Healthy, Natural Pregnancy: Considering Homebirth
As I get nearer and nearer to the birth of our sweet little one, I suppose I will be posting on topics more in line with preparing for the birth!
We are beginning to work through our preparations for another homebirth, and I absolutely cannot wait!
**During our first attempted homebirth. Ryan coaching me while I'm in the birthing pool.**
Our first child was intended to be born at home, although in the end she was delivered by our midwife in a local hospital, with an OB/GYN consulting at the birth. Perhaps I will get around to posting both of our children's birth stories sometime in the next two months, but the short version of her story is this:
We began with slow labor all day Saturday, which picked up into active labor by 5 pm that evening. I labored at home throughout that entire evening, night, and the next morning. When progress began to go stall and go backwards due to swelling and a posterior baby whose head was coming down crooked, we tranferred to a hospital where I had a healthy baby by vaginal birth the next evening, with the help of medical intervention (epidural, oxytocin, episiotomy, etc.).
Our second child was our first successful homebirth and what a wonderful experience that was. After false labor for about 12 hours the afternoon and night before, nothing was happening the morning of his birth. I went to get my hair cut at noon, and began to realize that I was in labor within minutes of sitting down in the hairdresser's chair. By the time I got home an hour and a half later, I was well into my labor. We were all shocked at the speed of the birth (considering we'd had 12 hours of slow labor and 27 hours of active labor the first time around) and he was born in our living room less than 2 1/2 hours after getting home, with a total of 4 hours of labor from start to finish.
The same intention to birth at home, yet two very different stories. In a sense, I'm glad that I've had both experiences, because it opened my eyes to the fact that not all births go as we'd like them to or as we plan for them, and that's okay. But regardless, in both situations I was so grateful for the time that I was able to spend in my own home, feeling comfortable and safe in my surroundings, yet knowing that I had excellent care and that help was available should we need it.
That said, here are a few reasons that I personally opt for homebirth as my preferred birthing plan:
- I feel most comfortable in my own home- with my bed, my bathtub or shower, my kitchen and nourishing food, etc. I can dim the lights, put on music, use a birthing pool, make sure those coaching and helping me are well fed and rested. It adds to my ability to relax and simply focus on the work at hand.
- There is an intimacy and a degree of specialness that comes from laboring and birthing in my home. It's difficult to explain, but there is something very beautiful about it.
- There is nothing like being able to immediately curl up on your own couch or bed with your new baby, and with your husband. So restful.
- Having transferred to a hospital in the thick of labor, I know that it is incredibly uncomfortable. It really threw off my relaxation and the "zone" that I had been in while I was still at home coping with contractions.
- Peace. No interruptions. Only the people that I actually want attending my birth (rather than the umpteen nurses, doctors, students, etc. who attended my first birth).
- No one telling me what to do with my baby after the birth. No pressure to bathe the baby, to give it a bottle or pacifier, to nurse on a particular schedule, etc. My baby stays with me 100%, and the entire family can start to bond immediately with our new addition.
- Real food! How on earth can you recuperate from such a physically demanding ordeal on sugary pudding, white bread with jam, and coffee??? I indulged in fresh fruit, yogurt, homemade "labor-aid" (an electrolyte replenishing drink), salad and other nourishing foods after the birth, not to mention light eating and drinking throughout my labors.
Those are just a few of the reasons that we personally choose to attempt homebirth with each of our babies. As you can clearly see, there are no moral or spiritual reasons, nothing more "right" about the decision to birth at home than in a hospital. Simply one mom's preference.
Since this is an important topic that many women would like to explore more, I decided to do a little bit of nosing around for you. 🙂 I asked 3 of my close friends/family to share their thoughts on why they also choose homebirth, which I will share with you in my next post on considering homebirth.
