Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer speaks at the press conference yesterday.
Photo via Parenting Poppy.
Home birthing mama, Jo Greep, attended a press conference yesterday concerning the home birth situation in New York City, and she has an excellent (if depressing) update that I recommend reading. In short, as of today, home birth is illegal in New York City (!!!) as parties continue to work towards a resolution on the issue of Written Practice Agreements.
Meanwhile, hundreds of expectant mothers in New York who were planning home births are suddenly left in the lurch, forced to find OB's willing to take them or show up at an ER to birth in an alien environment surrounded by strangers.
What a shame and an outrage.
nooo!!! =O
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so angry.
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know we are fighting this battle in Australia, too.
The worst thing is that planned home birth is statistically as safe – if not safer – than hospital birth.
Unfortunately most OB's have never witnessed a natural birth, and therefor wouldn't know what to do in the presence of one!
Oooh I must stop. I'm on a rant.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys. xxx
No, you can't be serious. In Holland it is so normal to give birth at home. I can’t imagine that it would be illegal somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis is just crazy!!! Hope a quick resolution is found. My heart goes out to all those mamas who had homebirths planned.
ReplyDeleteWow... that is just crazy. I had my kids in a hospital so im not a home birth mom.. but many of my friends have had home births and were totally fine! (I chose a hospital because I honestly like the break from my routine LOL and room service, im weird). But really what was their reasoning for this?!
ReplyDeleteDrea, this situation has arisen so suddenly because of the recent (sudden) closure of Saint Vincent's Hospital, which was the only hospital in the city that provided Written Practice Agreements to midwives. Midwives are required by NY law to have WPA's, so now that there is no Saint Vincent's, there is no legal option for home birth in the city.
ReplyDeleteUN-BE-LIEV-ABLE!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the city you were born in.
This is beyond outrageous!!!
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that some midwives will continue to practice under the radar, and women who are passionate about giving birth at home will not be stopped by this law; I know I wouldn't have been. But that is beside the point ... this is absolutely infuriating & will accomplish nothing but a return to an underground movement riddled with worry and fear, the antithesis of what home birth is all about.
Is there anything that can be done now to right this horrifically regressive action? Please keep us posted so we can take appropriate action.
@Riki -- Advocates are trying to lay pressure on the Governor to temporarily suspend the WPA requirement through state law.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, calls the NYC Dept of Health and to local elected officials is about all we can do.
More info here:
http://choicesinchildbirth.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/action-alert-update-final-hours-nyc-home-birth-at-risk/
This is a complete outrage, especially in a city like New York. Giving birth is the most natural thing a woman can do - and she should have the right to do it where she pleases!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the bigger problem was only having ONE hospital in NYC that participated with homebirth midwives. That was pretty ridiculous in the first place. Awareness about the safety, comfort and joy of home births needs to be raised so that the issue becomes overall less taboo.
My husband and I are planning on trying for a baby in a few months but we've already decided to try for a homebirth if we can afford one (not sure our insurance would cover it sadly).
So unfortunate. We deal with the same thing in Indiana. I had an "illegal" midwife assisted home birth and 1) it's a SHAME what they've done and 2) the law didn't scare me 3) it was so worth the risk. :)
ReplyDeleteSteph
How do they have the right do to that? And all of those poor midwives, wanting to help these women, and provide for their own families!
ReplyDeleteI'm in my first trimester of my second pregnancy and planning a home birth in NYC. I could cry right now about this situation, its truly heartbreaking. Going under the radar isn't an option for us as my husband is a cop and being involved in something illegal (as utterly ridiculous as it is that a midwife doing her job is illegal right now!) can jeopardize his career and our family's future.
ReplyDeleteWe interviewed midwives recently and they didn't seem concerned about the situation so I didn't concern myself. Having our baby at home is the only way we want to birth. My first birth was a nightmare of a hospital birth experience and I always swore I would never do that again to our family.
My heart is broken for the families that are expecting their babies any day and for the midwives. I honestly never even considered that this could happen here. My husband today said that NYC is supposedly the most liberal city, except when you need it to be.
You're kidding. What is the issue here? How ridiculous. They're taking away many mothers' dreams of experiencing the birth of their child in the comfort of their own home. And shouldn't every mother be as comfortable as possible? Ugh. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI just can not believe this. Totally crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad, we can't even give birth without politics being involved. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteHorrible news.
ReplyDeleteIt is also illegal where I live. We got as far as at least getting the issue of the state senate floor this year, but got "bumped" for time issues.
Sad situation in need of serious reform.
:(
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ReplyDeletewhat? I cannot believe this!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is heartbreaking.
What can we do?
oh you poor mamas in waiting and midwives!!! I'm horrified to see this all coming to head at the last minute like this! Any solution is not soon enough as every day there must be women forced into an unexpected hospital birth. I dearly hope NYC politicians can see the immediate need for action - this isn't an issue to sit and be debated and pound out for months.
ReplyDeleteso so sorry to see you going through this. As if pregnancy isn't already emotionally taxing enough to add this worry on top. Sending love and strength to all of you!
I don't understand how they can do this. Is this not a breach of your civil liberties? To be able to have a choice? It's completely immoral.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly outrageous on so many levels. I certainly hope that this law is reversed quickly. Home births can be a safe, inexpensive, and wonderful way to bring a baby into the world.
ReplyDeletestephanie@metropolitanmama.net
absoultely insane. how can any government tell women what to do and where to do with their bodies. especially since birth is what our bodies were designed to do.
ReplyDeleteterrifying and horrible! we must keep fighting!
Three out of 2 mothers I know who had home births lost their babies in birth. 1 baby lost oxygen and was rushed to the hospital. Two moms had healthy babies! My point is birth is dangerous and with all the lovely birthing rooms out there that take the idea of a more natural birth into consideration, to me, to protect the baby, it would be better to have the children in a non interventional birthing center. So only because of watching the sad tragedy of women who were trying to do the best thing for their baby and ended up suffering terribly with loss am I not upset about this.
ReplyDelete