/ controling birthing costs and quality

[Guest guest]

;

Have you considered using a doula, rather than the regular medical system?

As you can imagine, the government is real hard on anyone who wants to provide

an alternative to the government approved medical system.

I also believe that some of the WAP folks should be working with the doula

movement to advance the cause of proper nutrition prior to conception, and

through birth. I would do it except I am not female and I am not of child birth

age (but I am a fantastic grandpa). LOL

Please check out this web site and let us know what you think.

http://www.dona.org/

Charlie

_________________________________________________________________

Need to know the score, the latest news, or you need your Hotmail®-get your

" fix " .

http://www.msnmobilefix.com/Default.aspx

[Guest guest]

On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:06 AM, N. Rutledge

<charlier1955@...> wrote:

>

> ;

>

> Have you considered using a doula, rather than the regular medical system?

>

> As you can imagine, the government is real hard on anyone who wants to

provide an alternative to the government approved medical system.

It's a good thought, but doulas are labor support personnel, not

medical professionals. Doulas provide moral support, coaching through

labor (breathing exercises, making suggestions about movement and

positioning, etc.), and can be a neutral third-party who can help you

stay on track with your birth plan, although they cannot make

decisions for you or refuse medical procedures on your behalf. I

highly recommend that any pregnant woman hire a doula, but especially

if they're giving birth in a hospital. Doulas do not encounter a whole

lot of resistance from the medical profession, but that also depends

upon the individual doulas and their personalities. They're generally

considered to be A Good Thing.

However, if one wants to give birth outside of the " establishment, "

there are homebirth midwives. Not all states allow homebirth midwives

to operate legally, but Minnesota is one state that does. I did a

little research recently and midwives cost about $3,000-$4,000,

including prenatal care; contrast that with the $16,000 billed to my

insurance *just* for my daughter's birth, which didn't even include

pain medication. (It was, however, a medically necessary induction,

though inductions, unfortunately, are darn near standard these days. I

used a CNM - certified nurse midwife - which is even cheaper than an

OB, and with an OB you're much more likely to end up with a c-section,

but I digress...)

There are other alternatives, as well. Some areas have birth centers

(there are none in Minnesota) and, rarely, there are doctors who will

attend home births. Personally, I feel that birth should happen at

home, barring medical complications, which are a lot more rare than

doctors would like everyone to believe. There are a lot of good books

on the subject (the most recent being " Pushed " by Block) and

even a documentary, " The Business of Being Born, " which is even on

Netflix. Anyone with a uterus and anyone who *knows* someone with a

uterus should watch that movie!

- Tipper

[Guest guest]

Hi Charlie!

Absolutely yes--I plan to use a homebirth midwife and a doula. The

cost for such a birth will be around $4000, out of pocket. In my

ideal system of health care, the government would pay for this. Crazy

that most insurance companies won't even pay for homebirth

costs--$4000 is a far cry from the $20,000 price tag an average

hospital birth comes with.

Regards,

[Guest guest]

Agree with all of this. For anyone else more interested in this

topic, MNNaturalMothering is a good group to join, as well as

Ten Moons Rising, a local holistic organization for natural birth,

prenatal psychology, and parenting. I highly recommend watching

" Birth as we Know It " in addition to The Biz of Being Born...it is

very positive and wholistic in comparison.