It sounds like a valuable study. But of course many of these women are adults and if their religion tells them to abuse themselves and put themselves at increased risk, and they are foolish enough to do it, that’s their right. I guess doctors can maybe refuse to participate; I don’t really know. But likely that would just increase their risk.

As you say, nnmns, these women are adults, not children. If they are willing to bleed to death while having a child, then I guess they really don’t want to raise the baby they gave birth to. Where is the instinct to live? Oh, the religion says “no blood”, just lay there and see if Jehovah will stop the bleeding!

Staying in the dark ages of medicine helps no one. Interesting book about life as a Jehovah’s Witness is: I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed by Kyria Abrahams.

The scary thing is the Watchtower Governing Body get “new light” and change things all the time, their history proves. At one time the GB forbid all vaccinations and then flippantly changed their mandate to being now okayed with no apology for those that suffered or died that would have been otherwise spared. Same circumstance on organ transplants and blood fractions, previously banned (threat of total shunning to its members), now okayed.
Could they get “new light” and change their stance on blood transfusions next? Investigate their flip-flops.
Check: freeminds.org
ajwrb.org

Dont you just love when theres a report that tells half the story, how about how many woman Jehovahs witnesses are saved because they did not take blood,I would be on on that long list my mother in law would not be because she had blood and now they know for a fact she got M.S from the blood,I have lupus and I’m not permitted to give blood although they dont test for it or any other auto immune deseases plus how many people did die from blood transfusions an amazing amount. Where do they get the blood? you would be very surprized, one example is prisoners get time shaved off or special perks for their blood oh and food for blood in Africa, they DO NOT TEST EVERY PINT less than 1 of 1000 with a 2 pint minimum welcome to 20 century russion rulet. I look at the motives red croose makes money JWS do it for loyalty to God.There are many other transfusion we will take with out all the dangers. Oh but not much money to be had with them. I have bleed down to 5 at least 4 times yet I live aids free.

Being associated with the witnesses I know that it is a scripture in the Bible that says only except the blood of Jesus Christ. You don’t have to just be an Jehovah’s Witness to not want to except blood people may have other reasons they wont except it. What the doctors choose not to tell you unless you ask that there are other procedures besides taking in blood. So I say before judging please do your homework.

Jehovah’s Witnesses blood transfusion confusion
Simple fact-The Bible does not prohibit Blood transfusions.If you are bleeding to death it is more dangerous to refuse a blood transfusions than to take one.
Bloodless surgeries are great if they can be elective.1/3rd of all trauma deaths are from blood loss.
Jehovah’s Witnesses elders will investigate and disfellowship any Jehovah Witness who takes a blood transfusion,to say the issue is a ‘personal conscience matter’ is subterfuge to keep the Watchtower out of lawsuits..
Jehovah’s Witnesses children die every year worldwide due to blood transfusion ban.Rank & file Jehovah’s Witness are indoctrinated to be scared to death of blood
FYI
1) JW’s DO USE many parts aka ‘fractions’ aka components of blood,so if it’s ‘sacred’ to God why the hypocritical contradiction flip-flop?
2) They USE blood collections that are donated by Red Cross and others but don’t donate back,more hypocrisy.
3) The Watchtower promotes and praises bloodless elective surgeries,this is a great advancement indeed.BUT it’s no good to me if I am bleeding to death from a car crash and lose much of my blood volume and need EMERGENCY blood transfusion.
Remember the Jehovah’s Witnesses use thousands and thousands of pints of blood donated by others.They use 60% of the blood volume as broken down “fractions” then go on Bible thumping rants about how dangerous and sinful blood transfusions are.
( JW do allow organ transplants which has more risk than whole blood transfusions so their arguments of disease transmission is bogus)
Know this,the reason that JW refuse blood is because of their spin on the 3000 year old Biblical old testament,modern medicine will eventually make blood donations and transfusions a thing of the past.When this technology happens it won’t vindicate the Jehovah’s Witnesses and all the deaths that have occurred so far.
The Watchtower’s rules against blood transfusions will eventually be abolished (very gradually to reduce wrongful death lawsuit liability) even now most of the blood ‘components’ are allowed.
They are such hypocrites!

No whole blood *substitute* yet.
Artificial blood in 10-20 years but not ready yet.
I DON’T want somebody else’s blood in me I DON’T want somebody else’s organs in me either. BOTH are risky and can carry disease,but if I need or will die I will take.
There is NO *substitute* for whole blood yet. There is no substitute for a liver yet either.
BTW-The Jehovah’s Witnesses had less to do with ‘pioneering’ bloodless surgeries and it had more to do with the scarcity of blood.The red cross will be happy when artificial blood is here for good of all.

