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'I brainwashed myself with the internet': Nearly 45 weeks pregnant, she wanted a "freebirth" with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK.
NBC News ^ | February 21, 2020 | Brandy Zadrozny

Posted on 02/24/2020 8:25:48 AM PST by C19fan

By February 2019, Judith had become unbearably anxious. The 28-year-old Pacific coast native’s due date had come and gone. Just two days shy of 45 weeks pregnant, her belly was stretched so far that it shined, her body was swollen, and nearly everything — from her toes to her hair — ached.

For women who haven’t gone into labor by 42 weeks, just about every medical and birth professional recommends induction — a jump-start to labor from medicines that ripen the cervix or contract the uterus. But Judith, an artist and freethinker who believes in “all that hippy jazz,” had a different kind of birth plan — one that dismissed medical recommendations and relied on nature and intuition, that rejected a sterile hospital for a warm pool in her own home and that avoided doctors and midwives. Instead, Judith wanted to be with only her husband and her closest friend, a plan known as freebirth, or unassisted birth, by the tiny subculture of women who practice it.

Judith couldn’t tell many people about that plan — her husband was supportive, but most of her other family and friends would understandably worry. Instead, Judith, who asked that her full name not be published, spent the last several months of her pregnancy immersed in online spaces where women celebrated her decision and offered support and tips. Private Facebook groups, Instagram accounts, podcasts and online courses had taught Judith everything she thought she needed to know about how her baby would come into the world.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; History; Society
KEYWORDS: childbirth; pregnancy; women
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Her notion of a "free birth" resulted in a stillborn birth. Before modern medicine, about 10% of women could expect to die from childbirth.
1 posted on 02/24/2020 8:25:48 AM PST by C19fan
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To: C19fan

I have a friend who gave birth at home in a large tub with a midwife present.

She said it was a great way to do it and she highly recommends it.


2 posted on 02/24/2020 8:28:07 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: C19fan

When NBC news isn’t attacking everything Christian, natural, wholesome, traditional, family...they are sleeping or cashing paychecks.

Friend of mine delivered with a midwife, in a pool, on schedule and with no complications. Said it was amazing for Mom, Dad and baby.


3 posted on 02/24/2020 8:31:38 AM PST by SecAmndmt (Arm yourselves!)
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To: ConservativeMind

It’s not always a disaster. You are just playing the odds.

Had mine in hospitals no regrets. Had an emergency once and was well pleased to be there.


4 posted on 02/24/2020 8:33:18 AM PST by Persevero (Desmond is not -Amazing- Desmond is -Abused-)
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To: C19fan

My mom swore she carried me 10 months, but I as born fat, healthy, with an above average IQ. Guess I just wanted to be born on Ghandi’s birthday...lol


5 posted on 02/24/2020 8:33:40 AM PST by BamaBelle (The storm has arrived!)
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To: ConservativeMind

My niece did the same, but I don’t think it’s safe.


6 posted on 02/24/2020 8:34:00 AM PST by freepertoo
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To: C19fan

“Before modern medicine, about 10% of women could expect to die from childbirth.”

Let’s be clear here. Before MEN intervened in childbirth, 10% of women could expect to die. And now a lot of women hate us for it. Go figure.


7 posted on 02/24/2020 8:35:54 AM PST by beef (Caution: Potential Sarcasm - Process Accordingly)
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To: C19fan
Someone who is so dumb as to believe the fringe excrement that goes around the internet kind of deserves their fate. Kind of like the anti-vax crowd. Or the fervent believers in the 100 MPG Carburator or the cold fusion believers. Or the mass of moronic violent Bernie fanatics who think socialism is anything but economic suicide.
"The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.”
–-H. L. Mencken
8 posted on 02/24/2020 8:36:03 AM PST by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: C19fan

an artist and freethinker who believes in “all that hippy jazz,”

So, basically, an idiot. Her husband went along with it. This is just a sad story.


9 posted on 02/24/2020 8:37:13 AM PST by cdcdawg (Cornpop was a pony soldier!)
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To: C19fan

My hippie sister had her first birth in a commune up in northern Vermont with no running water and no electricity and it turned out fine. (I won’t even mention what they did with the placenta)

But as you and others have posted...having medical resources at hand with people who know how to engage them is something you simply won’t have.

I understand people wanting to do it, but...why step back a hundred years if you don’t have to?

Getting online advice for fixing my car or getting a 3D printer to work is great, but health care? You are just asking for trouble there, IMO.


10 posted on 02/24/2020 8:39:36 AM PST by rlmorel (Finding middle ground with tyranny or evil makes you either a tyrant or evil. Often both.)
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To: BamaBelle

My mom said something similar about me, but I think she was just in error.


11 posted on 02/24/2020 8:42:53 AM PST by Tax-chick (You're only one book away from a very good mood. (Washington County, UT, Library)
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To: rlmorel
why step back a hundred years if you don’t have to?

Weak minded, emotion-driven people often feel nostalgic for an idealized past.

12 posted on 02/24/2020 8:47:14 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (BLACK LIVES MAGA)
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To: C19fan

There’s a good reason why doctors induce pregnancy after a while and this was it. The longer they wait the bigger the baby gets and the more difficult and dangerous the birth. She went a month past her due date with no midwife, doctor or other medical professional just in case.


13 posted on 02/24/2020 8:49:03 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: C19fan

Just like the internet has convinced so many people that “orange man bad”


14 posted on 02/24/2020 8:49:58 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself.)
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To: rlmorel
Getting online advice for fixing my car

Great, once you get past the long intro with the raucous music and Homer-Simpsonesque graphics, and listen to the guy telling you what he talked about last time and what he's going to talk about this time. And dude, EDIT OUT the part where you search for things and open boxes, etc.. And really, do we have to watch you unscrew and remove every single bolt?

15 posted on 02/24/2020 8:51:14 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (BLACK LIVES MAGA)
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To: Jeff Chandler

LOL, you sure did nail it!


16 posted on 02/24/2020 8:52:10 AM PST by rlmorel (Finding middle ground with tyranny or evil makes you either a tyrant or evil. Often both.)
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To: ConservativeMind

You want a physician and a hospital for that one-chance-in-one hundred that yours isn’t the typical easy-as-pie childbirth.


17 posted on 02/24/2020 8:56:48 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (The Rats Can't Get Over The Fact That They Lost A Rigged Election)
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To: freepertoo

See Post #17


18 posted on 02/24/2020 8:57:44 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (The Rats Can't Get Over The Fact That They Lost A Rigged Election)
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To: SecAmndmt

I would have died without medical care. Just because some don’t need medical doesn’t mean all don’t. If something goes wrong,. It’s best to be at the hospital.


19 posted on 02/24/2020 8:58:39 AM PST by luckystarmom
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To: C19fan
For a young, physically fit woman who has done research on childbirth issues and has no pre-existing complications (obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, drug/alcohol issues, auto-immune condition, etc etc) home birth may turn out great. Birth is, after all, a natural and healthy process, and every woman has 10,000 generations of "foremothers" behind her who manifestly did it tolerably well.

HOWEVER... as soon as there's even one complication, your odds can drop like a stone. Going past 40 weeks is always a complication. Not necessarily a severe one, but one which merits careful professional monitoring, since what follows in a 40+ week pregnancy is both the growth in size of the baby (making delivery much more arduous, especially for a firstborn) and the ongoing deterioration of postmature placental functioning.

My heart aches for this poor mother. But she was consciously, deliberately ignoring good advice. So sorry for her, her husband and the baby.

20 posted on 02/24/2020 9:03:04 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o (The plural of guesstimate is not "trend," and the plural of anecdote is not "data".)
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