What do you think of the fact that the AMA is trying to make homebirth illegal?

Question

Actually, homebirth is just as safe, if not safer,as hospital birth for healthy pregnancies.

Answer 1

I think outlawing it is not a good thing. However, I am not personally comfortable with the idea, because so much can go wrong with a birth and a newborn. Certainly, for young, healthy women who have already successfully had a child and who live near a hospital, it's a great alternative.

But I have an acquaintance who is 40 years old, diabetic, and pregnant with her first child (she has had multiple miscarriages), and she's planning a home birth. I think she is taking an insane risk.

Answer 2

Just another example of how Big Brother and the Nanny State are trying to erode away our rights. A woman should be able to have a home birth if she so desires. Women have been doing so for thousands of years--a h**l of a lot longer than the AMA has been around! They just don't like the money they're losing from women who would rather have their children in a comfortable, familiar setting instead of being surrounded by strangers in a cold, austere setting. Pure c**p in my opinion.

Answer 3

The AMA needs to stay out of people's business.

Answer 4

While the AMA may be wrong. I can't imagine why any woman would want to give birth at at home where no emergency intervention is available.

Answer 5

Like any special interest group, the AMA has a given agenda that it's trying to advance in DC.  The AMA is not the only special-interest group which tries to advance its agenda.

The AMA doesn't necessarliy represent the opinions of its members.

Such is politics in the modern era.

Answer 6

How many men do you think are midwives?

How many women do you think hold influential positions within the AMA?

Men dictating to women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.  How novel.

Until women decide to band together, nothing is going to change.

Answer 7

I disagree with it. There's widespread support for homebirth in Canada, and to date, nobody has raised an objection worth hearing. This will mean an increase in the number of midwives in the U.S., and job creation is always a plus.

Answer 8

Homebirth is peaceful, relaxing and comfortable. A midwife is well equiped and educated to act in emergency situations. They even have oxygen. I tried to have my baby at home, but it wasn't successful. I ended up in the hospital with a c-section, but it had nothing to do with laboring at home, I just didn't dialate passed 7cm. My mother had 7 babies at home and all were successful, including twins who were both born breech! If she was in a hospital, they would have done a c-section. The fact that they are trying to make homebirths illegal is pointing out that they don't want freedom for others. In most states, homebirth midwives are illegal. As if they were saying that you can have a homebirth, but you cannot have help. People birthed at home since the beginning of time, why is it unsafe now?

Answer 9

Given how much can go wrong with a birth, I can't imagine why anyone would want this.  However, I think it should be the couple's choice.  The AMA is wrong.

Answer 10

It will never fly, - Oh you had a baby in the elevator/taxi/bathtub sorry your going to jail. No mom is ever going to get in trouble for deciding where to deliver, besides thats not always in the control of the parent.

All it will do is make criminal negligence more prominent which is a good thing. Mothers who choose to deliver outside a hospital need to be aware of the risks associated and what will happen to them if their baby dies from an act that could be prevented in a hospital.

Answer 11

I wouldn't want to put my precious child at risk.  I think what the AMA is doing is good.

Answer 12

Its safer giving birth at a hospital because of the extremely large and qualified staff working there. Should there be a complication (such as the umbilical cord wrapped around the child's neck), a doctor in a hospital can save the child (and mother in some cases) while a nurse (or some other aide) in the home will be unable to do anything. Its a law designed to save people from their own decisions.

Answer 13

In response to another post, it's not necessarily safer to have a baby in a hospital. Mistakes can and do occur. Doctors can be tired from working long shifts and s***w up. Plus there are all kinds of diseases floating around that could be picked up. As you can see, I don't really trust hospitals, especially in the light of the recent events where women were ignored and died in the waiting rooms. The same thing happened in my area not too long ago. A student who attended my daughter's high school kept showing up at the hospital because he was sick and was sent home each time. The last time he did it, he actually died while sitting in the waiting room. He had pneumonia, which could have been treated if it had been caught in time. Sad to say, I don't think what happened to those two women were isolated incidents. It just so happened that they were caught on security cameras.

Answer 14

That's an unfair advantage for those who do not trust hospitals; forcing them into a situation they are totally uncomfortable with; forcing them to submit to the ways of others; being that the majority say all birthing should be done in a hospital.

Answer 15

Think is bs...plenty of women have safe homebirth every year...and have for thousands of years.

Of course if there is anything wrong I think she should be in the hospital....but it certainly shouldn't be illegal.

you asked earlier what a feminist was....this is exactly the kind of thing a feminist would fight.

"rolling eyes" then you dont know what a feminist is...you may call and label yourself what ever you wish.  Just calling it as I see it...I certainly don't hate men and I'm not over my husband or under him.  try to be a little more educated and open minded.

if your fight this...your fighting a feminist issue.

Answer 16

All I can say is if you're pro-choice you must rigorously opose this since it breaches the mother's choice to have her child wherever she wants.

Well unless you're an inconsistent, hypocritical pro-choicer.

Answer 17

Are you sure about this?  I'm not so sure, and you haven't provided any evidence.

'In the United States, nurse-midwives are variably licenced depending on the state as advanced practice nurses, midwives or nurse-midwives. Certified Nurse-Midwives are educated in both nursing and midwifery and provide gynecological and midwifery care of relatively healthy women. In addition to licensure, many nurse-midwives have a master's degree in nursing, public health, or midwifery. Nurse-midwives practice in hospitals, medical clinics and private offices and may deliver babies in hospitals, birth centers and at home. They are able to prescribe medications in all 50 states. Nurse-midwives provide care to women from puberty through menopause. Nurse-midwives may work closely with obstetricians, who provide consultation and assistance to patients who develop complications. Often, women with high risk pregnancies can receive the benefits of midwifery care from a nurse-midwife in collaboration with a physician. Currently, 2% of nurse-midwives are men. The American College of Nurse-Midwives accredits nurse-midwifery/midwifery education programs and serves as the national professional society for the nation's certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives. Upon graduation from these programs, graduates sit for a certification exam administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board. At present approximately 5500 Certified Nurse-Midwives are practicing in the U.S.'

Wiki

Answer 18

Pregnancy and childbirth are not illnesses.  You should not be forced to go to a hospital, unless something goes wrong.