wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Haley from Astoria January 08, 2009 - 10:06AM

  I had my first daughter at home and would do it that way again. I believe it was much more personal care being the only person my midwife needed to focus on during my labor.

  Thanks for sharing this information so women know all their options.

  Is there as much of an upswing in homebirths in other parts of the country as well?

  
  
• [2] Julia Rivin from new york, ny January 08, 2009 - 10:24AM

  I had Cara as my midwife for both of my children's births. It was the best experience of our lives.

  
  
• [3] jgarbuz from Queens January 08, 2009 - 10:39AM

  My ex-mother in law was a midwife/ob gyn in Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, Israel, where she delivered my son. Among other things, she also delivered some 10,000 Bedouin Arab babies in that same Beersheba hospital.

  
  
• [4] fancy-socks from Manhattan January 08, 2009 - 11:46AM

  If I was having a baby, I would want a home birth. I would want my pets there and my family and friends and to be in a comfortable environment and most of all I would want to be immediately comfy at home once the birth was done.

  
  
• [5] Laura from Staten Island January 08, 2009 - 11:49AM

  My sister, an Obama supporter, is planning a C-section at her doctor's recommendation. She scheduled the baby to be born on Inauguration Day.

  
  
• [6] Meredith Forbes January 08, 2009 - 11:52AM

  I had a homebirth in August and I loved it. I would have had a c-section if I would have stayed in a hospital model of prenatal care - they told me my baby was going to be 'too big' and he was posterior. My homebirth was wonderful, my son was born just fine and had no problems, and I was allowed to labor the way I needed to.

  
  
• [7] asdf January 08, 2009 - 11:52AM

  If you get 3 months off from your job for birth, then every day counts and some people wish to plan it this carefully.

  Also, if you are a hospital delivery doctor every minute and dollar also counts, you need to get in and get out on a schedule. Surprised the stats aren't being presented that the poorer the hospital the higher percentage of C Sections.

  
  
• [8] John from Brooklyn January 08, 2009 - 11:52AM

  On the related issue of midwifery, would you please ask your guest to talk a bit about the 2003 closing of the Elizabeth Seaton Childbearing Center -- and whether there are any hope at all for that, or a similar, center to re-open.

  
  
• [9] Stan Green from west long branch new jersey January 08, 2009 - 11:52AM

  We had 3 beautiful kids born at home and wouldn't do it any other way. My wife developed a great relationship with with the midwife, our family provided support in our home, and kids 2 and 3 were there to welcome their new sibling.

  Stan Green

  
  
• [10] Vanessa Landegger from New Canaan January 08, 2009 - 11:55AM

  I have had two home births (the most recent 12 days ago!) and I will never say it is easy, but the freedom to labor as I needed to, knowing that my baby was being taken care of by an excellent midwife, was most gratifying. I am half Dutch, and 30% of Dutch women give birth at homeby design (socialized medicine). I have felt very safe and empowered. Ironically, the same need I have to feel empowered and in control of my labor, may be the same impetus that leads women in a fear-based way to choose planned C-section. However, having been a medical student, I did not want to have a natural experience in a hospital.

  
  
• [11] john from upper west side January 08, 2009 - 11:56AM

  my mother 4'11 100 lbs needed aCsection to birth my brother and I.

  It was a physical and medical necessity.

  This should be the criteria for a C section, not the convience of the mother or the doctor.

  It is an unatural form of giving birth.

  
  
• [12] georgette from midland park, nj January 08, 2009 - 11:56AM

  I just had my first baby at home in December. It was a beautiful experience! I laboured for 31 hours in the comfort and security of my own home, recieved excellent care from my wonderful and extremely competent midwife and was never once separated from my daughter after her birth. I would do it again in a second.

  The most important thing to remember in this discussion is that women have a right to choose their place of birth and that right should not be legislated away.

