Only Part of the Picture

[talon]

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/29/home-births-can-be-harmful-journal-says/?hpt=T2

They neglect to say that hospital births "can be harmful".

And let's be honest here, giving birth, period, not only can be harmful, but is, depending up one's definition of "harmful" because even the "normal" results create pain, tissue damage, stress, and chemical alterations throughout the body that may be long lasting or even permanent. And that's with a pleasant "easy" pregnancy and birth.

Hospital birth predispose a woman to surgical interventions, massive infections for mother and newborn, pre-term deliveries that increase the risks of the newborn, accidental switching of newborns (with subsequent possible exposure to diseases transmitted through breastmilk and saliva), emotional traumas, and death of either or both the newborn and mother.

A hospital birth is not safer for a normal pregnancy than a home birth. Both come with their attendant risks - and those risks extend to death.

The reason doctors rail against home births is money. They don't make as much money off a home birth as they do a hospital birth, where they can slide in any number of unnecessary charges.

I say the parent(s) should decide which type of birth is safest and best for them and it's the job of doctors and midwives to keep the parents informed so the best possible choice for mother and infant are made by the parent(s). And one of the things doctors and midwives can do is stop snipping at one another and spreading half-truths and outright lies.