Dr. Phil just lost all credibility for me....

[BellyBelly]

Check out this!!! Bloody awful, gees I am MAD!!!! MIght send him a comment myself I think!!!

Dr. Phil.com - Be on the Show

[Trillian]

Join the club Kelly LMAO. He lost it for me when he had the entire Sears family on there and told them he disagreed with them. I"m betting he wants to put HB'ers on his show just to tell them how irresponsible they were

[Skyeblue]

I dont see the problem with it. He's just doing another topic for his show, no biggie.

[Trillian]

Then I guess you haven't seen how foolish he has made the following people look: co-sleepers, term breastfeeders; homeschooler's; parents who don't vaccinate; The Sears Family (they are the benchmark for attachment parenting and they are all Dr's themselves). He has had them on there and had a go at them for being irresponsible and damaging to their children. The one where he had the Sears family on there just showed how ignorant he really is.

[BellyBelly]

He is showing a huge bias. As much as we have a natural bent, we don't go and start discussions like, 'Who regrets using an Ob and who regrets going to hospital and wished they never did it.'

Just because he has 'Dr' in his name doesn't mean he's an expert on this all of a sudden...

I don't think we'll be seeing the flip side of this, about Obs and hospitals for some reason, he'd be fried big time, the AMA would be on his back, RCOG... he'd cop it. But midwives are easy targets it seems.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

i too dont see a big problem with it..

i know a few people that have regretted home births and its up to them if they want to share their story.

sorry but i really dont see a problem with it.

[sirenz]

hmm i think it would be good for people to know that things can go wrong no matter where you give birth, so maybe it can be a good topic to cover.

I was really considering a home birth,but now i'm glad i had ds in a hospital as he would have died otherwise...

[Trillian]

I agree that women should be able to share their stories if their HB didn't work out or it went wrong because it's a fact that it can and does happen sometimes, but I don't think the Dr Phil show is the vehicle for it. I have seen him tear into those who choose options that are left of mainstream and there isn't any need for it. Mine, and I think Kelly's concern is that he would do the same with this subject and belittle these women who choose to give birth at home and make it a very biased and one sided story. I honestly can't see him being supportive of it after what he's previously done.

[briggsy's girl]

i am all for people having choice in giving birth where and how they want, but i agree with Kelly - this is definitely aimed at HB bashing! the question

Did you have your second child the traditional way in a hospital?

is enough to tell you there and then that he's trying to bag home birth big time. yes, it's important to know the pro's and cons, but really - hospital birth as "traditional"?? that's such a load!! it's only become the "norm" since scare mongering by medical professionals started out - how else do they collect their pay packets if women choose not to use their services??

this is a blatant attack, before he even starts his show, on the institution of midwifery led care. i think we can all acknowledge that there are times when Ob's are needed, but it's not the majority of cases, it's the minority. try telling that to a first time mum who watches a show like the one he is planning here though - try making her feel confident in her ability to birth if she doesn't happen to make the hospital even if she planned a hospital birth. if you're not educated on ALL sides of an argument, you're not getting the full picture and we, as women, deserve to be treated with more respect than that. we're not just little puppets that should be scared into conforming to the medical model of child birth by idiots like Dr Phil who believe they know better than anyone else what should and shouldn't happen!! i don't let anyone dictate to me what should and shouldn't happen in my life - i make educated and informed decisions - but fear is a great tool for people to use to manipulate you to their way of thinking - and that is what he's trying to do here....


FWIW - i think any "doctor" worth their salt wouldn't be trying to cure the worlds ill's by appearing on TV and trying to push their agenda on the world by judging their choices and manipulating scenarios to ONLY show their POV. a doctor that is worth their ilk would be in private practice actually HELPING people!

[[M]umma[M]ia]

yeh but its just a talk show.. thats what he does.. i dont watch him coz i dont really care for what he has to say but hey thats life.. iykwim.

[Nai]

I wouldn't have a problem if it was "Eploration of positive and negative experiences of Home Birth" or something like that where he was presenting a spectrum of expereinces that would provide a balanced view from a non-biased selection of mothers. However the wording is very controversial and one-sided so I agree that it will be a Home Birth bashing exercise designed to scaremonger.

He is really moving away from being "Dr.Phil" and turning more and more into Jerry Springer! He is losing credibility very quickly....

[~clover~]

The only prob that I have with it is that hospital is 'traditional' in his eyes.
I think of it the other way around. I mean, where the heck did they birth before hospitals??

I think its more for people who tried for a home birth, & ended up with an emergency c/s or having to be transferred to hossy for some other reason.

It should really be.

'Do you regret the way you chose to birth.
Are there people who wish they'd been in hospital instead of at home,
& are there people who wish they'd been at home instead of going to the hospital.'

Just to make it unbiased iykwim?

[Janie]

Check this one out! Way to make birth look attractive Dr. Phil.com - Be on the Show

ETA Yes, and I'm sure they'll help you make the best decision for you in this one *insert sarcasm* Dr. Phil.com - Be on the Show

Oh, there's so many shockers, I can't believe it! I'll stop posting them now

[Trillian]

yeh but its just a talk show.. thats what he does.. i dont watch him coz i dont really care for what he has to say but hey thats life.. iykwim.

Maybe so, but it's 'just a talk show' that has millions and millions of viewers worldwide - the possible consquences of this show are far reaching. He's only got to scare one women enough to choose a hospital birth over a homebirth or even just a midwife led birth and his job is done isn't it? He's inadvertently taking choice away from women.

[~clover~]

Check this one out! Way to make birth look attractive

OK. Thats a bit odd.

That is going more Jerry Springer.
Traumatic birth tapes!
Most people would rather forget I think.
Are thay just gonna watch them, or is he planning on helping women come to terms with their birth experiences??

[christy]

I replied saying that I think that hospital birth is what caused my family huge trauma... and I was disgusted by his biased and leading questions Lets flood them....

[BellyBelly]

The traditional way to give birth is at home, since when did hospital birth become traditional?!??

[Schmickers]

I have really liked some of the advice Dr. Phil has given on his show before, but this is not going to be one of those shows.

Just sent this to Dr. Phil:

I am surprised at the topic you have chosen for this show. Australian research has consistently confirmed that women who give birth at home are more satisfied with their experiences than women who give birth in hospital. I am surprised that you see a minority group here that is significant enough to devote an entire show too? Or perhaps homebirth is in some way different in the US, to Australia, UK, and the rest of Europe?

We have had two beautiful homebirths, have two happy and healthy children, and would be quite disappointed if there was some medical problem that necessecitated a hospital birth.