Thursday, June 19, 2008

Getting on my Soapbox

I tend to talk a lot about birth, pretty much to anyone that will listen. :) Says a lot for someone that has actually never given birth, but I am passionate none-the-less. I was checking my email the other day and saw a headline from the American Medical Association (AMA) basically slamming Ricki Lake for her views on home birth and her movie "The Business of Being Born". It has fired up the AMA and the OBGYNs so much that they are now trying to pass legislation against home birth. Please see this link to their resolutions (number 205)...http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/18587.html. Of course, there was an eloquent response given by Ricki Lake, Abby Epstein, and Jennifer Block here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ricki-lake-jennifer-block-and-abby-epstein/docs-to-women-pay-no-atte_b_107845.html.
The response touched on this issue, but I want to vent a little more. I believe that women have the right to be informed and given choices when it comes to birth. If a woman decides that a hospital birth is right for them, then that is perfectly fine, this is not about hospital bashing. It's as though the AMA is trying to "control" choices that are not theirs to make. Women have the right to try and have the birth experience they want to have. It saddens me that big business is trying to take away yet another thing that cultivates the human experience. I have not been blessed (yet) with having children, but from seeing a home birth first hand I know what a phenomenal experience it is. Maybe the doctors should pay a visit, and see how powerful birth can be!


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