Waterbirth of Tehya Makenzie
Home birth in Minnesota
The rapid “woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh” of the Doppler heart-rate monitor echoed throughout Heather and Brian Ingbretson’s house - until it was muffled by Heather’s moan at the next contraction.
As the blunt pain subsided, Heather calmed down and the noise of the fetal heartbeat grew audible again. Only it was different.
“Woooooosh … woooooosh … woooosh … wooooosh.”
Brian glanced nervously at the midwife, Vanessa Hunt-Jansen. In preparing for this home birth, the Ingbretsons were told they would have to go to the hospital if the baby’s heartbeat dipped below 100 beats per minute.
Hunt-Jansen checked the monitor: The baby’s heart rate dropped briefly below 80.
“I think,” she said, “we need to go to the hospital.”
Brian and Heather’s eyes met.
No, not again.
Home birth is an uphill battle that starts long before labor. The medical establishment believes it is risky. Insurers won’t pay for it. Some friends and relatives think it is strange. Still, a growing number of Minnesota women - such as Heather - make the choice, often out of religious convictions or a distrust of how the medical system handles childbirth.
It is an eclectic mix of expectant mothers. Some are naturalist liberals, while others are family-value conservatives. One in 10 is Amish, while another one in 10 comes from Laos, Somalia or other countries. Half come from small towns.
The full story here at TwinCities.com
Happy Birthday, Max!
More news from Illionois
Midwives Hope To Provide Home Delivery: Shelbyville Daily Union
…“This is something that has been done for many, many years in many cultures and I feel that something so natural shouldn’t be treated as criminal. We are not that far removed from our recent American history.”
But Kuhns is quick to say that midwives are best suited to low-risk pregnancies. “We do not advocate talking risks. I think hospitals and doctors have their place. I am talking about low-risk mothers. There are times when hospitalization is required and we do not devaluate that option. We are talking about the low-risk mothers who choose to do this.”
Nurse has her doubts: Suburban Chicago News
As part of that U of I program, she was required to deliver 30 babies, under the supervision of a nurse-midwife. Graduates are qualified to deliver babies in hospitals or in a mother’s home.
“I actually delivered 35, while a student,” said Allen, 48. But in the five years since earning her master’s degree, she has not delivered another.
“No Lake County hospital allows nurse-midwives to deliver babies,” she said Wednesday, adding that most hospitals in Illinois allow nurse-midwives to deliver.
Would she deliver babies if hospitals or the law allowed? “Absolutely,” she said.
State’s attorney opposes licensing midwives in Illinois: Suburban Chicago News
Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Waller said Tuesday that he is opposed to pending legislation that would license midwives and create ten birthing centers across the state.
Illionois is certainly the place to watch right now with regard to midwifery of all educational processes.
An all time high
Preliminary data for 2005 indicate that 30.2% of all live births in the United States were cesarean deliveries, marking the highest U.S. total cesarean rate ever reported. Since 1996, the total cesarean rate has increased by 46%, driven by both an increase in the percentage of all women having a first cesarean and a decline in the percentage of women delivering vaginally after a previous cesarean. Cesarean rates vary considerably among states but tend to be lower in the western mountain states and upper Midwest region and higher in the Southeast and East regions.
SOURCE: National Vital Statistics System, unpublished data. Additional information is available at National Vital Statistics.
Podcasts
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Podcast 1: Midwives
Podcast 2: Birth Places
Podcast 3: Thinking About Home Birth
Podcast 4: The Birth Kit
Podcast 5: Interview with Ricki Lake