Bringing this thread back up from a few pages back because I've been so busy for the last two weeks that I didn't keep up with SDN!
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The only nagging question in the back of my mind while watching these home births was, "What if something goes wrong??"
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I know that if you are healthy and the baby is healthy and you have been deemed a low risk pregnancy, the chances are low... but... what if?? Did you worry about this? Did you have a back up plan? How do you feel about birthing centers?
I wanted to respond to your question, because I've been there. The question of "what if something goes wrong" was absolutely in the back of my mind when I was preparing for a home birth. The way that my midwife addressed this (in addition to her being trained to handle emergencies, carrying necessary medicines, etc.) was for us to have a written back-up plan, including which hospital we would go to in the event of an emergency, contact information for doctors, driving directions, and she recommended we call the first responders in our area ahead of time so they knew where our house was if we needed them. We live five minutes away from a major regional hospital; we also had plans for several other hospitals should we need to transfer. Remember that an emergency in a hospital cannot necessarily be addressed instantly either (surgical prep, for example); if we had needed to transfer, and had called ahead to the hospital, we would really not have lost much time assuming decent communication between the doctors and our midwife.
Also, many situations in giving birth happen slowly enough, with enough forewarning, that medical assistance can be sought. There are some emergencies in childbirth that can kill mother and baby very quickly... but being in the hospital does not guarantee survival in those situations either, and as some (obviously not all) hospital interventions can lead to life-threatening complications that otherwise may not have arisen, there really is no perfect answer to the safety in birth question.
I cannot count the number of birth stories I have heard that go "so then this happened, and thank goodness I/she was in the hospital!". Oftentimes I listen to the events that led up to the intervention/C-section, and I wonder silently if the situation would have turned into an emergency if fewer interventions had been imposed. (Induction is a big one; epidurals are also not risk-free.)
I spent so much time researching my local birth options and practices in the local hospital that by the time I gave birth, I was absolutely convinced that my baby and I were safer at home than in our particular local hospital, which tends to be intervention-happy. Iatrogenic problems are unfortunately common these days in birthing women who are attended by OBs, because they are typically trained to deal with pathology in birth, not with normal, uncomplicated birth. As a first-time mother with a large baby, I doubt I would have been able to push him out in a hospital setting where I was on a timetable and forced to be flat on my back in bed. I walked and danced my way through labor upright at home, and it was great. I cannot imagine how painful some of the contractions would have been if I had been confined to bed; I only laid down for a couple of them because they were so uncomfortable if I wasn't standing/seated.
I love the idea of birthing centers that are close to hospitals, or even affiliated with them, but in our area birthing centers are non-existent or located too far away to feasibly reach. I hope this changes in the near future, as I really do think that birthing centers staffed by midwives (even with a midwife-friendly OB on staff) are a happy medium for many women.
(That was supposed to be a short response... whoops!
😳 Cheers if you made it this far.
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Too bad scientists haven't found a way to put our ovaries in stasis! It would take a lot of the time pressure off.
I agree wholeheartedly! Silly biological clock! It makes the whole career process for women rather inconvenient.
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Just don't tell FlyHi.
