Views on Childbirth - part 1

I want to start out my series on childbirth with a brief overview. This is what I wrote down to say in the Senate committee meeting if I had had the opportunity to speak:

My husband & I have 4 beautiful children & are currently expecting our 5th. I first heard about homebirth when I was pregnant with my first child. When I mentioned the idea to my husband he thought I was absolutely crazy. So we compromised with our first and she was born naturally with a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) in the hospital. When I became pregnant with my second child I mentioned homebirth again to my husband and he agreed.

My husband & I are probably some of the last people you would ever think would choose homebirth. We are both very logical & technical people and we each have college degrees in computer science. We would not have made the decision if we didn't know that it was a safe option for me and I have been blessed with having an experienced & very competent midwife.

Now you will be told numerous horror stories of homebirths gone bad, but I have yet to hear any that involve any of these midwives who are licensed under Utah law. I can also tell you that for every homebirth horror story, I have heard more than 10 times that number of hospital births gone bad that are usually the result of unnecessary procedures and interventions - births that should have been low-risk, uncomplicated deliveries.

While this bill does not have any factors that would "risk" me out, I know that it would severely limit the number of clients that my midwife could take and would force many of these women out of business or force them to give up their license and the ability to carry some important and possibly life-saving drugs with them.

I want you to know that I love my children. I love this baby that I am currently carrying and for the medical community to say or even insinuate that I don't want a safe, positive outcome for myself and my baby is hurtful. We as mothers & fathers & midwives want nothing less than good outcomes and will do all in our power to ensure that - even if it means transferring to a hospital under a physician's care.

I urge you to see this bill for what it really is - the medical community trying to exert power & control over these professionals who they feel are infringing on their territory.

Please vote "no" on this bill. Thank you for your time.