Homebirth in the News

I haven't been writing in this blog as much as I would like to. I have committed to a goal of writing at least one post a day. We'll see how that goes. But in the meantime, some of these articles may be a little outdated. That is just because they've been sitting in my "things to blog about" folder a little too long and now I want to get them out in the open.

Midwifery has been in the news lately in South Dakota. According to state law, in order for Certified Nurse Midwives to practice, they must enter into a signed contract with a physician. This, of course, puts limits on how much freedom the midwives are allowed in their practice, and can often leave the midwives and their clients at the mercy of the judgement of said physician. Currently midwives are rallying to try to get this law changed, but so far they haven't had much luck.

Midwives are also facing opposition in Pennsylvania and Utah. Pennsylvania currently allows only midwives who are licensed with the state to attend homebirths. Those who aren't licensed risk being charged with practicing without a license, such as in the case of Diane Goslin. Goslin is certified with the North American Registry of Midwives, which is recognized in 28 states, but not in PA. In Utah, new legislation is being considered which would specifically define what would be considered a "normal" pregnancy, one which would be allowed to participate in a homebirth. Opponents of the proposed bill state that if this definition of "normal" pregnancy were to pass, 96% of all pregnancies would be risked out of homebirth.

I also got word of another movie on birth in America, called Pregnant in America. From the website:

Pregnant in America examines the betrayal of humanity's greatest gift--birth--by the greed of U.S. corporations. Hospitals, insurance companies and other members of the healthcare industry have all pushed aside the best care of our infants
and mothers to play the power game of raking in huge profits. His wife pregnant, first-time filmmaker Steve Buonaugurio sets out to create a film that will expose the underside of the U.S. childbirth industry and help end its neglectful exploitation of pregnancy and birth. Pregnant in America is the controversial
story of life's greatest miracle in the hands of a nation's most powerful interests.

This is definitely a film that all women who are giving birth should watch. You can view the trailer here.

That's all for homebirth in the news.

Homebirth in the News