A friend of mine was by last night, after reading my blog for the first time, and commented on how its really sad that not everyone can afford to do this. By this, I mean of course, have a midwife attended homebirth. It's true. We can't afford to do this. It's only because we knew that family would contribute when it really came down to it that we have even attempted it. If you look at the studies that have been done (For those who actually care, here is one such study......Wiegers T, Keirse M, van der Zee J, Berghs G. Outcome of planned home and planned hospital births in low risk pregnancies: prospective study in midwifery practices in the Netherlands. BMJ 1996;313;1309-13. ), they show that for normal, healthy, low risk women/pregnancies, having a birth with a midwife will have a better outcome for both the mother and the baby. Less episiotomies, less caesarians, less infections etc etc etc. But this option, even though it is safer, is not available to many (and most that I know) women and thier families. $3500 is prohibitive.
This brings up a whole slew of questions that I'm looking into.
Is it cheaper for the government to just admit all women to the hospital to have thier babies?
Somehow, I doubt it. But I don't really know, so i'm going to see what I can find. Why, if its more expensive/less safe to admit women to hospitals, is it still the only funded way to have a baby (in Alberta, anyway, some provinces do pay for it)?
Do women actually want this option in Canada? Would they take it if it was available to them?
I'm going to do more research, and get back to you.
By the way, the friend of mine who brought this up with me happens to be a musician, and is donating her part of the proceeds of the bands next show to the homebirth. I love you Becky, you're awesome. http://www.reverbnation.com/thepantyhos
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