The Right to Choose: Legalize Homebirth Midwives in Illinois
Senate Bill 385 is currently before the Illinois General Assembly. This bill directs the state to create a professional license for midwives to attend homebirths. Our current laws allow a woman to give birth at home, but make it illegal for midwives to attend those births. This essentially takes away a woman’s right to choose where she will birth her baby. Women should not only be allowed to but be supported in working with their bodies during birth. Illinois is one of the few states in our country that has outlawed qualified, licensed midwives who wish to perform this service.
I am familiar with this topic because my wife had a homebirth with our first son, Michael. My wife was quite adamant about having our child at home, and I wanted her have the birth any way she wanted. The medical literature shows that homebirth is a safe alternative for low-risk pregnancies, so my only concern was that I was not to be the one to catch.
My wife knew several midwives in the area who, despite the law, provide homebirths for women. Going to the meetings to prepare for the birth was an interesting experience. They were held in secret with instructions on confidentiality. The meetings seemed to me more like trying to get an underground abortion before Roe than an empowering and legitimate alternative to hospital childbirth.
The midwife made my wife feel comfortable throughout her pregnancy, and unlike the cold, clinical method of treating “patients”, the midwife empathized with my wife and treated her with respect. She worked with us to find the best way to accomplish what my wife wanted to do. We combined the homebirth meetings with classes in the Bradley method of natural childbirth (which I highly recommend even for women who choose a hospital birth). The result was the “wonderful” (my wife’s word) birth of our son that was joyous for both of us.
My wife went into labor around noon on January 7th. Even though she was having contractions she remained remarkably relaxed and followed the signals from her body as to what position she should be in. She labored briefly in a birthing pool, and ate and drank when she felt like it. She was so relaxed that neither the midwife nor I could sometimes tell when she was having contractions as she entered the transitional stage of labor. For someone with a pretty low tolerance for pain, she managed her contractions so well that she didn’t ever really appear to be in pain. She insists now that her relaxation and positions were the two reasons she never felt overwhelmed or in great pain during her labor.
The impact of stress on the body is a well-studied problem. Stress during childbirth is even more troublesome. My wife insists that because she was at home she was truly free to labor the way she was most comfortable and believes if people had been trying to interfere with what she wanted to do (she ended up wanting things very quiet during her labor) that she would not have been able to relax and would have been in much greater pain. Laboring in a hospital, for her, would have been very stressful and made the childbirth experience potentially more prone to complications.
This potential of unforeseen complications happened to my wife. After several hours of pushing, she failed to progress. Her body was fatigued and the midwife suggested she be taken to the hospital. So I drove her to the hospital where she received a C-section, and both mother and baby were fine. My wife says now that when we left for the hospital and she became stressed, she was then in “real pain.” Having a homebirth isn’t a license to be stupid. If problems develop, transporting the mother to a hospital is not a difficult operation.
One of the main objections to childbirth is a question of safety. No one is suggesting that untrained people simply do nothing during labor and blindly hope everything will go fine. Licensed midwives can be well-trained to identify problems early and respond appropriately.
My wife’s birth experience was a joyous and life-changing event. Even though we ended up having to go to the hospital, she is very pleased with laboring at home. In an era when a woman’s autonomy over her own body is considered a foundational right, it is unfathomable that the government deny her this truly empowering childbirth option.
The Illinois General Assembly should pass SB 385 so that women in Illinois can choose to have homebirth as a safe and available option. Homebirth is not for every mother, but for those who want to have one, they should have the right to make that choice.
PTP -
How interesting. I was, frankly, stunned to hear that my old home state of Illinois does not legally sanction home birth. It would be the same if I heard that they would not sanction home schooling.
My wife and I have had 5 children over our 20+ year marriage and the last two were at home. We know a number of couples that have had some or all of their children at home.
The experience is as you and your wife discovered. It is more relaxing, more meaningful, more personal and - interestingly - far less expensive than hospital births.
You guys chose home birth before you went through any of the rigamarole the medical establishment brings to the process. We had three at the hospital first. We finally got fed up with being told what was happening was best for the hospital and not best for the consumer.
We found our midwives to be compassionate, empathic, experienced, well trained and competent professionals. We never had even a moment’s worry while entrusting the prenatal care and delivery to them.
Perhaps Illinois could enter the 21st century along with the rest of the world and change their laws quickly. That change is needed. The medical profession is about providing a service and covering their tails while doing so (not necessarily without reason) in a manner and fashion that caters to the doctors and their schedules. The profession of midwifery is more about the welcoming into the world of a child and making it the memorable experience it ought to be.
Keep up the fight, my friend. You’re on the right side of this one in more ways than one.
Blue Collar Muse
Comment by Blue Collar Muse | April 8, 2007
Fascinating for sure. My wife was home birthed 42 years ago with a mid-wife present. I’ve never really thought much about it before. This post was definitely educational for me.
Comment by Douglas V. Gibbs | April 26, 2007