Should it be legal to have your baby at home, rather than at a hospital?

I think so. But there should be contingency plans in case of difficulty. Are home births still common? 40 years ago they were--along with natural childbirth classes (which I attended). I think the more a woman knows about pregnancy and childbirth, the better, whether the baby is born at home, in a hospital the usual way, or by C-section. It's handy if the father is well prepared, too!

Yeah, it should be, so long as modern medical care isn't refused for the child should it become necessary.

In His Grip,

christian_concern@yahoo.com

What of the case where it becomes evident that modern medical care is necessary, but the home venue makes it impractical or impossible to deliver that modern medical care in time to save the child or mother?

What of the case where modern medical care would seem necessary to me or you, but the parents elect to refuse the care for their own reasons?

Tricky. This is in the same category as shots for measles, chicken box, etc. Should they be mandatory? A lot of people refuse to have their kids get the appropriate shots, thinking they'll get some other disorder, thus exposing others to possible exposure, along with themselves, of course. Should the "government" force all parents to have their children inoculated against various communicable diseases?

If a woman strongly wishes to have natural childbirth, at home, with a midwife, should she be required by the "government" to give birth in a hospital?

Gom, did you mean to say "so long as modern medical care isn't refused for the child and the mother should it become necessary"?

It would depend upon whether the risks or complicating factors were fully known before the birth or not, but in general, I support the right of parents to determine where their child is born. I certainly don't think government should be involved at all unless you're talking about judicial action after the fact, assuming a crime has been committed.

We simply can't make life idiot-proof, and the argument for doing so is essentially an argument for the enslavement of mankind for our own good. I'm reminded of iRobot when the artificially intelligent computer system said something to the effect of "the genocidal reign of humanity is over". In short, we couldn't be trusted to run our own lives because "freedom/liberty" allows us to make too many mistakes that cause suffering and death. Therefore, some over-arching entity must involve itself in every detail of our lives to avoid that outcome. Recipe for disaster and precisely where we are headed.

In His Grip,

christian_concern@yahoo.com

Yes, in the child's case, if modern medical care is necessary and can be obtained, I don't think the child should be prevented from being treated. The same is true of the mother, so long as she hasn't personally decided to refuse care.

In His Grip,

christian_concern@yahoo.com

I think we have rare agreement here, Gom! We both think home births are definitely ok--esp. if precautions are taken in the case of difficulties.


But I don't agree that our freedoms are inevitably eroding in the name of security and safety. We're still free, for example, to drive our trucks into the wilderness and pretty much disappear if we want. Do you think social security, for example, erodes our freedom? (If you want to discuss this, we should probably start a new thread.)

My view is that help should be available if needed--and if people wish to avail themselves of this help. But no one should be forced to accept any assistance from any branch of government. There are homeless guys more or less living near the trash bins behind my local McDonald's. They could probably get some help from some government entity, if they wanted.

yes

I was born at home though a doctor was present as well. My brother was born at home as well but no doctor was there at the time.

I think home child birth is fine under most conditions and no one should be forced to go to a hospital. Can you just see what would happen. A woman is at home and suddenly goes into labor, the baby comes before they can get her to the hospital and now she faces prosecution for breaking the law.

Also it is extremely expensive to go to a hostipal. No one should ever be forced to do so and if by chance they were then it should be 100% free of charge.