Money seems to definently be one of the main factors in birth that affects a womans decision of what kind of birth she will have. In America health insurance is a something that 50+ Americans lack. I didn't even know that birth in a hospital cost money. To me that doesn't even make any sense. The cost of a vaginal delivery with no complications ranges is about $13,000 (Baby Delivery Cost) For woman without health insurance knowing that you will need to pay thousands to have your baby in a hospital is something that doesn't sound pleasant at all and may discomfort a woman if she thinks about that to much during birth. Patients with insurance usually still have to pay about $1000 so there not even off the hook. Cesarean sections which happen much more often now than needed cost even more money to do and cost about $18,000 on average. Perhaps that's why they happen so often now,so they can steal the patients money. Dr. Moritz said during his speech to our class , "Obstetrics is 98% not exciting, and 2% sheer terror...but hospitals are good for when you have that terror." (Business of Being Born) The doctor thinks the idea of hospitals in this case are helpful because when people think of hospitals usually then they have a sense of safety. The Business of Being Born also explains to some extent the unnecessary treatments that cost the woman more money in hospitals, such as episiotomies without informed consent of the patient since there all drugged up from epidural s. It's the womans money how can you ignore her wishes. Have doctors ever considered this woman may not be able to afford the medical care she is receiving and they should listen to what she or her partner says.
In the beginning of the century, 95% of birth's were done at home. That's when the doctors took over the medical industry now less than one percent of all women give birth at home. (Business of Being Born) The mediums that I have recently been exposed to (including both Business of Being Born and Birth) have insisted that home birth offers much more choice for the women than hospital birth and is the better choice. Women who chose home birth are given the ability to make their own decisions on the treatment they receive, because if they try a home birth and a c-section needs to be done they could call an ambulance since,hospitals are open 24 hours a day, and if something were to go wrong in a home birth, an ambulance could be called to take the mother to the hospital. Home birth are generally cheaper than being at a hospital. This should help all the Americans without help insurance "Midwife fee is about $2000 on average. This covers prenatal care, birth, postpartum check up, newborn check up and screening." (Home Birth Cost and How to Pay for it) This financial advantage over hospital births should provide a comfort advantage for most women. Other than the midwife itself , typically their aren't many others to support the family, but this does mean that she has the option to pick and choose whoever she wants to be there.
After continuing my research online about comforting factors I wanted to interview someone that had been through both the home and hospital birth experiences. Fortunately, my godmother who lives in my building has had both situations. Her name will be kept anonymous, but she is the mother of four. Her two sons were born in the hospital, but her two daughters were born right in her apartment. When I asked about how her experience was in the hospital, she said, ''Well, medically everything went wrong for her two hospital birth's she had c-sections which is extremely dangerous especially when you have two of them. Having all the hospital staff around me was much more comforting for me since that seemed to be the norm. " Her description of her home birth journey for her two daughters was "Now that was quite the experience, it felt weird doing something like that because I know I'm going to be living here for a while and every time I sit in the living room I'm going to think about it. If something would have went wrong it would have been traumatizing to live in that house. I was so scared but my body prevailed and everything went right." she said. It seems like for her hospital birth was more comforting with the birth process itself but it was also more expensive even with her health insurance.
In the end only the woman who giving birth can decide what she wants because both hospital births and home births have different aspects that people like. I think the reasons why less than 1% of woman do not feel comfortable having a home birth is either due to ignorance or fear. These both make sense since it's only just beginning to become a popular topic. My mother told me she didn't have a home birth and she said" Don't only poor people who can't afford medical care and don't have health insurance do that kind of stuff. Why would you ask me that? What if something went wrong which it did that's why you had a hospital birth like all the other normal people” If I had a home birth you might not be here be greatful Abdul.
Bibliography MLA
1."Hospital Maternity-Related Procedures and Practices." Department of Health. New York State Department of Health, December 2010. Web. 31 Mar 2011 http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/facilities/hospital/maternity/2."Hospital Birth." The Center of Unhindered Living. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2011. http://www.unhinderedliving.com/hospital
3.Griebenow, Jennifer L. "Home Birth and Out-of-Hospital Birth: Is It Safe?."Homebirth- Safety and Benefits. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2011. http://www.gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homejjg.
4."New York County Hospitals Maternity Information." Department of Health. New York Department of Health, February 2009. Web. 31 Mar 2011. http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/facilities/hospital/maternity/new_york.htm.
5."Birthing Center ." NY Womens health. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York , n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2011
6."Baby Delivery Cost." CostHelper. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr 2011. http://www.costhelper.com/cost/child/baby-delivery
7. "Home Birth Cost and How to Pay for it." Home Birth Guide. N.p., 2009. Web. 5 Apr 2011. http://www.home-birth-guide.com/homebirth-cost.
