Would you ever have/consider an Unassisted Childbirth?

[Mervs Mum]

Its not illegal to plan an unassisted birth of or for someone else to be present. It's illegal to act as a midwife if you're not one. The law is really there to stop people impersonating mws not to punish people choosing an UC. In the UK youre perfectly entitled to tak responsibilty for your birth and go it alone and you can call for assistance at any point and they must come and support you.

 

[NaturalMomma]

Yes I would consider it, but haven't had one. I don't want a UC, I like MW assisted HB.

 

[irish_cob]

Its not illegal to plan an unassisted birth of or for someone else to be present. It's illegal to act as a midwife if you're not one. The law is really there to stop people impersonating mws not to punish people choosing an UC. In the UK youre perfectly entitled to tak responsibilty for your birth and go it alone and you can call for assistance at any point and they must come and support you.

And to add to this, as far as I understand it, anyone can assist in childbirth when it is a matter of emergency, the bin man or the post woman, the baby's father or anyone, and there's no problem with that. It's only a legal issue if one of these lay people tries to convince you they're a qualified midwife and goes around treating pregnant women - that's the problem. But no, no one will be prosecuted for helping a woman in labour or childbirth, and it's not illegal, and I'm surprised the NCT are telling you wrong, they're usually clued up on stuff like that.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Yes that's right anyone can assist in an emergency

 

[DMG83]

There actually was a father prosecuted for assisting a birth as they had refused any assistance and he told the mw's he would be acting in an assisting capacity, was just reading up on it because i was surprised by your reactions when we were told in NCT that it is illegal for the husband to plan to DELIVER the baby.. now i don't know if that wording makes any difference at all, with the way law is i'm sure it's all done on technicalities anyway but anyway, it was just something i was pondering in response to the thread, it really doesn't matter in the slightest whether it is illegal or not, certainly no offence meant. Reading about it all the articles I have found for the uk say that in recent years the law has changed and it is illegal for anyone to assist a birth who is not a qualified mw/doctor ie. husbands/friends etc. (also even potential to be prosecuted if you are "in another room" according to the one article on it) unless it's an emergency. Like i said, unassisted isn't for me this time around, I was only wondering aloud how you could get around the legal side of it IF it is illegal and you want your partner to deliver the baby that's all. Never mind.

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think if you looked at the finer details of that case it was becuse he openly said he would be acting as mw. The FOB is legally entitled to catch his baby but it gets on to dodgy ground when he starts monitoring, cutting cords and as in this case openly admitting he intends to act as mw.

This is taken directly from a letter to a client of mine from a head of midwifery.

A midwife has no right to be at a birth and not to contact or engage a midwife for your birth is your right to do so. *It is legal to do this as long as the birth is not attended or the responsibility for your care is assumed or undertaken by an unqualified individual. *You have to assume your responsibility for your birth. *An unqualified person is an individual who gives medical or midwifery care but may not lawfully do so, these may include an un-registered midwife, nurse, doctor, partner, relative or friend who is not a registered midwife or registered doctor. *They may be present at the birth but must not assume responsibility, assist or assume the role of a qualified registered practitioner. *This is unlawful and may incur sanctions and a conviction. *
*
If your intention is to have your baby without a midwife in attendance we will respect your right to this. *Should you at any time require the services of a midwife during childbirth we will of course attend and assist in accordance with the NMC Midwives rules and standards, code of conduct.

 

[Guppy051708]

wow thats all interesting!
Laws in the US vary from state to state. I grew up in Pennsylvania (relocated to new hampshire, last year), but anyways, Midwives,here hardly have any rights its quite sad. They can only work under OBs ...and malpractice insurance is SOOO rediculously expensive that most OBs flat out say "no" to having a MW under them anyways, having a homebirth with a MW is VERY under ground in the state of Pennsylvania. If all goes well, then no one cares, bc you keep it on the down low. BUT if something does go wrong, and you need transfered to the hospital, basically mom (and her support) have to go the hospital alone. Because in Pennsylvania, if you show up with a MW (which clearly isn't working under an OB bc otherwise she would be in a hospital, not doing a HB), the MW will be charged for a plethora of things and then the parents will get into criminal trouble as well for endagering their child its so rediculous! HOWEVER, it is NOT illegal to have a UC. So if the mother shows up on her own (or with her partner, etc) then they dont persue anything...they may act pissy bc you tried to have a HB (its pretty looked down on ) but they could never get you into any illegal trouble for it....the US can be pretty shitty when it comes to birthing outside of the hospital...

...but then other states, like where i live now in New Hampshire, they have a law that says any healthcare insurance MUST allow and pay for a HB MW should the woman want that...the catch 22 is if you have private and self funded insurance...which is what i have...the state cant dictate it since they (my insurance company) pays for their own health insurance...it stinks i wish dearly to have a HB one day, but until then the free standing birth center is next best That state of New Hampshire is very PRO MW because it was the first state to license MWs in the country. It is part of the culture. Luckily a lot of OB practises also have MWs working under them...but again, those ones wont be caught dead doing HB, they could only do hospital births (not even free standing birth center births). However, there are quite a few lay midwives that do HB and BC births-which i am VERY thankful and amazed about! So glad i live here and able to delivery in this state as opposed to Pennsylvania...

