Compare this 1950s film about what to expect for your birth to the homebirth video.

Homebirth: As Safe As It Gets

The Safety Of Home Birth

My birthing experiences began with a hospital birth in 1975. I gave birth at home in 1978, 1981 and 1985. When I first
became interested in home birth in 1976, it was really
considered an "alternative" more than a safer choice than
hospital birth. The general assumption then was that home
birth was more about the experience of giving birth rather
than the avoidance of hospital interventions. After reading Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms, I was sold on the safety factor, but there was very limited scientific study that proved that babies were safer being born at home. Today
there is a considerable body of scientific data to support my theory that babies not only prefer home birth, but that home
birth is usually safer for both mothers and babies.

Carla Hartley

We invite you to join our discussions concerning home birth
on morebabiespreferhomebirth@yahoogroups.com and to
shop our More Babies Prefer Home Birth store at http://www.cafepress.com/aamidwifery

We are in the process of collecting the most comprehensive
list of homebirth and midwifery links.

YOUR HOME BIRTH HISTORY

In the past, most Americans were born at home with lay midwives attending. The mortality rate for both mothers and babies was higher in 1900, at 700 maternal deaths per 100,000 births (Korte and Scaer 97), than it is now. Babies also died at a significantly higher rate at that time, which decreased to 28.9 births per thousand by 1960 (Korte and Scaer 98). Obstetricians tend to emphasize that many women used to die in childbirth, implying that we should be grateful for current obstetric practice.

 Midwifery Model of Care

The Midwives Model of Care is based on the fact that
pregnancy and birth are normal life events. The Midwives
Model of Care includes: * monitoring the physical,
psychological and social well-being of the mother
throughout the childbearing cycle * providing the mother
with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal
care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and
delivery, and postpartum support * minimizing technological interventions and; * identifying and referring women who
require obstetrical attention The application of this model
has been proven to reduce to incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section.

The Midwives Model of Care definition above is Copyright © 1996-2001, Midwifery Task Force, All Rights Reserved.

ASSAULT ON NORMAL BIRTH BY HENCI GOER.

We seem to have spent the last few years reeling from assault after assault on the concept of normal birth. Have you wondered, as I have, what is going on? Why is our side of the story nowhere to be heard? Why, for example, isn't the rising cesarean rate—which translates into about half a million unnecessary major operations per year at a cost of over $1 billion to our health care system—considered newsworthy? Why are mainstream media rife with the grossest misinformation about cesarean section, VBAC, induction, epidurals—you name it—with nothing, nothing coming from our side other than an occasional tidbit tacked on in the name of balanced reporting, but clearly not meant to be taken seriously?