The miracle of life, truly a fascinating time for a woman and her partner. It’s also a vulnerable, stressful time, with life altering decisions to make. What factors should a prepper take into consideration when planning for the event?
I mentioned in a post last week that we considered birthing at home for Podling #2, but are currently planning on a hospital delivery. I want to share some of the thought processes behind the decision and touch on some of the risks inherent in both choices. (I will mention, briefly, if you live in or near a large enough metropolitan area, you may have a third choice, a birthing center. Those don’t exist in my neck of the woods, so I’m not as familiar with them.)
If you are unfamiliar with the legalities of birth, here’s a quick primer: Every state has different laws. In Texas it’s legal to have a professional midwife attend your birth at home, even for multiples and breech presentations. In Iowa homebirthing with professional midwives is not legal for any birth, but you can birth at home “unassisted” or you can go to a hospital and be seen by a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) or Obstetrician. (There are midwives who attend homebirths in Iowa spite of the lack of licensing.) Then there are states with everything in-between.
At home – Depending on your state laws and the outcome of your home birth, this choice could bring increased scrutiny by authorities. That can range from EMT’s if something goes wrong, your OB dropping you as a patient or possibly even a visit from DHS. You may have to deal with the uneducated opinions of loved ones if you tell them of your homebirth choice. Birthing has become such a highly medicated event, that generations of women in the US no longer remember any other way. All of that should be weighed against the positives of homebirths. Namely, complete freedom to labor and deliver exactly as the mother wants. No Cover Your Ass procedures or restrictions. No limits to labor time. No limits to food/drink intake. No restrictions on labor or delivery positions. No pressure for interventions like Pitocin, narcotics or surgery.
Cost is usually reduced for a homebirth. My health insurance lists average birth costs at above $8,000. (They don’t cover homebirths.) Most homebirth midwives charge in the $2-3,000 range, some even less, and going unassisted gets things down below $1k. There are expenses even at home; you’ll need clean supplies for catching the various fluids, laboring devices like a birthing ball, birthing pool, etc. and general first aid/delivery supplies to deal with any tearing or pain as well as cutting the cord and suctioning the gook out of baby’s breathing passages.
You’ll need to make arrangements or plans for transfer options should an emergency or complication arise. There are reasons women and children die in birth, things CAN go wrong. If you are birthing at home, make sure the attendants know where/who and when to call for an EMT.
In a SHTF event, a homebirth may be your only option. If the hospitals are full of pandemic victims or trauma patients from a large deadly event, you’ll be better off at home, so never rule it out as a possibility. Make sure you’ve done your research so you know what to expect. I love Ina May Gaskin’s books for practical advice on natural at home birthing. There are others out there though, find one that matches your situation. And of course have the preps on hand to handle such an event.
At a hospital – Going to a hospital increases your risk of interventions, surgery, and higher costs. In large part due to the CYA procedures mentioned above, a short lis tof them includes:
Internal exams – Dr’s have to “track your progress” and will often insist on vaginal exams to do that. These can be painful, they can introduce foreign bacteria into the birth canal and generally throw a woman off her laboring groove.
Limits to food and drink – Their thinking is if the woman needs a general anesthetic, (for surgery) the danger of inhaling undigested stomach contents if she vomits while anesthetized is greatly reduced. Yea, I’ll let you figure out how often that actually happens. But, they have to CTA so they deny ALL women anything other than ice chips. This plays into the time limits they impose on laboring women, if you’re starving someone who’s working hard, of course their stamina will give out.
Labor “augmenting” drugs – Dr’s (and nurses) prefer to follow timelines and schedules, no matter what is natural. So, they have terms like “failure to progress” and “stalled labor” to justify pumping the laboring woman full of drugs. Pitocin is the most commonly used augmenter. More and more often it seems to be used to keep women “on schedule” so the Dr can make a golf Tee-time. There are dangers, please be informed before acquiescing to such augmentation. I’m sure the fact that they get more money for every drug they prescribe doesn’t factor in at all. Pitocin is also used to start labor in women who have gone over the guess-date. Again, it’s back to the issue of wanting to schedule something that isn’t interested in the Dr’s vacation plans. Most chemical induction methods have some pretty serious risks, risks I am not comfortable with, and would refuse. But, again, do your own homework.