For Abdul,
ReplyDeleteYour post is basically about the differences between hospital and home births. You say the pros and cons of each, and how they affect people in America. This is a wise move because it's good to be able to connect your topic back to the public since there the ones being affected by this.
One aspect of the post I particularly valued was the interviews with your family. The humor presented in the interviews really helped to bring life to your blog. Honestly without them, I thought it was kind of boring. Hearing genuinely true, and partially ignorant ideas about birth was exciting.
A reason why your project matters to me is because you provided a ton of information and research that sounds true to the public. It's one thing to just give the public information, but you went above and beyond and gave your readers pros and cons from both natural and hospital birth without being terribly biased.
For some nice constructive criticism of your blog, it would have been greatly appreciated if you interviewed more than two people. Hearing people's opinions on such an important topic would have been terrific and would have helped bring life to the blog. Also if you would have made a flier or a poster with all this information so that your information can be more accessible to the public would have helped spread awareness. Perhaps, posting fliers in your school or on a bulletin board. Overall solid job Abdul I look forward to your work in your next unit. Keep up the good work.
It seems clear that for your project you were focusing on the differences between home and hospital births. Using evidence such as financial reasons and the comfort of the women, you support home birth as a solid alternative to the mechanical process of hospital births.
ReplyDeleteThis topic matters to me because it is something that I intend to consider highly when having children of my own in the future. Although I am not the one who will ultimately be making the final decision, having this information is essential for women that are unsure of where to give birth. The conclusions made in your project are some that should be observed by all women today.
I really liked the way you were able to connect your topic to your personal life by speaking to your mother. Her opinion demonstrates the ignorance (no offense to Sheline of course) that you depict in your project.
One suggestion I would make would be to incorporate the opinions of any mothers who had experienced a home birth and observed how she felt about the debate. However, I understand that for some people this might be hard to come by. Overall, good job!
Abdul,
ReplyDeleteYour post was certainly informative and interesting to read. You start out by giving an objective view point of how both hospital and home birth have its risks and benefits. However, you ease into your core argument that it should not be about what is most convenient and best for the doctor but, what is best for the mother in labor. Such aspects have much more importance than a group of people arguing their stance even when the group is not participating in giving birth.
I valued the fact that you provided substantial information and statistics regarding the ridiculous aspects of our birthing industry. I had known that giving birth in a hospital cost money but, I didn't know the approximate cost. $13,000 is big number and I'm sure every woman has to spend a great deal of time thinking about what other expenses may come in the future. I also valued that you made this project somewhat personal by talking to your grandmother about it. I, for one, would never have had the motivation to talk to my own grandmother, simply because I'd imagine the conversation to be incredibly awkward.
Your project matters to me because you express sincere concern for the woman's role in the birthing process. It's clear that your intentions as a writer and an informer were to persuade us of a certain stance instead of being objective. I feel respected as a woman because you argue what I would probably argue if someone were to go against my wishes if I were to give birth. I also admire the fact that you went out of your way to interview the people around you.
Your project definitely had its strong points - your quotes and evidence, among other things, demonstrate that. I noticed a few mistakes here and there in your paper so, I'd say that proofreading your work once or twice would only clarify your point and make your argument more concise and coherent. In your first paragraph, you mention "The obgyn....more safe" (line 6). You should never assume that the reader has prior knowledge of what your discussing. OBGYN is an abbreviation for obstetrician and from my knowledge, not everyone knows this - I know I did not before we started the birth unit. You list a lot of statistics but, they lack analysis. I wouldn't go as far as to say that there was no analysis at all but, investigating the emotional aspects of the statistics, I believe, would be well worth your while.
Aside from that, I enjoyed reading your writing piece. The ending "If I had a home birth, you might not be here grateful Abdul." It might've been a tad cliche but, I happen to like cliches, for they are understood by most and are worded in a way that is considered clever. Thank you for your work! It has always been a pleasure to read your work - I look forward to future insights.
Bianca
This project focused on comparing the benefits of home and hospital birth. In the project you support home birth as a good alternative for hospital birth. You also show other people's opinions and education about home birth.
ReplyDeleteAs someone that doesn't support the home birth movement, the way you presented information, as well as the range of sources created a pretty persuasive paper.
This paper matters to me because it advocates for home birth, which is basically the opposite of my project. It is nice to read what some other people think on the same issue.
Bianca said some of what you wrote was cliche, but as Andy will soon realize cliches make the world go round. Keep the cliches, but watch out for grammar mistakes, and keeping your ideas easy to follow.
your project really picked at the key reason why many do not know of the alternative of home births. our country, the United States, do not provide the community with enough information to know of a hospitals birth's faults.connecting to the United States healthcare system was also very clever and essential to birth unit. your project stands out to me because me because you touch upon little bit of everything. to make your project better i feel you have many clever ideas but you must intertwine them together. something i didnt look to do myself. good job abdoul
ReplyDelete