Homebirth: Fear

This week opened up a media storm about the "attempted" homebirth of TV celebrity Dannii Minogue, and this interestingly coincides with not only with the first birth that i have attended, but also the first home birth. Seeing Dannii Minogue on TV getting bigger over the past few months i remember thinking to myself about what care she would be getting throughout her pregnancy and how interesting it would be to be able to attend a celebrity birth as a midwifery student to see if things are done differently. I pondered about her fancy hospital room with fancy views, the staff all fussing over her, and an Obstetrician certainly taking control of her care, dressed in expensive suits and explaining the risks of birth. I had in fact (with one eyebrow lifted) thought that like a number of other celebrities she would most likely elect for a cesarean in order to make the process "easier" and to keep her body and bits in tact. Clearly i was wrong, and In a way im so glad that a celebrity with the notoriety that Dannii has, made an educated decision to elect to have a homebirth. I am just so sad for her that complications led her to be transferred to a hospital but I am also mourning that fact that it could have finally given the media a great positive story to spin about home birth and let people know that it is in fact safe and a choice that women are entitled to make. Instead Dannii is left with the media on overdrive about her birth, and we are again on the defensive trying to counteract all of the misinformation being spewed by every doctor and 'medical professional' that can add their two cents, and the media neglects to give even a remotely two sided opinion with evidence based facts from credible sources. Why?

Dannii and her family have a healthy baby boy and while its strange that this story has made the headlines over and over, the fact that a healthy baby boy was born is what should be talked about. Is it really such a big deal that she had a homebirth? are we shocked because we thought she was 'smarter' than that? I congratulate her for making a decision to have a homebirth despite such strong public opinion and the knowledge that she would be scruitinised, and for deciding that the complications occuring were enough for her to transfer to a hospital because it was the best thing for her and her baby. But i object to media and pretty much every second person you speak to just focusing on the 'attempted' homebirth and the risks associated with giving birth insead of thinking about the fact that a) as a first time mother- or any-time mother deciding to give birth at home will pretty much always be an investigated decision because its not something everyone does and it is so scruitinised within our society. You are much more likely to investigate the pros and cons of a homebirth than a hospital birth even though im sure if more people did more babies would be born at home. and b) Dannii, like most women choosing a planned homebirth had a professional at her birth who obviously decided that complications required a transfer, and thus instead of being deemed too dangerous, homebirth should in fact be seen as a safe alternative to hospital birth because there is a skilled professional attending and in the event of complications the professional will notice any signs of distress and will suggest a transfer if they feel it is necessary. How is this being irresponsible or reckless?

Many of the babies who have died at home, most likely would have died at hospital too, and the number of babies who die in a hospital are never up for public discussion so why does anything to do with homebirth become so unbelievably dissected. So some of the quotes being thrown around by apparent 'medical professionals' include "Up to half of all first-time mothers attempting a home birth had to be transferred to hospital due to complications” and  "It is better if first-time mothers don't attempt a home birth or, if they do, they should be counselled about their risks and needs for transfer," and my personal favourite "your baby is 4 (or any other number that the 'professional' could think of at the time up to 25 in one article) times more likely to die at a homebirth." Now where did these figures come from?? No study ive ever read! And since when did mothers need couselling on their birth choices? does that mean they will be able to get counselling upon choosing a hospital birth because in fact that is what women need!?

When a baby dies- or is injured, or a mother is injured or traumatised the hospital isnt scrutinised, there is no couselling, there is rarely even any acknowledgement that anything went wrong. You wont often see it on the news or in the papers, and the family is often left wondering what happened. A number of studies that have come out in fact show that outcomes are the same for hospital and homebirths except that interventions are much lower and satisfaction is higher for those who had a homebirth. And of course what about counties where homebirth is the norm like the UK, Holland and NZ, why is it that their outcomes are in fact much better than here, does that not account for anything?

Again midwives get no consideration for being skilled professionals that actually know what they are doing! not one media article or segment that i saw even bothered to ask a midwife. One that particularly pissed me off was the 7pm project that i actually enjoy watching most of the time. They promised to discuss the pros and cons of homebirth, in a fair way. Liars! They interviewed a homebirth mother for around 7 seconds who stated how happy she was to have a successful homebirth, and then proceeded to interview an Ob who (he could have been worse) stated very blatently that we was against homebirth but at least suggested some advice for those considering it. But where was the midwife? where was the skilled professional who acutally attends homebirths everyday and who is actually with-women every day, consumed by birth to help women who make the choice to birth at home and who has the skills to decide in the rare occassion when something could be wrong that a hospital is needed?

