[Lash]

Would you consider Unassisted Childbirth? Should Unassisted Childbirth be legal or illegal? Does "my body my baby my birth" extend to woman's rights in childbirth? What supports your stance that Unassisted Childbirth is risky or safe?

I am considering unassisted homebirth for this little one. I did a lot of researching and talking to others about it. If the woman feels she can do it, she should. I don't believe anyone should force you to give birth in a hospital or with medical personnel there.

[Lash]

Are you going to do Unassisted or just a Homebirth?


Clarifying (for people that might not know cause I didn't years ago)

Unassisted is with NO medical intervention. Not even your brother's mother's uncle preset who used to be an ambulance driver and has seen a birth once or twice. Just you and your untrained support system or just you alone by yourself

Homebirthing typically means that a trained midwife or doula is present

Unassisted Homebirth. Though I'm not sure if I can say that my support system is "untrained" because my mother will be there and she is an L&D RN.

[BonitaAppleBomb]

With the complications I run into during pregnancy and childbirth..incompetent cervix and preterm labor-both of these scenarios are guaranteed with me during pregnancy. Because of my history, I would be very fearful of an unassisted childbirth and would never consider it.

However, if I had healthy, full-term, and complication-free pregnancy, then in an unassisted childbirth would definitely be a consideration.

[Lash]

Hmm, I'd say that you have trained medical support, you just aren't paying her, but I guess legally they'd consider it Unassisted.

[Emm17]

I wouldn't consider it. I would love to do a home birth, but I am way too paranoid to do it unassisted.

Originally Posted by BonitaAppleBomb

With the complications I run into during pregnancy and childbirth..incompetent cervix and preterm labor-both of these scenarios are guaranteed with me during pregnancy. Because of my history, I would be very fearful of an unassisted childbirth and would never consider it.

However, if I had healthy, full-term, and complication-free pregnancy, then in an unassisted childbirth would definitely be a consideration.

I have an incompetent cervix and history of preterm labor. I actually wanted to do it because of those two things. I have a cerclage until I'm 36 weeks and then I'm free. I am only 1 mile from my hospital if any complications arise.

[Poncho06]

I would not ever be a canidate for this. I need a cerclage to be able to maintain a pregnancy, my doctor would like atleast 2 weeks from removal of cerclage to attempting a vaginal birth, also there is no way to knwo ahead of time weather or not I will be able to dialate normally (ie no tears to my cervix) I also would need a cerclage for any future pregnancies.

If a person wants to give birth that way I see no issue with it. I personally would be leary if I lived any great distance to a hospital incase of any emergencies that may come up

[Mikasa]

A midwife at a homebirth, I wouldn't do it but it is fine if people do it. I think a completely unassisted birth is stupid. You have no idea what could go wrong at the birth and with no one there to help you, I think it is just plain stupid.

[SweetSimpleThings]

It would not be something I'd be interested in ever.

But, I don't see how I can say it should be illegal for someone else to do. Maybe as this thread goes on and I see more opinions, something will occur to me that isn't right now, but I don't know how I could justify saying what someone else should or shouldn't do.

Again, it wouldn't be for me, but I'm not sure that I could say someone else shouldn't do it. Frankly I'm sure it happens all the time with few emergencies cropping up.

[Lash]

Originally Posted by Mikasa

A midwife at a homebirth, I wouldn't do it but it is fine if people do it. I think a completely unassisted birth is stupid. You have no idea what could go wrong at the birth and with no one there to help you, I think it is just plain stupid.

Can you share WHY it's stupid?

[BonitaAppleBomb]

Originally Posted by lilflower

I have an incompetent cervix and history of preterm labor. I actually wanted to do it because of those two things. I have a cerclage until I'm 36 weeks and then I'm free. I am only 1 mile from my hospital if any complications arise.

It took me losing 6 babies-one of which was a stillbirth for my doctors to FINALLY figure out that I had an incompetent cervix. I'm not blaming the doctors because it was partly my fault as well, due to my husband and I moving around a lot while he was in law school and graduating. So I never had one specific doctor until we settled in Atlanta.

Once it was discovered, my cerclage was put in during week 12 of my pregnancy. By week 20, my cervix was funneling and the funneling was headed toward my stitch -I had an active little boy in there. At that time, I was put on hospital bedrest and prepped for his early arrival. By the time he came...at 29 weeks and 4 days, my cervix was flat as a pancake. The only thing holding him in at that point was the knot in the stitch.

I said all this to say that I would have been elated if my cerclage would have stayed in place until 36 weeks (that was the plan), but it didn't-Benjamin Carlyle had other plans that didn't include him being cramped in my uterus for another 7 weeks. So with all of that in tow-a weak cervix and a preterm baby, assisted childbirth is a definite for me.

[Mikasa]

Originally Posted by Lash

Can you share WHY it's stupid?

What if the baby gets stuck in the birth canal or turns the wrong way, there are plenty of things that can happen during birth that someone that knows what they are doing would be helpful for. DD#2's cord was compressed and her heart rate was quickly slowing down, how would you know that if you were unassisted and something was going wrong. You can read all the books in the world but it still doesn't make you a midwife or dr. and the chances of your baby dying because you don't know what to do are pretty high if something were to go wrong.

