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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Weekend Movie: Consider a Midwife

Why Choose a Midwife?
via Doula-ing

Our Bodies Ourselves has posted a video on their blog asking the question "Why Choose a Midwife?" The video is mainly being used to address legislation in Massachusetts governing midwives, but it has the added benefit of detailing the benefits of the midwifery model of care.




Some excellent points from the movie:

"I almost think that midwives do a better job, at the normal deliveries, than we do." - Obstetrician

"A low-risk home birth under well-monitored circumstances can be very safe and ought to be a woman's option" - OB/GYN

"I'd have to say that there's an emotionalism rampant that somehow obstetric emergencies occur with frightening frequency and that people are constantly being subjected to emergency deliveries and life-saving deliveries... and that without these babies will die as a routine gesture and greater amounts will be injured substantially... and that's just not true. Most obstetrical emergencies may be anticipated."

"One of the advantages of home birth is that they avoid... the cascade of interventions." - Professor of Maternal and Child Health at BU

The three Boston hospitals with the most midwife-attended births saved the state nearly $3 million in Medicaid reimbursements in 2006 through lower Cesarean rates.

"Continuous Electronic Fetal Monitoring is everywhere in my universe... We all agree that there's some controversy in how you interpret some of the things that you see on it... In low risk patients it increases the rate of unnecessary C-sections and the data says it does not make a difference in the outcome of the baby." - Doctor

A birth by Cesarean section costs an average of $14,843.
A birth at home with a Certified Professional Midwife costs an average of $2,391.
A birth at a birth center with a Certified Nurse Midwife costs an average of $2,213.

2 comments:

  1. Emily,

    I've really enjoyed reading your blog! I stumbled across it recently when I was looking for more doula related things to read. I'm a new doula as well, also working towards certification, and I just can't stop reading more and more about birth! Thanks for all of your excellent posts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lessie! I'm so glad you found my blog! I'm also following yours now, because I saw that you have been travelling a lot (I love travel) and also that you're in Chapel Hill! I went to UNC for undergrad!

    I'm excited to read about your experiences with the UNC Hospital Doula Program. I wish I had known about it when I lived there - I've heard its great.

    Keep on commenting! :)

    ReplyDelete

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