Top
Twitter Feed
Powered by Squarespace
Most Recent Posts
« Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers": What's the Story? | Main | Broken Skin »
Tuesday
Mar082011

Ten Reasons to Plan a Home Birth

DateTuesday, March 8, 2011 at 7:26AM

Welcome to the March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Natural Parenting Top 10 Lists

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared Top 10 lists on a wide variety of aspects of attachment parenting and natural living. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

In September 2008 I gave birth to my second son, in my living room, in a tub of warm water. It was incredible and in the hours and days that followed I was relaxed and comfortable, tucked into my own bed at home with my family, enjoying our new baby.

Home birth is a very safe and feasible option for women having a normal, complication free pregnancy and more families are choosing a home birth as hospital births frequently include interventions that can lead to a c-section. Here are the top ten reasons why a home birth may be right for you:

  1. You have a greater chance of avoiding unnecessary medical interventions. A home birth trusts the birth process and lets things happen naturally and in their own time. No one will be watching the clock to tell you things are going too slowly and that you need medication to speed things up.

  2. You will be able to have a dedicated midwife for your prenatal care and during your labor. In my area, there was one midwife who birthed in a hospital and she was part of a practice that rotated providers, so you weren’t guaranteed that she would be at every appointment or be able to attend your birth.

  3. You will be able to have a water birth. A water birth can reduce trauma to the mother and the baby dramatically, providing a warm, buoyant environment for both. When I had my first son in the hospital I requested the birth tub room in my birth plan, but I was not guaranteed to get it, since there was only one.

  4. Older children can attend the birth and share in the moment of greeting their new sibling. Often times the older child is left out and this can add to the stress that a new sibling can bring, but a home birth allows them to participate however they feel comfortable. My older son ignored us for most of the labor, but came over right before his sibling was born and was there with us when we first said hello.

  5. You can create an environment that you are relaxed and comfortable in. Nothing is more comfortable than your own home and for labor you can dim the lights, play music, turn up the heat and make it even cozier.

  6. You will be able to rest comfortably in your own bed immediately after the birth. This was wonderful, to be in my own bed, and right next to me were my husband and older son, also sleeping comfortably with us.

  7. It is easier to have a medication free birth. If you have decided that you don’t want an epidural, being at home is the best way to ensure that no one is offering it to you over and over again.  Also being at home, relaxed and comfortable, and in a birth tub, will make your labor much less painful, you won’t need an epidural as much as you might have if you were in a hospital.

  8. You can avoid being in labor in a car. There is nothing more agonizing than being in a car when you are in labor. It’s stressful and uncomfortable and in my case, during my first labor, it effectively stalled labor and increased the pain so dramatically that I was unable to get back to a place of calm and control once we got to the hospital.

  9. You will have the freedom to go outside for a walk, eat or drink anything you want, wear any clothes that are comfortable. You are entirely in control. And while we can’t control our labor, we can control our environment and what surrounds us when at home so that our labor can proceed in a calm, relaxed and trusting way.

  10. Breastfeeding will be able to get off to a great start since the baby will be with you and not taken to the nursery for some reason. Feeling relaxed and empowered by a natural birth will help your milk to come in faster and being medication free will ensure that you and the baby are as alert and aware as possible.

Home birth can be powerful and empowering. You can have complete control over your environment and how you choose to cope with labor. It is more gentle and relaxing. It is positive and supportive. It is freeing and utterly natural. With an experienced midwife, trust in the birth process and education about labor and natural pain relief methods, home birth can be as safe as a hospital birth and is the right choice for many women and families.

***

Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

 

 

 

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

AuthorLeslie | Comment21 Comments |
tagged ,

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (21)

Snap!! Same topic and we chose all the same reasons! Bingo! Long live home birth!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLucy

Sorry I thought my URL would come up! This is Lucy at Dreaming Aloud, and this is mine!

http://dreamingaloudnet.blogspot.com/2011/03/top-ten-reasons-why-home-birth-rocks.html

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLucy

Home birth is the right option for husbands too because, in addition to the reasons stated in your post, it eliminates the often wild drive to the hospital, which is probably the most stressful things guys have to go through (I drove in completely the wrong direction during our 1st birth, and my heavily laboring wife calmly told me to turn around).

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterC

Thanks Lucy! I read your post too and left a comment for you there.

C - Thanks for the insights into the Dad's point of view!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLeslie Fandrich

After having my first baby I dreamed of a home birth for my second (and now my third)...but alas I do not think it's in the books for me. For one, there are NO midwives currently working in my area :-( I so wish it was an option, all these are the reasons I feel it would be wonderful, plus so much more! Thanks for sharing your experience (and the pictures are wonderful!).