STATISTICS ARE HELPFULL BUT NOT ALWAYS A CLEAR INDICATION OF WHAT THE BIG PICTURE IS WORLDWIDE. THESE FIGURES WERE TAKEN FROM ONE PART OF THE WORLD, AND THERE IS SUCH A THING AS RANDOM CLUSTERING, WHERE AN UNFORTUNATE SET OF EVENTS CAN GIVE INDICATORS WHICH ARE MISLEADING.
IN GENERAL JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES FAIR VERY WELL MEDICALLY AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADVANCEMENTS IN BLOODLESS SURGERY AND MEDCINE WHICH HAVE HELPED THE WHOLE POPULATION NOT JUST THEMSELVES.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and no blood transfusions quickie FYI
Modified Kosher dogma appeared circa 1945 when the “Christian” JW back then (a fraction of the membership they are in 2009) thought the world was coming to an end any day.
This is the key,the leadership back then never thought that they would ‘still be here in this ole system’ in the 21st century.The end of the world was suppose to come a long time ago.
So what has happened since is thousands of men,women and CHILDREN have perished for this made up rule,and now the Watchtower legal dept has got to spin this so they don’t get sued for wrongful death.
Soooo, they invented the fraction loop hole where in the fine print JW actually can really take blood to save their life but just can’t call it *whole* blood.
Complicated? That’s the idea so that a jury would think so.
Watchtower don’t get sued for money and JW children can still die.If the Watchtower legal could find a way to squirm outta this mess they would fold faster than superman doing laundry.
JW BLOOD REFORM NOW!
Estimated 250,000 men,women and children have died since 1945

I’m dubious of this study. Active in a congregation for many years, I know hundreds of Witnesses and don’t know of one who has died in childbirt. I mean, hundreds is not everyone, still, can it really be 6 times more likely? I doubt it.
New Scientist magazine ran an article in 2008 entitled “An Act of Faith in the Operating Room.” The act of faith was not withholding a transfusion. It was giving one.
http://tinyurl.com/6n9lvx
Slowly but surely, the superiority of bloodless medicine, developed largely due to JW refusal to accept transfusions, is becoming acknowledged.

many polls and studies have agendas, I am suspect of them all.

SIX TIMES MORE MOTHERS DIE!!!!
Dogma and man-made dictates NOT humanitarian
At its core, the Jehovah’s Witnesses refusal of blood transfusions is based entirely on faith, not on science (as their own “Blood Brochure” is very specific about). Bloodless surgery as a *preference* may be more popular than it once was, but that is not the issue at hand.
The *doctrine* and practice of letting someone die rather than allow the use of blood in life-threatening situations is the real issue. And at its core is the blind adherence to the dictates of an organization of men.
The “blood issue” is the JW’s Jonestown Kool-Aid. It is their baseless test of loyalty to their Society. Despite the fact that it makes little sense to a silent majority of them anymore, they think it proves their faithfulness to “God’s organization” People who die refusing blood, or who let their children die,are considered heroes.
The Watchtower has teams of lawyers to protect itself from wrongful death lawsuits.
http://www.ajwrb.org/basics/abstain.shtml JW hypocritically USE Blood

Um….upon further inspection, the Netherlands study makes clear that childbirth deaths of either group are infinitesimally low. So this is really a “how to lie with statistics” scenario. Six times “almost nothing” is still almost nothing!
On the other hand, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not smoke, do drugs, or drink to excess. Deaths resulting from these habits are not infinitesimal. They are off the charts. Surely it is disingenuous to obsess over the JW transfusion issue without acknowledging the JW safety record stemming from these far more prevalent choices.
To do so is clearly to be pursuing an agenda

I have been one of Jehovah’s Witnessesnfor 37 years and I have never learned or heard of a case when the mother dies during delivery.
Statistics should not be confused with prophesy.

250,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses are DEAD (since 1945) by a man-made Watchtower society ban on *whole* blood transfusions.
The JW defenders will dance all around this but even the general public know it to be true.
We all here about the deaths all the time on the general news,and when they need to the Watchtower will eulogize these ‘martyrs for Jehovah’.
NOW in 2009 the blood ban is so watered down that it looks like theses thousands died in vain for a man made dogma that will soon be lifted altogether.
Outrageous!!

Norebal:
Do you think the church is going to broadcast a woman bleeding to death in childbirth? Don’t think so.

What’s at issue here is not whether the religion is logical, but rather, what do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe?
As reasoning adults, it is well within the legal rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refuse any procedure that they feel will cause harm to their spiritual self, even at the cost of their physical body. Having accepted their right to do so, it is important for health care providers to do what they can to understand such practices and mitigate negative outcomes.
Only by asking the right questions in advance and creating a dialogue of mutual respect can doctors, patients, and spiritual leaders come together to honor individual wishes and provide the best possible results for all parties involved.

What’s at issue here is not whether the religion is logical, but rather, what do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe?
As reasoning adults, it is well within the legal rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refuse any procedure that they feel will cause harm to their spiritual self, even at the cost of their physical body. Having accepted their right to do so, it is important for health care providers to do what they can to understand such practices and mitigate negative outcomes.
Only by asking the right questions in advance and creating a dialogue of mutual respect can doctors, patients, and spiritual leaders come together to honor individual wishes and provide the best possible results for all parties involved.

Jehovah’s Witnesses blood transfusion confusion
Jehovah’s Witnesses & blood transfusions is contradictory,they condemn blood but then go and use ‘fractions’,donated by thousands of Red Cross volunteers.They use 60% of the blood volume as broken down “fractions” then go on Bible thumping rants about how dangerous and sinful blood transfusions are.
As a diversion they go and trump the advantages of bloodless surgeries and try to grab the credit for it when in fact bloodless techniques were pioneered by non-JW doctors because of the shortage of blood donors (like with all the JW’s who use blood fractions but don’t donate back).This smacks of hypocrisy,
Danny Haszard