Obstetrician not required here
The Age, 28th December, 2009
AS THE father of three home-born children, now healthy adults, I take issue with Dr Pieter Mourik’s slights against home-birthing (Letters, 26/12). His letter has a distinct whiff of vested interest. My children were born between 25 and 30 years ago in the country, outside Canberra.The support provided by the Canberra Home Birth Group was excellent. Expectant couples were initially counselled by a midwife and doctor, and those unsuited for health or psychological reasons for home birth were advised to have a conventional birth.
A close relationship was built with the midwife and doctor, as well as members of the home birth group. The births themselves went smoothly, in familiar surroundings, and not in the cold sterility of a hospital operating room.
As Dr Mourik should know, most births are normal, and do not require the intervention of an obstetrician. Unfortunately, too many members of the medical industry treat pregnancy as a pathological condition, requiring excessive servicing. One wonders why.
Mike Puleston, Brunswick
