New York midwives lose right to deliver babies at home

It is a TRAGEDY and just totally backward that it's become illegal for midwives in NY to deliver babies at home. Midwives in NY State are required to get a "written practice agreement" from a doctor or hospital agreeing to back them up in order to see patients and attend home births. Since the closing of St. Vincent's hospital in Manhattan last month, most of the 13 NYC homebirth midwives have lost their backing and are at risk of losing their licenses if they are caught practicing.

When we arrived in Belgrade and I was 6 months pregnant, homebirth seemed impossible. Almost everyone we spoke to had had a c-section hospital birth, and I was terrified that the same would happen to me. People here generally view childbirth as a problem to be fixed, especially the doctors who are very arrogant and who are more concerned with following hospital protocols than for a mother and baby's comfort and safety. The view of childbirth isn't that much different in the US, but at least in "progressive" places such as NYC, one had options.

Giving birth at home is not "crazy" and I'm not "brave", as some like to comment. For me, bravery is giving birth in hospital where one has to fend off false diagnosis, drugs that harm your baby, and a cold, sterile environment. Why don't women trust their bodies to do what they were intended to do? All you need is to feel safe, protected and encouraged. The rest just happens, and your baby gets to be welcomed to the world in the best way possible.

Anyway, here are a couple of recent articles about this, one from the Guardian UK and another from the NY Times, which features my midwife, Kristen Leonard, who helped deliver Maya in Brooklyn. Whether you think this concerns you or not, one day someone you love will give birth, and she will want to decided where and how she wants this amazing experience to happen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/14/home-births-new-york-midwives

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/nyregion/06midwives.html

Here's another website for more information:
http://freeourmidwives.org/