Limits to labor and birthing positions – Women aren’t the only ones who have forgotten what natural birth looks like. Dr’s no longer like to crease their suits by getting down to floor level, so they prefer the woman push on her back in a bed so that the baby is nice and easy to catch. Nevermind that it works counter to gravity and often isn’t the most comfortable position to push in.
I could go on, but this post is getting long enough already. Going to a hospital can be done though, know your preferences, and know your rights. Be prepared to say over and over again, “I refuse X procedure, write it in my chart and bring me the waiver.” Know how the cascade of interventions works and how to counter them so you lessen your risks of ending up in painful, expensive surgery.
In our case, the costs of a home birth vs the costs of a vaginal hospital birth were within a few hundred dollars of each other. ($2,800 vs $3,200) There are only a couple of homebirth midwives that moonlight in my rural area, and I didn’t click with any of them during interviews, so there was no pull to stay home to be with one of them. Our rental place is small, we have wall to wall carpeting covering every square inch, and we don’t have a couch or a tub. So, comfort and ease of cleaning tipped me over the edge to the hospital decision. It helped that the hospital we’re going to has an awesome CNM who we clicked with immediately and is dedicated to natural births and has a great relationship with said hospital. I won’t have to fight every inch of the way for natural methods and respect. I’m due late enough in the spring that I’m not worried about blizzards, and I’m strong willed enough to be close to narcotic pain relief without giving in to the temptation. So, it’s the right decision for us. It is good to know that we could birth at home if we needed to, hubby and I are both comfortable enough with the process to handle it, and we have all of the first aid supplies necessary for such an eventuality.
Would you ever consider birthing at home? Are you prepared for such an event?
– Calamity Jane
Personal political plug: If you are interested in seeing more freedoms for birthing mothers in your state, do consider joining up with your state’s midwifery association. I’ve done lots of work with our Iowa Midwives group, lobbying state legislators for state licensing of professional midwifes and increased support for homebirths as a valid and safe choice.
Birthing – At Home or In a Hospital?
previous post
23 comments
My first son was a typical hospital birth, I thought. We clicked with the Doc, who was head of Obstetrics and almost every other department it seemed. But after having Braxton-Hicks for a month, out in the bush, and then20 hours of labor with no kidling on the outside to show for it, he decided to move things along. I don’t remember what they gave me now (16 years later) but I remember it got real hard after that. Not to mention fighting with the nurses before hand for pizza and water. (My water broke at 6 am, we had an hour drive in to the hospital and a “small” blizzard soon shut down damn near all of Sault Ste. Marie. I didn’t get anything to eat until 12 hours later) It was a wild ride. My then-husband barely flew in before they shut down the airport, and the doctors and nurses were being brought to work by the local Search & Rescue because they had the vehicles capable of handling the ever-worsening roads.
My second birth was 5 hours from start to finish, at home, with two awesome mid-wives in attendance. I labored in the tub, on my feet or any other way I was comfortable. I decided when my water broke because I was in a strange city where I knew no one other than my mid-wives and my four year old son. They were supportive, guiding, and awesomely intense. I wish I had been able to keep in touch with them. I have never felt more empowered then I did with them by my side.
If a home birth is an option for anyone, I strongly recommend it.
Well l have no intentions of more children, but l do have daughters of child bearing age in my circle of family. Condoms is part of my preps for the simple fact they are cheaper and easier to store than diapers and formula. I’ve expressed to them to truly think before having children because l’ve told them l don’t have preps for babies. lol
My brother in law has taken an EMT course and l do have extra medical supplies for some emergency procedures. Could l do a home birthing? Yes
Our garage has a full bathroom, sink, and bed. I have surgical gloves, suture kit, blood pressure kit and a nurse 3 blocks away. Between friends and family in a SHTF situation l think we could manage it but man l don’t want to. However, you do have me thinking about gathering more medical items for this and other kinds of emergency situations.
In this day and age, knowing the intrusiveness of the fed govt, I would be all for doing it at home. The safer thing would be to go to the hospital. I think a more important thought along this line is the horrifying what if. IF things get really bad(like all of the preincident indicators point too) then you may not be able to go to the hospital. Given the toatility of the situation, ne perhaps should study about the options and be prepared to do whats necesary should the need arise. I have a freind who made arrangements to birth at a hospital some 45 mins to an hr away and flying down the interstate, his wife declared she was not going to make it, so he pulled over and delivered his own baby in the backseat of a caddy! Whaen the chips are down, you do what you have to do!
