In Israel, It IS about the Money

Israeli women are given a "birth allowance" by the government, but they only get the money if they birth in a hospital. This news story explains that it really is about the money, since birth is a dependable source of income for hospitals, and if a mother births at home, the hospitals lose that money.

I found this news story to be well-articulated; you should definitely give it a read. Not only do they discuss the financial aspect, but the rights parents should have to choose where they birth as parents and consumers.

favorite quotes:

"Dr. Gil Tadmon's first son was born in hospital, but he and his wife chose to have the second at home. Tadmon, who is about to finish his internship as a pediatrician, said that having experienced the hospital's approach, they preferred to go another route the second time around. They were disturbed by the fact that for the first three days of the baby's life, they were not the ones in charge; they only "took possession" from day three.

"As a doctor and parent, I feel it's problematic," he said. "The baby spends most of its first two days sleeping, and by nature, the mother should be highly attentive to him, not be in another room with no connection to him. Sometimes parents come home on the third day with a baby they don't know."

"Dr. Shiftan said that "like any other product, birth should be examined by criteria of quality and through comparison shopping. In this case, home birth isn't only a good product, it's an excellent one. Research shows that it's as safe as giving birth in a hospital, even more so."

"The choice is not between risk and total security, Glazerman stressed. It is a choice of relative risks - and the woman must decide at what risk to give birth, he said."

I found this money calculator useful in converting the Israeli NIS to US dollars.

What do you think about this frank discussion of hospital-birth-as-income?