Jump to content

Recommended Posts

A very interesting and emotive article indeed.


It raises several issues, one of which is the banning/criminalising of home births, already a reality in some Western states. This smacks of a male-dominated ideology to me (so sorry fellas!). Surely the better thing to do would be to identify and address the risk factors associated with home births, rather than to simply remove the option of them altogether. I'm not opposed to hospital births. I'm simply opposed to removing the right to choose.


The article touches mainly on two points of view: hospital birth vs home birth. But what about a third option? In countries like the US and Switzerland, birthing centres are a popular choice. They are like a home-away-from home for women in labour, but they are NOT a hospital. They are like a small hotel attached to the hospital or within minutes drive. Midwives or obstetric nurses oversee most of the care. You generally have your own room for your entire stay, no need to transfer from the labour ward to the postnatal ward. You can come to the birthing centre as soon as your contractions start, no need to be turned away from hospital b/c you are dilated enough. Any of your family and friends can come and go at any time day/night. Even children are welcome. There might even be kitchen facilities etc. You can generally have gas/air, and you might even have an induction or an epidural at a birthing centre. Then if you need emergency obstetrical treatment, the transfer to hospital is only minutes away. They just wheel you over to the next building, or some centres even have a dedicated ambulance service.


Obviously I'm generalising. Not all birthing centres are this fab (well, the ones in Switzerland seemed pretty cool, but that's Switzerland for you!). But my wish for other women is that there would be more midwife lead birthing centres, so that women would feel they had a safe option that offered the comforts of home and without the institutionalism of hospital settings.


xx

There is a new birthing centre at Lewisham hospital. By all accounts its great, and living in Se22 you should be able to choose it over Kings. Downside I suppose is that Lewisham maternity ward itself isn't meant to be as great as Kings if you did have to transfer...

St T's home from home is really good, I was there when I had my daughter but sadly complications meant I didn't stay there. If it's straight forward you get to stay in your own big room with your partner (there's a sofa bed) and go home within 24 hours. If it gets complicated at least only have to transfer along the corridor (longest walk of my life though!)


It does seem utterly draconian to outlaw home births, I know a couple of people who've had such quick labours that the docs actually told them to go for home births in future (envy envy) as there was no point even trying to get to hospital. I do however feel that there is too much emphasis on achieving the mothers ideal "birth experience" , I don't have the stats to know if this is putting babies at risk but I'm sure it contributes to the number of women who (like me) get sucked into it all and end up utterly traumatised when it all goes wrong.


K

I realy didn't know what to make of this article, thinking about it now I actually thought it was poorly constructed. It did reinforce for me how lucky Dulwich is to have the choice of homebirth. And it did also make me wonder about those women who have incredibly quick births. If the legislation changes are they supposed to run the gauntlet of traffic to have a (legal) hospital birth?
Yes, I'm not sure the article was structured or even written that well - but some useful insights from a wide range of people. I did also think, hang on - doesn't the Guardian/Observer run a feature on this topic every month?! Not that I'm complaining, all v useful food for thought.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • I like empanadas. I don't think Chango is a massive chain - it's got a few stores all in London I believe (stand to be corrected if I've got that wrong). I don't see a problem with them opening on the Lane personally. I really like Chacarero, but that doesn't mean that they should be immune from competition - if they're successful and open a couple more stores, are we then meant to stop supporting them for being a 'chain'?  That opening post does sound a lot like marketing spiel though. Is the OP perhaps connected to the new business I wonder?
    • According to what I can see online, Dynamic Vines and Cave de Bruno sell totally different kinds of wine to each other.  Dynamic Vines  "work with independent winemakers who produce outstanding wine using sustainable practices in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the cellar".  Cave de Bruno specialises in French wines and spirits from small independent producers. So two different USPs, and no doubt two different but overlapping customer bases who can afford these wines. Probably different again to the people mainly  shopping for wine at Majestic or the Co op. On the other hand, the two empanada shops appear on the face of it to be selling virtually identical products. But time will tell, won't it? Let's see how they are both doing in - say - a couple of years' time. Impossible, of course, to compare that with how they would have done if there had been only one of them. I just feel more  sorry for the original one than for  the one which can apparently already afford to have a number of shops in places like Mayfair and Highgate. I'm tempted to buy something there every week, and I don't even like that kind of pastry 🤣
    • Not only can he turn olive oil into Vermouth, but also water into a wine. A true miracle worker.  I wouldn't say a wine shop sells a wide variety of things - and there are two right next to each other.  And once upon a time, upmarket pizza shops were very specific. So were burritos etc. These Argentinian cornish pasties are clearly becoming mainstream; we should consider ourselves lucky to be witnessing this exciting upward trend within our lifetimes and on OUR HIGH STREET. We can tell our grandkids that we remember when there was no internet and no empanadas.  I'm sure that if the family empanada people have a good business head, they'll be able to ride this wave of competition, just like Bruno has. 
    • Very economical. Are you available for events? I've got a gathering of 5000 coming up soon. What could you knock up with two little fishes and five loaves of bread? Cod in breadcrumbs? Fish finger sandwiches? Spanish-style croquetas de bacalao with a Romesco sauce? It's BYOB for beer, so there's no need to worry about that and I've managed to do an unbelievable deal on water and wine. Drop me a DM on here or ask for Dave or Jesus (pronounced 'Hay-Zooze') in The Herne, left hand side of the bar.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...