Reply to Evelyn Muhlhan - another homebirth midwife bites the dust?

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[quote=Anonymous]i had one hospital birth, one home birth, am a doula (at mostly hospital births), and read dr. amy's blog.  while her approach and personality are awful, i think she sometimes (not always) makes some good points that have challenged me in a good way.  i think home birth supporters have a hard time being self reflective and admitting that home birth carries certain risks that hospital birth does not (just as hospital birth carries certain risks that home birth does not).  i have trouble myself sorting through the accusations against various midwives -- i worry that doctors and others are engaging in unfairly motivated "witch hunts" against safe, qualified midwives, but i also worry that some midwives are acting irresponsibility and not communicating risk accurately to clients.

i really struggle with this issue, because i believe on one hand that women should have the ultimate choice regarding how and where and with whom to give birth, but at the same time, i feel uncomfortable with the idea that a woman for whom home birth is extremely risky would be able to go ahead with it, have a midwife attend her, have a horrible outcome, and have no accountability on anyone's part for that horrible outcome.  i do feel the baby's safety deserves consideration, but i see how slippery a slope it is once we start giving the baby rights that trump the mother's.

i see that many others in the birth world tend to just jump on the bandwagon to support any midwife who has been accused of irresponsible practice.  without knowing all the details, i feel it's impossible for me as a random person to make a judgment as to whether the midwife acted responsibly, generally acts responsibly, etc. i have read some stories where midwives did appear to act irresponsibly, didn't inform mothers of risks, used inappropriate protocols, and then had a bad outcome...and i do feel there should be some way for there to be accountability in those situations.  whether the situation with evelyn is one of those, i'm not sure.  some of the evidence in dr. amy's post is pretty damning, but I know there are always many sides to a birth story, and many forks in the road where decisions are made.

i get why women want a home birth. i attend births in hospitals regularly and i see the way women are treated, and i see the unnecessary or harmful routine protocols that cause complications. i really enjoyed giving birth at home -- for me as the laboring women, it was free of distraction, stress, strangers, unfamiliarity, and pressure.  my baby was healthy and there was so much about how things went that i think was very healthy and wonderful for me and my baby and that would not have happened similarly in the hospital. at the same time i know i took a risk -- there are some things that if they happen at home, you're screwed. when thinking of having another baby i honestly don't know at this point where i'd feel safest and most comfortable.

i think home birth should be an option, and i want it to be safe. i'm not sure the best way to get to that point. [/quote]

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