Why Homebirth?

[Juvysen]

I really want a homebirth, but I've been thinking about it in terms of having that as an alternate to what I DON'T want. I don't want to be away from home, I don't want to ride to the hospital in the car, I don't want to be poked and proded by the nurses, I don't want a bunch of strangers there... I think I need to start thinking of why I want homebirth in the positive....

So, Why did you want a homebirth... what makes it right for you (as opposed to what makes hospital birth wrong for you)?

[alegna]

It's peaceful

I get to get in my own bed right after.

I get to use my own tub and shower whenever I want.

I have food right there that I like.

I know where everything is.

I can keep the climate how I want it.

-Angela

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Privacy
Zero separation
Total control

[KarenMT]

I'd say:
- the peace and comfort of my own surroundins
- surrounded only by people I want at my birth (DH, MW, doula (possibly), Mom, DD and my dogs)
- baby is welcomed into his/her home from the beginning - no transitions from hospital to home (I found this so difficult with DD's birth)
- birth happens at it's own pace and not the pace dictated by hospital staff
- only my family's germs in my home
- baby is surrounded with the sounds and environment they grew out of.
- about 100x less likely to have the interventions associated with a hospital birth's active management of labor.

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

I really want a homebirth, but I've been thinking about it in terms of having that as an alternate to what I DON'T want. I don't want to be away from home, I don't want to ride to the hospital in the car, I don't want to be poked and proded by the nurses, I don't want a bunch of strangers there... I think I need to start thinking of why I want homebirth in the positive....

So, Why did you want a homebirth... what makes it right for you (as opposed to what makes hospital birth wrong for you)?

I will just tweak yours.

I don't want to be away from home = I want to stay home where I am comfortable

I don't want to be poked and prodded = I want my birth to be managed in a natural non invasive way

I don't want a bunch of strangers = I want to be surrounded by the people I know, love and I am comfortable with. I want to have choice over who experiences my birth.

[cornpicker]

I wanted my body to be in control of the labor, not the clock at the hospital.
I wanted to know who was with me, not have random strangers coming in and out while I was laboring, or manhandling the baby after birth.
I wanted to be in a setting most conducive to natural childbirth, and practically every single thing about birthing in the hospital works against natural birth.
I didn't want to deal with driving someplace else to do what my body can do (better) at home.
I wanted to reduce my odds of a c/s (and other interventions) as much as possible.
I wanted to support midwifery and the movement to bring healthy, low-risk natural birth out of the hospital setting.

[bbrandonsmom]

I like the "only my family's germs". That's one I hadn't thought of at all.
We're considering hb too-
privacy
place I'm most relaxed
my own shower, kitchen, everything
no separation
All Children's is closer to my house just in case
Plus for a hospital I would have to be away from ds for at least 24hrs if we had to go there. The birth center if he didn't go with us=however long labor/delivery plus an additional 2-4hrs before we could go home.

[Juvysen]

My daughter (who will be 18 months) able to be nearby is definitely a big one for me. Sleeping in my own bed after all that work seems SOOO great, too! I remember hating the hospital bed before.

[aylaanne]

I believe that birth is sacred, and in my own home I can set up my own sacred space to bless what my body is doing. At home all the guests I have for my birth will be respectful of my sacred space. At home I can eat and drink my own food and fluid from my own dishes, which are washed in my own dishwasher. My child will be welcomed only into the arms of family and friends, and will be wrapped in her own clothes immediately. My child will never have a disposable diaper touch her body, and will never be taken from me without my consent. We can sleep together in my bed after the birth. I can give birth on my deck if I want.

[huggerwocky]

I want to have my privacy

I want to decide who enters and who not

I want to know, not HOPE, that I will be treated with dignity and my baby handled gently

I want to feel comfortable and secure

I want the best for me and the baby and statistically, that speaks for homebirth

I don't want to medicalize birth

I don't want me newborns exposed to hospital germs and handled and touched by strangers

I don't want to follow someone else's rules for MY birth.

[angington]

Total control
Privacy
Individual attention
Support to NCB
Easy for my dd to also attend and feel comfortable
No seperation

[RedPony]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

Privacy
Zero separation
Total control

Yes!!

[MsBlack]

People have given you already so many wonderful replies...I will just tweak one more way:

Given that birth is a normal process of healthy women that most often works just fine for mothers and babies, the question is NOT "why have a homebirth?". The question IS

WHY GO TO THE HOSPITAL?

Are you sick?

Is your baby sick/unhealthy somehow?