“Depending on your state laws and the outcome of your home birth, this choice could bring increased scrutiny by authorities. That can range from EMT’s if something goes wrong, your OB dropping you as a patient or possibly even a visit from DHS. ”
You know what the biggest irony is, considering it’s Iowa we’re talking about? I happen to have been born in that state, and I am the very first human being in my maternal lineage to have been actually been born in a hospital (late 1960’s), and only then because my father insisted on it. My mother was born at home (in Iowa!) in the 1940’s. Her mother in turn was born in a house. Her mother was as well, and etc. – likely going back to the dawn of time.
There are some things I do not like taking risks on & child birth is one of them. I’ve been through 3 of them (as a dad), all in the hospital & would continue to do so. I know that home birthing has been going on far, far longer than the hospital but it’s one less overall stressful event to experience.
I was totally prepped for each birth, read books, took classes & paid attention to every detail & was in the birthing room for each one. While I have a “strong stomach” (it’s pretty bloody & messy), embrace challenges & rarely hit the panic button, this is one thing I wouldn’t do if the other option is available simply because I do not have the steeped experience.
Although the odds are low BUT what if something went wrong?? Could you live with the end result if it was permanent & could have been mitigated? I’m not totally sold on the western medicine ideals but some risks I care not to test.
As far as the drugs administered, I would not worry about it because their function is fairly straightforward.
That’s my opinion ~
Jason – in countries where midwife home births are the norm, there is a significantly smaller number of infant deaths and maternal mortality due to childbirth. Statistically, in developed countries, a hospital birth is MORE dangerous than a home birth. In fact, in this country, we have a 25% c-section rate, which is too high. It means that 1 in 4 women who attempt to give birth, can’t, and need surgical intervention – which is just ridiculous. Women’s bodies were *made* to give birth.
I’m not trying to change your mind, because if you’re not comfortable with home birth, you shouldn’t do it, but I would like to encourage you to not fall for the ACOG bullshit that tries to make us believe that a hospital is a safer place to be for birthing mothers – especially when there is significant research that suggests otherwise ;).
Wendy,
I agree that the C section rate is way too high. It seems that if there is any perceived complications the doctors go to the knife – I think that is wrong. Also, I agree that women were made to give birth, so the natural method is appropriate.
My concern stems from being unprepared & no adequate, experienced help. It is funny that you mention the western medicine deception or duping of us & I am really on the fence about it. I’ve had 7 major surgeries – all necessary due to accidents etc and always worried about the care I was getting. I felt like I was on a conveyor belt, holding a number and waiting my turn.
I’ve always been a risk taker of sorts & love new challenges but I think I’d rather watch & assist in a few before I did it for my family. I hate, with a passion, being unprepared.
I appreciate your thought provoking input.
My wife gave birth to our son in a birthing center. It has since closed down due to lack of interest (and a not so pleasant midwife), but I really do think that it was the perfect place to have the baby.
We had an older friend who has several kids and has been at quite a few births there to help us out. I was supposed to do the catching with the midwife there to push me out of the way if things went wrong. They never did, but my wife ended up wanting me to hold her instead so the midwife got to catch. I liked it that way.
The center was just a slightly revamped house. It had a birthing tub and all the other amenities. The basement was also remodeled as a birthing center and the patients were only accepted if they were low risk and no other patients were due the same two week period. Theoretically it was possible for two births at the same time (if you were more than two weeks early or late you had to go the hospital), but it never happened.
We took some snacks and a bottle of wine. She ate when she was hungry and had a few sips of wind to relax her through the pain. We were there for 24 hours total and she never got hungry and I could have smoothies rather then vending machine garbage.
Going to the hospital was never discussed during the 24 hours we were there. The midwife was experienced enough to know that the progression, however slow, was happening. Our friends did have to go, but the complications were such that it was unavoidable. The doctor associated with the center beat them there and even though he didn’t get paid for the c section that he was unable to perform he staid with them throughout the procedure and told them what was going on.
If a birthing center is an option I encourage considering it at the very least.
BTW, in Indiana home midwives are legal if licensed but there is no agency from which to get said license.
Thank you for an inspired and extremely important post Ms. Calamity!
Let me start by saying I am 100% in support of a woman’s right to choose her method of delivery. I have expressed my concern to the woman around me who blindly assume a white coat automatically means the person wearing it has your best interests at heart. I am sad to say, the white coat does not mean the same thing it used to. However, we must understand that doctors and nurses are people too. In this case, there are those who are blessed with the gift to lay hands and heal…and there are those who pursued a career in medicine for more nefarious reasons, with no true passion for that they do.
