What do you hip folks think about home births? I was just wondering because I have a little situation unfolding as I grow bigger and closer to my due date, June 29. I am a rainbow gathering goer of the best kynd and want to have my baby there. I have always wanted to do this since I have been going. If I go this year it will be my 6th gathering in a row. My family disagrees and thinks it will be dangerous. I already have had a baby, my first child and she is 2 now. My boyfriend will be there to help and there will be many nice rainbow sisters there as well. Plus there's always some kind of medical help at CALM. (for anyone who knows about the Gathering this is where the people who are trained in various types of medical background camp) I cannot unfortunately have a home birth in the state that I live in and in fact the midwives around here in South Dakota could be prosecuted for being there and assisting in a home birth, all of which i completely think is ludacris. But anyways, please if you could post me some comments or replies on this topic. Thanks
My mums friend had all four of her kids at home and my mum got to be there to help...she had a midwife three times but the fourth time the bub came too quickly and had the cord round it's neck and so my mum and the dad had to think quick and delivered the baby safely...it can be done and is done every minute of every day around this world without problem. I had a cesarean due to complications but I figure that if everything had been good I would have loved to have got my mum, her friend and a midwife and had the baby at home...the critical thing is if the birth is looking straight forwards or not. They were in the country and so the flying doctor was on standby if something went wrong but they never needed it...sometimes people do so best be prepared but once prepared do what you are happiest to do! p.s. not familiar myself with rainbow gathering but I think the number one important thing is who is with you rather than where you are!
THAT'S AWFUL!!!! In some states the medical profession is just so threatened by the Good Work midwives do. It makes me angry. I can't really comment on having your baby at the Gathering. I don't know what kind of medical care they have. An uncomplicated birth might not be a problem, but if you do have problems, are you close enough to a hospital to get urgent care if you or the baby need it? You would also be delivering with HCPs you don't know at all, and I know, in my births, my relationship with my OB and his midwife were esssencial to my well being (and I had some unforseen complication in my first and second births which required a C section, from a doctor who doesn't do them unless they are really neccesary.) MOST births go well, and are uncomplicated, but in the small number that have complications, a good midwife or physician who KNOWS what to do is really important. I would imagine the doctors at the gathering have attended births before, but mostly they are trained in injury and Trip Out care, am I right? I would certianly do some research, find out WHO the doctors will be, how far you are from a hospital, ect. Is is possible to move, temporarily to a place where home birth, with a trained professional, is available? Can you find a certified midwife who would be willing to do it in your state anyway? (They do exist, but I don't have info about them.) I cannot stress HOW important prenatal care is. It CAN mean the difference between a good safe labor, and birth, and a complicated one. Really. Even if you do decide to deliver at the Gathering, you still NEED good prenatal care, you and your baby will be healthier, and a good outcome is statistically higher. It is as important as how and where your baby is born. What about a midwife birth IN a hospital, with a good birth plan, and decide to arrive "late" in the labor? I know a lot of womyn do this in places where they can't have a home birth, but do want the security of trained professionals atttending. Brighid is a midwife, I am sure she can help you a lot.
If you're healthy, having a home birth isn't dangerous. Here in the Netherlands a little over 30% of the births are home births. I'm appalled that it is against the law in South Dakota to help with a home birth, is that really true? On the other hand, there are a few advantages of the Netherlands that may or may not apply to your situation... we're a very small country, I did a bit of Googling and one of the things is that they advise it only if you're within 30 minutes of a hospital in case you *do* need it... our country here is so small it's rare to be further out than that, but I've lived in the US for several years and I've been places that were more than 30 minutes from the nearest doctor, let alone hospital So that's something to consider.
I think a home birth would be wonderful if you are low risk. I wished that I could have done that with my little ones. I had been putting a lot of thought into it after my first son was born, for my future pregnancies. Well, I ended up finding out that I was expecting twins, and thus, they slapped me into the high risk category faster than you could blink an eye, even though I was healthy as a horse. I swear I practically LIVED in my doctor's office with all of the appointments, ultrasounds, and non-stress tests. And the thing was, my pregnancy, until the very end, was going quite well (okay, comfort-wise, I was miserable as I'm on the smaller side), I wasn't on any restrictions, no bed rest, nada. But things happened so fast at the end. It blew everyone away. It's actually a very fortunate thing that I DID end up giving birth in the hospital with my twins. We were all in a very bad situation with Toxemia that semed to happen overnight, H.E.L.L.P syndrome, me having 5 grand mal seizures within a few hours time the day after giving birth, and 3 TIA's (mini strokes) in which we were very lucky that the three of us made it. I also ended up having my twin son the "natural" way, but my twin daughter had to be taken by cesarean, as the ultrasound showed that her umbilical cord was near her neck, and she had turned breech again despite numerours manual attempts to change her position. When she was taken, her placenta had already detached and my womb was filled with blood clots. She had to receive rescue breathing immediately after she was taken from my womb, and was in the NICU for almost 3 weeks. I myself was in the ICU for 4 days. We all ended up making it through, and we're all doing wonderful now, but I'm grateful that I hadn't been able to find a widwife that would take me. We would probably not be here today if we had tried for a home birth. But I truly think that if you have a low-risk pregnancy, that a home birth would be a fantastic experience. How nice it would have been to be able to have given birth right in the comfort of my own home, with not all of the envasion of a hospital birth. It would have felt so much more natural, more peaceful. As far as giving birth at the gathering, well, I'd be a little leary of that. A home birth with a trained professional is one thing, but you'd have to be sure that the people attending the gathering would have the proper education and experience dealing with births. It's awful that where you live, home birthing is not an option. That's ridiculous. Congratulations to you and good luck!
