Death After Home Birth Raises Questions

Its a shame that the writer of this article is focusing on one death, from a rare complication (on another continent), and using it to illustrate “concern” about the safety of U.S. home birth. I recently sat next to a malpractice lawyer at a dinner, and she had story after story of American hospital births gone wrong because of understaffed maternity wards where the caregivers relied on too much technology and not enough common sense. Responsible journalism, please.

Last time I checked, home birth stats prove that home birth is far safer than hospital birth. This woman’s death had nothing to do with her home birth. Clearly the author of this article is not only biased against home birth, but also giving misleading information about the cause of death as well as insinuating it has something to do with birthing at home. Home birth is safe, this is a fact. I cannot say the same for hospital births.

First, this article is poorly written. I found two errors in the first paragraph alone. Second, how does this opinion coincide with the statistics? Only 1% of all births in the US happen at home, yet the US has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates of industrialized nations. Conversely, other countries that have predominately midwife assisted births at home have some of the lowest. Perhaps the author should have done her research instead of writing a shock-Ed piece with poor writing.

Of course ACOG says home birth is risky–it’s their competition! If home birth were so risky then why do places like the Netherlands, where ONE THIRD of all births happen at home, have among the best birth stats in the world, while the US ranks at the bottom of all “modern” nations?

I don’t think home births are accurately reported in the US. There seem to be more women home birthing than just 1%. Maybe it’s regional, with more home births happening where I live than in other places.

My wife works in a L&D. She is responsible for the baby at delivery. Another nurse and doctor are responsible for the mommy.

I can tell you that Home Birth is very risky. Meconium, Eclampcia, Pre Eclampcia cord issues, placental abruption, newborn septicemia, breech delivery, lack of fetal heart monitoring etc.

It a free country, but why trust the health of your newborn and wife at home. Unless you live next door to a hospital, you are a long way from saving you wife and babies life in an emergency.

The only think more difficult to comprehend and deal-with, than a fetal demise, would be losing your wife at child birth as well.

If you want natural, go to the health food store, leave delivery of babies to the pros at the hospital

As someone who works in a hospital with labor and birth I have had the unfortunate experience of two women dying of heart problems, and THIS WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.
This article makes me sad for this dear mom and dear activist, all pregnant women and the issue of informed choice. Perhaps we should refocus on the real problems with obstetrics in this country.

When I gave birth via cesarean the woman on the surgical table before me DIED leaving a motherless baby uncared for in the newborn nursery. The poor grieving dad didn’t even come by for five days.

She died of cardiac arrest.

Therefore no one should have a cesarean, right?

Ms. Lovell’s death is certainly tragic for her devastated family. However, many many women die every day here in the US, in hospital. Perhaps an expose on why a wealthy nation like ours fares so poorly in maternal mortality statistics is more in order than fear mongering based on one woman’s untimely death. Those same statistics will show that the countries with lower maternal mortality rates often have a much higher rate of homebirth and midwife assisted birth. Perhaps it is based on these very real issues that more and more women here in the US are opting for a non-medicalized homebirth, not some silly notion to imitate celebrities.

Perhaps you should do a little research into the number of deaths that occur in hospitals during and after childbirth. These cases are just as tragic yet not newsworthy – nor do they raise many questions about the quality of care the medical establishment gives to women. Being coerced into a cesarean section should raise questions. Being told that you are incapable of birthing your baby without drugs (despite birth being a normal, physiological process – read into the history of childbirth, don’t just assume birth was deadly before the advent of hospitals as a matter of fact) should raise questions. Undergoing numerous ultrasound sonograms despite AGOG clearly stating that they should not be done for medically unnecessary reasons should raise questions.

And the fact that you would write such a heated article without editing (“Before hospitals because the go-to-places for giving birth, having a baby at home was considered the norm.”) or external links for support, should raise questions.

I am in favor of women being knowledgeable about the process of birth. If you go to a hospital and allow doctors and nurses to impose medically unnecessary interventions from breaking one’s bag of waters, to augmenting one’s labor through induction, pushing artificial means of pain relief – DRUGS, and finally, subjecting you to an unnecessary cesarean section…reasoning that a healthy baby is all that matters… is just as irresponsible. and SHOULD RAISE QUESTIONS. But it doesn’t, because it’s the status quo. It’s “normal” and because it has all taken place within the confines of a “safe hospital” it’s OK.

Because of women like you, we have a culture of fear around childbirth. One that over-relies on the medical establishment to save us from ourselves. Check yourself.

I really don’t care one way or another if a woman gives birth at home. I personally would only give birth in a hospital just in case complications required immediate intervention. If other people don’t want that, who am I to say they should? it’s up to them. It’s like those people who ride motorcycles without a helmet. If that head isn’t interested in protecting itself, why should I worry about it more than its owner?

It’s a shame that the writer cannot write and that there are two horrendous errors in the lead sentence. I am convinced more than ever that ABCnews.com does not employ copy editors.

OMG! Dear Ms. Salahi, has it ever happened that somebody, a baby or a mother, died one day after birth ine horpital? Who has ever run a story “Death After Home Hospital Birth Raises Questions”? Have you? Why not?
What? … It’s not the same? Well, it is a shame.

The last paragraph is unfortunately an outright lie.
May your next article be born outside of a hospital.

This article is extremely misleading, since it gives false statistical data and does not provide a reliable study/source for its premises. It makes me sad that a woman wrote it. I had my child at home, and it was a beautiful, safe experience. In no way does a cardiac arrest after a home birth indicates that the home birth was the cause. Why would you imply so in the article? Research the statistics and the sources. Educate yourself, then write an article.

As a current midwife (who is required to deliver in the hospital) & former editor, I am wondering two things: 1. What the point of this article is? You clearly state that her heart attack has not been linked to her planned home birth. 2. Are online “journalists” required to have an editor look at their article prior to submission? This article is ineffective as news or argument, has numerous grammatical errors & inconsistencies, and is a poor reflection of the integrity of ABC News.

Just would like to inform ABC News that they just lost a patron because they fail to employ reliable journalists. Try checking your sources and proof reading next time Lara Salahi.

Where did this writer get her stats. Last time I checked home births were way safer for mother and baby than hospital births. Now lets hear one story about the numerous horror stories that occur in hospitals everyday. Also, what is this woman’s health history? She died of a heart attack not fro giving birth?

Facts are hard things. The hard fact is that the maternal mortality rate was 500% higher in the first half of the 20th century when compared to the second half. What do you think the difference was? Oh, yeah. Hospital based births became the norm in the second half of the 1900s.
It hasn’t been that long ago when moms died ALL THE TIME in childbirth or shortly afterward (like my grandma did in 1930)…now it is a shocking and rare event in the developed world.
So those who think home birth is safest are sadly mistaken.

Sorry but this is in my opinion a truly pointless and stupid event to link to homebirth. People die. People die from heart attacks alot. People die very unexpectantly due to heart attacks all the time.

So she was at home when she had her heart attack. That happens to people all the time also.

She could have still been home from the hospital and it happened.

This is so blatantly stupid to tie this to homebirth – I can only assume once again that this article is an attempt for the anti-home birthers to once again milk the fear and control already bred into us.

Sorry, but I would dare to say in the face of that – all the OBs Ive ever known did not have the courage that this woman had in one finger!