As a 4th year medical student about to enter residency, I pray I am the former…or shall I say, I believe I am the former. I have studied Western Medicine for the last 4 years, and grew up in Asia where we used teas and soups more than we did pills. Here are my thoughts on the subject, that they may provide further insight.
Anesthesia: Epidural, spinal, and local blocks are acceptable, as the bodies anatomical compartments will prevent these chemicals from reaching the baby. Remember, anything that goes in Mom’s mouth (and thus the bloodstream), has the potential to effect baby. Epidural and spinal anesthesia do not enter the blood (when administered correctly). Local blocks used extremely small amounts of anesthetic and are administered to particular nerves, most often to reduce pain or relax muscle groups. Again, the body’s anatomic compartments (fascial planes) prevent the movement of the anesthetic into different compartments. My personal opinion…I do not want my love taking narcotic analgesics by mouth/IV when the time comes.
No Food: The danger of course is IF the woman has complications during delivery and must undergo surgery, general anesthesia must be used. General anesthesia blocks the woman’s ability to breath on her own, and a ventilator must be used. General anesthesia is easily accomplished by a trained professional, but there is always the possibility for complications. For a pregnant woman who has eaten recently, the danger is from aspiration of gastric contents and possible asphyxiation (up and out of the stomach, and into the lungs). I am training to be a surgeon, and as such, have spent a great deal of time in the operating room. If I had to estimate, I have seen aspiration due to anesthesia in 1 out of 20 cases…that is A LOT!!!! In a standard hospital scenario, this aspiration consist mainly of mucous/fluid, almost never solid material (since we keep all surgery patients hungry as shit). Since surgical patients don’t have anything solid in their stomach, aspiration is easily resolved by suctioning the fluid out of the mouth/throat…as you can imagine, if solid particles were aspirated and possibly entered the lungs, that is a HUGE problem. I guess what I am saying is, its been done this way for years, and in this case I say better safe than sorry.
Refusal of Procedure: And I quote “I refuse X procedure, write it in my chart and bring me the waiver.” – Calamity Jane. This is EXACTLY what you say if you don’t want something done. I am not training to be an obstetrician, but nonetheless my advice is sound…for the love of God, get to know your doctors. There are those who still care about their patients, and could give two shits about playing golf when it comes to their patients health and well-being.
When SHTF: You will likely be forced to do it old school. Your best bet is obviously an experienced midwife, but I have seen perfectly healthy infants delivered in a bathtub by the mother and her partner alone. Understand that it will be very messy, and the chance for infection is high. If you turn green at the sight of blood (and other…substances), I suggest you step outside…hard enough dealing with a birth, don’t need a head wound too. I am all about SHTF medicine, but would refer you to Ms. Calamity, who I am sure has a plethora of resources to offer, and of course purchase hard copies or print what you can.
Out.
Red Team Medic,
Very well done especially about the waiver. I have several friends who are doctors (one is an OBGYN), fortunately they are not ego driven, are reasonable thinkers & know they are not they end all of medicine. The refusal & waiver bit would not offend them.
Getting to know the doctor is paramount in my book. You need to establish yourself as more than a chart & a lump of warm flesh in the bed.
Great advice.
Best of luck to you! I’ve had two “natural” births, although both were in a hospital. The first was when I was 19 and my husband was in the service. I delivered at the Base Hospital, which was not set up for anything remotely connected with pain easement or concern. (They served liver and onions to me after the birth!) Both Air Force doctors were doing double duty so one stuck his head in and asked how it was going (I didn’t know) and the charge nurse delivered my baby. I was young and strong and it all went well.
My next baby was born when I was 33 and she chose Christmas Eve to show up. Apparently the entire staff had gone to Colorado to go skiing, including the anesthesist, so another “natural birth”. She was a very big (and beautiful) baby and the pain was so bad that I vomited the entire time. One of the residents “delivered” her, or at least he watched her come out. The nurse grabbed her, cleaned her up and wrapped her. This birth was so violent that it caused internal injuries which caused terrific problems with the next two.