  
  
• [13] Jon P. from Hewitt, NJ January 08, 2009 - 11:56AM

  You can say a mid wife is better and more natural until the cows come home. But if the mother has complications and starts to bleed or the kid has complications and your not right next door to a hospital, it could be a death sentence for both…. It can only take a few minutes to bleed to death before the ambulance even gets to your house.

  
  
• [14] Kathy from Hoboken January 08, 2009 - 11:56AM

  I had both of my children by c section. The first was an emergency and the second, while not pre-scheduled, was an easy choice for me given the easy recovery I had with the first one.

  I realize I had special circumstances--I was over 40 for both and therefore a prime candidate for hospital/intervention.

  As for the recovery, I realize that everyone is different. I was up and about in a day or so after each. In fact, for the second, I had the baby on Friday, went home on Sunday and was in the park with both of my children on Monday.

  
  
• [15] Edward from NJ January 08, 2009 - 11:56AM

  The way hospitals handle births leads to a lot of emergency c-sections. That's most of the 30%. I would speculate that many of the scheduled c-sections are subsequent births following these emergency c-sections.

  
  
• [16] Jen from Manhattan January 08, 2009 - 11:57AM

  I am concerned that Cara is indicating that she can deal with most medical emergencies associated with birth. A friend of mine who had a "low-risk" pregnancy would have bled to death during delivery had she not been in a hospital where she could be emergently transfused. I understand the appeal of home delivery and realize it usually works out well, but would not choose it myself after her experience.

  
  
• [17] Inga from Somerset, NJ January 08, 2009 - 11:57AM

  I am one of those people that gets high blood pressure when going to the doctor. I had a homebirth in October and had a very short labor of six hours for my first child in a very relaxed environment. My child was placed on my breast immediately and my 3rd degree tear was attended to by my accomplished nurse midwife. My pain was intense but manageable and I knew that the pain would not last forever.

  
  
• [18] kirsten from manhattan January 08, 2009 - 11:57AM

  Another option is natural child birth in a birthing center in a hospital. I've had 3 this way with no medical intervention and was back home within 12 hours with each newborn. It was a very positive experience each time where I felt in control of my birth and it did not feel like I was in a hospital.

  
  
• [19] Ann from Westwood NJ January 08, 2009 - 11:57AM

  I wonder if your guest would offer a comment on home birth with lay midwifery aka direct-entry midwifery. The direct-entry phrase refers to not entering the profession from another clinical discipline. I question the ability of such a practitioner to address emergent medical issues in the home environment.

  
  
• [20] Chris Baratta from Upper West Side January 08, 2009 - 11:57AM

  What about "Orgasmic Births?" CNN had a small segment on it recently, any thoughts women?

  
  
• [21] lucy taylor from manhattan January 08, 2009 - 11:58AM

  I had my first child up at the Birthing Center at St Lukes with a wonderful midwife,

  My second child I would love to have at home, now that I have the confidence that I can accomplish the feat that is natural childbirth.

  Yes its painful, but we don't do it because we're masochists, we do it for the amazing bond its gives us with our babies and for the wonderful alert unmedicated babies we deliver

  Doctors and hospitals want women in labor and delivery wards medicated so they are subdued and easy to handle.

  And a c section is not easy. Looking after a new born in recovery from a c section is certainly not any easier than recovering from stitches.

  
  
• [22] Ramona Ortega from Brooklyn January 08, 2009 - 11:58AM

  I had birth at the Elizabeth Seton Center before it closed and I had a wonderful, yet painful and long birth, and I wish that we ESC would have been able to keep its doors open. The pre-planning of c-sections is crazy and just a testament of how far removed we are from our bodies and the birthing process!

