Advice- not sure where to begin

[kaleigh822]

This is my first pregnancy and I want to have a home water birth. I'm not sure how to prepare/ what to do. I'm 23 weeks and seeing an ob right now. Any suggestions for a midwife in flint MI area? Any advice would be appreciated.

[cileag]

I'd check out the Find Your Tribe area for recommendations---and if possible, find a home birth support group or maybe and API play group or LLL group for personal recommendations. It's great to find some people who have been there, done that and can help with some of legalities/logistics. In terms of preparing for the birth, I'd read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth to start with and maybe have your partner read the Birth Partner. Just to get some good images of what a laboring woman looks/acts like.

Good luck!

[coltynsmom]

I live in clio and Kate Mazzara is my midwife. I am due any day now and she has been wonderful. Mazzaramidwifery.com. Good luck!

[Beltane]

I spent HOURS reading the homebirth archives here and taking notes in a separate document. I also spent a great deal of time checking books out of the library and reading up on pregnancy. I second attending your local La Leche League meetings - I've been going since February and have met some wonderful women that I now converse with daily. They are your support group, and many of the women in my group have already had homebirths. Congrats - and good luck!

[JamieCatheryn]

Interview the available midwives and ask anything you want to know about pregnancy stuff, labor, birth, water birth, how they do their job, postpartum stuff, choices you'll want to make about birth and about newborn stuff. There's a sticky with good questions on here someplace, I'll come back and edit if I can find it. She'll tell you what supplies to order when the time for that comes as far as what she needs and recommends. No doubt you'll find yourself nesting before long and get your house just as you'll want it, but there aren't any hard and fast rules about what to do.

If you want you could sign up for a good prepared birthing class now, some good kinds include Bradley Method, Hypnobabies, Birthing from Within, Active Birth. To choose, see what's taught in your area and what type or teacher seems good for you and fits your schedule. I felt very confident about homebirth when I knew so much info about the normal process and everything that could happen, it simply didn't leave many unanswered what-if's and I felt assured that all was well. Books are great too but DH learned best through classes and it was good to reserve the time to learn each week.

Consider whether you want a professional doula to attend the birth and help to support you, if so you'll want to meet with possible ones very soon too.

[averlee]

I started with the phone book! There were 2 midwives listed, and I chose the friendliest.

[kaleigh822]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have an interview set up next week and I feel much more prepared.

[*MamaJen*]

That's great! The midwife will also be able to direct you to a lot of resources. I definitely second the recommendation to have a good rummage around the homebirth forum here, and also read some homebirth stories.

[TabithaB]

I second the suggestion to contact you local La Leche League. They spread my name around and that is how I found my homebirth midwife. The phone book here is not an option. It is not very HB friendly here and the midwives can't see you if your are VBAC, so the LLL was incredibly helpful to me.

[Comtessa]

There are a couple of good threads in the Homebirth Resource Forum about the kind of questions to ask when you interview a midwife. I've also compiled a good list of questions to ask a potential backup OB, if you're interested.