There is a growing movement in much of the western world to encourage a return to home birthing. If you are sure that you want to have your baby at home the only thing you need to decide is whether you want a midwife present or want an unassisted home birth.
It is vital that you do a lot of research on hospital, midwife or an unassisted home birth (UAHB). You have to get a home birth education. There are books, DVD’s, web sites and message boards all devoted to home birth information.
Babies have been being born since Eve gave birth to Cain and Abel. Having an UAHB means that there is no doctor, nurse or midwife present. The delivery of your baby is in the hands of you and your loved ones. If you have a midwife at your home birth, make sure that she knows your husband will “catch the baby” and cut the cord under her watchful eye. If you had decided on a UAHB make sure someone is there who can call 911 for help. You will get a lot of information when your research the home birth movement.
You might want to watch a couple of home birth videos on your computer to get an idea of what your are getting yourself into. Try getting your significant other to watch with you, especially if you want him to participate in your delivery.
I would recommend you buy one of the home birth commercial packages and or books. They are much more instructional, while the home birth videos are anecdotal and can only tell you about that particular birth.
I have three siblings and 40+ first cousins and all but maybe four of us were born at home with our grandmother helping out. She was not a “trained” midwife but everyone in our neighborhood wanted her when they were in labor.
You may want to attend a childbirth class. There will be midwives and physicians come in as guest speakers. Most of these classes also bring in proponents of home birthing. This way you can get different perspectives on the various options available. You may not find a lot of support for unassisted home birthing but some groups also offer information about that.
The idea is to use all means possible to educate yourself about home birth preparation. Not only do you need to learn what you need to do, but also what supplies you might need.
You husband may want to read some of the literature or browse the web sites that support home births. There are message boards where both men and women post about the home birth experience, ask questions and provide answers to others seeking information.
Some advantages of home birthing are:
- You are in charge of the labor and delivery.
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The number of people present at the birth of your child is under your control.
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No anesthesia, forceps or electronic monitoring
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Baby is not groggy from anesthesia given to you
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Less chance of infections
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You choose your labor position and place
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No medical procedure like an episiotomy
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Father has a role to play in the delivery
If you are interested, you can type home birth and come up with lots of articles, message boards and videos, some of which you can watch on your computer, others are available for purchase. The commercial DVD’s are more instructional. Most of the others are more often home movies of actual at home births.
Mothers who have serious health problems or have had a c-section, placental problems or a premature birth ay have a problem finding a midwife who will assist her with a home birth because most states would consider this woman a high risk who needs to have her baby under the direct medical care of a physician. Most home birth proponents would agree with the state given the above circumstances.
Whether or not to have a home birth is a decision that each couple has to make for themselves after they have gathered all of the information they can find and understand the risks as well as the benefits of home birthing. Only then should they make a final decision.
As you can see it is vital to educate yourself about all aspects of home birthing. Whether you are thinking about having an unassisted home birth or decided on having a midwife to help out, you need to know what is normal and when you need to call for help. Don’t think you have to tough it out. Your life and that of your child are at risk here.
The birth of a child is a beautiful and awesome event and educating yourself about the process will make your home birth the most rewarding events of your life, which you will always remember with joy.
