With Stanley Cup finals in full swing, the PlayStation controller has been more like an umbilical cord for Steve on nights the Penguins are not playing. I think he believes he can keep cup hopes alive by winning on the video game. So on PlayStation evenings, I get to watch anything I want on TV. FREEDOM!

The other night I flipped through my choices on our movie on-demand channels and saw “The Business of Being Born.” It’s a documentary produced by Ricky Lake about maternity care in the United States. After a bad experience with her first child, she opted to have a home birth with the second. For many people (myself included), the idea of giving birth to a baby at home is both a foreign and scary concept.

The film asks, “Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?” If I had a “normal” birth, my answer probably be in line with natural life process. But mine turned out to be a near catastrophic medical emergency. And I give thanks every day for the physicians, midwives, nurses and other health care professionals at Carolina OBGYN and New Hanover Regional Medical Center who cared for me and my baby. Not once did I feel like just another invoice number.

I understand, though, that some people are uneasy in a hospital setting and/or don’t like doctors. So for women with low-risk pregnancies who want to have their baby in the comfort of their own home under the care of a midwife, I say, “Go for it!”

The film offers some thought-provoking stats to back up this choice:

· Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a report from Save the Children. This is the second-worst newborn death rate in the developed world.

· According to a March of Dimes report, in the five countries with the lowest infant mortality rates – Japan , Singapore, Sweden, Finland and Norway – midwives were used as the main source of care for 70% of the birthing mothers.

· Cesarean section is the most commonly performed surgery in the United States, at a cost of $14 billion per year. In 2007, the Cesarean-delivery rate was at an all-time high: 31.8% of all births.

· In one survey, 82% of physicians said they performed a C-section to avoid a negligence claim.

To me, that last figure is the most telling, and it’s one that the film didn’t fully address. Malpractice insurance is a huge expense, especially for OBs. In fact, a practice in Wilmington stopped delivering babies because of this issue. Like it or not, it is a business. Even the midwife who performs home deliveries gets paid.

So what’s the answer to change some of these numbers? I don’t know. But I think it would take a huge cultural shift – one that included insurance companies loosening their power grip on the health care industry.

Ok, that’s enough dribble from me. Here’s some Then (2lbs. 15oz.) & Now (17lbs) pictures of The Boy. When he was born, the Penguins were winning their way into the Finals, where they eventually lost. Let’s hope the outcome is different this year. But go to a Game 7, so I get more movie nights. GO PENS!

By Sarah