Would you give birth in a midwifery led unit?

[mummato3]

I worked in a level three NICU for several years. I would never have my baby at home with a mid-wife. A very skilled mid-wife that is able to pick up on fetal distress that requires hospitalization may still run the risk of long term or permanent damage to the baby. In a emergency situation there needs to be interventions taken with-in seconds to minutes to guarantee the most optimal outcome for the baby. We are talking all it takes is a few minutes of decreased oxygen supply to the baby to cause permanent brain damage. People who delivery their babies at home may have no ideal that there was fetal compromise during delivery, if they were not hooked up to a fetal monitor during the delivery. At the hospital oxygen will be applied if need to increase oxygen supply to the baby. I know some mid-wives do this at home or in birthing centers. As for me, I would not take the risk of compromising my baby delivering at home. Not to say bad things don't ever happen in the hospital, and a lot people have wonderful deliveries at home. You don't know if you are going to have a smooth delivery until it's over. I think you have much better outcome for you and the baby at a hospital with a highly skilled doctors and staff.

Oh JuJu, 'highly skilled doctors'..what, do you mean the ones that wave their forceps or scalpel the second a CTG shows even the slightest deceleration? The ones that don't know when to back off and allow a woman to birth without them shoving their fingers into the woman's vagina every hour to make sure she is 'progressing as she should'? Sure, the 'specialists' have their place...but you are painting normal, natural birth as some bleak, life threatening procedure that only a dr can handle. I know you dealt with 'sick' babies in NICU, pregnancy and birth isn't a sickness or a dangerous situation ( the majority of the time) that needs to be 'fixed' by medical professionals. Your post is scary! Midwives who choose to help women birth their babies at home must have top rate skills in assessing for compromise during labour and birth, neo natal resus as well as maternal resus skills and knowing when to transfer. I would hate to think what you thought on 'free birthing' is!