The laguage often used when it comes to birth is also digusting and needs to be rectified. Dannii birthed at home as long as she needed and could, she did not have a 'failed' homebirth, she did not 'attempt' a homebirth and 'need a transfer in order to birth her baby saftely', Terms like 'faliure to progress' 'deliver' and 'incompitent' and disempowering and plain rude. Pizzas are delivered, babies are born or birthed!


One of the worst articles i read which can be found here stated:
"So money can buy you designer maternity dresses and holiday homes on Ibiza, but it apparently can't buy you common sense....The Australia's Got Talent judge decided to spurn the best medical care money can buy in Melbourne in favour of giving birth at home... Was this a bizarre bid to elude the paparazzi or was Dannii in search of some crazy earth-mother fantasy?" the author goes on to suggest that homebirth should no longer be an option!! so elective cesarean surgury that opens up your abdomen and requires 6 weeks recovery and can have quite severe side affects to both mother and baby should be an option but homebirth should not? since when did taking choices away from women and where they choose to birth become sensible? This author, who is in fact a women has no freaking clue about homebirth or birth in general and has clearly not done her research on the subject, and I can respect that she holds an opinion as she is absolutely entitled to do, but what i dont think she has a right to do is spew her uneducated and misinformed views on to others who may be influenced and who may believe her crud! She is part of this horrible cycle of birth=fear and she is paid to do it! its fine for people to have this view, but then we need the other side too. It was a partiularly disrispectful article and implies that Dannii, like all homebirthers are reckless and choose to put their child's life in danger- i mean really! Like she says, Dannii does have all the money in the world, so why would she choose a homebirth? I guess there must me some good reason other than being stingy.



I feel most cranky at the lack of respect and the misinformation being given. Where do we learn about birth? at school, from home, from friends, from the media? most of the time we aren't given much unbiased information about the options available. Many women just do what they are told by their doctor and dont think twice. They put their whole trust into the medical profession without even blinking, but when this is continously thrown in our face, and those who go against it, like Danni, are crucified why would we stray?? The media, medical professionals and in particular schools, have a duty to provide us with balanced information that show accurate risks and available options. And we as consumers have a duty to question and question again. We should not be bullied or scared into things that we feel uncomfortable with, and we should demand respect for the choices we make no matter what they are- i dont feel that Dannii is receiving much respect at all. I feel that fear is the bottom line in this business of birth, and we need to educate ouselves to not let the fear skew our thinking. Birth is not to be feared (no matter how much they tell you otherwise). Complications are rare, interventions and medical practices increase these risks which in turn create more cycles or fear=intervention. Birth is normal and we need to trust in the process. All of this misinformation is actually putting more women and babies at risk as making them more scared, and and less likely to challenge the system.

To end this long rant, on Sunday 4th July another beautiful baby boy was born at home in water into his mother arms, and i was there to support, take photos, and learn. It was one moment i will never forget and i cant even list the number of emotions i felt. He taught me that birth is normal and the strength that women have is beyond description. A couple of prominent things really stick in my mind about this amazing experience and that is
 -how normal birth is, it is just something that happens and then there is a baby. It is bloody hard work, but it doesnt require anything other than that.
-babies born at home dont cry! we are always told/shown that a baby will cry when it comes out. Well thats probrably because they are born into cold Ob's hands and poked and prodded! even though i was told this, when the baby came out i just wanted him to cry so i knew he was ok, in fact he was perfectly healthy and happy not crying!
-mums (and dads) should be the only people who touch that baby when it comes out! it seems like the most empowering experience in the world to be able to catch your own baby and place in right on the breast for bonding skin-to-skin. Most people are surprised when i tell them this, not sure why because it makes sense, so i thought id add it.
-no medical intervention is required (unless there is a rare complication) and you and that baby will thank you for it.
-placentas really are as awesome as i thought! It really is pretty easy (and not gross as most assume) to achieve a lotus birth, and i was so grateful to be a part of helping to prepare the placenta with lavender and salt. It only took 3 days to detach.

I hope this week has provided people with something to think about, and i hope that Dannii , while i dont think she should have to, will come out defending her decision to plan a homebirth because maybe if its seen as even slightly acceptable others will realise that we are not all crazy hippies. She made an educated and responsible decision that should be respected. She, like any other woman has the right to choose where they want to give birth. Unfortunately complications led to a transfer but this again was a responsible and reasonable decision that was agreed on with the skilled professional employed to keep her and her baby safe, but that does not make homebirth or any homebirthing woman stupid or irresponsible, in fact in makes her the exact opposite!