Have you had a homebirth? How was your experience? If not, is it something that you would ever consider?
home birth is great, but so is hospital birth. i had a natural, quick hospital birth with my wonderful family practice MD, doula and husband at my side from start to finish. the lights were dimmed, music played if requested, no interruptions, everyone left us for a half hour of breast feeding and bonding immediately after. no pressure to bathe the baby or use a bottle or pacifier. i guess my point is to know your doctor and know your options but give birth where you feel comfortable. for me, i needed to know that there was medical backup right down the hall to feel comfortable. and seeing as we narrowly avoided some complications at the end, i’m glad it was there.
We were supposed to have our son at a birthing center, but also had to transfer to the hospital after several hours. It worked out okay and I still had a natural birth, but if I had it to do over again – aiming for a homebirth would definitely be my choice!
Jamie
I too have had a hospital birth with epidural and episiotomy and then a home birth. Lord willing, we plan to have home births with all our subsequent children. It was such an awesome experience. Here is the full home birth story http://emilyswhatsoeverthings.blogspot.com/2008/07/birth-of-emma-graced.html And here are pictures http://emilyswhatsoeverthings.blogspot.com/2008/07/pictures-finally.html
Emily
I have not had a homebirth. Getting pregnant has never been a “natural” experience for me (until the one I’m pregnant with now-#4) and so I think it’s a little hard to trust my body to give birth naturally. I also have had babies that increase in size, add that to fast labors…and therefore we induced #3 at 38wks 2days (8 lbs 8 oz at 38 wks!)and will do the same with this one.
Like a pp said, I am comforted by the medical help that is available all around me if something were to start to go wrong. Also, I have 3 kids already and a dog, etc…to me the hospital provides me with some much needed rest time (if at home I’d be doing things I shouldn’t be doing).
I do think that homebirth is really neat though. 🙂
I would have loved to have a homebirth (for all of the reasons you’ve listed), but have had 2 C-sections (both necessary due to emergencies) and now with my third pregnancy the doctors won’t consider another VBAC. I’m on the waiting list for the few midwives in town, and have been since week 5, but am resigned to a scheduled C-section. I have nothing good to say about C-sections, other than the sweet end result is worth it, and sometimes we have no other choices.
My sister-in-law has had homebirths with her last three children, and has absolutely loved it.
What a beautiful post! We looked into the hospital, the birthing center, and home birth, and I realized that I would have more stress at home than I would at the birthing center, with its cheery atmosphere … and my husband and I wouldn’t have to think about whether the bathroom was clean or how to deal with the laundry. I am glad we went to the birthing center for our first child (35-hour labor would have been a C-section in the hospital), but I would definitely consider having a home birth for any future children.
I had a miscarriage, but while I was pregnant I made plans for a home birth. People would say things like, “Wow, that’s really brave for your first baby!” But I would tell them that home birth was less scary to me. The only time I have stayed in the hospital was when I was born, and like most people I don’t like hospitals: the smells, how sterile it is, the dressing gowns people wear. It would be really difficult for me to relax there. After doing a lot of research I decided that home birth would be the way we wanted to go, but we would always transfer to hospital if needed, and be thankful to do so. I think like most things in health care it’s good to make an informed decision on what’s best for your needs and not let others (doctors, friends, family) bully you into something else.
i am not a homebirther, but my amazing sister is! she has birthed four of her five children at home. her fifth baby was born in the hospital only because my sister has a pretty bad iron issue and delivering the baby was safer at that point. you woman are amazing! i am all for homebirth. i just wish i didn’t love the epidural so very much…
Good for you! I have never had a home birth it is so very illegal!! here in NC (USA). No midwife can attend without losing her license and possible jail time. We are also military and that means free health care while a home birth would cost us a couple thousand dollars. I try and labor at home until I can’t stand it them go to the hospital. Although they are very understanding and only come into the room when we request.