nope, not right. they actually have mds there, midwives too - and MOST rainbows are not there to "trip out". LOTS of babies born at the gatherings. Go to the rainbow forums and ask the mamas there. from the (unofficial) CALM site http://www.infolation.com/calm/: "We have treated nearly everything from broken hearts to heart attacks. We deal with booboos, sprains, lacerations, broken bones, back pain, head aches, asthma attacks, bad trips. We do prenatal care and we have birthed babies. We have a fully stock apothecary of western and Chinese herbs and homepathics." there's also a link to email them, if i were you i'd be sure to contact them before setting out.
Yeah, also in South Dakota, you cannot legally be a natrapath or study to be one. They won't recognize it. You can get fired from a job for being pregnant which they say isn't the reason but they "legally" don't have to give you a reason. I do not like it here. The only good side to this story is that I work at a health food co-op. I am not a high risk pregnancy nor do I feel anything to be afraid of if I were to have this baby at the Gathering. I am vegeatarian, I eat right, I walk 2 miles everyday. I have been to 5 gatherings in my life and they have a camp called kiddie village where families camp out and help out each other. i think it would be great to have someone like a doula be there to help me if there needed to be a run for help. the medic camp CALM also has radios to call on any outside help. the nearest hospital is unknown at this time because the gathering site will not be announced until june. so it's kinda up in the air right now. my last birthing experience was horrible. i had a midwife the whole time and when i went into labor she was sick at home. so i ended up having an on call doctor who put an iv into me without my permission, gave me drugs, and also told me what I thought was saline solution pumping into my arm was actually later to be found out to be pitocin. this would not happen at a gathering. my last labor made me freak out so much that i had to have an epidural. out in the forest, there would be no way of having these things at my reach. that is why i want this. it's a chance of a lifetime and only those of you who have been to a gathering would really understand. thanks for your quick replies and i have a lot of considering to do for the next couple months. peace
Lots of midwives, physicians, nurses, DOMs, naturopaths and other health care professionals attend Gatherings and volunteer for CALM. I was recently invited to attend the Nationals as a midwife, but have too many of my own due. I might end up going, but it's not very likely . With a few precautions and a healthy mama, an out of hospital birth is quite safe, much safer than a hospital birth, IMHO. Lots of babies are born at gatherings every year, some Mamas plan their conceptions around a gathering! CALM is fully aware of this, and are prepared for just about anything. You can always e-mail CALM and find out if they have any midwives/physicians planning on attending. I do agree with maggie on these points; the gathering should be fairly close to a hospital, within a half hour, but no more than an hour away. There is the connection with your care giver, you may not know her very well, or at least make the effort to get to know her and see if you trust her. However, having a regular doctor in an OB practice is no guarantee you will know who delivers your baby, either! Anyone who has had a baby in the hospital knows the doctor shows up when the head is crowning and disappears right after. You see him for 1/2 hour tops. Continue getting prenatal care, but mke sure you eat very well and stay healthy. And DON'T tell your doctor your plans! He'll find a way to label you high risk in a heart beat, and may call CPS. If left alone to progress normally, birth is uncomplicated about 95% of the time. Most complications you can see coming a mile away, and a good care provider will have you out of there and in the hospital before it becomes a disaster. Most unforeseeable complications can be handled by a trained physician or midwife without any trouble (but with a few gray hairs!), and the rest are extremely rare. Most important, are you willing to accept responsability for your birth? Do you strongly believe the risks are acceptable, and the benefits outweigh the risks? Think about the risks of having a normal birth in the hospital, with the cascade of interventions, and the risk of having a birth in the woods, with almost NO interventions. If you are healthy, had a previous vaginal birth without complications, are educated and have a strong trust in the birth process and your body's innate wisdom, you are an excellent candidate for out of hospital birth. There are midwives practicing in South Dakota and doing home births. It's not illegal to have a home birth in South Dakota, but it illegal for midwives to attend. However, the midwives who practice in South Dakota are fully aware of this, and are willing to risk all because they strongly believe in a woman's right to choose where and with whom she has her baby. They are hard to find, but not impossible. Health food stores, La Leche League meetings, doulas, in places where other crunchy mamas congregate,someone will know a midwife who is willing to attend a home birth.
