add - to the last sentence of that article "women who freeebirth have no-one to blame but themselves, and they have to come to term with that"...
ReplyDeleteSo as an obstetrician, if a baby dies at the hospital, there's no one to blame but you, right? I guess you must advise people not to become doctors due to the risk of someone dying because of them, by that reasoning.