Home birth

[inever]

The AMA is taking on Ricki Lake. I haven't seen it, but she made a documentary called The Business of Being Born. She is an advocate for home birth.

It seems the AMA has taken offence and wants to make it illegal to birth children at home.

Comments

[runic_binary]

Personally, I can't fathom why anyone would want to give birth unaided in their own bathtub without the benefit of medical technology. However, I don't think that makes it okay to prevent a woman from giving birth the way she wants to-- Ricki Lake is right; being pro-choice means that women should be allowed to make their own choices about their body and their birth process.

And of course, there are definite problems with the way some (but not all) hospitals handle childbirth in this day and age. I don't want children, but if I did, I would do like Lake says and research and consider all of my options.

[inever]

In my personal experience and from others I've spoken too medical staff are often pushy. I've read many stories about women being bullied into interventions they neither need nor want.

That being said, I would never suggest that someone refuse medical care if it is indeed necessary. Lots of babie's and mama's lives are saved every day by doctors and nurses.

[animamea]

For example, I was "being too loud" so the nurse came in while I was having a contraction and shot me up with a not-quite-overdose of Demerol.

I certainly wasn't loud after that. I barely remember my daughter's birth and was still tripping on the drugs eight hours later.

Pretty much the entire L&D staff was replaced a few months later. Yay.

I'll take the bathtub, plz.