Most important, are you willing to accept responsability for your birth? Do you strongly believe the risks are acceptable, and the benefits outweigh the risks? Think about the risks of having a normal birth in the hospital, with the cascade of interventions, and the risk of having a birth in the woods, with almost NO interventions. If you are healthy, had a previous vaginal birth without complications, are educated and have a strong trust in the birth process and your body's innate wisdom, you are an excellent candidate for out of hospital birth. Quoted from Brighid Yes I am definately willing to take full responisibility. The reason why I got through my last birth was because I trusted my body not the doctor. (although the nurse actually caught) The only thing that I am really worried about is tearing. I have heard that you don't necessarily need stitches but that's why I wouldn't want to do it in the forest without someone who can at least do that to help me. I can do the rest, I am sure of it. I just don't want to bleed to death. But with my birth partner near by he can always help me slow down because I am a good pusher. My nurse snuck me an 8 oz glass of apple juice, something i had begged and begged the dr. for but wouldn't give me, and then not kidding 10 mins. later I had my baby. all i needed was some sugar and energy. i had the mirror right there to assist me and my daughter came out practically flying out, her hair was sticking straight up. she was 9 lbs. 14 oz. not a small baby by any means. but i did it. with the help of my doula. i love doulas!!!! thanks to her, i kept focused. also in the hospital there were pictures of mamas nursing their babies on the walls of the birthing room and that really helped me realize that so much good was to follow all this pain. but the pain didn't bother me as much as the fact that my wishes went unheard and undeserved. does anyone have any ideas for what i should have in my kit? for the birth.. i have the book spiritual midwifery, does anyone have any other good ideas of what i should be reading beforehand?
Hello! I'm sort of in the same situation, im due in july sometime(not sure when) and i live in indiana where midwifery is also illegal. although i have a friend who's mom is a midwife, she lives about 40 miles from me and she mostly treats the amish and family. i havent talked to her yet though. also, i was planning to go to the gathering, but i wasn't sure about midwives or if there would be a hospital near by for plan B. also, i have talked to a couple people here, and both people got there baby taken by the state, one was because she said they tested her placenta for drugs and found pot, the other because they tested the baby's feces for drugs and found pot. and i smoked before i found out i was pregnant when i was pregnant. so im worried that if i go to a hospital, they'll end up finding pot in the baby's feces or something and take 'im/'er away. they both went through the same system as i am, the community health clinic, because that's the only place in town that takes medicaid. i'm so worried!
I didn't have time to read all the posts here so if I'm repeating somebody else's thoughts that's why. With regards to Rainbow birth as long as it's a normal birth without severe complications it should be fine.Won't be the first at all. Also I wanted to say I had my first prenatal exam with my son at the Michigan gathering and wish all my prenatal could've been done under a pine tree like that! There are always plenty of midwives and mamas at gatherings,you'll have a beautiful birth. And I wouldn't have a hospital birth unless it was some drastic medical emergency.Tiny babies don't need to be in germy hospitals,and they always push the drugs there. Good luck and hope to see ya at the gathering!
i got ahold of a good friends mom who's a midwife, and she's going to make some discrete inquiries about drug testing for me...she said she'll get back to me in a couple of days...i will keep you updated!!
In my job I have not seen them testing the placenta or the baby's feces. They test the urine of the mother and the baby if they have cause to suspect drug use. In some hospitals in my area, that means you're black, inner city, single and on welfare. Other hospitals will test any single woman. I mean really, married women don't use drugs???? They will automatically test without your knowledge or consent, They feel that they have a right to "protect" the baby. Personally I think they go way overboard on this. All of my clients are in my program because they tested positive and their babies tested positive for drugs. Some of them have a drug problem. Others were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have a hard time treating someone who smokes MJ once in a while as a hard core drug addict. But on my job I have to treat all the women the same. If you're afraid of being tested than lay off. The thc stays in your system for 30 to 60 days depending on your body fat. After 60 days you should be okay. As far as giving birth at the Rainbow Gathering, I would think that as long as you've had good prenatel care, you and the baby appear healthy, and you're willing to take responsibility if something happens, than go for it. I wish I could have given birth in a setting far away from hospitals and doctors and all that crap. I sure my labors would have been a lot easier. Kathi
Oh, good. I used to go to a lot of Dead concerts, and was kinda thinking along those lines. I am glad the medical care is different. I hope her birth goes beautifully.
You can always get helicoptered out of a gathering in a medical emergency.. the thing that would scare me is introducing a newborn to the plethera of contagious diseases so prominent at the national...from giardia to staph to tb to funky south american (or wherever) never been heard of before in the US airborne diseases....like the one that gave everyone exposed big huge lumps on their heads back in 96 (what the $^$ was that??)..... Personally I don't think hospitals are ideal for childbirth for the similiar reasons...why would we want to give birth to a newborn exposing them to the same building where people are dying from advanced diseases? yeck. At least maternity gets it's own section...but mannnnn they need to seal it off from the rest of the building.
