Some claim that to choose a homebirth is "narcissistic". But what if we compare the risk of homebirth (only in the US, no less) with other common, modern-day practices, I think people need to reevaluate their stance or be ready to call out a lot more people!
Placentophagia: The eating of the placenta after birth. It is very common amongst mammals, but not at all amongst humans. Why is this?
All over the news a few weeks ago (I’ve been busy) was news that homebirths increased the risk of an Apgar score of 0 10-fold. Doctors were out in force saying this is why homebirth should not be allowed (really via not allowing midwives to practice homebirth) or ethically promoted. But what does the research really tell us?
The question of inductions can be a heated one at times, with proponents of natural birth shunning the idea of artificially inducing something that should happen naturally. We hear comments like, “The baby knows when to come out” and therefore we are wrong to intervene. But is this right?
Sadly it seems far too many people - mothers, doctors, midwives, etc. - either don't understand the averages of labouring and birthing times or downright ignore them. When it comes to birth this can mean far too many women being diagnosed with "failure to progress" and facing numerous (unnecessary) interventions.
Recently an article made the news which suggested a link between autism and the use of inductions. Herein I take a close look at the article to determine what we can and cannot conclude from the data.
In today’s modern birthing picture, you finish birthing your baby and the doctor immediately clamps the cord and you wait to expel the placenta before cutting. However, this isn’t actually the norm around the world (though notably there is variability worldwide in clamping practices). Often, mothers engage in what is, in our culture, called “delayed cord clamping” and there’s reason to believe we ought to be changing our norms as well…
Recently, data from the Netherlands have shown homebirth to be as safe or safer than hospital birth. However, a response to the article has suggested that the findings are misleading because of the maternal mortality factor. Let's take a look at that...
There has been speculation amongst some people that the Vitamin K shot is unnecessary and simply one of those painful procedures that is done without really considering the need. So I thought I’d do some research and share with you what I could find on the shot to help you make your educated decision.
I've done it once, and it's time to do it again: Taking apart shitty research trying to claim home birth is inherently dangerous.
