Last month we saw the pre-release of a homebirth meta-analysis piece that claimed worse outcomes for babies born at home than in the hospital. I wrote about it and the ensuing Lancet insult to women’s rights here. Decades of well-conducted research does in fact support the safety of planned homebirth for women and babies, although … Continue reading »
Tagged with birth change …
Women feeling “safe” in a hospital birth
Since recreating my website last month I have found myself stumbling around online, way too late at night, checking out birth blogs and advocacy sites, and loving all this birth change energy! I notice the recurring theme of feeling “safe” in birth. Folks in the birth change movement — midwives, doulas, CBEs, advocates — often … Continue reading »
Birth belongs to women, babies, and families
For the vast majority of our history as a species, pregnancy and birth have been the domain of women. Not women physicians, surgeons, or even midwives — just women! We know, in our collective consciousness, that birth will always belong to women. The trade union representing obstetricians in the US, ACOG, continues its smear against … Continue reading »
Birth plan backlash
There’s been a lot of talk lately about physicians responding to their ‘patients’ birth plans by providing a copy of their own written birth plans of what they will or will not do, allow, accommodate, or condone during a woman’s labor and birth. The Feminist Breeder and Stand and Deliver have written recently about the … Continue reading »
ROAR by Woman in The Moon Films
Don’t miss this — A smart, powerful short look at the public politics of birth change, homebirth and midwifery. Featuring legislators, midwives, and mothers. Oh, and there’s a birth in there too! “[There is a] very large amount of institutional resistance to a women having a certain amount of autonomy over their birth…” Woman In … Continue reading »