 

[Guppy051708]

oh and i'll shut up after this but in the state of Colorado, it is very legal to have a MW attended HB, a hospital birth, and a free standing birth center birth...the catch in that state? Where you have your first, you HAVE to have the rest. I.E. your first was in a hospital, so your others have to be there too, Otherwise you could face criminal issues.

And in state like South Carolina, etc (i think thats one of them) they dont even recognize a trained MW! They refuse, so if you birth in any way, shape or form with a MW, the MW will get into a TON of illegal trouble, and they may not recognize your baby as a US citizen. Its so unfair!!! im aware, personally, of a MW who did lots of HBs in that state and is now looking at a lot of fines, legal fees, and prison time because she was "illegally practicing" (because the state doesn't recognize trained MWs, remeber).

I wish UK birth ppl would come to the US and kick some Butt!!

 

[Mervs Mum]

omg that's bizarre!

 

[irish_cob]

It's different over here Guppy because we have a mainly midwife-led model of care. Midwives are employed by the NHS (national health service) and it is very normal to only see midwives throughout your pregnancy and birth if you have a normal, straightforward pregnancy. The midwives are not separate from the medical system, they are the mainstay of it.

You only see a consultant obstetrician if there is a need for it, medical issues etc, and often you have shared care, where you see a midwife for your routine check ups, and then see a consultant less frequently to keep an eye on any particular issues. Obviously the more severe the issues, the more likely you are to be seen more frequently and perhaps exclusively by a consultant, but this is pretty rare, most women are mainly cared for by midwives. It is these NHS midwives who perform most births too, and it's not like I've seen on the TV in the USA where they call the Dr in at the last minute to catch the baby, here midwives deliver babies.

We're very lucky to have the NHS. And I think we're lucky to have a midwife led model.

There are independent midwives which you can choose to employ privately if you want to have private care (outside of the NHS) for whatever reason - all British citizens get free health care on the NHS, so it's quite unusual for someone to employ a private midwife, but some do for their own reasons. They have to be paid for by the woman herself, we don't have health insurance in the UK like you do in the USA because we have the NHS. You can take out private health policies which means you can go privately to see a consultant if you have any health issues, some companies offer them as a perk, but as far as I know, they only cover illness, they wouldn't cover pregnancy or hiring an independent midwife. It's so different from the USA.

 

[Guppy051708]

yeah i knew it was different. ive spent a lot of time studying the different models of care, especially in other countrys because i am a child birth educator and birth doula. love my job, and i hope to help change the birthing culture here in the US...its such a sad thing and my biggest issue is how petrified women here are of the whole process...i was scared of "the system" but not birth itself...i wish i lived in the netherlands or some place like you guys have, but in the meantime New Hampshire is one of the best places for naturalistic minded births...

you guys are amazing! i know some UK girls are put off by the NHS and they are entilted to their opinions, but i really wish we would adopt some type of similar culture here....the US has one of the worst fetal and maternal mortality rates ....i dont know why we think we are right in our ways...

and like healthcare...the govt does have programs for low income families, but a lot of ppl dont qualify for them...of course how much you pay in health insurance, it makes it tough to afford there were a few times DH and i were both without health care because we could not afford it....we have to pay about $500 per month, just in premiums alone. Then its $400 PER PERSON before insurance kicks in. Then after a family memeber gets to $400, that same family member has to cover 20% of every bill after until they've spent $1500, its the same for each individual person, in the family...its rediculous...makes me want to cry actually. We spend about $12,000 per year in healthcare...we have no other options except to go without...and well thats never a good idea either...been there, done that...i am still paying back DS birth from one year ago, and i know i will be paying back this babys birth for a long time too...ick.

 

[Guppy051708]

If you guys are interested, be sure to watch "the business of being born"...it covers US births pretty right on. It such a great documentary! Also, "born in America" was good too

 

[lozzy21]

No i wouldent consider one.

Personaly i cant see the need for one in the UK when you can have a IM and have the best of both worlds but i can see why you would in the USA.

 

[Guppy051708]

^yeah, if i lived in some other developed country, i would not have a UC...it's "the system" here that bothers me to pieces.

 

[Mervs Mum]

No i wouldent consider one.

Personaly i cant see the need for one in the UK when you can have a IM and have the best of both worlds but i can see why you would in the USA.

What about people in the UK whole couldn't possibly afford an IM at £3500 a pop?

 

[lozzy21]

No i wouldent consider one.

Personaly i cant see the need for one in the UK when you can have a IM and have the best of both worlds but i can see why you would in the USA.

What about people in the UK whole couldn't possibly afford an IM at £3500 a pop?

Im not going to put what i actually think so i dont offend some one because i probably will.

 

[Guppy051708]

what is IM? sorry for my ignorance lol

 

[lozzy21]

Independent midwife.

They have the same training as a NHS midwife but is self employed so they are not restricted by the NHS policy's .

 

[Guppy051708]

oic thanks

 

[freckleonear]

Yes I would consider it, but I'm not certain at this time. So far I've been happy with NHS care and it definitely helps that the midwife area leader is a family friend of ours. However, if I wasn't able to have a home birth again on the NHS for some reason then I would definitely think about going unassisted. An IM sounds wonderful but unless our circumstances drastically change then we could never afford it. We haven't had that much money in the bank since we were students!