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I totally agree with the medical professionals on this one! I know I’ll get some hate from this but I’m against unassisted births, you’re potentially putting yourself and your baby at risk for really no valid reasons at all. It will never make sense to me why a person would decline medical help when it comes to their child’s life.
Should unassisted births be illegal?
***To explain my question further: this does not include emergency circumstances where the baby is born before a medical professional arrives.***
Inspired by the free birth post below.
Unassisted birth (free birthing) is currently legal in the UK. The parent(s) cannot face any legal sanctions for declining medical assistance, no matter the circumstances. There is no obligation to accept medical care or treatment during childbirth and post natal, and cannot be compelled to accept care unless they lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions.
Note that it is illegal for a non professional to assume the role of a Dr or Midwife during labor and delivery (e.g. Monitor the heartbeat or check for dilation) Should a person choose to free birth, their partner(s) should only provide support or face a £5,000 fine.
Bonus question:
Some medical professionals feel that this raises a safeguarding or child protection issue, and may report them to Social Services. (CPS) Do you agree with this?
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Va
I understand it, but I get the sense that no one is interested in understanding why. 🤷🏾♀️
Ca
Education about home birthing is limited in the Us so there is tremendous risk. However making it illegal means that if a woman gives birth on the way to the hospital she will be breaking the law and forcing her body to hold the baby until she arrives because there is a law puts her at greater risk. I think most of us agree that hospital births are safest. Home births are usually conducted under the supervision of health care professionals so that mom and baby are safe. Moms who have any health risks during pregnancy are recommended to go to a birthing center (usually attached to a hospital) or inside a hospital. Doulas are usually more involved pre birth than standard prenatal care practitioners. I think as it has been for years it should be considered wise and standard to have babies in a hospital or birthing center but not illegal if you can’t
C
Agreed!! I will be giving birth in a hospital for my baby to have the best care! 💕
It's the woman's body, her choice, if that's what she wants and knows the possible consequences that's on her.
Hu
Oh, sorry
An
You can’t bring up that topic. It’s banned and could get this whole comment thread deleted.
Hu
Religious practices are different because it's a constitutional right, and even then anti-vaxxers are legally obligated to get their children medical attention if it is life or death.
100%. All births should have a professional present to monitor mom and baby. Just because you have a midwife in the room does not mean she will be disruptive. I’ve worked with a midwife during home births who monitored everything, and as busy as she was, you didn’t know she was in the room most of the time. The mom was completely undisturbed by her. There are ways to have a safe, intimate birth experience without sacrificing safety.
Yep. I’ve seen just as many emergencies growing up on a farm when it comes to birth. That’s why even though our cows know what they’re doing, we always brought them in and stayed with them during birth. I actually got to help pull out a breech calf around 10 that got stuck and couldn’t come out! Super cool
B
A lot of the arguments I've heard for unassisted birth center around nature, and use animals as proof that it can be done. Yeah, it can sometimes be done. But I have lost several goats to labor and delivery complications, there is so much that can go wrong so quickly. Nature is hard and callous.
Agreed. Because someone with no medical training will not just have instincts to know what to do if baby’s head is stuck on mom’s pelvic bone, or if mom hemorrhages, or if baby inhaled meconium during birth. There’s no instincts you can follow and just “know” what to do in many emergency situations that can arise in birth. I strongly believe in trusting your body and the process, but I also strongly believe in having someone who can watch for signs of things you don’t expect.
No they should not be illegal. If that’s what she wants to do than she has the right to make that decision. If something goes wrong, that’s on the mother.I personally would like an unassisted birth but if my midwife or OB says I have medical reasons to prevent me from even delivering vaginally, of course I will listen to them. I have my preferences but at the end of the day if I’m absolutely not healthy enough or baby isn’t I will not be selfish and continue on with the unassisted plan and work with OB or midwife to develop a new one.Not everyone who agrees with unassisted births is as stubborn and hard headed as a lot of the people promoting it. I especially don’t like when a mother is concerned and the free birthers tell her to ignore it. THAT is not okay.If you are looking into unassisted birth please PLEASE do your research. Make sure you covered all your bases. Make sure you are healthy and baby is healthy with regular checkups. And for the love of god, if a medical professional is telling you that you need to do something or your baby’s life is at risk LISTEN TO THEM, not the extremists in the facebook groups.
Ma
By post natal you mean checkups for baby right? I will absolutely be doing that and my baby will be fully vaccinated too lol. I do agree declining post natal care should be illegal unless for some reason religion doesn’t allow it. When baby is out it is no longer about you, it’s about baby now. I personally would want my baby to have the best post natal care I can find.
Or
How do you feel about declining post natal care? I’ve asked this on another thread with a similar opinion to yours. Once baby is born, it’s no longer “my body my choice”. Some parents have been charged with neglect for denying medical care, do you agree that it should be illegal to decline post natal care too?
As someone who had a midwife attended homebirth which is pretty uncommon in the U.S., free birthing is irresponsible and negligent. Intentionally having a baby without a medical professional should definitely be illegal. How is someone without any training going to handle shoulder dystocia, a baby that isn’t breathing, a breech baby that they didn’t know about because they haven’t received medical care, etc.?
I read a study from McMaster University that sited negligible differences between home births and hospital births for low risk pregnancies. I don’t like the idea of the government dictating how women are to have birth, I think this takes away too much freedom.
Le
Its ONE day out of all of the rest of your life which is thousands of days. I think you dont understand what freedom is if you are trying to say it takes away from a person's freedom?! It is extremely irresponsible to birth without a trained OB. There are crazy things that happen to healthy people. You would feel pretty crappy if something happened.
E
I would assume the same as you wrote for the terminology - but the studies I’m looking at consider freebirth with or without a midwife or doula. Its interesting. For myself - id never go at it alone - way too paranoid for that.
Me
The language i have heard is ob/at hospital midwife = hospital birth, midwife at home = home birth, going at it alone or with your untrained husband only = freebirthing. Perhaps they have the terminology wrong? Because having a midwife is nor considered free birthing. They ARE a trained professional
So they actually don’t even get charged with Child Destruction, even if they’re informed of risks that could seriously harm, or even kill, the foetus during birth?Personally, I don’t agree. When you choose to carry a pregnancy, (imo) you’re also agreeing to take on the responsibilities of keeping the foetus safe and healthy (to your fullest capabilities). If a person or couple, is warned about high risk hazards that could arise or are likely to arise, should the choose to go ahead with an unassisted birth, I think that that is neglectful on the parents behalf. If the foetus, unfortunately, should die as a result of the unassisted birth and it can be proven that the foetus would have likely lived with the assistance of medical intervention then I do think couples should be charged with Child Destruction 🤷♀️
What do you do if you go into labor and have the baby before you can get to the hospital?Or if you’re one of those people who don’t know you’re pregnant and you shit out your baby?Let’s not put laws on birth.
si
I personally think women should have the right to make any decision for her body.
Or
I commented this on another thread but it may have been missed. Situations where baby is born before medical assistance arrives won’t be affected in this hypothetical scenario. It’s only the parent(s) that are aware they are in labour and do not make any attempts to seek medical help or even medical advice during or after delivery.
ma
I agree with u it should be ur decision
Yes I think it should be illegal. People really need to stop acting like they know more than actual trainer medical professionals. It’s dumb as shit to try to do something like that on your own. There’s a reason many many women and babies died. There are other ways to give birth in a more natural way than to just say fuck medical advice and do it alone.
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