Oh, Lisa - that makes me so mad! And I'm just thinking that if, right from the start, they give you a list of all the things that could possibly preclude you from having the hospy-based homebirth that may present themselves much further down the track of the pregnancy, you wouldn't exactly have a peaceful pregnancy for worrying about developing any of the 'risk' factors (a PM can very well deliver a baby that's over 9 pound!). Either that or you'd spend the money on a PM just in case. It's not an ideal scenario by any stretch.
My thoughts exactly. In regards to my BMI & the fact that my first DS was over 9lbs are also issues that could have been addressed from the get-go and technically I could/should have been denied earlier than 5 weeks before my due date.
As for the thought that this baby may be over 9lb and therefore considered a risk is stupid... as is the fact that my first DS's birth weight even comes into the equation considering my DS1 & DD have a different father to my DS2 and this baby. It is all really flawed and just shows that the Ob's and the hospital big wigs are still in control of how you birth your baby in the end and to quote the Ob I saw that is "under the care of the hospital and given a home like birth experience"