*Now with more links*
Not only are home birthers irresponsible, selfish, and reckless, they are now, according to the Today Show, hedonists who are seeking a spa treatment experience during labor! (Never mind that it's okay for hospitals to market their maternity wards' spa-like amenities...)
The Today Show recently investigated the supposed "Perils of Midwifery" and their shoddy reporting is in for a drubbing.
The ACNM responded with a discussion of The Non-Perils of Midwifery. "Not only does it follow the heart-breaking account of a birth gone horribly wrong; it exploits the couple’s tragedy—turning it into a sensationalized story that scares women and grossly misrepresents midwifery," the ACNM commented.
Nicole at Your Birth Right wrote about The Perils of ACOG: "[D]uring narration about home birth advocates they decided to use the word alleged as if homebirth advocates are somehow perhaps liars or criminals....The word alleged is somehow missing when the DOCTORS are quoted," she wrote.
Speaking of perilous obstetrics, Jill at The Unnecessarean noted that ACOG just released survey data indicating that many obstetric practices are influenced by fear of litigation and ultimately harm the patient.
Radical Doula wrote that ACOG is making me nauseous.
Citizens for Midwifery claimed that the Today Show is in bed with ACOG.
The Big Push campaign hit back with its own (alarmist) rhetoric: Physicians take anti-midwife smear campaign to the airwaves. (PDF)
And I love (Keyboard Revolutionary) Jill's response: Iridescent tile makes all the difference.
Reality Rounds called Code Bullshit on Matt Lauer. She pointed out some of the many inconsistencies and flaws in the report, with comments of her own in italics:
I have an idea for Reality Rounds: let's up the ante a little. I can think of no stickier, gooier, ickier fecal substance than infant meconium. So from now on, anything particularly outrageous or ignorant or downright stupid, when it pertains to birth, gets a big old...
CODE MEC! CODE MEC!
Anyone care to make a "Code Mec" button for me?
Read more ...
Not only are home birthers irresponsible, selfish, and reckless, they are now, according to the Today Show, hedonists who are seeking a spa treatment experience during labor! (Never mind that it's okay for hospitals to market their maternity wards' spa-like amenities...)
The Today Show recently investigated the supposed "Perils of Midwifery" and their shoddy reporting is in for a drubbing.
The ACNM responded with a discussion of The Non-Perils of Midwifery. "Not only does it follow the heart-breaking account of a birth gone horribly wrong; it exploits the couple’s tragedy—turning it into a sensationalized story that scares women and grossly misrepresents midwifery," the ACNM commented.
Nicole at Your Birth Right wrote about The Perils of ACOG: "[D]uring narration about home birth advocates they decided to use the word alleged as if homebirth advocates are somehow perhaps liars or criminals....The word alleged is somehow missing when the DOCTORS are quoted," she wrote.
Speaking of perilous obstetrics, Jill at The Unnecessarean noted that ACOG just released survey data indicating that many obstetric practices are influenced by fear of litigation and ultimately harm the patient.
Radical Doula wrote that ACOG is making me nauseous.
Citizens for Midwifery claimed that the Today Show is in bed with ACOG.
The Big Push campaign hit back with its own (alarmist) rhetoric: Physicians take anti-midwife smear campaign to the airwaves. (PDF)
And I love (Keyboard Revolutionary) Jill's response: Iridescent tile makes all the difference.
Reality Rounds called Code Bullshit on Matt Lauer. She pointed out some of the many inconsistencies and flaws in the report, with comments of her own in italics:
- A talking male head “expert” comparing home births to spa treatments. “Yes, I will have my full body avocado massage while I am crowning please.”
- Same talking male head talking about the “Hedonistic” style of birthing.
- Flashy pictures of celebrities who have given birth at home. Every women I know has chosen their birthing options from reading US magazine.
- ACOG says childbirth decisions should not be determined by what is flashy, trendy, or the latest cause celeb. But it is OK for childbirth decisions to be dictated by defensive medicine, personal golf schedules, and “because I have always done it this way,” reasoning.
- When the investigator speaks of midwives he uses terms like “they allege” medical births cause X,Y and Z. As if the anger over the medicalization of birth is all a big conspiracy.
- When the narrator states that studies by the CDC show home births to be safer than hospital births, they leave us with this quote: “But doctors say it is impossible to compare the safety of home births with hospital births, becasue hospitals care for so many high risk cases.” Really? It is impossible to compare similar low risk patient populations’ outcomes for delivery? It is impossible to just remove the high risk populations from the comparative study? This is called research idiots!
I continue to believe that if hospitals provided the Six Healthy Birth Practices as the standard of care and offered evidence-based treatments for women and babies experiencing complications, hospital birth would be safer and so would home birth. That’s because midwives would initiate transfers with more confidence that it would improve the outcome, women would transfer more willingly, and care at the receiving facility would be safe and effective. What’s not to like about that plan, ACOG? Now, let’s make it happen!
I have an idea for Reality Rounds: let's up the ante a little. I can think of no stickier, gooier, ickier fecal substance than infant meconium. So from now on, anything particularly outrageous or ignorant or downright stupid, when it pertains to birth, gets a big old...
CODE MEC! CODE MEC!
Anyone care to make a "Code Mec" button for me?
