I found this quote the other day on "Midwifery News":
"$13 to $20 billion a year could be saved in health care costs by demedicalizing childbirth, developing midwifery, and encouraging breastfeeding."
— Frank Oski, MD
It got me thinking about what is going on with the health care reform. Will women have an easier time chosing the birth they want if we have national health care or will it become more difficult? They could save a lot of money but, as it is now, medicare won't cover homebirths. What do you think?
4 comments:
Medical does cover home births strangely enough, at least it did when I was going to have one 5 yrs ago. I became high risk and didn't get to have one but they would have covered it. The answer to the question of whether National Health Care will cover home births depends on how much they are willing to change to be like other countries. In pretty much all other developed countries, most of which have NHC, home birth and midwife-overseen births are commonplace. It would take quite a lot of reform to change the current thinking and actions of the medical community though. Maybe if money wasn't such a huge factor in their decision making anymore, we could have more natural choices. We've come a long way back from the practices of the early-mid 20th century, but we still have a long way to go.
just an FYI in some states homebirth is covered by the states medical program including california's Medi-Cal. To my knowledge that has not changed even with californias financial crisis since homebirth actually saves them money.
I like your blog Anna and Laura =) BTW I am a certified doula through birtharts international and birthing from within. Faithlynn was a all natural hospital birth, Hannah was our first planned home birth and unexpected unasisted birth, mairyn, and Adam were both midwife delivered homebirths and Josh and David were planned unassited homebirths. I have given birth in three different states and worked with midwives and DR/hospitals in three different states =) Anytime you want to chat- let me know =)
Interesting thought- I don't know the answer. I'm slowly working my way through the 1000+ page proposal. :S Looking at the economics alone, you would think the new health care system would encourage demedicalized births. But, I don't know that the current birth attitudes in America could be overcome.
I don't know if our country will ever truly convert to natural, homebirthing as in other first world countries, but I think the progress that's been made will continue. However, we will probably always be behind the rest of the world in this area. It seems the bigger the country, the slower the changes.
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