Protesting to protect my rights to birth

http://naturalfamilyblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/the-back-story-of-the-gradual-banning-of-homebirth-in-australia-medical-tyranny-run-amok/ Kym felt motivated to go protest Medical Tyranny, she said: “This was my first protest of any kind and this is an issue that I think is of utmost importance. I think the way we enter this world can affect us as a society. I had three babies in hospital and it wasn’t where I needed to be in labour. I don’t remember enjoying much of my older children being newborns and infants. With my youngest, I had a gentle undisturbed labour and amazing birth, I was able to enjoy and relax in those first hours and have a most welcomed babymoon in the first week (even though we were moving house!).” In describing her Freebirth Kym said: “The first year was a real joy. I was the first to touch our baby, which was very important to me. My husband was very much involved in the birth (filling the pool and taking photos, then changing J’s nappies for the first 24 hours, being the second person to touch OUR son, no strangers and this is the way I need to bring our children into the world, nothing like what happened in my hospital births) but I birthed him as I did my older children, but this time without interference.” Kym summed up the changes that have taken place in her heart this way: “I bonded very well to my little boy and it has really changed the way I look at myself as a parent and as a person.” Kym has never protested anything before, yet in the past few months she has attended three protests and plans to attend a fourth next week. “In Canberra, we protested peacefully outside Parliament House. We were mostly ignored by the media and the Government. There were women and their families, men and children as well as midwives. It was a huge crowd. Next we protested outside Julia Gillard’s office in Werribee (Melbourne). We crowded the footpath and again I felt we were mostly ignored. Most recently we rallied outside the AMA offices in Parkville where there was a fair crowd. All have been largely ignored peaceful protests with powerful voices (consumer and midwives) and songs bringing us the messages we want everyone to understand. “Dr Andrew Pesce cites his greatest AMA achievement as successfully lobbying Health Minister Nicola Roxon to make amendments to home birth legislation. I feel this translates as a direct attack on a basic human right.”