Anyone else treated poorly because of the home birth?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cindy Lerner on August 16, 2009 at 11:49am

I proudly tell everyone I meet that my 5 month old daughter was born at home and they all look at me like I'm a little crazy. Their usual comments are "weren't you nervous?" or "I'd be too afraid to do that." and all I say back is, "I'd be more scared to have my baby in a hospital." It is sad that we always have to stand up for what we know is the right thing for our child just because people are not educated on the statistics and how much safer home birth is than hospital birth in normal pregnancies. I hope your baby is feeling better. Is he doing ok now? I just pray everyday that my precious girl will never have the misfortune of stepping foot in a hospital.

Permalink Reply by Wendy Robertson on August 16, 2009 at 1:50pm

Kayla, I have had this several times. My first HB child (3rd baby) had some weight gain issues, and I felt like I had the world looking at me like I was this crazy person because i had my baby at home! Then my 6th baby at 10 days old landed in the E.R. because of a fever and splotchy rash. Of course, I get, "was he born here?" no. "Was he born at 'the other hosp in town'?" No, I had a planned Out of hosp birth... "Did you test + for GBS?" I declined the GBS testing, and it is VERY unlikely that evn if I had been possitive, he could/would have been affected... short labor, water broke, and he was born within 5-10 minutes. (and it was a water birth, dilution of any possible GBS issues???). Anyway, I felt like I just had to keep defending my choice to not vax, birth at home (I've had 6 babies, and I haven't birthed in a hosp since the 2nd baby), etc... and that it was somehow to blame, which it was totally unrelated!!! I'm sorry you had to go through that experience. It's hard!
Is your baby o.k.? did they figure out what was going on with him? (how old was he when this happened?)
(My little guy ended up having a strep A infection that was in his blood system, and it had setteled in his hip joint and was growing wild and crazy!! He ended up in the hosp for 3 wks, and we did 6 weeks of I.V. abx! he's fine now, other than a slight limp due to scar tissue from surgery etc. to clean out the infection. (he's 3 1/2 yrs old now.)

Permalink Reply by Kayla Dolan on August 16, 2009 at 4:17pm

Evan is okay. He had a reflux episode, we think. We are guessing that he refluxed and the acid caused a spasm which may have shut off his airway, partially or completely. So, it was a major event, with probably a minor cause. He's on meds for it now, which I hate, but I think the benefits outweigh the risks, at this point. He hasn't had an episode since, which is great. When this happened, he was sleeping upright in a well-supported bouncy chair, which is where I put him because of his reflux issues. I found that I didn't have to medicate one of my other children if he slept upright all the time. He was not cosleeping, sleeping on his tummy, or anything like that, which is normally "associated" with near-miss SIDS cases like this.

I just got another dose from my pediatrician for his well-visit on Friday, actually. She asked why I declined the Hep B (and I told her my well-informed opinion) and she had no argument for me. However, she told me that the office requires all patients to follow the CDC recommended vaccination schedule and that I had a right to my opinion, but they could no longer accept us as patients if we did not agree to it. Well, we're looking for a nother pediatrician right now. Its not that big of a deal for us to get the hep b at this point, I guess. But the very fact that she took my right to choose really ticked me off. She also said that if we had another baby in the future, they may not accept him/her as a patient if it is a home birth situation. Wow. Its pretty amazing.

Permalink Reply by Cindy Lerner on August 17, 2009 at 1:36pm

You don't want to have her as a pediatrician then. Have you ever had your son checked by a Chiropractor? My husband has one of the largest pediatric Chiropractic practices in our area and reflux can be caused by misalignments in the spine. He has helped many babies in your sons situation get off of medication. If you need help finding someone in your area, I can help.

Permalink Reply by Kayla Dolan on August 16, 2009 at 4:22pm

And Jenn...you should defend it until you are blue in the face. I did for the longest time, especially before the birth. Now, I feel so confident in my decision that I don't even need to defend it. I'm just shocked by the amazing ignorance of the medical community. Why the hell can't everyone work as a team? Why does a medicated birth have to be priority rather than backup? Stupid.

I am sure you won't regret your decision. My home waterbirth was absolutely amazing. I felt so in control and so safe. It was amazing.

Permalink Reply by Jessica Marquina on August 18, 2009 at 1:31pm

I am planning a home birth in November, and I was also born at home. My mom decided after getting treated badly by her OB that this was her baby and her body, and she was willing to leave to have the birth she wanted. She had me very easily at home with a midwife, but prior to that, when she told her priest what she was doing, he told her that he would be available for "Last Rights". I still can not believe that story when she tells me today. How do people have the nerve to judge you for your decisions?

My mom is right. It is your body and your baby. You have the right to be where you are comfortable to give birth. People who don't understand that are just too ignorant to see an alternative!