Considering homebirth

[maman de trois]

Hi,

I have had three babies, all with a midwife in a hospital which had a birth center and was very pro-midwives.  We are considering having another baby in the next year or so and would like to consider homebirth.  Did any of you go form hospital settings in previous pregnancies to homebirth and what are your thoughts on the transition?  I appreciate your thoughts and help in advance!

[mommamegan]

I had four births in a hospital before having our 5th baby at home. My previous births were all attended by midwives, but they were all also medicated births. For us, the transition to having a home birth was a huge (and wonderful!) thing. It really can be a big change, but all the changes were definitely for the best, imo.

As for how the transition will be for you, it all depends on *why* you're choosing a home birth this time. Were your previous births medicated or natural? Did you have positive birth experiences? Some of the changes you will notice is that your relationship with your midwife will really be a relationship. She'll get to know you as a person, not just a pregnant momma, and chances are good that you'll get to know her too. Money may need to be something you need to think about. There are some insurances that do cover home birth midwives. Some insurances don't. There will be other changes depending on what your other births were like.

To prepare for some of the transitions, I would read as much as possible. Read positive birth stories. Read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Start researching the midwives in your area. Some of the midwives in my area have meetings at the library. You could see if there is anything like that in your area.

Good luck! I know that the switch from hospital to home was the right choice for us. I never knew that birth could be a spiritual and sacred experience. :)

[maman de trois]

Thanks for your feedback Momma Megan!

That was quite helpful; I will definitely grab Ina May's book.  I was assuming there was a good possibility that we would have to pay out of pocket for a homebirth as I remember how much our insurance company argued about a freestanding birth center.  With that in mind, I assume they will refuse to pay for this.  All of my birth experiences had both positive and negative aspects and I was always close with our midwife.  I did not have pain medication in any of the three births, but both number 1 and number 3 were pitocin-induced.  I definitely do not want to do that again and am looking forward to laboring with my body in charge as opposed to a major dug.  I am hoping that a homebirth would only make that a more positive and connected experience.