AMA Slams Ricki Lake’s Home Birthing Film, Seeks Resolution

by Michael dEstries June 17, 2008
Categories: Lifestyle
Tags: ricki lake.

The American Medical Association would like you to know that the best place to have your baby is in the hospital. In fact, according to a new resolution, if you do indeed decide to take such drastic action as a natural birth outside a hospital, you will put yourself at risk to “maternal hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, eclampsia or other obstetric emergencies.”

This has nothing to do with money, right?

The AMA is none too pleased that talk show host Rick Lake’s documentary, The Business of Being Born, has been receiving great publicity and acclaim from media outlets. The film asks the question “Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?” and apparently the AMA is answering with a “no” and “yes”.

They’ve recently issued a mandate that would declare the hospital the “safest setting” for birth. Nothing like taking away choices from people — or scaring the hell out of them into going your way. Thanks, AMA!

via TMZ

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →

http://www.greentv.com/ GreenTV

Rick, brother Lake here at GreenTV. Remember the AMA, my battle with Cancer and the “birth” of GreenTV.
ainteasybeinggreen

Everyone needs to realize that hospitals and doctors, while seeming to be for the greater good, are all in Business. They all need to make money to keep doing what they are doing. Their actions and inactions always benefit themselves as well as the patients.
E

What does this have to do with this environment again? Focus people!
http://www.KristensRaw.blogspot.com Kristen’s Raw

The controversy will help Ricki Lake’s cause. YAY!

It is the result of that documentary, along with two books…

1) John Robbins: Reclaiming Our Health
2) Ina May: Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth

…that I’m in the process of planning conception which will result in our having a home birth.
joel Anstett

My sister was born at home in 1942, New Lisbon, WI

No Problem & she is still “kickin

Joel Anstett
Van

What does this have to do with the environment?

Everything! What is the most environmentally friendly?

a. a hospital birth-a place that uses an amazing amount of energy, products created with and consisting of toxic materials, PVC heaven or…
b. a quiet birth at home with a midwife in attendance.

Yes, there are plenty more reasons to give birth at home and there are some women that should birth in a hospital. The real issue lies with whether we should be scared into thinking that a hospital birth is the only way to give birth.
http://brainyblonde.com erin

Why am I not surprised? Thanks for bringing this to our attention Dear E (as in Ecorazzi

And to the other “E” who said this has nothing to do with the environment? Just think if only 10% of women decided to do home births and didn’t use up resources A) driving to the hospital B) using all those nasty drugs C)taking up space at a building that takes up space.

If we women were to have babies at home perhaps hospitals would get smaller (nice) more eco and holistically friendly.

Never know

E (Erin)
midwife uk

Lots will be said during this debate but before anyine else mentions the publicity and money Ricki will make let me the first to say “so? and good!” What is being said in the movie has been said before by woman and midwives for many years. But who are “we” to fight the all powerful man/power/doctor/money combination. Women,babies and society will beinifit from the changes Ricki’s movie will bring not just in USA but world wide…..we needed a celebrity to speak out so I hope she earns millions!!!
http://www.jessimonster.wordpress.com Jessica

Thank you to Van and Erin. Home births have everything to do with the environment, just as much as any other natural lifestyle choice does. Hospital births are very energy intensive.
That being said, a hospital would be the very safest place to have a baby, I suppose, if our health care system were a nonprofit organization. A health care system that earns a profit is not concerned with keeping us in the healthiest state possible; healthy people do not buy drugs and use medical interventions.
I had a natural birth in a hospital 7 months ago. I don’t see why I had to be there. I chose to be there because I didn’t think I would have been comfortable laboring in our tiny apartment, and I probably wouldn’t have been. I think a very happy middle ground is a birth center, but next time I have a baby, if I am in a home with better accomodations, I’ll probably just have the baby at home.
I’ve really got to see this movie though. I just ordered it, it should be in the mail by Friday.
http://www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org Steff

Nearly 1 in 3 American women are going through major surgery to give birth, but only a fraction of them are “high risk.” Of our nation’s 4.3 million annual births, 90% start out as healthy pregnancies, and at the end of those pregnancies, 70% are still healthy. In spite of best attempts by interest groups to persuade us otherwise, the vast majority of women giving birth in the United States are healthy and low risk.

Yet, the most frequently performed surgery in the U.S. is the cesarean section at 1.3 million surgeries per year. The angiogram is the next most frequently performed procedure at 700,000, and it’s not even a surgery. Without formal public policy even declaring cesarean section as the new model for maternity care in the United States, our nation is headed for a staggering 40-50% cesarean rate.

How much medical waste is being created through unnecessary c-sections? How sustainable is it to perform major surgery on 1/3 of all birthing mothers in the U.S.? If the c-section rate continues to rise, how many more hospitals and medical schools will we have to build (that means more energy-consuming buildings) to meet the increasing demand?

Just as we plant rain gardens and install other green infrastructure to act more as “mother nature” would in terms of managing our storm water runoff, we must support as natural an approach to birth as possible given the specific circumstances of each woman’s pregnancy. When pregnancies are healthy and determined to be low risk, birth is certainly a natural system that could stand a lot more space to function normally in our U.S. maternity care system.
http://mitzieskill.com Mitzie

women in the U.S. are taught to fear childbirth, when its the most natural thing, besides what got you that way, your body can do. getting the AMA to make a statement about it is about as necessary as..you know a fish with a bicycle.