It's also important to realise that these were not midwife attended in the
main. The'professional carers' included physicians and nurses. With the
small number of midwives in Washington State it would be interesting to know
the percentage of births attended by each group.
Lesley
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan James" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 12:38 PM
Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: At Risk: Weighing Odds and Babies
> Yes - and it is interesting that another study regarding midwife
> attended homebirths in the province of British Columbia just a breath
> north of Washington State had quite different results. One must remember
> that in Washington State, the infrastructure support for midwifery and
> homebirth is not as good as in places like New Zealand, UK, Holland, and
> Canada. I read this with the same critical eye that I read all research
> of unregulated midwifery in Canada - yes, homebirth poses risks, but
> those risks are highly augmented when midwives can't truly offer choice
> of birthplace, when women are not necessarily assured of high quality
> midwives through self-regulation and so on.
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 09/18/02 09:19PM >>>
> Hello everyone
>
> this article is doing the rounds at the moment.
>
> Regards
> Sarah Stewart
>
>
> At Risk: Weighing Odds and Babies
>
> August 6, 2002
> By JOHN O'NEIL
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Giving birth at home is riskier both for the child and the
> mother, even in uncomplicated pregnancies, according to a
> new study.
>
> The results, which were published in the August issue of
> the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that the risk of
> neonatal death was almost twice as high when the delivery
> was planned and begun in the home.
>
> In addition, low Apgar scores evaluating the newborn's
> health were more common in children born at home.
>
> The risk of death was higher still for children born at
> home to first-time mothers; those mothers were more likely
> to have prolonged labor or postpartum bleeding.
>
> The study, led by Dr. Jenny W. Y. Pang of the University of
> Washington School of Public Health, looked at records of
> the 6,133 births that were completed or begun in a home in
> the state from 1989 to 1996. These were compared with
> 10,593 hospital deliveries.
>
> The home birth group included 279 cases in which mothers
> were transferred to hospitals after delivery was attempted
> at home. None of the pregnancies involved known
> complications.
>
> Women who planned to give birth at home tended to be older
> and were more likely to be married, white, nonsmokers, to
> have insurance and to be better educated - factors usually
> associated with lower risks in delivery.
>
> The study said deaths from congenital heart disease and
> respiratory distress occurred more frequently in home
> births, "two causes that might be expected to be amenable
> to prevention in the hospital setting."
>
> Dr. Pang noted that the number of deaths was low in both
> groups. "But women should be aware that this is a possible
> consequence of giving birth at home," she said. "We're not
> saying you can't do this, but that a woman has to make a
> decision about the risks."
>
> Patricia Murphy, a nurse-midwife who is a researcher at
> Columbia University, noted that other studies have found
> smaller dangers, particularly if women with risk factors
> are steered to hospitals and a backup plan is made.
>
> "A certain number of women are going to choose this no
> matter what," she said. "We have to make sure they are
> served as appropriately as possible."
>
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/health/womenshealth/06RISK.html?ex=1033395
987&ei=1&en=8299d08f94840116
>
>
>
>
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