  
  
• [23] mom of two... plus? from uws January 08, 2009 - 11:58AM

  I had my first child at the hospital (with epidural), second at the hospital (without epidural, MUCH to my surprise... I didn't get there in time). I am glad I had the first at the hospital as the added support afterwards from the staff was so great. Even though I am a doctor, the hand-holding and teaching from the nurses and breast-feeding consultants was invaluable. And I did enjoy the alone time to bond with my second child before heading back home where my toddler was waiting. However, I am strongly considering, if I have a third, to have it at home. My brother and sister were both born at home and my mom loved the experience... and as the older child, I loved being involved.

  Thanks for the show and info!

  
  
• [24] Jennifer from SoHo January 08, 2009 - 12:02PM

  Cara will be at McNally Jackson Books tonight at 7 p.m. for a panel discussion on home birth.

  According to the NYT, it is free and open to the public.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/arts/02spare.html

  
  
• [25] michele handelman from east village nyc January 08, 2009 - 12:05PM

  I am also a certified nurse midwife. I have practiced for 17 years attending low and higher risk births in a hospital. My two healthy children were born at home with midwives, for the most fulfulling experience of our lives. Much of my practice is dictated by hospital and medical protocol, but as a midwife I retain the philosophy and hope to convey to the birthing women the essence of midwifery which is the assumption that birth is a normal process, not a pathologic disease state, women should be as well informed as possible about the events and choices surrounding birth. The pain of labor is not a pain of trauma or damage and can be dealt with. women need choices! scheduled c/s and the diminishing practice of VBAC reflect a trend of medicalizing birth, and removing women from a positive connection to health and sexuality. Trends in our society which sexualize breasts, emphasize fashion and image over other elements of strong female identity are part of how the feminist movement has failed to move young women forward in all areas of potential growth and autonomy including the empowering experience of a healthy pregnancy and birth. This failure has profound impact on the public health and future of our entire generation.

  
  
• [26] Chloe Bland from Washington Heights January 08, 2009 - 12:05PM

  I find the tone of the current conversation problematic. How a woman births her child is a personal decision. Your guest speaks of planned c-sections and hospital births in a way that perpetuates a dogmatic approach to child birth (and, in my experience an attitude that reaches itself into child rearing as well).

  My own personal experience includes one midwife birth, which after 48 hours of labor ended in a c-section (with the midwife by my side the whole time). Our next child was supposed to be vbac, however, due to a medical emergency at 38 weeks I had a second c-section.

  I am pregnant again and am planning to have a planed c-section this time. Personally, while I wanted to give birth in the traditional way, I feel quite grateful for the medical profession because without it, neither me nor my children would have made it into this world.

  Therefore, please drop the judgment, respect woman's choices as individual preferences - each one with its own valid reasoning.

  
  
• [27] Meaghan from New Jersey January 08, 2009 - 12:06PM

  We must not forget that childbirth is still a leading cause of death for women around the world and while middle/upper-class American women romantize a "home birth" most of the world has no choice but to do a "home birth" but if they had a choice would choose professional medical care in a hospital rather than then risk death at home. Just because childbirth is "natural" does not mean it is safe (even disease is natural). And I have had two c-sec, one emergency and the second scheduled b/c I would never be so vain as to risk my life on a vbac simply so I could say I did it.

  
  
• [28] Rhonda from New Jersey January 08, 2009 - 12:09PM

  My daughter in law wanted a home birth for her first child. The baby died in childbirth. Women need to know that this can happen. I think all first time mums should give birth in a hospital where emergency resources are available quickly when necessary. No one knows how their body will deal with pregnancy and birth the first time around and every precaution should be taken to ensure the safety of all involved. Our son and his wife are pregnant again and the c-section is already scheduled. A very, very sad way to learn a life lesson.

  
  
• [29] Leslie Harris MD FACOG from Brooklyn, New York January 08, 2009 - 12:12PM

  I believe that it is great that women have choices about how they want their birth to happen. I would have to ask Brian more specifically about "Planned Cesarean Sections" versus "Cesarean Sections on Demand", which I do not agree with nor does ACOG. The show was not specific about planned for which there are specific indications. In the future maybe he could explain. Home births can be great but an experienced midwife is essential. Hospital experiences are not implicitly bad. I just encourage women to always be active participants in their healthcare and ask questions, it is your right. Most doctors are not like the ones described today. We know labor is a natural process.

