By MAMAMIA NEWS
Between 2007 and 2013, four babies died during home births.
According to the coroner, each of these deaths was preventable. And each of them had something else in common; they were presided over by former midwife turned home birth advocate Lisa Barrett.
A home birth is a conscious decision on the part of the mother to hold a birth in a non-clinical setting, often using ‘natural childbirth’ methods in place of pain relief drugs. They are typically attended by midwifes, who specialise in this field – without any doctors or specialised medical equipment that can only be found in hospitals.
And they are only recommended for standard low-risk pregnancies – not for multiple births, breech births, births in which the mother is older or the baby is premature or overdue. And not when the mother has a history of complicated previous births requiring high level medical assistance such as a caesarean.
For the most part, homebirths occur without any drama. But sometimes they do not. These four cases were situations where things went horribly, tragically wrong.
Barrett moved to Australia with her family in 2002 from the UK and was in charge of the Ashmore maternity unit in South Australia. However, after gaining her visa, Ms Barrett began practicing home births. On her website called “Homebirth: A Midwife Mutiny” Lisa Barrett (who admits she is not in fact a midwife but a ‘birth advocate’) states, “I am experienced in all types of birth and this includes birthing at home with babies in a breech position, twins and birth after caesarean.”
Top Comments
I wonder if anyone has had the experience of giving birth in a "Birth Centre" within their local hospital. I have, with all 3 of my children and each time have found it to be an amazing experience. What led me to a Birth Centre was the fact that I knew i wanted minimal intervention, wasn't interested in having a dedicated OBGYN, but preferred the more personal care of a small team of midwives with whom I attended my appts and all of my pregnancies were low risk. So while all of my needs were being met when it came to the delivery, I knew that should anything go wrong, I was in the right place to receive emergency care - right across the hall in the labour ward. To be honest I would recommend anyone with a "low risk pregnancy" ask if their local hospital offers a Birth Centre and see if it's the right fit for them.
Sharyn - that seems like the perfect compromise - best of both worlds.
I've had 4 children, one died just after birth in a hospital, and two of the others and their mother would have died in a home birth situation.
There's a good reason to have babies in hospitals.
Your wife and children don't die.
It ain't rocket science
I'm a midwife who works in hospitals. Mothers and babies die whilst birthing in hospitals regularly, it just doesn't get reported in the media. The public don't want to hear these stories so the media doesn't tell them. The public love to hear about home births gone wrong so the media reports those stories. The public doesn't want to hear all the facts on birth, just the ones that reinforce their own opinion. It's sad.
Mothers and babies don't die in Australian hospitals 'regularly' what a load of crap, maternal and infant death is quite rare in Australia due to guess what? Our advanced MEDICAL system. I don't believe you are a midwife.
Do you know the facts Claire? More than 2000 babies are stillborn in Australia every year! That doesn't include babies before 20 weeks, after birth infant deaths also. Add all those together and the numbers are high! And they haven't fallen in years. And mothers dying from childbirth although rarer than infant death does happen. Please don't discard actually tragedies that occur everyday.
The numbers are not high Lucie they equate to around 7 in 1000 births which is pushed up by high rates of Indigenous stillbirth, even with with that in mind we have among the lowest rates in the world for stillbirth and most stillbirths are not late term ( post 37 weeks) and often have to do with genetic issues or maternal infection, nothing to do with the hospital where that mother did or did not give birth. And the rates have fallen by 25% since 1995. Maternal death is around 1 in 100 000 births, so not regular at all. I am not discounting that these stats are heartbreaking because any maternal or infant death is but to miseducate women and scare them into thinking that babies and mothers are dying in Australian hospitals ALL THE TIME is really irresponsible. Home birth is less safe than hospital birth which is not risk free either but less risky overall.