Marsden Wagner M.D. M.S. on Australia's Maternity Services Review

When I was working on my PhD and my passion for unhindered birth was just beginning to blossom I read the work of Marsden Wagner M.D. M.S. Wagner was one of the first people to convince me that birth was safe and women's bodies work perfectly during birth! Who is Marsden Wagner? I refer to his webpage:

Marsden Wagner, born in San Francisco, his education at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) included an M.D., clinical specialty training in pediatrics, then in perinatology (neonatology and obstetrics) followed by two years post-graduate study with an advanced scientific degree in perinatal science. Following several years of full time clinical practice and some years as a full time faculty member at UCLA, he was a Director of Maternal and Child Health for the California State Health Department. After six years as Director of the University of Copenhagen-UCLA Health Research Center, he was for 15 years Director of Womens and Childrens Health for the World Health Organization. He is now an independent consultant.

With extensive experience in maternity care in industrialized countries, including midwifery and the appropriate use of technology during pregnancy and birth, he has consulted and lectured in over 50 countries and given testimony before the US Congress, British Parliament, French National Assembly, Italian Parliament, Russian Parliament and others. His publications, in 11 different languages, include 131 scientific papers, 20 book chapters and 14 books.

When the results of Australia's latest Maternity Services Review were published and the Australian government's discrimination against homebirth and midwives in private practice became ever clear I contacted Dr Wagner and asked him if he would be interested in writing a letter to the relevant power-holders in Australia. Within 24 hours I received the following letter along with his permission to forward it to "all those in Australia who need to see it" and to publish it here:

To all those in Australia concerned with maternity services:

Childbirth is not a medical procedure, it is a normal part of the life cycle and belongs to women and their families, not to doctors nor hospitals nor the government. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that planned out-of-hospital birth attended by a midwife is an absolutely safe choice for all low-risk pregnant women---women without any serious medical problems. To in any way limit or forbid the choice of out-of-hospital birth or the training and ability to practice of midwives willing to attend out-of-hospital births is to deny Australians the freedom to control their own lives and is to fail to honor the central importance of family values in Australia.

In the 1980’s the German organization of obstetricians and gynecologists tried to get a national law forbidding planned out-of-hospital birth. The German women rose up and fought against it, there was an international outcry and the effort of the doctors failed and since then there has been a vast effort to promote out-of-hospital birth centers, increasing from one to the present over 100 such centers, all using midwives.

In the 1990’s the Hungarian organization of obstetricians and gynecologists tried to get their government to forbid planned out-of-hospital birth. The Hungarian women rose up and there was an international outcry and the effort of the doctors failed.

In the last decade, the government of Brazil tried to lower their very high caesarean section rate through working with the doctors and hospitals. When this did not succeed, the government of Brazil started up a national network of out-of-hospital birth centers staffed by midwives which are very popular and have quite reasonable caesarean section rates.

Efforts by doctors in Australia to prevent or limit in any way the option of planned home birth attended by midwives by completely falsely claiming, without any scientific evidence, that planned out-of-hospital is unsafe, will ultimately fail as the people of Australia cannot be fooled all the time and value their freedom too highly and Australia does not want an international outcry against them and to be seen as unable to prevent unjustified medical dominance of normal family life.

Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S., for 15 years a Director of Women’s and Children’s Health, World Health Organization.

In such dark times for women and for birth it is reassuring to know there is at least one medical expert in our corner.

To read some of Wagner's well-researched articles about birth take a look at these:

Fish Can't See Water - The Need to Humanize Birth

Marsden Wagner explores the rates of technological intervention in birth and the treatment of women during birth arguing that birth has been dehumanised. He notes that many people within the medical model of birth are so used to this model that they cannot see how inhumane the treatment of birth can be - just as a fish doesn't see the water he or she is immersed in.

Technology in Birth - First Do No Harm

Marsden Wagner offers a timely reminder that just because we have the technology doesn't mean we need to use it, and that just because technology is said to help birthing women doesn't mean it is without risks. The best way to stay unharmed in birth, argues Wagner, is to be informed.

The Active Management of Labour
Marsden Wagner critiques the pathologising of birth. He looks at the issues of control and arrogance within the maternity system, the lack of medical evidence to suggest the benefits of the active management of labour outweigh the risks, and how birthing women are kept in the dark about those risks.

Choosing Caesarean Section
Marsden Wagner takes a look at the arguments in favour of women's freedom to choose to have their babies surgically removed instead of born normally.