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One Woman’s Home Birthing Story Inspires Discussion of Its Safety

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Giving birth at home can be very empowering and calming. The pain is the same – arguably more so with no painkillers. But being in familiar surroundings and without the extra nuisance of machines beeping and measuring, some women still feel the urge to push at home.

One mother, a week before her delivery, said this about her impending delivery: “We’re not hippies, but I’m pregnant, not sick, so why should I go into a hospital? Why go into an unfamiliar, clinical setting where you don’t get continuity of care and are at risk of all sorts of other things like MRSA and swine flu? The best thing is that, after a home birth, I can shower in my own bathroom and then get into my own bed with my new baby,” she added.

There are many medical experts who maintain that home births are dangerous and irresponsible. Some go so far as to equate the practice with child abuse. This anti-home birth party is growing in numbers and venom – so much so that the numbers of women choosing homebirths has dropped to below 10% in most every industrialized nation in the world.

Doctors themselves tend to over embellish the risk factors for home births. They are probably fearful of legal action if they okay a home birth and something happens. Obstetricians in Nassau County and Manhattan are the most sued medical specialty. Labor and delivery negligence are commonly the reasons for suits. New York City Birth Injury Lawyers are often called in these situations.

Until modern medicine, homebirths were the de facto method of child delivery. It has a long history of acknowledged safety for low-risk mothers. When compared to hospital delivery, it is even associated with fewer maternal interventions and a shorter recovery time. Women who deliver at home are less likely to hemorrhage or experience lacerations and infections.

Different reports have surfaced over the years which have seemed to announce the death of home birth, but researchers and experts have queried those reports and expressed concerns about the validity and preparation of those reports.

Another woman gave birth to her first child in a hospital. She said, “I had wanted the security of a hospital birth, but it turned out to be anything but reassuring. Instead, I found it very distressing and disempowering. There were lots of drugs involved, and an overwhelming feeling that I was not in control, a feeling that I am certain contributed to the postnatal depression that dogged me for the first year of motherhood.”

Whatever the reasons or a homebirth, it can be safely handled and it can be a very rewarding experience. If, however, your medical team neglects your needs or overlooks indicators of distress, a New York Birth Injury Attorney can still look at the possibility of getting you monetary compensation to deal with life-altering injuries. The Office of Stephen Bilkis and Associates can offer you support and guidance as well as a free consultation when you contact us at 1-800-NY-NY-LAW. We have offices in N York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx and in Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County.

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