Do you have a gut feeling that you/baby will need medical help rather than simple support?

Hospitals are for people who need medical care. Home is the place for normal birth...this is something that every family, every doctor and midwife knew without thinking, until about 75yrs ago. This is STILL known in many places around the world. Only in America do we even think to ask ourselves 'why homebirth?', when the question, seriously asked, is "why not? Do I NEED medical care?"

See, IMHO, to want a homebirth is the normal thing...we don't need a special reason for it. We only need a reason to go to the hospital.

[DoomaYula]

I want to be naked the entire time and feel comfy!

[MsBlack]

Yes Ma'am! I always wanted to be naked entirely during birth--physically, emotionally, and spiritually! That is hard to do in the hospital!

[wwisdomskr]

Originally Posted by MsBlack

People have given you already so many wonderful replies...I will just tweak one more way:

Given that birth is a normal process of healthy women that most often works just fine for mothers and babies, the question is NOT "why have a homebirth?". The question IS

WHY GO TO THE HOSPITAL?

Are you sick?

Is your baby sick/unhealthy somehow?

Do you have a gut feeling that you/baby will need medical help rather than simple support?

Hospitals are for people who need medical care. Home is the place for normal birth...this is something that every family, every doctor and midwife knew without thinking, until about 75yrs ago. This is STILL known in many places around the world. Only in America do we even think to ask ourselves 'why homebirth?', when the question, seriously asked, is "why not? Do I NEED medical care?"

See, IMHO, to want a homebirth is the normal thing...we don't need a special reason for it. We only need a reason to go to the hospital.

What a wonderful response!

[BumbleBena]

I want our birth to be enjoyed by my husband as much as possible- at a hospital, I don't think we'd get that. He wants to catch the baby (which is his right, that baby wouldn't be there without him!), wants for us to focus on each other instead of someone who doesn't know me NEARLY so well, and he wants to be the one taking care of me in labor- like he has done even before I got pregnant.

I feel that partners are very often pushed aside in the delivery room; the OB (or sometimes MW) is in control. It's a helpless feeling for a partner who has contributed so much to just be shoved over while someone else manages the situation. For us, birth is sacred- we believe it should be a deeply spiritual experience that we can share, not something I alone get to enjoy. I didn't get myself pregnant, ya know?

Also, I don't want for us to have to fight to keep our baby with us. I don't want to have to tell them NOT to put the baby under a warming lamp, or put in eye goop, or vax, or cut the cord... You shouldn't have to demand these things not be done, but what are the odds you'll be asked? Everyone else does it, right? DH and I will have just gone through labor- we're not going to want to fight with anyone, and we shouldn't have to. Our baby, our labor, our birth, our choice.

I think everyone else gave great responses. It only confirms what I've felt is right for us all along.

[eviesingleton]

I feel very strongly that hospitals are should only be used to treat sick/injured people and that a healthy pregnancy/birth is not something that requires medical treatment.

[happy & blessed]

What great replies! My number one was because I wanted my birth to be peaceful. The thought of a birth in a hospital sounds chaotic. My home had dim lights, temp right where i wanted it, my husband, midwife and no one else. No beeping machines, no loud talking. Very peaceful!!!

[joyfulone]

(wow, I love reading the responses in this thread- so inspiring!)

We're 99% sure that we're doing a homebirth this time for the birth of our daughter in August, and some of my reasons for it also are:

-privacy (so many strangers: nurses, assistants, janitors, unannounced/uninvited IN-LAWS came into my room during labor, during my struggles pushing, and whenever I was in the bathroom with the door open)

-no IV mandatory in my arm

-no mandatory fetal monitoring on that annoying machine- which took me out of my blissful shower experience and hypnobirthing meditative states every so many minutes

-won't have to wonder if my doctor or one of her 8 back-up doctors will be delivering my baby

-can play my music on the stereo, dim lights and light candles, walk around in the fresh air outside, stay in the tub or shower as long as I want, wear or not wear whatever I want, feel free to sing or pray whatever I want

-sleep in my own bed with peace, quiet, and the drapes drawn with just the company of my baby girl, 2 year-old, and husband in my company (I had NO sleep in the hospital with everyone coming in and out of my room, and the hard, plastic-covered hospital "bed" was terrible to lay on)

-won't have to find anyone to watch our daughter or our dog

-not have nurses breathing down my throat to inquire how often the baby is nursing, how much, and then pressuring me to supplement with formula if the baby isn't eating as much or as often as they think he/she should be

-trust my body and labor at my own pace