There are days when I wish I could do it all over again. I probably wouldn’t have gone to the birthing center with my first. He was posterior and ended up being a c-section b/c the dr. was ready to go home. I wasn’t allowed out of bed to try to get him turned, etc. UGH. Then, because of the state (and laws) where we lived, my second was another c-section. And even though I found a dr. who was willing to let me try a VBAC with my 3rd, the insurance wouldn’t allow it and wouldn’t allow me to change drs. Because of those 3 c-sections I have had major medical complications and have been strongly advised by lots of drs. not to have any more children. 🙁
I try really hard not to think about the what-ifs and how wonderful it would have been to have homebirth with a midwife. But, knowing what I know now, that is definitely the choice I would make and will advocate for any of my friends.
I am 30 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and planning my first home birth.
My first two were c-sections because of Doctor impatience and lack of information on my part.
I am so excited to have a different birth experience than I had with my two boys. Both of them were born premature, if y’all think about it pray I go until at least 36 weeks this time and have a successful home birth. My other two were so traumatic!
I’m excited to see all the comments on here and can’t wait to read the other posts!
I really appreciate the graceful way you approached this topic. I had my son via vaginal in the hospital with medical intervention. I have had the guilt trip laid on me from others in this little natural living community about everything from not considering homebirth to not going drug free. I beat myself up a lot over it in the first few months following my son’s birth. I now understand that I have to apply my “What work for YOUR family is best” mentality to myself! I had a wonderful birth experience. It was just my husband, my amazing doctor and my sweet L&D nurse in the room. I was comfortable and I could feel the pressure of contractions and pushing in spite of my epi. My doctor placed my son in my arms immediately after he was born and I was able to nurse right away.
I think women need to stop being so hard on themselves about what kind of birth they have and remember that they brought a miracle into the world. We also need to be less judgmental toward each other. I think homebirths are great, but I don’t think it is for me. Again, thank you for sharing your views with such grace 🙂
I am lucky to have a variety of birth experiences to share–baby #1 was a planned homebirth who decided to come a bit too early. (5 wks) Thank God for my midwife who accompanied me to the hospital and stood up to the snarky nurses for me, so I could deliver on a birthing stool, as I wanted to. My daughter was born healthy, with a tiny hitch to her breathing–they gave her an oxygen mask and insisted she couldn’t be in my room for the first eight hours of her life except at intervals when they decided it was time to try to nurse her. The staff recorded me as “having no prenatal care” and didn’t even glance at my midwife’s records.
Baby#2 was a successful homebirth. The very relaxed atmosphere was such a blessing-dim lights, quiet conversation, lack of animosity and argument. Was able to introduce the little guy to his sister as soon as she woke up and receive visitors in the comfort of my own home.
Baby#3 was a planned hospital birth with a nurse midwife-dh was/is nervous of homebirths for all that could go wrong. Nurses insisted the machine said I was not in labor and should go home. I wasn’t the green girl who they bullied so well with #1, so I insisted that only the CNM was going to check me. 🙂 I was disappointed to not get my own CNM, as she wasn’t on-call. I was in such a hurry for the ordeal to be over, that once dilated, I pushed very very hard and delivered my second son in a single push. I tore, and had to be stitched-worse than the delivery itself by far. Still, with a healthy son, *most* of the nurse-angst faded.
Baby#4: Dug in my heels and insisted that I needed a homebirth. How wonderful to be able to walk a beautiful outdoor path during labor, instead of a hospital corridor. Son #3 delivered healthy and starving (rooting to nurse immediately!) in the comfort of my own home. And got to shower immediately in my own bathroom, then sleep in my own nightgown in my own bed.
I’ve attended a couple of my sister’s hospital births that were happy and easygoing all-around, so I recognize that hospital births can be wonderful. For me, I am just more comfortable in familiar surroundings, especially when I am at the important work and pain of laboring.
First, I just wanted to say that I really respect your approach to this topic and your respect of every mom’s choice of where to birth and what is comfortable for them. I’ve met too many who were “pushy” and that makes for very uncomfortable conversation, so thank you. Second, hospital birth was what we were comfortable with in order to have medical assistance down in the hall in the event of an emergency. I am happy with that decision, we loved the hospital we chose. The second child, we chose the same way but because of an added complication – I had fairly rapid onset of PPD the first time and to have the same dr and nurses caring for me, to start my meds right away, and to watch me in case of recurrence was important for myself and my family.
