ACOG doesn't think I should give birth at home, oh dear!

February 10, 2008

There has been a lot of discussion on midwifery and

childbirth email lists in the past few weeks in reaction to a statement by ACOG

that birth should take place in hospital. I can’t understand, for

the life of me, why ACOG’s opinion on homebirth would interest anyone

remotely associated with childbirth.

Aren’t these the illustrious folks who gave us 50 years

of universal episiotomies? Aren’t they the people who prescribed

thalidomide, high dose birth control pills, and hormone replacement for vast

numbers of menopausal women? Aren’t they the ones who have made a

fortune from amputating the foreskins of millions of helpless baby

boys? Haven’t they unnecessarily induced labour and cut the bellies

of millions of trusting women? Need I go on? Really, why would any

right thinking woman be dissuaded from homebirth by the opinion of ACOG?

Although I didn’t even bother to read their statement

on homebirth because I could care less, I DID want to see what they had to say

last week about collecting cord blood for freezing. Now, THAT was

interesting. They did not go the way of the British Society which

clearly tells their members that freezing cord blood is a scam that should be

done away with by intelligent people. http://thecordblood.net/?p=25

No, the American group (some call them the S. O. B.’s) tells

their members that they should be informing their patients about the back door

payments they receive for soliciting for the cord blood monsters. If you

look closely at their statement, the message is there that cord blood banking

is a ridiculous waste of money for no earthly good whatsoever but the door is left

wide open for the obstetricians to continue padding their bank accounts from

the stupidity of the public.

ACOG has lost credibility with the women of N.

America. When midwives, nurses and doulas realize that fact, they will

stop caring what ACOG has to say. It would be of more interest to me what

the Teamster’s Union thinks about homebirth.

Gloria Lemay, Vancouver, BC

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