Re: Mid-wives (Child birth is normal!)

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Let's put this seemingly harmless statement into perspective. Each *year* 500,000 women die worldwide in childbirth. This is the same number of deaths that would occur if 7 airliners, with about 200 passengers each, went down without survivors, every day, 365 days a year. In fact, in Africa about 1/20 pregnant women die. In the United States in 1935, the Perinatal Mortality Rate (PMR; defined as a pregnant woman's death per 10,000 live births) was about 600/100,000 pregnant women. However, due to prenatal care and advances in medical science, the U.S. PMR is now about 8/100,000 which is a 75 times reduction in PMR since 1935.

Clearly, pregnancy is not always a benign situation. There are countless conditions that women and their partners discuss with volunteer health care professionals on this and similar forums. I have had pregnant patients die. Hemorrhage, seizures, infection, stroke, heart attacks, blood clots, diabetes, lupus, and many other dangerous conditions afflict pregnant patients. Sure, pregnancy is "natural," but so are heart attacks, broken bones, cancer, and headaches. Hopefully the pregnant woman will have a true low risk pregnancy, but often this does not occur. The goal of health care providers caring for pregnant women is to deliver a healthy baby to a healthy mom. When a medical condition develops that may prevent this, the ob/gyn, midwife, or family physician hopefully works with the mother to help her deliver as safely as possible.

>Doctors in particular constantly look to control the natural order with
>lots of tests and fears about birth, its their way of keeping control
>and making money.

How disturbing that you would post such a shameful comment on a forum where doctors volunteer their time. Doctors do not get any additional money for ordering tests in the US. There are no "kick-backs" or other incentives for doctors to order tests (although some might argue that fear of malpractice drives doctors to order expensive tests "just in case"). You will hear no apologies from me for my income. I work 100 hours per week on behalf of my patients, and spent 8 years after college working over 100 hours a week to learn my profession. There are obviously some bad doctors. However, to suggest that I, or the majority of my colleagues, would manipulate patients for monetary gain is extraordinarily insulting.

>Any women, with a few exceptions, should be able to give birth at home.

This is a controversial issue in the US. Some studies show that low risk patients deliver at home with the same success as in a birthing center or hospital. However, as someone who has delivered over 3000 babies, I can assure you that even the healthiest pregnant patient can develop uncontrollable hemorrhage after a smooth vaginal delivery, requiring multiple medications, blood transfusion, and even life-saving hysterectomy. There are women on this forum who have had this happen. I have had babies die because the afterbirth (placenta) separated from the wall of the uterus in-route to the hospital. If this happens at home, will the ambulance make it to the house, then to the hospital, in time. Most readers on this forum purchase homeowners insurance for fires or other disasters. How often does this happen? Having your baby in, or close to, a hospital equipped for a disaster is another form of insurance.

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