A choice I may never have

At the moment I feel so anxious and panicked by the governments decision to make homebirthing with a midwife after July 2010 illegal. I have been an advocate of homebirth for quite a while now and I say thank you to my fertility issues for the time to consider and research my birth options. But it is those same fertility issues that may see that I will be unable to have a homebirth after all, as if i'm not PG soon I won't even get a crack at it and it's putting my mind through hell.

When I say I have been an advocate of home birth it's been mostly chewing the ear off any family member or friend who's polite enough to listen because I haven't felt justified enough to really get into the lobbying side of things as I haven't experienced homebirth first hand and was waiting for the time when I could have my own birth as proof that it all worked the way nature intended. I had planned on filming the whole thing as proof that it could be natural and beautiful and from there other grandiose schemes for the education and inspiration of others would occur. (Sorry if I sound up myself for believing I could) And now I face the possibility that I won't even have the chance to homebirth. I had dreamed that having homebirthed my children, that by the time they were conceiving, a homebirth would be a common occurance and not something that we had to continue to struggle for. Now the death knell sounds.

I wrote my letter to the maternity services review and asked for insurance for homebirth midwives believing I/we could make a difference and that the government would see reason and the benefits in homebirth and instead it's like we brought it to their attention that midwives were practising without insurance and therefore condemning us all. I feel cheated and abused by our own government. I broke down crying during my acupuncture this afternoon in a session that is meant to be relaxing me for my upcoming FET and all I could think about lying on the table was how to fix this problem. I don't have any answers and my helplessness is drowning me. Does anyone esle feel like this? I almost feel like it is the end of rationality in this country, that after the recent research results that have been released regarding the relative safety of a homebirth and the aims of other countries like England that is trying to increase their homebirths I really do have to wonder where the future of our country lies. Sorry for the outburst but I want to know if everyone is so completely gutted as well and what their plans are to try and change this situation. I will either go to Canberra for the rally in September or with help organise a rally on the Gold Coast to coincide with it but apart from that what can we do?

I don't know what to say - but I just wanted to give you a :hug:

I :pray: it will be your turn soon.

you dont sound up your self at all. rather disapointed - as i am - that our goverment seems to be content with putting the lives of both unborn childrend and mothers alike at risk- i say at risk becuase how meany women who dont want to birth at hospital will 'go it alone' and have something go wrong (that a trained midwife would be able to assist with). i have to admit i'm not brave enough to have a home birth but i hope that you get the home birth you have dreamed about and long for. as well as the goverment opens its eyes and see's home birth as a very viable option as well as hospital.

I feel the same as you littlemisshaveachat. I had a homebirth with my first child, and now we are trying to conceive our second I too am on a clock hoping to conceive by October.
I sometimes lye awake at night running scenarios through my head, birth in hospital and fight their policies I don't agree with, birth at home and call an ambulance once I'm pushing - neither position will make me feel safe so I can just get on with labouring.

I am definitely going to Canberra in Sept, for the rally. I figure if this change goes through I'll regret not doing what I could at the time to prevent it.

I agree with you. When it comes to birthing in this country it is a joke and the government only wants to lessen our choices even more. I live in Darwin and can't have a homebirth up here simply because there is no space for me in the current homebirth set up due to midwife availability. Plus there are no private midwifes in practice up here so I basically freebirth (on my own) or go back to hospital where I suffered previous birth trauma. This system is pathetic in my eyes as it takes away a womans right to govern her own body.
I too hope to be in Canberra for the rally, birth pending.

Please, please come to Canberra on 7th September and make your voices heard!

http://savehomebirth.com.au/news/?p=306

My dh has an idea. He wants to rally all the homebirthing dads to do a progressive hunger-strike, two men at a time, for 48 hours each stint, at parliament house in Canberra - complete with placards, pamphlets etc. When your shift is over, two other dads take your place. Just to keep up a presence, and also so they can see - it's not only an issue of women's rights, it's about families, and it's about democracy - the basic right to choose.