Our last two were born when I was 39 and 41. Both boys were huge (no gestational diabetes, just big babies) and my current gynecologist thinks my cervix had “broken” when I had my daughter, so nothing would dilate. Both boys were delivered by C-section finally. This only after both the baby and I were dying. My doctor was a sadist and a firm believer in natural childbirth.
Sounds awful, and it was. A lot depends on your age and physical condition. It’s definitely easier in your late teens. However, all the children are bright and in good health, as am I except for the road map of scars on my stomach.
Boiling this down (finally) is that I believe it depends solely on your age, your health and your hips. You sound active enough to have the physical stamina and muscle you need. It’s true that women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, but a lot of those women died, so access to a decent hospital is a must. It would be nice if they’d quit “checking” you. Nothing like being in considerable pain and having some guy stick his fist up where it already hurts.
Again, best of luck to you. I’m sure the baby will be a delight and a blessing to you.
What factors should a prepper take into consideration when planning for the event? how do you go about delivery at home how and what do you need to cut the cord. what are some of the risks inherent at home. what do you do if shtf happen and you have no midwives and have to do it on your own. what do you do if you don’t have Pitocin, narcotics or have to do surgery. I’m a father of two and a prepper but this is one then i’m not to aware of. i have taken alot of classes on survival, but i feel that survival is about living and bring a baby into the world is hard survival.
Cutting the cord is as simple as two ties, and something clean to snip inbetween them. I’m a fan of waiting until it stops pulsing, but there’s no hard evidence of that being better.
Getting into all the risks would take a book, not a blog post. That’s why I recommended some books. Follow the link to the Ina May Gaskin book that tops my list of home birthing prep, or find some you like. Bleeding out, stuck babies, cords poorly positioned, there are all sorts of things that CAN happen.
Homebased cesarean section – I don’t even have the faintest clue how one would manage that. That’s abdominal surgery with two lives at stake. I know they make it sound like business as usual in hospitals, but that’s major surgery with a capital S. I’d try to find someone, anyone with the training to handle that, whether it’s an EMT, or a Veterinarian… even then, I would not be optimistic.
Trail lawyers are doing a far better job of taking your medical choices (especially childbirth) away from you then any other factor.
So what’s the on topic point, don’t give birth to a future trail lawyers?
My eldest (now 23 years old) was born when I was 19, but I was very well educated on birthing, and while I wound up giving birth in a hospital because I couldn’t find a midwife that would do a home birth in my area, I successfully fought to have a certified nurse-midwife delivery with no drugs or interventions. The downside to that was that the pediatrician who examined my daughter a few hours after she was born decided I was an “uppity and difficult” patient, and declared that I “had obviously used drugs during pregnancy” because my baby was trembling from problems with regulating her temperature (which is totally normal, especially considering they took her from me for a bath & newborn immunizations and, as my mother discovered, left her lying alone in a hallway crib for 45 MINUTES after the shots). Of course I hadn’t done any drugs, but this barely-graduated-from-med-school bitch had me in tears from interrogating me as to “what you did that caused this.” I had been told I could go home the same day as birthing, UNTIL they found out I lived 20 miles from the nearest hospital and then they made me stay overnight. I got no sleep and was miserable. Also I was starving to death during labor because they wouldn’t let me eat, especially after discovering that I’d had a chili cheese dog a few hours before I got to the hospital. I was shaking and trembling uncontrollably during my entire labor, which promptly disappeared as soon as I had a huge meal an hour after delivery, so I’m sure the trembling was from low blood sugar.
After that experience, I was ready to have my second baby at home with no expert help! Luckily an amazing midwife convinced me that the hospital she worked at (not where my first was born) would never treat me like that. They let me eat a giant country breakfast (eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, the works) just 3 hours before I delivered because I was so hungry (I never felt nauseated during either labor, just ferociously hungry!). I spent my entire labor in a jacuzzi, and that was BLISS; labor was intensely uncomfortable at times, but I never felt actual pain until I got out of the water! If the midwife had suggested a water delivery before I was 10 cm dilated, I most likely would have done that, but I was too nervous to try it and so I got out of the tub. Big mistake! (I wish I could go back in time and yell at myself to, “Stay in the tub!!!”) But it was still a great delivery — no drugs or interventions, just more reluctance to push due to anxiety from the pain than I would have had in the tub. They never took my baby out of my sight, and I very happily walked out of the hospital 7 hours after giving birth — checked in at breakfast-time, home by dinnertime!
