Amazing: Vicki Williams with her son Ted, now one, after her 'serene' freebirth at home
'Every time a woman says "birth was awful, but my baby is worth it", I'm sad that they didn't have the chance to have a birth that made them say "it was the most amazing thing I have ever done,"' says Vicki Williams, a 42-year-old mother of six from the East Midlands.
Vicki is one of a small number of women to choose 'freebirthing', a natural way to give birth without interference from doctors, nurses or midwives - even without going into hospital at all.
Two of her sons, eight-year-old Joe and two-year-old Ted, were born at home and birthed by Vicki without the help of medical staff, a midwife or even the emotional support of a doula.
The experience, she says, was 'amazing', adding: 'it was beautiful, it was serene and it was easier than running cross country at school!'
But is 'freebirthing' really all it’s cracked up to be? More importantly, can it really be possible to give birth unassisted without putting your life and the life of your child at risk?
Unsurprisingly, the medical establishment is divided on the issue. Some doctors argue that giving birth without assistance is far too dangerous. But the Nursing and Midwifery Council disagree. Last year they released a statement saying midwives had 'no right' to be present at a birth and that the wishes of mothers who chose not to have one present should be respected.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesperson Dr Daghni Rajasingam is quietly supportive of freebirthing, although she warns that things can sometimes go wrong.
'Some emergency situations are difficult to predict,' she said in an interview with the Guardian. 'There are problems that need intervention within minutes – for example, if the baby is getting distressed, if the baby's shoulders get stuck, or if the cord prolapses. In any of these situations, you need a professional birth attendant who'll know what to do and can arrange for you to transfer to hospital if you're giving birth at home.'
The alternative: For the majority of women, birth takes place in the unfamiliar confines of a hospital room
More than 342,900 women die in childbirth every year around the world - most of them in developing countries. In the UK, a woman's lifetime risk of dying is just 1 in 8,000.
In a tragic case last year, an Australian coroner openly criticised one mother's decision to give birth unassisted after her baby died during delivery, according to reports in The Sydney Morning Herald.
'It was beautiful, it was serene and it was easier than running cross country at school!' - Vicki Williams, 42
The umbilical cord became wrapped around Roisin Fraser's neck - a situation, according to coroner Scott Mitchell, that neither her mother Janet nor father Trevor Stokes were equipped to deal with.
But does that make it wrong? No, insists veteran doula Lisa Sykes, 39, who says giving birth will never be entirely safe, whether it's done at home or in a hospital.
'There are no risk free options,' she explains. 'There are risks associated with birthing in hospital; for instance, you're statistically more likely to end up having a Caesarean section when planning a birth overseen by consultant obstetricians.
'You're also statistically safer at home with midwives in attendance than you are in a consultant led unit.
'Risk is personal. It isn't for me to say who should and shouldn't be making particular choices in life.'
Interestingly, the BirthPlace study carried out by the Royal College of Midwives and published last week, would appear to back Sykes' claims.
Among the more startling revelations in the report was the fact that mothers giving birth at home are more likely to have normal deliveries and less likely to need invasive procedures such as caesarians and the use of forceps.
Vicki believes studies like this should be a wake up call to the medical profession.
'There is a great deal of fear, and an unhealthy dose of arrogance, among those professionals who think that they know better when it comes to what is good for a woman than she does herself,' she explains.
'If something goes wrong during childbirth, the mother is the one who bears the pain for the rest of her life, not her care-givers, so only she can make the decision about what risks she is and is not prepared to take.
'The death of your baby isn't the only outcome that might leave you in distress for the rest of your life.
Happy outcome: Ultimately, both mothers and medical establishment want the same thing - a healthy baby
'Disempowerment, feelings of having been abused, fear of death or danger in a situation where you feel out of control, harsh treatment and feeling violated during the birth process can all cause trauma.
'A woman deserves to feel like a goddess when she brings her child into the world, and to be able to remember that feeling.'
However, not all mothers find the experience of freebirthing as pleasant as they'd hoped.
Melissa Thomas, 27, who gave birth to her son Oliver, now one, alone at home last year, was reported to social services by a midwife uncomfortable with her decision.
'Giving birth alone felt normal. It was liberating, natural, calm and wonderful - and I didn't want to invite anyone else into [my] space.' - Melissa Thomas, 27
'Giving birth alone felt normal,' she says. 'It was liberating, natural, calm and wonderful. I didn't want to invite anyone else into [my] space.'
But the run up to her 'wonderful' birth was marred by an intervention from social services, and Melissa feels things could have been handled very differently.
'I understand the difficult position the midwife who made the referral may have found herself in,' says Melissa, 'but I do feel that there could have been a different approach.'
She continues: 'I spoke to the supervisor of midwives twice about my plans and she seemed understanding and supportive so I was disheartened to find out about the referral.
'I'm upset about the way in which my life was intruded upon and the lack of decency and respect with which I and my family were treated.'
Upsetting though Melissa's experience was, the midwife's reaction, although contrary to advice issued by the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, was perhaps understandable in light of how few freebirths there are each year.
According to the most recent figures released by the Office of National Statistics, 723,913 babies were born in 2011. Of those, it is estimated that just 30 were freebirths.
Nevertheless, as information on freebirthing becomes more widely available, it's likely that the numbers of women opting for unassisted births will increase.
At the very least, says Vicki, women need to know that they aren't required to submit to medical care and are free to decline any and all of it if they want to.
'Freebirthing is not right for everyone,' she adds. 'Some women want to give birth surrounded by others and some women want others to take responsibility for them.
'Even if we all have the same information, we won't necessarily make the same choices and that is a good thing. But every woman should have the choice.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2423814/Freebirthing-Dangerous-natural-Meet-pregnant-mothers-giving-hospitals--midwives--miss.html#ixzz2fGCeT3Y7
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