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterKat

This is such a true list. We planned a home birth with our first baby, and I really wish we'd been able to go through with it. Driving to the hospital and then being ignored as we were settling in to the hospital was really the first time I got panicky in my 42-hour labor, and it totally took me out of the calm I'd been in till then. I look forward to avoiding that this time, if all goes well! Then I'll get to enjoy all the other facets of home birth as well, like relaxing in my bed and breastfeeding naturally right after. Sounds like heaven to me, and your pictures brought tears to my eyes!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLauren @ Hobo Mama

I find this list fairly exotic since I don't even know anyone, personally, who has given birth at home. I did not like my birth experience at the hospital, for the reasons you listed above (taking the baby to the nursery, interrupting breastfeeding, wanting everything to be done at once and not allowing me to rest), but I had a c-section-- so that's a different story. It sounds lovely, very natural, maybe like how it was when my great-grandmothers gave birth. When everything goes right, it's a great option. Although I hate the hospital and have mixed feelings about OBs, the fear of what could go wrong drives me to the hospital. It's good to hear the success stories, though!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterBecky

Great post and I love your pictures. I had both my babies in the hospital in the home from home unit, not a home birth but still better than a "normal" unit,

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterIsil

Oh Em Gee! I may have been converted! I love my epidural but your ten reasons are so much better than what I could imagine to receive at the hospital! Great post!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterTashmica

Kat - I'm so sorry to hear that there are no midwives in your area. I really wish there was more access to this kind of care. Even for us, we had to travel almost an hour to visit our midwife. Thanks for your comment!

Lauren - 42 hours?! Oh my goodness. Did you have a vaginal birth once you got to the hospital? I wish you the best of birth for your second, I hope you are able to have the home birth that you want! Thanks so much for the comment!

Becky - thanks for your great comment, home birth isn't for everyone and lots of parents need and want a hospital setting. I wish sometimes that it wasn't in such opposition, that there were birth centers that could bridge the best of both worlds. In Europe things are far more balanced.

Isil - are you in the States? I probably would have chosen a birth center if that were an option, but often in the US, it's either full on hospital with possible interventions or it's a home birth. There isn't very much in between. Thanks for your comment.

Thanks for your comment Tashmica! There is certainly a place for an epidural. Did you know that a spa tub full of warm water is called the midwives epidural? It's amazing what water can do to relax you in labor, plus the freedom of movement is incredible. Let me know if you need any more information about home birth, I'm happy to pass along more resources if you are interested.

March 8, 2011 | Registered CommenterLeslie

There was much oooohing and ahhhing over this post at our house. Our second and third were born at home, and it was exquisite. We love your pictures, too.

Our oldest son cut our daughter's umbilical cord. It was a moment of pure delight. And we just spent a few minutes telling our birth stories here. Thanks!

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSeonaid

Oh my friend, how I so wanted for Claire and me what you had with Quinn....but as you know, despite my truest intentions, that wasn't in the cards for me. You are an inspiration for home birthing! xo

March 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJill V.

Good list! We are having our second homebirth in about a month. After having our first baby in the hospital, I just can't imagine going back. Last time our homebirth was amazing, and now that we have a little more experience, this one's going to be even better. I am now in the process of setting up my ideal birth environment in our bedroom--something the hospital can't offer. I also love that with a homebirth, *I* decide who to invite and I've already met them all. This time we're planning to have our almost-4-year-old daughter attend, and I'm hoping all goes well with that. If not, I am going to have a gift wrapped for her (from the new baby) and some activity bags she's never seen before to keep her happily distracted until it's time to meet the little one. She watched the birth video from her sister's waterbirth and loved it, so hopefully we'll be fine.

March 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJenny

Relaxing in a comfortable atmosphere, both during labor and after birth, is one of my main reasons for wanting a home birth. With Kieran, we had to go to the birth center early because of a huge ice storm. I think that is one of the factors in my long labor, and I'd love to avoid laboring somewhere foreign again! Thank you for sharing your list.

March 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDionna @ Code Name: Mama

One other benefit of home birth often gets missed off lists because it's kind of hard to quantify, but many women who've had home births say it's a transformational experience. I know I felt more empowered, more confident, more mature after my daughter was born. Some of that is due to the new responsibilities of parenthood, of course, but I do think that a successful, positive birth experience in your own domain is a very powerful experience.

I love the photos of your birth!

March 10, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle @ The Parent Vortex

Thanks for sharing all the inspirational reasons. I definitely want to have my next baby at home!

March 10, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful comments!!

March 11, 2011 | Registered CommenterLeslie

thanks for sharing...question: which birth pool/tub did you use? inflatable or not? heated or not? thanks again!

March 14, 2011 | Unregistered Commenternerdling

Nerdling: Our midwife rented us an Aqua Doula tub. We purchased our own liner. It was not inflatable, which I think meant that it was a lot more roomy. It was deep enough that I could float in it. And it was also heated, which is so important. We filled it a few days before with warm water, kept the heater on and put a cover on the top to keep it warm. When I decided I needed it, it was all ready to go.

Here's the website: http://www.aquadoula.com/

March 14, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLeslie Fandrich

Great list! I loved my homebirth. One thing that I would add was after the birth, not only did the 3 of us get to relax in our own bed, but I got to use my own shower! I was confident in my ability to advocate for a natural birth if I had been in the hospital (easier here in the UK than in the US), but I hated the idea of being stuck in the hospital afterward! So yay for homebirth!

March 16, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAmy

Amy, Congrats on your home birth! And yes about the shower, it's so nice to be home for so many reasons during the birth but it's especially nice afterwards. With my first, in the hospital, I left the next day just as soon as I could.

March 18, 2011 | Registered CommenterLeslie
Editor Permission Required
Comments for this site have been closed. Sorry! The site has moved to a new home. Please join me over at www.lesliefandrich.com.