  
  
• [30] Carrie from Long Island, NY January 08, 2009 - 12:13PM

  I'm a natural birth advocate. I've given birth three times. Each experience was quite different from the previous. My first birth adventure was a disappointing, unsatisfying, unempowering, uninspiring birth that ran the gamut of medical interventions starting with a relentless painful pitocin induction and ending with a cesarean section with me unconscious under general anesthesia. After I awoke, I had a beautiful, healthy baby boy in my arms; however, the way in which he arrived had depressed my spirit. The doctor told me I was too small to birth my own baby. He lied. He was just too impatient and had a schedule to keep. I was taking longer than HE planned. I used that experience to educate myself about the birthing process and vowed never to let it happen to me again. I researched and explored and connected with a woman named Fara, a wonderful birthing assistant(also known as a doula. Etymology: Modern Greek "doula" from Greek dialectal "doul" - servant-woman). She believed in my ability to give birth and she helped me to believe it too.

  With my doula at my side, I went on to have two amazingly fast and satisfying VBACs, both without any pain meds. The first VBAC was with a new OB practice. My last VBAC birth was with a wonderful midwife, even a more satisfying experience. I felt strong and triumphant. I did not need to be cut open. I am passionate about natural birth and I think it is important for woman to stop succumbing to the world of medical births, scheduled c/sections, labors induced with chemicals and drugs, pain dulled with needles inserted into our spines and epidural spaces...The risks are too high and woman are NOT being told the details by their obstetricians. Many women are taught that birth is something to fear. Women need to believe in their own bodies and take control of their births. I put my birth experiences into my own hands. My doctor and midwife did not deliver my last two children. I delivered them!

  
  
• [31] Sara from Caldwell, NJ January 08, 2009 - 12:16PM

  I am 38 weeks pregnant with my first child and am planning to give birth with a midwife and a doula at a hospital.

  I am thrilled to hear this discussion on the air today but feel there is much more to discuss on this subject and hope you will do another show. In my view, c-sections and home births represent birthing options that are at opposite extremes of the birthing continuum. There are options that fall between the two that the majority of women would likely choose if they had knowledge about all their options.

  I consider myself a well-informed person but was amazed at what I found out about natural birth once I began doing my research. Information on natural birth should be made available to all women so each can make a decision on their own what is the best option for them.

  Please do a follow up show exploring medical vs. natural birth and help inform more people!

  
  
• [32] Cara Muhlhahn from East Village January 08, 2009 - 12:19PM

  This is for Jen from Manhattan. Careful screening for developing high risk conditions does not preclude that emergencies can arise during normal labor and birth. That being said, I have had in the past 13 years, about 3 postpartum hemmorrhages seriously enough to warrant a blood transfusion. So after stabilizing each mom at home, we wisked her to the hospital where she was transfused and sent home a day later. HOmebirth midwives carry I.V.'s and medications to treat hemmorrhage and have clinical skills and maneuvers as well to manage a postpartum hemmorrhage outside of a hospital. However, a transfusion must take place in a hospital. And they have 3 in 13 years with no loss of life. Those are the details Jen, for your perusal. Thanks for listening

  
  
• [33] Bisi from NJ- January 08, 2009 - 12:41PM

  As an OB/GYN, I support the right of a patient to make an INFORMED choice how she delivers. Prenatal care with a trained CNM and a home birth may be an appropriate choice for a low risk patient. The days of paternalistic medicine are over. As long as the patient and her family are aware that all situations cannot be planned for, and are willing to ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY for their choices, then it is fine. Unfortunately in our society, many people want all the rewards, but are not willing to accept or acknowledge the risks.

