Thursday, May 29, 2008

Two more homebirth deaths reported on MDC

The steady pace of preventable deaths at homebirth continues on MDC. Two additional homebirth deaths were reported on MDC in the past week or so. Both were intrapartum deaths. One was 6 months ago, and the other occurred a few days ago and was the result of an abnormal cord insertion.

In both cases, mention was made of grief being compounded by blame from family members for risking the babies' lives.

At this rate, sadly, MDC should start a "tribe" for women whose babies have died a preventable death at homebirth. There have been 7 homebirth or UC deaths that have been described on MDC since January. There have also been at least 2 cases of profound anoxic brain damage. This is ahead of the steady pace of homebirth deaths reported on MDC, approximately 1 every other month, in the previous 2 years.

It's no wonder that MANA (the Midwives Alliance of North America) refuses to release their statistics on homebirth safety. If MDC is any indication, the perinatal mortality rates at homebirth are extraordinarily high.

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