[Fallen2Love]

Well, home births are technically illegal b/c NC doesn't have the licensing for midwives to attend home births. So if they did, they could face legal action. So any birth at home, is considered unassisted. Even if a trained personal does attend the birth - they are nameless people.

My "thing" with true unassisted home births (had no issue until I saw a discovery health show- "Twins by Surprise"). The woman had twins, both footling breech, and apparently had some type of rare medical complication with the placenta/cord. The babies ended up fine, which is all grand - but that their could have been another outcome for one or both babies, or the mother. I think it would be advisable to visit a medical professional at least once to make sure no rare or serious complications are going on with the baby(ies). Of course, I couldn't say it should be "required" b/c there are a lot of conflicting beliefs and a lot of rare or serious complications might only be detected via ultrasound.

Knowing my own history, while I had a complication free (if you can call it that) pregnancy with DD. Knowing that she has a CHD, and while they are flukes we do have the family history. I prefer to either be in a natural birth friendly hospital with a natural birth friendly OB or midwife and nurse(s), and AP/Natural living friendly nursery/NICU/etc or birthing center. My first choice is the birthing center since i truely believe the interventions at the hospital setting lead to issues with DD heart defect during L & D and with a natural unmediated child-birth a second child if similar issues would fair better during L & D.

[SusieQ2]

It's not something I'd ever consider doing. I've known too many women who had a completely healthy pregnancy and either the mother or the baby ended up having problems during delivery. I'd consider homebirth with a trained midwife but not completely unassisted.

A girl in my PR had a homebirth with a midwife just a few weeks ago. The baby had a short cord and it broke causing complications for the baby. They actually lost her and luckily the midwife was able to revive her. Had there been no trained medical professional there I don't think it would have been such a happy outcome. The baby had to be transported to the hospital and stayed there for a few days.

I think birthing completely unassisted is potentially dangerous and when it comes my health and the health of my child it's not a chance I want to take. I'm not sure if it should be illegal though.

[BonitaAppleBomb]

Originally Posted by SusieQ2

I think birthing completely unassisted is potentially dangerous and when it comes my health and the health of my child it's not a chance I want to take. I'm not sure if it should be illegal though.

I agree with this.

[Lash]

Originally Posted by Mikasa

What if the baby gets stuck in the birth canal or turns the wrong way, there are plenty of things that can happen during birth that someone that knows what they are doing would be helpful for. DD#2's cord was compressed and her heart rate was quickly slowing down, how would you know that if you were unassisted and something was going wrong. You can read all the books in the world but it still doesn't make you a midwife or dr. and the chances of your baby dying because you don't know what to do are pretty high if something were to go wrong.

Can you define (or even possibly look up) what happens in an unassisted birth. You know fully without a doubt that mothers won't have any idea, training, or equipment to handle these situations? You also know enough information on this topic to call women "stupid". You can honestly tell me that you fully are educated on unassisted childbirth enough to proclaim that another mother is stupid for her choice? Please fill us in on how these mother's are stupid, and fill us in on what happens in unassisted childbirth

Originally Posted by Mikasa

the chances of your baby dying because you don't know what to do are pretty high if something were to go wrong.

HOW high are the chances? You can say conclusively that babies die often in unassisted childbirth? That mother's don't know what to do, so babies die often in this case, especially more so than in the hospital? If the chances are pretty high, that must mean the neonatal death rate for Unassisted birth would be higher than a hospital or assisted rate.

[Lash]

Just because something might SOUND dangerous and foreign to us, doesn't make it so. I'd charge that it's pretty risky to call someone stupid based on their birthing choices or even life choices, when we in fact know very little about the topic in general

[Poncho06]

the below is a chart I got from the WHO

WHO | Chapter 4

The most common cause of maternal death is severe bleeding, a major cause of death in both developing and developed countries ( 11 , 12 ). Postpartum bleeding can kill even a healthy woman within two hours, if unattended. It is the quickest of maternal killers. An injection of oxytocin given immediately after childbirth is very effective in reducing the risk of bleeding. In some cases a fairly simple – but urgent – intervention such as manual removal of the placenta may solve the problem. Other women may need a surgical intervention or a blood transfusion, both of which require hospitalization with appropriate staff, equipment and supplies. The proportion needing hospital care depends, to some extent, on the quality of the first-level care provided to women; for example, active management of the third stage of labour reduces postpartum bleeding. The proportion that dies depends on whether appropriate care is provided rapidly. The situation with regard to postpartum bleeding could improve if the promising potentialities of the drug misoprostil are realized. Misoprostil is less effective than oxytocin, but it is cheaper, easier to store safely and does not require an injection. Therefore it remains attractive where women do not have access to professional care at birth. If further research can demonstrate its effectiveness in the many cases where oxytocin is not an option, misoprostil could save many lives and reduce the number of women who suffer anaemia as a result of a postpartum haemorrhage – currently 1.6 million every year.