what are the pros of homebirth

[happy_momma]

Ok so I have a whole list in my head but I am writting a paper on it and I want it to be really good and convicning..and have things others dont...I need ideas.

[natural_mama89]

That you dont get interventions unless they are necessary. That you can move around freely, eat, drink, take a bath, do what you want, etc.

[jennyfah]

My top three:
Not having to go anywhere in labor. Everyone and everything comes to me. This is not a minor luxury!

Being surrounded by own germs, not some ultra-super-mega-abx-resistant strain living on hospital surfaces. I'm not a germaphobe by any stretch of the imagination, but with 1 in 5 people leaving the hospital with an infection they didn't have when they went in, and with MRSA cases on the rise, I'll take my own germs TYVM.

Not having to waste my time and energy saying NO archaic and paternalistic hospital policies that exist for no reason other than 'that's the policy.' My house, my birth, my rules!


(Not to mention the *incredible* prenatal/labor/birth/postpartum care HB MWs give---the HB midwifery model of care would be worth a whole paper in itself!!)

[dogmom327]

Typically HB MW's have a much smaller client load and are available 24/7 to answer questions, come to your home and check on things, etc. if needed. You don't have to make a trip to the emergency room for every little thing which cuts down greatly on costs, stress, unnecessary interventions, etc.

[littlebb]

All of the above plus being able to have a very intimate and special birth - just DH, myself and midwife. Freedom to be very loving and lots of touching and kissing or whatever happens between us. More freedom for nipple stimulation and/or making love wanted or if needed to encourage labor.

No harsh lighting - candlelight or natural daylight instead depending on the time of day. Able to have a birthing pool (ours will be outside in our backyard, in fact).

Also, our MW's policy is to touch the baby as little as possible for the first hour. If everything goes 'as planned', they really don't touch the baby other than to cut and clamp the cord after it has drained, thus preserving as much of the hormones and pheromones for the parents as possible.

PP care is also included in our MW fee - she visits everyday for the following three days, then once a week for the next few weeks, etc. Also a lactation expert to give a hand if needed establishing breastfeeding.

I know most of these aren't as important as the medical aspects of it (less germs and interventions, etc.) but they've become just as important to us in planning our HB.

[dziwozony]

off the top of my head:

*i can stay calm & mellow without having to tune out a busy hospital

*i don't have to pack a bag- everything i need is all around me

*for the birth of DS2, DS1 was in his own environment so could comfortably come & go as he pleased

*i could just climb into my own bed afterwards to sleep

*the new baby doesn't have to travel in a vehicle or experience busy/hectic places right away

*being in a comfortable, familiar space is SO important to me over the yucky impersonal sterility of a hospital

*the power balance is swayed my way & the midwives just hang out & support my choices

*DP can keep busy rather than pacing around nervously, not knowing what to do with himself!

*i don't have to answer questions from strangers or fill out paperwork

*baby is born into a calm, comfortable, happy environment & stays with me & his family...no strangers handling him! (my midwife checked him out, but only when he was right next to me)

*it feels empowering when it's all in your space, on your terms...i had 2 very satisfying births that i don't belive would have been possible in a hospital (not that it's impossible to have a satisfying birth in the hospital for some women, but i don't think i would have coped well)

[christyc]

Being less likely to be forced into an unnecessary cesarean.

[DahliaRW]

Originally Posted by christyc

Being less likely to be forced into an unnecessary cesarean.

Or unnecessary interventions.

Not being subjected to hospital policies that are "one size fits all" and can be harmful for some. Like the 24 hours to birth after ROM, continual fetal monitoring, IV, etc.

[Adasmommy]

I think one reason why a homebirth is safer than a hospital birth is because you are comfortable, private if you want to be, undisturbed, etc so that your labor doesn't get interrupted. I think it would be much harder to keep your body laboring as intended (doing its job) if you have to transport, fill out paperwork/answer questions, be subjected to bright lights/sterile environment, be poked and prodded by people, and have the pressure of being monitored (is she progressing, how dilated is she, is she screaming so loudly she's disturbing other patients) . . . :

I mean, seriously, no wonder so many labors don't progress. Even if they manage to dodge the medical interventions, all of the above are unforgivable interventions into childbirth, IMO.

And, what everyone else said!

[Quickbeam]

Well, it's fun! OK, maybe not every minute of it, and you have to work hard at times, but it can be a party of your own making. The hospital is an assembly line.

[littlebb]

Originally Posted by Quickbeam

Well, it's fun! OK, maybe not every minute of it, and you have to work hard at times, but it can be a party of your own making. The hospital is an assembly line.

That is totally the attitude my DH and I have about hour homebirth. In hospitals, it's all just too much 'serious business'. I'm sorry, but my birth is far more than serious business to me. It's a celebration! For both DH and I and the three of us becoming a family. I want to be able to laugh and enjoy DH and the experience in early labor (and maybe even through the whole darned thing!). I feel like that's discouraged in hospitals. It's hard to relax and enjoy anything with nurses swarming you and monitoring every little thing and creating panic.

So many women look at me like I'm nuts when I talk about how fun I imagine our homebirth is going to be!

[thepoet]

laying in your own bed after birth with your baby, partner and other children if you have them, eating peanut butter toast.

That was the highlight of my home birth.