Again, thank you. Beautiful and respectful post.
I live in Alabama and midwife attended homebirths are illegal it’s so frustrating. Was able to have a midwife attended birth in Tennessee with my 2nd child. We live pretty close to the line, but haven’t been able to have that at home experience yet! Hope all goes well for you with this 3rd birth!!
Had to comment just to say “Thanks for posting on this topic!” I often feel so alienated (especially by my own family) for choosing to have my 4th baby at home and am glad to find support from others. I loved it – it was wonderful and peaceful and comfortable (and safe). I hope that God will allow us to do it again!
May He bless your upcoming delivery plans as well!
I’m in the midst of preparing for our homebirth, too! 🙂 I would love your recipe for the “labor-aid” beverage, if possible. 🙂
Blessings,
Michele
Both of our babies were born at home. I had some minor complications with #1, but nothing that my amazing midwife couldn’t easily handle. Both were long labors (25 and 20 hours) and I think I would’ve been pressured to ‘speed it up’ or face a c-section had I been in the hospital.
Wow, sometimes I think we are twins, Stephanie 🙂 I am almost 30 weeks along with our first, and we have never considered anything but homebirth. As long as everything goes according to plan (and I certainly know it may not), we will have our first baby in the “fishy” pool in our tiny apartment.
While all the reasons you mentioned are high on our list of reasons for our homebirth plan, our primary consideration is safety. While safety concerns make others want the hospital (which I understand) we feel homebirth is by far safest for our situation. We hope for a large family, and do not intend to ever use anything but NFP and breastfeeding to space babies. I know far too many cases (several are mentioned above, even) where hospital policies led to unnecessary interventions and c-sections. VBACs are often so difficult to obtain, due to increasingly litigation-fearful hospitals and even midwives, and having several c-sections could be very dangerous in the long run. We desire to protect our fertility and do everything in our power to avoid a c-section that is not for a true medical emergency. With the local hospitals having a 35-40% c-section rate (and higher for other interventions) and my midwives having about a 4% or less rate, seems clear which is safer for us!
I also want our birth to be a personal, holy time. We are Orthodox, and I plan to give birth right near our icon corner. I have a friend who will read prayers and Scripture during the birth, and only church music playing. Home is where I am comfortable and peaceful. If we have to transfer, we’ll make do, but we’ll give it our best shot at home first!
I love birth stories! My oldest was a transport from a birthing center to the hospital. This experience left both me and my husband upset and frustrated because of the way we were treated at the hospital. My second and third were born at the birthing center. My twins were born at home before the midwives could even be called. All of my births were amazing experiences. But giving birth at home was by far the best. Even at the birthing center I was always itching to go home right after the birth. Having to stay in the hospital for 2 days almost drove me crazy! I tried to leave after one day because they kept taking my baby to the nursery and not bringing him back for hours and then telling me that they HAD TO give him a bottle because he wouldn’t cooperate.
All of my births were beautiful and turned out well. But I would definitely go the home birth route if I ever get the pleasure of giving birth again.
I totally agree with the reasons you listed for preferring a home birth. I would too. My husband doesn’t feel comfortable with one since we live in the country. But I am SO thankful we were able to drive an hour to get to a wonderful private birth center. We had an amazing birth experience and no interventions at all as far as the birth. It was wonderful and I can’t wait to have another baby there. : ) It was a relaxing and private atmosphere and I had the personal attention of the midwife and the nurse. I also liked the HUGE tub that had water that reached my neck. That was very helpful.
I think Birth Centers are def. the best choice for those who want a bit of both. The safety of being close to a hospital but also a home atmosphere and a natural approach to birth.
linked your site in my blog post today: (www.ssmast.blogspot.com)
I was having trouble with typepad and commenting on your site today, did you happen to get my comment?
Sarah M
Lincoln, NE
I would love to have a homebirth someday. However, it hasn’t happened yet. My first baby I was thankful to get in with the midwives out of our area, as the ones in our area were full up (there aren’t enough and the spaces fill up extremely fast, and we had moved so we couldn’t call soon enough). However that meant I was almost 2 hours from a hospital the midwives could deliver at, if there were problems, and it was winter (with potential snow storms and road issues).
2nd baby- no midwives here at all, as we have moved. However, it might also be interesting to discuss how I talked to my doctor (who was at first sort of against midwifery) and worked out a plan made everyone the most happy that we could be considering the situation. It wasn’t as good as I would think a homebirth would be, but many of the issues you stated above I was able to work out with my doctor and the hospital (although it took a lot of work to talk to them, but mostly it was done during pregnancy). I was incredibly surprised how well they respected my wishes for the most part. There were a few issues after the birth but it wasn’t anything compared to what I thought it could be. So I guess I am saying this to say that if homebirth is not possible there are ways to make sure its as good as it can get in the situation. We avoided certain “routines” that were always done (until my baby) and were way more open to doing things differently than I would have expected. I would still have loved to be at home, but for those of us that can’t for some reason it CAN be made better than the standard care you might get if you don’t speak up. For example, I even brought my own food with me and kept it in the fridge there, and my husband delivered re-heated frozen food (homemade during pregnancy) to me during the supper stay I had there. I just declined any meals at all. We also did things like delaying/avoiding certain procedures, delayed cord clamp etc. it was great!
One benefit for me though was that I have used showers with both labours (tubs do not help at all) and our hot water ran out at home after a few hours of using it intermittendly. That was a blessing since I am not sure I could have delivered naturally without the hospital’s shower hot water supply! LOL.
Good for you!
I would totally do homebirth for my next.
Mine was born vaginally in a hospital with oxytocin after my water broke early, but without the epidural. The nurses were VERY unsupportive about my choice not to have an epidural, and they were not much help. Luckily, I had an amazing midwife who at the end of it all said that I would be a great candidate for homebirth next time around, and I could not agree more!
I love birth stories, too! And, being 26 weeks pregnant with my fourth, I have no desire for a home birth!!! I had all three in the hospital, the first was awful back labor, forcepts, 4th degree tear, bad experience. BUT, I was glad for the hospital – I didn’t have to feel guilty about not doing dishes or preparing meals or wondering what was going on downstairs while I was sequestered upstairs, etc. The second and third births were completely different – different doctors/midwives, too. And I thoroughly enjoyed those experiences. I’m looking forward to this one – also at a hospital. Of course, my hospital has good food – or at least I think so!
The only thing I’m planning to do differently this time is that I’m going to try to deliver without an epidural. After three epidurals in under 4 years, my third gave me some trouble and now I’m scared of that!
Raising my mug of red raspberry leaf tea to you all!
Thank you for a great post, and the grace you showed in writing it.
We have two kids with another on the way. My first was born naturally with very little intervention (she had to be suctioned while only her head was out due to an extreme amount of meconium, and I didn’t get to hold her for about 15 minutes). The birth was fine, but the hospital stay itself was not. Our second was born at home, and we had a great experience. We are now expecting our third and plan on having a homebirth again, and really look forward to it. Here are the birth stories: http://makinghomehome.blogspot.com/2008/06/bens-birth.html and http://makinghomehome.blogspot.com/2008/04/lucys-birth.html
Thanks for all the wonderful comments, everyone!
I agree that both a hospital OR a homebirth can be a beautiful experience, and I’m so glad to hear that many of you have had such positive hospital experiences! That’s awesome! All in all, mine was better than I expected, even though it wasn’t what I planned or hoped for. In the end, it’s all about the baby, right? 🙂
Also, thanks to those who have mentioned birthing centers. These aren’t very common in Canada (and don’t exist at all where I live, in BC) but from what I have heard about them, they sound like such a great option for sort of a compromise between home and hospital! If you have access to one, I’m sure that it would be well worth looking into!
Sarah M, I didn’t get any other comments from you. Sorry you’re having troubles! Sometimes Typepad is goofy. I saw your post, though- thanks! I’m blushing. 🙂
Naptime Seamstress, I’ll raise a mug of tea right back at you! You go for it, not having an epidural! Yay! You can do it!!!
I’m pregnant with my third and we just met with the midwife for the first time today. I think we’re going to go for a homebirth with this one! 🙂
My friend just had her second child at home last night (the first one was also in the hospital) and she absolutely loved it! She felt so much more rested, relaxed and enjoyed not feeling drugged up. It went amazingly well for her and everyone is doing fine and are happy!
Thanks for responding Stephanie!
As seen in other comments, homebirth by a CNM *certified nurse midwife* is illegal in my state, Nebraska, but for some reason, if you have a lay*midwife, it is fine…although this is NOT common at all. There was a CNM who spent her entire life savings building a birthing center in NE and at the last minute the doctor (CNMs MUST have a doctor as “part” of their practice, although I never saw a doctor, just my midwives) backed out and the beautiful birthing center has sat empty ever since. It’s so sad, as I think many women would have LOVED the option, the closest one is over 4 hours away…and who can do that in labor!? 🙂
Wonderful post!
Sarah M
Since I’m past the birthing stages, I copied your article link and sent it to my friend who is going to have a homebirth (any day now). She will be greatly encouraged by this article you wrote. I was planning a homebirth for one of mine, and the midwife left town and the baby came (9 days early)! But I totally “get it”.
Great post!! How exciting. We have four…
#1-Induced, hospital birth (baby wasn’t moving well). Had some medication, but delivered a healthy baby girl.
#2-Hospital delivery-super quick, not even an IV!!
#3-Induced, pitocin, delivered in two hours. This was a hospital delivery as well, but it was a catholic hospital, so they never took baby away from me at all.
#4-I wanted a homebirth, or birth center birth, but our insurance wouldn’t cover it, and we didn’t have the extra money. We ended up having an unplanned, unassisted home birth (although my husband does have his EMT cert.) It was so awesome. Coolest thing ever. Baby was born with me half-standing/squatting over our toilet. Good times. Husband and I still laugh about it to this day… and baby’s name is “Ezra” which means… Jehovah helps. =)
“Labor-aid”? You intrigue me once again!
I’m 21 weeks along with my second, and I wish I could have a homebirth! After my horrendous first-time experience, I want to experience something somewhat pleasant! Because of my history and my mom’s history, my husband wants me in a hospital or birthing center attached to a hospital. I am determined to have a VBAC this time around, and now that it has taken us months, my husband and I have decided to go the midwife route, even if it ends up being in a hospital or birthing center an hour and a half away. I’m in the process of searching for a midwife that is willing to do a VBAC, so I’m praying for God’s hand on the situation there!
By the way, I’d love for you to participate in a blog “carnival” that a friend of mine and I are doing (or spread the word so other people can participate)… it’s all about recipes to fight the summer heat. 🙂
http://everyurlwastaken.blogspot.com/2009/06/fight-heat-friday-no-bake-cookies.html
Thanks for this post. I have been reading your blog for a little while now. I really enjoy reading and learning new things from your blog.
I haven’t had a homebirth, but it is something that I am considering doing when I become pregnant with our second child. My son was born in a hospital and the thought never really occured to me to have a homebirth. I delivered at a small hospital and had a good birthing experience, but as I am learning more I think this is something I would like to do the next time around. I tend to worry alot and still have concerns, but I think in learning more about homebirths and finding a good midwife, I will be able to ease those concerns.
Thanks again for this post.
Would you mind sharing the recipe for your homemade electrolyte drink that you had after your birth? Thanks!
