Official statement from the founder of Amani Birth

Asalam alaikum wa rahmatullah wa baraktu, Dear Sisters and Brothers,

It is with great pain and sadness that we join in the mourning of a dear sister who recently lost her life after the birth of her baby during an unassisted home birth in Malaysia.  May Allah have mercy on her and grant much ease to her family and all persons who have been touched by this loss.

With this event comes an obligation for AMANI Birth to publicly state what we have always taught in our written materials and what we teach when we train AMANI Birth Teachers and Doulas.

In the AMANI Birth Student Workbook that is used by our teachers in classes with expectant parents it is assumed that there will be a medical caregiver at the birth (doctor or midwife) and we teach mothers to be good birth consumers by shopping around for the provider they feel most comfortable with and who will support their needs during pregnancy and birth.  In fact, the workbook clearly states:

“Notice:  AMANI supports your decisions regarding your birth and advocates for natural birth with minimal medical interventions.  However, we do not advise you to forego prenatal care or to plan an unassisted birth.  We encourage prenatal education and informed consent.  Our premise is that you do your own research and seek out birth care professionals you trust, who will support your decisions and will not interfere unless complications arise.”

The Student Workbook also describes the role of a doula stating she is, “…a professional, but not a medical professional.  She cannot give medical advice, predictions, diagnosis, or treatments.  She will never make a decision for you and cannot advocate on your behalf…”

In addition to these statements in the written materials, I would like to point out that when we do live trainings with our teachers and doulas our stance is similar to the statement below, which comes from an email written to a perspective doula trainee back in June:

“I want to point out that although many AMANI Birth mothers choose to homebirth unassisted in Malaysia, that is NOT the focus of our training.  We teach women to prepare for their birth and trust in Allah, while seeking out proper attendance for the event.  In fact, we encourage good birth consumerism, not avoidance of care all together.  

We do NOT encourage homebirth alone, although we support women’s choices if that is the decision she makes.  Also I want to ensure that you understand that being a doula is not the same as being a midwife and if you choose to attend homebirths you put yourself at risk if the parents expect you to be there to rescue mom and baby should something go wrong.  It takes years of study and clinical practice in order to truly have the level of skill to attend homebirths in such a way that you are prepared to recognize and deal with any emergency that may come up.

I just wanted to be very clear for you so that you are not disappointed or expecting to be trained as a midwife, rather than a Doula.  You may want to read http://www.saudilife.net/motherhood/5569-what-is-a-doula for clarification of the Doula’s role.”

With that said, it is important to understand that AMANI Birth Teachers and Doulas are not employees of AMANI Birth, they are certified after training to use our materials to work with expectant parents.  We cannot control the actions of any person, that being the parents who may decide to birth unassisted or the women who may choose to attend their births.  However, we would hope that everyone involved is informed going into such a situation of the risks and that the role of the doula as a support of the parents emotionally and physically is in no way a substitute for medical care should an emergency arise.

 Obviously, we cannot comment on the recent case at hand and AMANI headquarters has no knowledge of the agreements or understandings that may have been arranged between the concerned family and the doula that attended her birth.  We do know that this tragedy is a great loss to the community and especially to the family and our hearts and prayers are with them during this time.  

For all expectant families, please know that birth is generally a safe and joyful event, but please do not underestimate the realities of risk and always do your part to seek out information, advice, and evidence so that you can make the best decisions for your family.  We are not here to judge the choices you make.  We serve as one of your many resources, which should also include your medical birth team, when making decisions.

It is also important to note that the growing trend towards unassisted birth in the Malaysian community was developed and thriving long before AMANI Birth had any contacts there.  It would be prudent to examine the underlying social issues that are driving mothers to choose birthing alone.  This recent tragedy is a symptom of larger issues that deserve to be addressed and we must tune in to listen to women’s voices as they speak out through the birthing choices they make.

Please do not hesitate to contact info@amanibirth.com should you have any additional questions about AMANI Birth.  May Allah bless each one with good health and ease throughout the pregnancy and birth journey.

Written by:

Sister Aisha al hajjar

Founder of Amani Birth International