  I do have a problem with a CNM practicing without malpractice insurance. When a problem occurs, the job of dealing with a life and death situation will fall to the physician and hospital that the patient presents to. They will not know this patient, her health issues, and may not be able to provide optimal care due delayed presentation. Any legal repercussions will fall on them, since they will have malpractice coverage. It is irresponsible of Ms. Muhlhahn not to carry insurance. It is similar to an uninsured driver who causes an accident. As a patient, I would think twice about seeking out a care provider that was not insured.

  
  
• [34] Sally from L.E.S. January 08, 2009 - 02:41PM

  I wanted to echo the above comments asking for another segment on this issue. It is amazing to me that in this day and age women are so poorly informed about their own bodies, sexuality, reproductive health and birthing. We need shows like this to raise awareness.

  Contrary to a frequent criticism I hear from individuals eager to disparage home birthing, I'm an educated, low-income black woman who thinks that it is a privilege to have a natural childbirth with the medical attention given by a midwife.

  I would like to meet the person who is still quick to dismiss home births after they have seen "The Business of Being Born". There is a larger question of our medical industry being young and untested, while being born out of a indisputably patriarchal, profit-motivated system. How do home birth critics put so much faith in a hyper-medicalized birthing culture (unique to the U.S.) after understanding the global context presented by that documentary?

  
  
• [35] Jennifer RN from NYC January 08, 2009 - 03:08PM

  I am so excited that my favorite talk show is featuring my favorite midwife!! Cara was the first midwife I spoke to prior to the birth of my daughter at the birthing center,she revolutionized my expierance. I had a not too good hospital high intervention hospital birth in 86..birth center birth in 96 and then home birth w. cara in 01 (she also attended our birthing center birth!! Each birth was special and unique but having Cara in our lives is one of our greatest blessings

  
  
• [36] Jen from Hoboken January 08, 2009 - 04:10PM

  I think it's a bit patronizing to assume that a woman would choose a C-section because women lack knowledge about their bodies or faith in their abilities. Women are very sophisticated healthcare consumers and are capable of making informed decisions about what is best for them. Many women do not see the process of natural birth as liberating or empowering. I don't see this as a tragedy. Their perspective on their own bodies is valid, as are their medical choices.

  Also, I have a friend who had an emergency C-section last summer. She describes the experience as the most amazing in her life, pretty much exactly the way that vaginal birth mothers I know do. I think it's disrespectful to imply, as I often hear, that a woman who has a C-section is missing out on something.

  
  
• [37] Lynn from Tenafly January 08, 2009 - 04:52PM

  One post implies that pursuing a VBAC is a selfish decision, risking her life unnecessarily. What is not mentioned in her post are the risks (infection, severe hemorrhage, respiratory problems in the baby, accidental nicking of the baby or internal organs, raised risk of stillbirth in the future, there are more!) both inherent and occasional in birth by Caesarean. To be clear, yes there are times when Caesarean birth is medically (or even emotionally) indicated but the current (and rising) percentage in the US is FAR above the 10-15% recommended by the World Health Organization. The US spends more than double per capita on childbirth than other industrialized countries and yet ranks 41st among those nations in maternal morbidity. Vaginal birth and VBAC are not selfish pursuits but can be healthy ones for both mother and baby.

  
  
• [38] Fiona from NJ from northern NJ January 08, 2009 - 10:02PM

  I have had both experiences, a hospital birth which ended with a stillbirth because the doctors who unnecessarily induced the labor were unable to take my daughter out in time. This happened to me in the hospital, surrounded by doctors and technology and still they were unable to save my little angel. My sister was bullied by her doctor into having a C-section because according to him my nephew was too big to be delivered vaginally. He was 6lb5oz at birth and ended up in NICU with respiratory issues. Since those painful experiences I have delivered two healthy babies, after long but unmedicated labor with a help of caring and knowledgeable midwife. It makes me sick to think that people would risk a lifetime of health issues for their children and schedule an invasive procedure such as C-section just to make a quick buck or to get better tax return. This of course is different when a surgery is necessary to save the life of a baby or mom during a REAL medical emergency. I think it is a very personal decision about the way your child will be born, but in needs to be made with the best interest of the child in mind.