I’ve been “labor coach” at two births of friends who had epidurals, and neither of them seemed to have an easier time except during the brief window of time that the drugs were in full force (they turn those drugs off for the actual birthing part, which neither of them expected and it seemed to make things really scary for them!). One of them had to have the baby delivered by vacuum (high tech forceps) because she was in so much pain once they turned off the epidural that she was too panicked & freaked out to push, and she tore through muscle as a result and had over 20 stitches and lots of scar tissue later on. In comparison, I had a very minor skin tear that needed 2 small stitches for my first birth (of a nearly 8-lb baby), and no tearing at all for my second birth (of a 9-lb baby)! I believe if women understood that birth isn’t like you see on TV or in the movies — that it’s a sweaty, exhausting, messy, painful, strenuous, animalistic, many-hours-long marathon of the hardest work your body will probably ever do — they might not be so frightened and anxious and ready to just “do what they’re told” regarding interventions & drugs.
Exactly so. The pain is there for a purpose, to help your body prepare and to guide the mother’s movements. There are reasons why some positions feel better than others and why that changes from woman to woman, and birth to birth. If women block out that pain, then they miss the signals their bodies are trying to send. Sometimes, I’ll grant that’s it’s necessary, for labors that aren’t going well for some reason, but I think in general they are extremely overused and directly lead to the over abundance of complications and C-sections.
Ahhhh, another great subject, one my wife familarized me with, we home delivered all three of ours, the first with limited coaching from a midwife, the other two with just her, me and God, we went into this with prayer, I felt very condfident, the wife followed the whole nine months along with her family doctor, who assured us all was well for a homebirth, I was taught to differentiate the head from the tail, positioning is crucial to delivery, ahem….. but it is not for the squemish or those that lack faith or have a low tolerance towards pain, it was awesome with all three, tears of joy flowed freely with each one…. it would do well to search someone out in your neighborhood with knowledge, or get to know a netal datal nurse,lol…. someone from labour and delivery….. I could talk about this for hours, it’s awesome. C
My great grandma was a midwife , In those days most people were still getting around with horse and buggy . She was a godsend to rural people as they didnt have much of a choice but to birth at home as the nearest town was 30+ miles away .
Our state’s laws sound nearly identical to Iowa’s. We had both of our sons with a midwife. With the first one we arranged to give birth out of state, but the 2nd one was here at home. With the home birth, we were planning on using the midwives and just not telling anyone but the baby had other plans and he got here a few minutes before the midwives arrived.
If we have a 3rd, it will undoubtedly be another home birth unless we find complications during the pregnancy.
If you can find this book, read it. It’s a fantastic book on prepositioning the baby to make labor easier. My wife swears by it.
Sit up and Take Notice! By Pauline Scott
http://www.amazon.com/Sit-Take-Notice-Pauline-Scott/dp/0473094592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326850604&sr=8-1
I have five children. My birth experiences include: c-section, OB assisted VBAC in a hospital, CNM assisted VBAC in a hospital, paramedic assisted VBAC in an ambulance, and a husband assisted VBAC at home (was planned midwife assisted, but she was too late in arriving) … oh, in that order.
If I had to do it all over again, I’d learn more the first time, and perhaps, avoid the c-section, which was a “failure to progress” and in retrospect, I think unnecessary and for the convenience of the doctor who wanted to go home at 6:00 PM.
I’d definitely have a home birth, again – although, at my age, it’s unlikely that I’ll have the chance to make that decision again ;).
Your blog is pretty cool, just clicked on it.
My wife has been involved in the home birthing community for many years now (just recently becoming a midwife). As a result, I’ve heard many stories about good and bad births both at home and at the hospital (she’s also a nurse)… even when I don’t want to.
Certainly she’s biased (which makes me a bit too) but you need to realize that a competent and realistic midwife is NOT going to take chances with either the mother or baby; if they need to go to the hospital… they go! Unfortunately, there are midwives that will take chances and when bad things happen that gives the good midwives a bad reputation too.
On the other hand (and IMHO), doctors and hospitals do things that probably aren’t necessary such as scheduled deliveries and c-sections (I think the c-section rate is approaching 50% these days) for non-life-threatening coditions, among other things. It seems they’ve weaseled their way into a profession that they usually don’t belong in, after all, if they can’t cut on it or prescribe something for it then they’re not very useful.
Granted, there are some emergency reasons for needing a doctor in childbirth but they are far a few between and your midwife should recognize those reasons.