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The Lincoln, Nebraska newspaper today ran an article about the debate within the state's growing Amish community about the use of midwives vs. hospitals when giving birth. First of all, this is a great article because of its insight into the tiny Amish presence in the state of Nebraska. There are not many Amish in the state, but their settlements have been growing and I think they will continue to grow. Land is plentiful, fertile, and relatively inexpensive in Nebraska. So that may be a state poised for an "Amish explosion" in the years ahead. But this article also does just a great job of the exploring the variety of opinions found among the Amish on the topic of home-birth vs. hospital. My experience is that most seem to prefer home-birth. Some Amish settlements have "hybrid" options, like a "birthing center" that combines some of the ambiance of home with ready access to medical care if something goes wrong. The reporter in this article did a great job of conveying the conversations. This seems like a fairly conservative Amish settlement. Click here to read the full article.
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Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
I have 5 children. the first 3 were born in the hospital and the last 2 were born at home with the help of a midwife. All my labors were 4 hours at the longest and 2 hours the shorest. The home births were the best births i had, they were calmer and the midwife was so calming. knowing what I know now I would have had home births with all 5 of my children. It was a wonderful experience to have them at home.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
I've had it both ways, but not intentionally. My longest labor was 4 ½ hours, my shortest was about 51 minutes. The one in the middle, shortest, was the home birthday by accident. I didn't have identifiable labor, when I felt the urge to push, it was too late for a 20 minute drive to the hospital with a dh sick with mono. I had happened to call my mom 20 minutes before asking her to come over just in case - she delivered his shoulders. Then we went to the hospital. The 3rd - 91 minutes from start to finish, we decided to have them start my labor in the hospital. I didn't really want a home birth, but would have welcomed a birthing center - we just didn't have that option in those days.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
Wow, you are nearly as quick as DH's Mennonite friends. We're about 20 min (at the speed limit) from the hospital. From the time she says 'I'm in labour', they barely have time to get to the hospital. Keith's usually still filling out the paper work when they come and say 'congratulations Mr. Martin it's a ...'
Shorter labour would have been nice, but too short is scary.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
I was very fortunate to have had 3 short,easy deliveries. My longest labor was 7 hrs.(the first one). I would have been a good candidate for home delivery. On the other hand,my son's wife gets gestational diabetes. It was not present with their first baby,but showed up with #2 and was worse with #3. That condition puts both baby and mother at high risk. In their case, they needed medical attention. I guess the romanticized version of home birth sounds wonderful,but the factual part could be nothing less than ugly. Sky rocketing costs aside, a healthy baby and mother are more important than the cost involved. Eventually, the bills get paid..even if it's $10 a month for years. I know. I had 2 other babies(with insurance) before our first was paid for(no insurance). As long as we made a regular monthly payment,no matter how small,it was accepted. This may be different now, that was 1978.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
barb, i am so glad that i know my limitations (or my body knows) because when it comes to lots of pain, I am the biggest chicken coming along. on my first child, I was going to be the 'big girl' so to speak. well, somewhere in my oblivion, i quickly regreted that idea and at the last minute, i gave in to the meds offerred. the following three, i was NOT gullible like i was the first time. home birth for me was out of the question for the last two since i had the gestational diabetes, which went away soon after the boys were born.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
Home birth would have been lovely. Reality is that Ella and I would have died if not for the wonders of cesarean sections. And the special lights for getting rid of jaundice. I also know a lady whose daughter was seriously damaged by her home birth, so seriously that it's amazing she has made it to 5 but they aren't expecting much more. People need to know when to get help.
I envy ladies whose babies just 'drop' out. I was in serious labour for 27 hours and got no where.
Re: A Really Good Article! This is About Amish birthing......
I would have loved home births, on the other hand, I experienced the need to be right there with Dr.s available, with emergency situations too- My heart's desire is home birthing- my reality check is hospital deliveries. The problem is that home birthing is eliminated as a choice in many places because of laws, (I'm going to get a little preachy here...) If a woman (in the eyes of the law-not my views at all) can go have her baby killed at her choice, women should also be given the choice to deliver their live babies at home.