Homebirth debate
Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 08:09:42 AM PDT
Amy Tuteur takes on the homebirth advocacy groups on her website, Homebirth Debate. Tuteur, a trained OB, is unabashedly against homebirth and cites many statistics to prove that homebirth is more dangerous than a hospital birth. Tuteur really digs down into the statistics to prove her points. She then spends tons of time rebutting the comments and arguing with the pro-homebirth crowd.
Anyway, Tuteur has an interesting slide show on her blog, called the Risk Quiz. Tuteur believes that the homebirth advocacy side puts out erroneous information on the safety of homebirth.
Here is a sample of questions:
- True or False? Studies show that homebirth is as safe as hospital birth for most women.
- Arrange the following events in order of risk of death from highest risk to lowest risk: Trial of labor, epidural, vaginal breech, c-section
- In the last 100 years, modern obstetrics has reduced materal mortality by how much? Choices: 0.5%, 5%, 50%, 90%, 99%
- True or False? Birth is inherently safe.
- True or False? If birth weren't safe, we would not have survived as a species.
See the answers below the fold...
- True or False? Studies show that homebirth is as safe as hospital birth for most women.
Answer: FALSE
- Arrange the following events in order of risk of death from highest risk to lowest risk: Trial of labor, epidural, vaginal breech, c-section
Answer: Breech, trial of labor, C-section, epidural
- In the last 100 years, modern obstetrics has reduced materal mortality by how much? 0.5%, 5%, 50%, 90%, 99%
Answer: 99%
- True or false? Birth is inherently safe.
Answer: False
- If birth weren't safe, we would not have survived as a species.
Answer: False
Tuteur also monitors what she calls "potential tragedies" on various homebirth boards, such as the unassisted childbirth (UC) board on Mothering.com. Here is a post from Tuteur from Dec 13:
Another potential tragedy is shaping up on the UC board on MDC. A woman with uncertain dates has had ruptured membranes for more than 48 hours, 2 vaginal exams and irregular contractions. She is posting for advice. She didn't ask me, but I'm going to offer some facts about prolonged ruptured membranes. They are not specific to her case, but they are factors that she should consider and that she probably doesn't know. Certainly no one on MDC is going to tell her because they don't know either. And of course, no one dares to mention that within the last few weeks an MDC member lost her baby to overwhelming infection after prolonged ruptured membranes.
I have to agree with Tuteur on this point. I've only skimmed boards like this, but it sometimes does seem that the goal of unassisted childbirth can often take priority in the debate. And the fact that women try to undergo childbirth alone and then ask anonymous people on internet forums for medical advice sounds pretty darn dangerous.
No matter where you stand on the homebirth "debate," Amy Tuteur's website is an interesting read if you are interested in this topic, although it sometimes feels like you are watching a trainwreck, and sometimes a very dangerous one.
