Disclaimer

I am a midwife, childbirth educator, lecturer, doula, and natural mother of eight children. This is not a medical reference; I do not proclaim to give medical advice. Anything stated here is from personal experience, research, study, and opinion. Each woman has the responsibility to do her own research, consult with her own medical team, and make her own decisions about pregnancy and birth.



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I am NOT against hosptial births!

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
Amani at home,
just minutes after birth!
Today I posted a comment on my Face Book page that started a debate.  It became obvious to me that many people assume that because I had an unassisted-home birth that this is what my blog is all about.  Let me clarify, I am NOT against hospital births.  I am, however, against unnecessary medical intervention.  I believe women need to be good consumers, informed, and not just complacent to hospital and doctor protocols. 
I've posted the Face Book thread here and hope you enjoy reading it.  Please let me know if you have a story idea or birth story to share.  Now on to the thread...I am NOT against hospital births!...

Wow my blog reaches all the way to Bosnia, masha'Allah! I love writing it and hope that it helps other women find their way to natural birth, wherever they are!

saudibirthstory.blogspot.com
4 hours ago · · · Share

  • Zina Zisko likes this.

    • Mona Mohamed Barakat Oh my God... u r actually invading the world with that new species... beware everybody... aaaaahhhhhh....
      4 hours ago ·

    • Aisha Al Hajjar ‎@Dr. Mona...LOL...what's wrong, you're afraid of natural birth? Come on you must have witnessed a few more than just mine!?!
      3 hours ago ·

    • Mona Mohamed Barakat not the ones that start and END at home... oh no... u'll nevr convince me... never ever ever,,, i insist... beware everybody... they r coming... aaaaaahhhhh....
      3 hours ago ·

    • Mereesa LaRue Platevoet You go girl!!! I do tend to agree with Dr. Mona, though... Not into home births at all!!! I have witnessed first hand what can happen to mom and baby when that does not go according to plan...
      3 hours ago ·

    • Jessi Frenzel Homebirth is certainly safe with a knowledgeable and skilled attendant. It's a shame that many societies are lacking an efficient system to support the woman in case a transfer becomes necessary.
      3 hours ago ·

    • Mona Mohamed Barakat Yessssss... Thank u God... There r still wise people in this world... Thank u Mereesa.... u made my day... that friend of yours is so stubborn...
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mereesa LaRue Platevoet I have been in Labor and Delivery for a dozen + years. I have witnessed homebirths come to the hospital with their skilled attendents in a very efficient American ambulance... It never ends well... Could have been prevented if she were in the hospital in the first place. God Bless the family when everything turns out perfect. God Bless the family that has to live with regret for the rest of their lives because they chose to stay home... To each their own, I guess.
      2 hours ago ·

    • Jessi Frenzel I was not saying that our society is one with a good back-up system.
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mona Mohamed Barakat well dear... u r absolutely right.... i've seen this too... and in the 21st century mothers still lost their lives during labour... ok... there r some complications to labor even in the best hospitals... but interference in time... is definitely more likely to occur in a hospital than at home... besides... looking at how things look like in the OR after the process of normal delivery... i wonder who would like to have that mess at home... But Aisha never stopped amazing me... but i love her anyway...
      2 hours ago ·

    • Jessi Frenzel OR for normal delivery?
      2 hours ago ·

    • Jessi Frenzel I haven't known Aisha for long but I agree she is quite amazing!
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mona Mohamed Barakat well... it is not one very well equipped OR.. it is more like a more or less clean delivery room... where a special delivery bed is available (which Aisha hated by the way) and some preparations so that if ever things turn nasty... u can perform an emergency CS... so... i'ld rather work under these conditions than at home especially with Aisha as the mother to be... hehehehehehehe
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mereesa LaRue Platevoet Hahaha!!! Not me, that's for sure!!! That is one BIG MESS!!! That thought did not even occur to me... LOL I totally agree with you that even the worst case scenario's happen in hospitals... Just saying I would rather risk it there with the proper interventions than having to live with regret... Childbirth is beautiful no matter where you choose to have it. My cousin has been stubborn since we were little... She is one of a kind, for sure!
      2 hours ago ·

    • Annelyse Blatch Debate.. Love it :) Im a natural birther and promote natural birthing. I love Aisha's determination and passion for her beliefs.
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mereesa LaRue Platevoet So thrilled and thankful that everything turned out the way she wanted it... Don't get me wrong. I wonder who did clean up that mess, anyway??? I didn't think to ask! LOL
      2 hours ago ·

    • Mereesa LaRue Platevoet We offer natural childbirth courses and have hypno-birthing classes... I am all for natural childbirht as well! Absolutely nothing wrong with a woman making her own decision on how to birth her baby. Like I've said, it is beautiful no matter how you choose to do it... However, from my experience and everything that I see that can (and does) go wrong... I think that it should happen in the hospital. I also love her passion, I commend her for sharing her beliefs with woman around the world.... She is truly amazing!!!
      2 hours ago ·

    • Um Maryam will read it isA
      and i'm sure it's impressive

      2 hours ago ·

    • Aisha Al Hajjar
      3 minutes ago ·

      LOL...I step away to have dinner and look what happens! Thanks for all the comments and compliments *blush*! LISTEN LADIES...I am NOT advocating unassisted NOR home birth. I support hospital births. I PERSONALLY hate going to the hospital because I get tired of fighting for natural birth. "No, I don't want the IV. No, I don't need pain medication. No, don't take me into a back room and lock my husband out (Middle East issue). No, don't knock me out for 2nd stage (Middle East issue) No, don't give me an episiotomy. No, don't cut the cord until the placenta comes. No, don't take my baby away to wash until I've nursed. No, don't lock my baby away in the nursery. No, don't give my baby a bottle. On and on..."

