Posted on 08/17/2017 7:56:10 AM PDT by originalbuckeye
The decision by the Royal College of Midwives to withdraw its decade-long campaign for normal birth has come much too late for my own son, Joshua, who sadly died nine days after being born, but is a welcome step. The approach for too long influenced a style of care in maternity wards that put lives at risk.
These were the words spoken by Cumbria coroner Ian Smith, as he began summing up the inquest into the death of Joshua, on 6 June 2011: With advances in medical science and techniques, childbirth has become safer and safer, to the point where we now expect children to be delivered safely. Now, I will have to say in truth, the process is a highly dangerous event, and you could make a glib remark that the most dangerous day of anybodys life is their first day of life.
Joshua had died two and a half years earlier because of poor care in the 24 hours after his birth at Furness general hospital in Cumbria. Signs that he was suffering from a serious infection that should have resulted in speedy medical referral were not acted on by the midwives looking after him. Instead, Joshuas first contact with a doctor came some 24 hours later when his mother found him collapsed in his cot and called for help. By this time, however, it was too late.
Despite being transferred to two different neonatal intensive care units and putting up a fight to be proud of, Joshua died eight days later. His left lung was more damaged from the infection than the consultants looking after him had realised. He died from profuse internal bleeding.
Childbirth is not about the mother. It is the baby that mothers should be concerned about. Mothers want this wonderful home birth experience, only thinking about their needs. It is selfish. Think about the baby first, and the safest place to deliver is in the hospital if you need an emergency c section.
Obstetricians do not like it when a woman starts a home birth and runs to the ER when things go badly. Now, they have a train wreck on their doorstep that they have to fix, and are liable for the bad outcome.
Why the rant about home birth in response to the death, in a hospital, of a child who was born in a hospital and remained in the hospital until he died?
Agree. We are so blessed that our son didn’t suffer from his couple of minutes of oxygen depravation. The C-section came quickly when his heart slowed down and then stopped. Praise God for quick and competent medical personnel. He wouldn’t have made it if we hadn’t been already in the hospital.
When my Dad was in the Navy during WWII his ship was in port next a British ship. He and his buddies went aboard to look it over and they were shocked to find that it was filthy. When one of our sailors commented about it a Brit sailor replied, "We're a fighting Navy not a clean Navy."
I'm glad to be ten generations removed from that and will fight to stay that way.
She has had one little girl that didn't make it since she started, born premature in a home birth to a woman addicted to both meth and heroin. The woman would come in stoned off her gourd talking to herself, my daughter was informed that no matter HOW bad the parents were unless they got violent under no circumstances were the police ever to be called. She said once they got past the doors with a kid it was completely a safe zone. Even the police agree that it's far better that parents know that under almost any reason you were safe in that ward if you brought a kid in or were visiting your child there.
Babies in distress before delivery can inhale meconium ( basically their own stool excreted into amniotic fluid) and develop serious internal infection
Its just another way for the corrupt nanny-state to save money
So it was just the midwife not paying attention to detail.
I also had friends who were pushing the home birth experience, even when I found I had a complete previa. Had I gone into even early labor we both would have most likely bled to death.
Like a nurse in NICU told me, home birth is wonderful when things go well. But when things go wrong during a delivery, they get very bad, very quickly.
I’ve delivered six babies at the same hospital. The care and and attentiveness differed each time. The first and third times weren’t the best, but unlike my MIL and others I know, it didn’t make me decide to never go back. I will always be very grateful that I had a good hospital with knowledgeable staff to help get my precious babies off to a good start.
It can happen in any delivery where the baby is gasping and not yet delivered
Midwifery runs risk that advanced methods of swift delivery ( ie c-section) arent available -
My Son ( and I ) almost died despite presence of full medical team but luckily his lung infection was cured - a home birth would have been a double mortality
Hospitals have agendas
Unfortunately so so some of the staff
Agenda.
Bad training and ego
Always a deadly combination in medicine
bmk
Our daughter was born overseas in the Azores. The hospital had to turn on the lights and open the maternity ward just for us. Our daughter had complications and received personal attention. They called the OB/GYN out of the base theater a couple of blocks away. And the Pediatrician stayed for days working with our daughter. It was amazing to watch Dr. Key putting an IV in her scalp with tears in his eyes. A few days later there were two other mothers on the ward.
You were fortunate
My son was born at Tripler Army hospital in Hawaii and they damn near killed both of us with incomptence
Thank God an Air Force osteopath just happened to be called in that morning
He told me weeks later on a follow up visit ( to check my lungs for the pneumonia thay failed to catch) that mine was the most profound case of preeclampsia he had ever saved
I do believe my son suffered life long effects of the experience
Subtle but ultimately deadly
Read the whole article.
There is nothing in the article about home birth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.