Dear Colleen especially: I would dearly LOVE to be brave enough to recommend homebirth to women. Among my family, I have been sufficiently outspoken about my feelings about routine hospital childbirth technologies to have made my daughter's career goal to become a midwife specializing in homebirth. I believe that hospitals are notoriously unsafe for babies, and I become livid with every new intervention/technology/experiment that I hear about that either puts baby at risk or puts lactation at risk, from pacifiers on up. Wanna hear the latest at my local medical center (which has over 10,000 births a year!)? Obstetrics-A has a protocol that if a woman is not in active labor 6 hours after "losing her water", she is given a regime of antibiotics for at least 5 days postpartum. Obstetrics-B has a protocol that if a woman is not in active labor 12 hours after ditto, antibiotics are started. When I heard about this (from a hospital midwife), I was so startled that I blurted "Oh, they're conducting research?", and the midwife answered "No", but sounded annoyed with my question. And I was wondering why I was seeing SO much more thrush...... Maybe Toby Gish - Toby, are you out there? - knows the history of/reason for the National Insurance Institute paying Israeli women to give birth in hospital. Very religious women, I have heard, prefer to give birth at home, had to fight in court to get this maternity payment. With-it secular women are very slowly coming to appreciate homebirth, also go to court for the payment. Not sure what their argument is. Toby, Evie? IMO, Israeli women are not completely informed about epidural or demerol. We have problems with patient rights issues. Although I'm sure that the docs and most nurses on the line (just about everyone!) can give a more professional dissertation than I, I am about to alight my soapbox once again. Demerol is a narcotic and should not be given within 2 hours of delivery. It may act as a respiratory depressant for the fetus. Point 1: the newborn's liver is immature and so baby is unable to metabolize and excrete medication received via the placenta for possibly several DAYS after birth. As a narcotic, it makes baby sleepy and unresponsive, not interested in nursing. Point 2: if ANYone tells you that you "won't deliver for at least X hours", know this person for a dishonest one. There is simply no way for anyone to know this for sure. My personal delivery "style" was very slow dilation until about 7 cm, then very fast and quick-catch-the- baby. But who knew this with my first delivery? I am still angry about this, almost 23 years later. Yep, I cheerfully admit to several attitude problems. Happy New Year everyone! Judy Knopf in Beer Sheva, Israel