[lovebug]

:

[Mamatoabunch]

In my room, in my bed, on my own sheets, no crinkly bed, own pillow, cutting cord when we chose, discovering sex when we chose, no person telling me what I "should" do, making out w/ dh in labor or even having sex, eating and drinking what I wished to or not, no iv, no vbac scaring, no vag exams to refuse, no possibility of an episiotomy against my will, no pit, nursing when baby desired, no taking baby after birth, no eye goop, vit K or any other unnecessary baby stuff, no your baby is so big he or she needs blood glucose testing, birthing in position I chose, eating whatever I desired and dh or kids could cook right after birth, birthing in water.......................

[littlebb]

Originally Posted by Mamatoabunch

In my room, in my bed, on my own sheets, no crinkly bed, own pillow, cutting cord when we chose, discovering sex when we chose, no person telling me what I "should" do, making out w/ dh in labor or even having sex, eating and drinking what I wished to or not, no iv, no vbac scaring, no vag exams to refuse, no possibility of an episiotomy against my will, no pit, nursing when baby desired, no taking baby after birth, no eye goop, vit K or any other unnecessary baby stuff, no your baby is so big he or she needs blood glucose testing, birthing in position I chose, eating whatever I desired and dh or kids could cook right after birth, birthing in water.......................

Wow, you pretty much summed it up. There are so many things it's hard to remember the full list. Reading your list makes me so darned excited for our birth. I couldn't have said it any better. The intimacy of the whole thing is so very important to us. Looking forward to our birth is so empowering in itself - I'm surrounded by pregnant women absolutely dreading their birth and seeing it as a horrible event that they wish they could skip right over. Threads like this are so inspiring and remind me of how grateful I am that DH and I decided early on to HB.

[saintmom]

The best thing about HB IMHO beside all the usual warm-fuzzy holding my baby no interventions etc was NOT having to get my awkward pregnant in labor self in a car and ride 40 min to the hospital only to have to get out and have to ride in a wheelchair (their rules not mine) through a labyrinth of corridors until we reach the freezing birthing room where Ds decided to make his entrance as soon as I hopped up on the bed.

Not having to go anywhere after the fact.My midwife came to my house at 1,3,6 days and two weeks post-partum:

[threadbey]

definitely the not having to go anywhere.

and the not having to constantly refuse things that you don't want (and having them done anyway).

not having pain relieving drugs available. seriously. all my friends see this as a major downside (none of them hb) but for me it was a big plus before, during, and after. once in labor, i would have wanted an epidural if it was available. but i had no desire to go to the hospital in order to get one. and i'm glad i didn't

really really big for me - being in my own space, feeling like myself, being able to focus on this thing my body is doing, being trusted and honored in my mental and physical ability to do this amazing thing without "help". being a "soft" american born in the late 20th century didn't make me somehow a freak of nature unable to reproduce on my own, afterall.

[LiLStar]

Originally Posted by Quickbeam

Well, it's fun! OK, maybe not every minute of it, and you have to work hard at times, but it can be a party of your own making. The hospital is an assembly line.

thats true! Most of labor felt like a social visit with my doulas, just hanging out. All fun and games up until transition, really!

And I'm grateful that I was at home *because* I had a complication. My midwives handled it just fine, and I fear what could have happened in the hospital (episiotomy and immediate cord clamping for sure, maybe even nicu observation.) I had a shoulder dystocia. And at home, it really wasn't a big deal. I flipped to hands and knees and my midwife reached in and freed his shoulders. I didn't tear at all. It took maybe a minute for him to breathe, but there was no panic, and the cord was still pulsing so he was getting oxygen. I honestly would not have had the slightest clue that anything was out of the ordinary if I wasn't a bit of a "birth junky" and knew that flipping to hands and knees after the head was out was the gaskin maneuver and that it meant SD. dh had no idea that it wasn't normal. It was handled without unnecessary intervention or panic, but would most likely have been traumatic in the hospital.

I mention that because if you're trying to convince someone (dp?) that homebirth is a good idea, the first thing most people ask is "what if something goes wrong?" and well, sometimes problems arise, but an experienced midwife can handle it..sometimes better than an OB.

[dziwozony]

well said, lilstar! i didn't have any complications, but definitely would have liked the way my midwife dealt with any over what an OB would do. thanks for sharing that.

[littlebb]

Originally Posted by LiLStar

And I'm grateful that I was at home *because* I had a complication. My midwives handled it just fine, and I fear what could have happened in the hospital (episiotomy and immediate cord clamping for sure, maybe even nicu observation.)

You're story is a GREAT example as to why HB can be a serious advantage. It reminds me of my MW's assistant's birth story. Her DS (now 5) had been positioned laterally nearly the whole PG and they got him moved to what they thought was optimal birthing position - except he ended up breech instead of head down. He took a lot of time coming out - the cord started coming out first as did part of the placenta, so they had to work extra slow with him. He was head out with the cord for awhile (still pulsing so he was fine). If they'd been in a hospital at that point, he'd either been C/S or they would've done the usual grab 'n pull to get him out instead of letting him naturally come out. The thing is, as soon as he was out the cord snapped right at his belly button area. If they would've yanked him out in a hospital as they tend to do, it's likely the cord would've snapped before he was out and that could've been deadly.

I know my MW's operate from a standpoint where if there's a concern, they'll tell you so as to not try and hide anything. But they also do it in such a way, as you experienced, to not create unnecessary panic for anyone. Complete opposite of most hospital experiences!! That's beautiful to hear your story.