048: Reaction To Huffington Post Home Birth Article & Big News For Midwives In Alabama

In today's episode we're commenting on a few recent news articles that center around home birth. The first comes from Huffington Post (now HuffPost) and is titled "Home Births Safe For Most Woman, But Not All, Says New Study". The second is an article from AL.com and is called "House approves Bill to allow midwives to legally practice in Alabama". Both of these articles speak to the progress being made for the home birth community, both online and locally. In the first article, the author Chloe Tejada cites a study that finds that home birth is safe for most women. We had a reaction of "Duh!", but that's not the point. The point is that a major media outlet is reporting something positive about home birth! That's a huge step forward for the homebirth community as a whole. The article goes on to state things that are probably not surprising to most: in women who are low risk, and even some who in the past have been deemed moderate risk (like over 35 years of age, have had a previous cesarean), can have favorable outcomes with a home birth. The study referenced in the article also makes the point that women are allowed to decide where they want to give birth, which we absolutely loved. So overall, we give this article two thumbs up for presenting the idea that out-of-hospital birth may be a viable option for people who may not have considered it before. The second article reports on news out of the state of Alabama. Recently, the House in Alabama approved a bill to allow midwives to practice legally in the state. Up until then, it was illegal for a midwife to help families choosing home birth. If you chose a home birth in Alabama then you were, essentially, on your own in terms of having a certified professional on hand. A mom we recently interviewed for the show shared how this law had impacted her home birth. She and her husband chose to do a free birth because of the law prohibiting midwives from attending. So you can see how big of a deal it is that Alabama has passed this bill. The bill still needs to go through the Senate before it can become law, but this is a huge step forward for the state of Alabama. We're extremely excited for the home birth community in Alabama. Links: Home Births Safe For Most Woman, But Not All, Says New Study House approves Bill to allow midwives to legally practice in Alabama Our new "Doing It At Home" book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices