You might be wondering is giving birth at home right for you? I remember thinking that home birth was what people did before modern technology and hospitals? Giving birth at home was something back in the Little House on the Prairie days? Wow, was I sorely wrong! Home birth has been rapidly gaining popularity. And for good reason.
For thousands of years, women have been giving birth at home. It was the normal thing to do. As we headed into the 1900′s, the medical birth approach to childbirth began to gain in popularity. After all, all the supposed experts were saying that the white coat sterile hospital was the safest place to give birth. Remember seeing old movies where the dad was out in the hospital waiting room pacing the floor smoking a cigar? What followed were decades of uninformed mothers and fathers who succumb to new hospital birth practices that frankly were nothing but risky intrusions into the God designed method of childbirth.
More and more women are exploring the old fashion original idea of giving birth naturally. Many women want natural birth because of it’s simplicity and safety. For many women, this leads them to making the decision to birth at home. Now with modern medicine, educated parents, holistic midwives, women can experience the joys of giving birth at home with incredible confidence, support and encouragement knowing she is doing the best thing for her own body and that of her baby.
As women continue to desire to give birth at home, more information and resources are becoming available. There is great support for midwife attended deliveries and home birth than ever before. More communities are becoming home birth friendly and more doctor’s are seeing the positive results from the home birth deliveries.
Is giving birth at home right for you? If you are interested in giving birth at home you should evaluate your risks and make wise decisions accordingly.
You might like to consider giving birth at home if:
- You have a healthy, normal, low-risk pregnancy. High risk pregnancies make giving birth at home more difficult and complicated.
- You may want to give birth at home if you desire to have a natural, drug free delivery.
- You may want to give birth at home if you desire to use a midwife for your prenatal care and delivery.
- You may want to give birth at home if you want to avoid labor restrictions commonly enforced in the hospital setting: freedom of movement, freedom to eat and drink during labor, freedom to take a shower or bath, freedom to labor and birth in helpful positions.
- You may want to give birth at home if you want to avoid unnecessary medical procedures like the episiotomy, labor drugs, routine I.V and other routine labor interventions.
- You may want to give birth at home if you prefer your baby not be subject to routine tests and vaccinations right after birth.
- You may want to give birth at home just so you can be in the peace and comfort of your own home surrounded by family and friends.
Regardless of your main reasons, giving birth at home can be a richly rewarding experience.
If you are considering home birth:
- Write down your reason on why you want to have your baby at home. What are your main reasons for giving birth at home?
- Research everything you can on giving birth at home.
- Talk to other moms who have given birth at home. Ask them about their experience and any tips they have for you.
- Interview a home birth midwife and ask her every question you can think of regarding home birth?
- Read online material about giving birth at home. Search for home birth, preparing for home birth, giving birth at home, natural childbirth at home. These should give you a good start for researching home birthing information.
- Read books about home birth. Here are some books you can start with.
- Watch a video of a woman giving birth at home!
- Attend a home birth of a friend or family member. This can be the best way to actually finding out what home birth is like (besides experiencing it for yourself).