Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Announcing my newest baby...

...an article just published in the May issue of The Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology! It's titled Attitudes Towards Home Birth in the USA.
Citation:
Freeze, Rixa Ann Spencer. Attitudes towards home birth in the USA. Expert Review of Obstretrics and Gynecology, Volume 5, Number 3, May 2010 , pp. 283-299(17).

Abstract:
Home birth is highly controversial and divisive. Medical organizations oppose the practice, while other maternity-related organizations (nursing, midwifery, public health, consumer advocacy, doula and childbirth education) uphold home birth as a safe, reasonable choice for healthy pregnant women. Individual physicians and midwives have more complex perspectives on home birth than their professional organizations. Women choose home birth primarily for safety. In addition, they also have had negative hospital experiences, desire low intervention rates, trust birth and want a familiar, safe environment. Public opinion centers on four main issues: safety, choice, women's experiences and critiques of maternity care. Ironically, medical opposition to home birth compromises safety. After reviewing current attitudes towards and research about home birth, this article discusses how discarding the status quo of hostility and mutual distrust in favor of a pragmatic, autonomy-based approach that fosters communication and respect would make home birth a safer choice.
This article has been almost a year in the works. It entailed substantial primary research, extensive secondary research and compilation, and hours of wading through bibliographies and Medline. I would love your feedback, comments, and critiques. Please email me if you'd like to read it!

12 comments:

  1. YAY! well done. looks good from the abstract and only a year! in my field it usually takes 2-3 from sunmission to publication! painful. Look forward to lots of professional responses in the journal!

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  2. Wow, that's so long! This was perhaps a bit unusual because it was a solicited article, rather than me writing and submitting it in the hopes that someone would take it. They actually wanted it a month or 2 after they initially contacted me, but there was no way I could meet that deadline!

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  3. would love to read it but can't figure out how to email you. I'm at meg@purejoybirth.com

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  4. Meg, I'll send you a copy.

    Ps--email address is on the "about" page on the sidebar.

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  5. Good job Rixa! Send us a copy. Dr. B. Freeze

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  6. Congratulations! Sounds really interesting.

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  7. That's fantastic! I'd love to read it.

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  8. Interestingly, I am doing research for school and I saw your research article in several of my searches that I have performed. And then yesterday I happened to come across your blog (though I've seen it previously) via a comment you made on navelgazing midwife. Nice to meet you!!

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  9. Many congratulations!

    I'm e-mailing you to request a copy.

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  10. Hi, I am currently writing a research paper for my undergraduate degree in Women's Studies at University of Delaware. My topic is the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth in america, which is of particular importance to me as I was a home birth. I was wondering if you could email me a copy of your article as I feel it would be very relevant to my research and I would be interested in reading it on a personal level. I would much appreciate it, as a poor college student I don't have the money to buy it, but would love to read more on the topic! Thanks either way and I wanted to say I really love your blog and I just stumbled upon it a few days ago! My email is lili@udel.edu. Thanks again!

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  11. Great job, Rixa! I would love to read your paper. I'm beginning the process of becoming a direct-entry midwife in an environment with an unsupportive medical community. It will be a few years till I'm ready to practice on my own, but I'm trying to come to terms with this situation now. (I think my email address is visible to you, right? Thank you!! I love your blog!

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  12. Manhattandoula--I'm not seeing your email address when I click on your profile. Send me an email to my Stand and Deliver address, and I'll send it your way.

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