In the news

Hungary has 500 - 600 births a year outside of hospitals and there are moves afoot now to introduce a new set of rules governing them.

The push for new regulations followed several well-publicized cases last autumn in which complications during deliveries necessitated the intervention of emergency medical personnel. Despite this, officials say the goal of the legislation is not to ban home birth but to better regulate the practice.

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Fabulous article on Wollongbar’s Natural Birth & Education Research Centre, where I’d love to visit sometime:

The centre is located on 18 acres and they offer a variety of services, from centre-based births to home birth care and hospital support. Women can live at the centre or at home and are cared for by a midwife and a support person, who stay with the family throughout the entire birthing journey and beyond.
The centre is non-profit and has run self-sufficiently for five years thanks to volunteers and midwives, who donate part of their wages back into running the facility. This means on average they get paid around $2.50 per hour.

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Birth and death in the UK

There could scarcely be a better advert for choosing a home birth. A study by the Healthcare Commission into maternity care in the NHS has uncovered some startling discrepancies in the service available to pregnant women in English hospitals. In some, a single bed is used for more than one birth every 24 hours. In others, there is also a shortage of basic facilities such as baths, showers and lavatories.

The Government plainly needs to pay more attention to the quality of care available in maternity units. Many women will never be more reliant on the NHS than when they are giving birth. If this experience is not up to scratch, they will ask with ever-more urgency where their taxes are going.

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Posted: July 21, 2008 Tell it like it is (0)