Today Show’s “Perils of Home Births”

I’d like to start off by saying that my heart goes out to the couple who lost their baby during childbirth. It would be absolutely horrible thing for anyone to go through. They have my complete sympathy.

The Today Show, however, does not. This is another example of what’s wrong with news coverage today. The producer’s negative slant is obvious from the very beginning of the segment.

Buried deep in the story (and given only a few seconds of coverage) were the stats showing that home births have a similar if not slightly lower mortality rate than hospital births.

Another thing the story misrepresented was homebirth and midwifery as a trendy Hollywood thing to do. How about natural and affordable? In this economy natural childbirth benefits the lower income families the most of all. Playing this off as a hot new trend is completely irresponsible.

I had two hospital births (both with midwives) and would consider a home birth in the future. This was not a helpful, researched news story. It was cheap, fear propoganda.

I, too, am sorry for the loss of this family.

I have had a wonderful home birth experience with my first child and plan on having another home birth with my second due in February. My decision to have a home birth had nothing to do with what is “popular” right now. Most people treated me like I was very strange and abnormal for having a natural birth, let alone a home birth. It didn’t matter to me what people thought. The proof is in the numbers, as stated in this program. Home births are just as safe as hospital births, with low mortality rates. I did not want to be pressured to have drug interventions and wanted to be able to birth my baby as my body directed. I had a trained midwife with many years of experience (She is VERY experienced in birth, just as much if not more so than any OB/GYN). I felt safe and the baby’s heart beat and progress was monitored the entire time I was in labor.

It is possible that the family may have lost their baby had they been at the hospital as well, we cannot know for sure. Tragic things happen. We cannot know what tomorrow brings. I know that I believe I’m doing what’s best for my family, and all parents should have the option to make that decision for themselves, too. Maybe a hospital setting will be best for one family, but maybe it would be too stressful of an environment for someone else. Birthing should be as peaceful and comfortable for the mother as possible. She needs to concentrate and not feel rushed or pressured. Each mother should decide for themselves what setting will help her most effectively labor and deliver.

Lastly, home births are an incredibly affordable option, not on the lines of a “spa” experience at all (implying it’s for ritzy people).

Today’s media does not foster truth. They don’t do the job of offering us unbiased information. This is not helpful for anyone looking into home births. It doesn’t paint a realistic picture of what that means.