  
  
• [39] Stephanie from Brooklyn January 08, 2009 - 10:04PM

  I disagree that all women are very sophisticated healthcare consumers. I think that SOME women are sophisticated healthcare consumers, but I think most women in the US are not very sophisticated when it comes to childbirth. In today's society of fear - fear of pain, fear of malpractice - hospital births with epidurals are assumed by most women and physicians; women must actively seek out alternatives like birth centers or homebirths, and most women don't know what those alternatives entail. Most women have no idea what their bodies are capable of, or what the benefits of a drug-free birth are, because it's not generally discussed in the mainstream or taught in schools. Most women only hear tales of how excruciating birth feels and how they will beg for an epidural immediately.

  Birth is amazing, no matter how it happens. Is a homebirth or unmedicated birth for every woman? No, of course not. But I do feel that if all women were truly educated about the benefits of a drug-free birth, and how the cascade of interventions so often leads to unnecessary c-sections, many more would opt for a lower-intervention delivery, wherever it takes place.

  Despite my plans for a homebirth, I ended up with a c-section - I was one of the low percentage of homebirth-to-hospital transfers, after 3 days of labor at home. Even so, I wouldn't have traded the homebirth experience for anything, and I'd do it again in a second.

  
  
• [40] Jeanne from Fort Greene January 09, 2009 - 06:27PM

  I am a 115 pound woman who gave birth to our 9.8 pound daughter at home, without a tear. Our midwife, Joan Bryson and her assistant Tessa were amazing. My labor was 12 hours, during which I walked and moaned and was supported by Joan and my partner. Our daughter emerged bright-eyed and alert, and perfectly at home in the place she had already come to know in-utero. Joan remained with us for a few hours to be sure we were all safe and healthy and then we ordered Indian food and went to sleep in our own bed.

  After doing lots of research, I chose to do a homebirth because I felt it was absolutely the safest place for my baby to be born. Joan spent no less than an HOUR at EVERY prenatal visit. I was able to ask her as many questions as I could come up with over the 7 months that I worked with her. I never would have gotten this level of attentive care with an MD and a hospital. This relationship of trust helped me to believe in my own ability to give birth.

  I think ultimately that is the difference between a home birth and many hospital births. The home birth mother is the one who 'delivers' the baby, not the staff.

  This was the most beautiful, perfect, difficult day of my life. I wish this same type of experience for any pregnant woman.

  
  
• [41] Judith Hagan certified nurse midwife from Rockaway, NJ January 13, 2009 - 09:41AM

  I am a CNM who attends homebirth in New Jersey. I had the wonderful joy to do some of my early training with Cara at the Maternity Center when it was on 92nd Street. She is a smart and very competent care provider! On a personal note, I had my first baby with a doctor and sugery for no good reason but the doctor wanted to leave. I had a beautiful VBAC 13 months later with midwives after 48 hours in labor. It was the most profound and wonderful experience of my life. Lets talk about the increased death rate for women who are having sections they don't really need. If men were dying in childbirth we would be marching in the streets to bring the rates down. My practice section rate is 4%. Hospitals should have no more than 10% even with high risk women. Bless you Cara, keep up the good work.

  
  
• [42] Judy from Irvington, NY January 15, 2009 - 11:09AM

  If it should be against the law for children to ride in cars without car seats in the event something happens, then it should be against the law to give birth at home in the event something happens. In birth, most of the time, nothing happens --- but when something goes wrong it can go very wrong very quickly and not having immediate access the hospital resources is, in my mind, negligent parenting. And, juxtaposing the issue of home birth with planned c-section is like comparing the merits of drunk driving with the merits of planned c-sections.