A home birth is my heart’s desire. My first was supposed to be a home birth, right down until he decided not to flip (he was breech). My midwife would not deliver him breech. I interviewed several doctors to see if any of them would be open to delivering a baby breech as we had tried every avenue to flip him (chiropractic, herbs, stretches, prayer, visualizations, accupuncture, water therapy, everything!). I was more than dissapointed to say the least when the end result was a c-section. I layed on the OR table thinking “this is entirely opposite of what I had envisioned–I’m in a white, stark, room, with metal and medical supplies everywhere. I’m exposed to who knows how many people and I can’t feel my legs”. It was horrible and traumatic… but through it all, God was there and I was able to pray my way through “not controlling” the situation.
Sadly, baby number two was breech as well, and everything followed the same path. I was absolutely devastated.
I’m pregant with #3 and am praying that this one stays head down! I can’t do a homebirth this round, but my doctor is allowing me a VBAC, which is a miracle for the state of California.
Say a prayer! 🙂 If I deliver naturally with no problems, my husband will be okay with a home birth for #4!
I’m a little late reading this, but I thought I’d share my experience with home birth anyway. 🙂
We’ve had all four of our children at home with a CNM, and it has been a wonderful experience. I’m so thankful for our peaceful births!
I’m currently expecting our fifth baby, and I’m hoping and praying for another home birth. This time around I had a partial placenta previa which caused some bleeding in the beginning of the pregnancy. We had an ultrasound around 19 weeks, which confirmed the location of the placenta (a little too near the cervix). We’ve been praying that the placenta will “move,” and I have another ultrasound scheduled at 32 weeks (just a few weeks from now!). I’ve noticed that our baby hasn’t been in the position our babies are usually in (head down), so I’m hoping that doesn’t mean the placenta is still near the cervix.
Praying you are feeling well and that you’re able to enjoy a home birth! 🙂
I had a completely natural hospital birth that went well but left me wanting a home birth with any consecutive babies the Lord would give us. This past April I gave birth to a posterior baby at home! A big reason I did this was because I got an uterine infection from being in the hospital which left me absolutely miserable after my first was born. This time around has been light years better than it was the first time. Especially the postpartum period.
I had a homebirth with my first and will be having another one with my second due in November. It was amazing and I would not do it any other way!
Thank you so much for being a gentle homebirth mom. I always wanted a homebirth for as long as I can remember but my husband never had peace about it, so we opted for the hospital. I praise God for His guiding my husband and my submissive heart! I had preeclampsia with my daughter and needed the hospital care. I am now expecting our second child and will have another hospital birth. For us we have good health care and are blessed with good doctors who care. It’s a 2 days out of our lives type of thing, so we can endure anything for a couple days. I am so happy for those who can birth at home, but thank you a thousand times for being so meek about it. Every homebirther I’ve met has been so mean toward people who birth in hospitals. 🙁 Not every woman can “birth in a field”. haha Some of us need a lot of help, while others don’t. Again, thank you for uplifting my heart in the matter 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you for your honesty. I love that you said that it was your “personal” choice. I just had my first baby this past May, an attempted homebirth. I ended up transferring to the hospital because, well, I think my midwife just was overly cautious and didn’t really want to deal with me; I had slightly elevated blood pressure, but by the time we got to the hospital it was fine. It’s a long story and I’m still trying to come to terms with it emotionally. Even though I received good care at the hospital, I agree with everything you said; I so wish I could have been able to just snuggle in my own large bed with my new baby and husband. There wouldn’t have been what felt like a million strangers in the room when I was delivering, and it just generally would have been so much more special. I’ve received a lot of pressure from people to consider birthing at a birth center next time, but my heart is still set on a homebirth. I know that births don’t always go as planned and that’s okay, but there’s nothing wrong with doing what you can to achieve the birth you want. So anyways, thank you again, this was such an encouragement!
If God blesses us with another baby, we are seriously considering a home birth. My labor and delivery went well, but I hated the hospital stay afterward.
Love your articles, I am a nurse that works L&D/postpartum, we have a midwife and we have a lot of patients that opt for natural at the hospital. I love it!! I unfortunately had dangerously high BP, (182/102) and had to be induced. However if my next pregnancy is smooth, I am thinking about opting for home birth with a midwife.