      I simply feel that unmedicated natural birth should be the norm rather than the exception. I believe women should be educated about the risks of drugs during delivery and the many UNNECESSARY medical interventions. I truly feel woman can have a nonmedicated birth IF they learn how to cope with their labor and work with their body.

      I realize many thing can and do go wrong. But do you realize many of those complications are caused by doctors and hospitals and their protocols? As soon as you introduce artificial agents in a laboring woman you have changed the outcome. Glucose in IVs alters blood sugar level when all she needs is to drink water. Laboring and birthing flat on the back is dangerous to mother and baby's blood supply. Stirrups for delivery increases risk of tears and increases need for episiotomy. Chest breathing and panting alters the oxygen/carbon mix in the mother and baby's blood and can cause fetal distress. Pain meds reach the baby within 60 seconds and there is no guarantee there won't be an allergic reaction in mother or baby. It also causes weak contractions which can lead to the need for Piitocin which can lead to fetal distress which can lead to c-section. Speaking of Pitocin, it is way over used to induce or speed labor and has a myriad of risks. Episiotomy is performed way more than needed. Elective c-sections should simply be ILLEGAL and any doctor who preforms them is barbaric!

      There are far less complications in home births simply because the natural process which has been created by Allah in perfect form gets altered by "medical progress."

      Doctors and hospitals save lives! But they also cause many of the problems they then solve! Not only that, but most doctors, although well intentioned, are trained on abnormality and rarely sit back to witness normality. They are trained to "do something" when all that's really needed is careful observation and intervention only when truly necessary. Not to mention, most women are not prepared or trained. They fight their labor, often become hysterical, and then the doctor is put in the position to "act" when nothing is wrong except the mother's own fear.

      I love doctor Mona. She knows I've referred several women to her. She's a dear friend. I know she (and my cousin, Mereesa) have seen it all. But you are both working from a standpoint of abnormality. Expecting (as well as unintentionally causing) problems. Most of the women you work with are not calm, confident, relaxed, and working with their bodies.

      MOST births could be completely natural, if the women were prepared and the doctors patient. If this were not true, the human race would have disappeared! There was no medical interventions until the last century. Every woman birthed naturally until the recent generations.

      Please do not misunderstand my message. As I said, I am not advocating for women to take undue risks by staying at home or birthing unassisted. I am telling them to make informed decisions, learn to birth without drugs, and avoid unnecessary interventions.

      Dr. Mona, you witnessed one of my births. You saw that I was not hysterical or out of control. I didn't need anything except encouragement. (And you're right...I hate your delivery table! LOL) I went home, feeling fine, within two hours of my birth. I didn't need my mommy to take care of me for 40 minutes, let alone 40 days. This is the way it SHOULD be for all women. Birth does not have to be a horrible, debilitating event.

      I really feel that I have a gift to give women in educating them about how to birth naturally. I just wish it wasn't so hard to get them to accept the gift!
      See More

      2 minutes ago ·
      ‎@Mereesa...my husband cleaned it up but it wasn't bad. I delivered in the bathroom and the whole room is a shower...so all he had to do was throw away 2 towels and hose the room down. No big deal at all.

      @Jessie...in this part of the world they don't have LDR rooms. You have to "go back" to the "delivery room." Many doctors will not allow the husband to enter. It really sucks!

      On top of that, it's common practice to be put under general anesthesia for 2nd stage. They think they are being merciful by knocking you out so you don't have to feel the actual birth. It's pathetic! Next thing you know, you've got Pitocin dumped in your IV (as you sleep) an episiotomy and often a forceps or vacuum delivery because you obviously can't push. This barbaric practice sickens me! And many doctors over hear think this is "natural birth" because the baby came vaginally! Absurd!
      See More

2 comments:

  1. I'd take the "mess" of a home birth (which was nothing a chux pad couldn't handle in my experience) over the flat cold delivery table any day!

    May Allah SWT bless what you are doing, Aisha. I hope the enlightenment spreads over there. I feel horrible for any mother who is still, in 2010, knocked out to be sliced through her sexual tissue (perineum) and her baby pulled out as a ROUTINE! Goodness sakes, for many women second stage is the EASIER part of the labor and birth!

    I just don't think it's fair to make a personal judgement on homebirth based on the few transport cases one has seen. They may not be good but they also are not the majority of homebirths and as Dr. Mona said, things can go very bad in the hospital too, even surrounded by all the technology (and sadly, many times because of it).

    Much love to all of you and thanks for the discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Salam Alaikum,

    Thank you for your comments, Jessi. I was absolutely horrified to learn of the "routine" general anestetic for second stage. Sadly, most women over here don't even know it doesn't have to be that way!

    I also don't think many people realize that doctors (albeit unintentional) actually CAUSE some of the problems they solve! Even the doctors and nurses themselves don't realize this point.

    As for me, I stick to what Allah has provided and sincerely feel it needs no "improvement!"

    Best regards,

    -Aisha, Natural Mom

    ReplyDelete