Truth and Lies

This was originally posted on my old blog on 03/27/2009.  It's a good one.  :-)

When we go to a store, we expect the sales person to skew facts and details about what they are selling and what the competition is selling because they want to make a sale.  Why are we surprised when doctors do similar things?  They are making money from our visits, just like a sales person makes money from our purchases.

OBs like to claim that homebirth midwives create a lot of messes for them to clean up because it scares the crap out of pregnant women and makes them want to stay with their nice safe doctors who can handle anything.  *rolls eyes*  The OBs like this because it keeps money in his or her pocket and system.

The great majority of homebirth midwives do not create messes for the OBs to clean up.  Homebirth midwives only transfer when medically necessary and even then it isn't always an emergency situation nor a mess for the doctor to clean up.  No one has accurate numbers on the successful homebirths compared to transfers, they aren't reported accurately.  This fact makes it much easier for the OBs to spin it in their favor.

I would say that the number of times that a homebirth midwife transfers a true "mess" for the OB to fix is very, very low.  And most likely when this happens the midwife didn't "create" it just for the OB to clean up.  :-(  That being said, not all midwives are 100% responsible and on the up-and-up.  That you have to figure out for yourself.  Ask your midwife how often she transfers and what the outcome generally is when she does transfer.  If she transfers, will she go with you?  (If you aren't in a midwife hostile state.)  If not, why?

When you are talking with a doctor, please remember they are out to make a sale just as much as the sales person as the department store.