The Appeal of Homebirth

[rolenta]

This whole homebirth on purpose concept is totally new to me. So what are the benefits? Why not just go to the hospital? Also, if anyone has any information on waterbirth, that'd be great, because I don't get that either. Thanks.

[charmander]

You asked - Why not just go to the hospital?

Why not just stay home, in your own environment, with your own things, with the people you love, where you are comfortable? Why go to a sterile, impersonal place and be told what to do by strangers, and be hooked up to monitors? Which sounds like a better place to give birth?

As for the water birth, which I had with my homebirth - being in water is relaxing, helps take the edge of the pain. Do you like taking a long, hot bath to relax? Kind of like that...

[alegna]

It's safer for mom. It's safer for baby. Birth is not a medical event. Hospitals are NASTY GERMY DANGEROUS places. No healthy infant belongs near one.

Water birth is great.... mmmm... water..... :)

-Angela

[the_lissa]

Home birth is safer for one thing.

Hospitals are for sick people for another.

I had an attempted home birth- hospital transfer with my first pregnancy. Hospitals are so uncomfortable. I did not sleep one iota the night I stayed there. They often have policies and rules that can be detrimental to you or your baby or your breastfeeding relationship.

I recommend reading Henci Goer's A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.

[fourlittlebirds]

Welcome to MDC, Rolenta. :) Homebirth for low-risk pregnancies is statistically as safe as hospital birth in terms of mortality rates, and far, far safer in terms of frequency of interventions that can create problems that wouldn't have occured otherwise. If you are really interested in learning more, I'd suggest starting with Henci Goer's The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. She has done an exhaustive analysis of the medical literature.

Google Marsden Wagner, Michel Odent, and Sarah Buckley (all medical doctors btw,) to learn more about how the hospital environment and routine hospital procedures interfere with the normal birth process, putting the mother at risk for developing complications she wouldn't have otherwise.

Or, just start doing some reading here. We talk about this stuff *all the time*, but there's so much, it's hard to sum up in one post. ;)

Aside from keeping birth normal, doing it at home just makes it so much *nicer*. I just can't imagine, at this most beautiful, meaningful time of my place, being in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable place, on someone else's turf, having to argue with them about their policy vs. my individual desires and needs, having strangers tending to me, having no real privacy, hospital food, worrying about germs, etc. Gosh, what a hassle!

[teachinmaof3]

Angela shared some of my thoughts on homebirth.

I would add....
*I do not like most OBs (yeah, there are some good ones out there), much prefer a MW.
*I do not want to be "managed" during pregnancy or labor.
*I do not want to fight for the birth I want.
*My body knows what to do, I don't need to be told what to do.
*I want the comfort of being in my own home and the freedoms that brings. I'm able to eat what and when I want, able to move around, not hooked up to a bed, not told what I can/can't do, etc.
*I don't want strangers messing with my baby for unnecessary things (eye ointment, VitK, etc).
*I want my babies to have a gentle birth.

Waterbirth:
*Takes the edge off the cntx.
*Easier to change positions in the water.
*Gives baby a gentle enterance into the world.

I'll throw you for a bigger loop. I also MUCH prefer to do my own prenatal care and birth unassisted. My first two were hospital births (one I had epi for the last 10 minutes and the other was med-free), my third was a home waterbirth attended by a mw, and my fourth was a semi-planned UC. While I enjoyed ALL of my births, the last one was the most "spiritual" (for lack of a better word). If I were to have any more babies I'd definitely do it UC again.

[darsmama]

I was a 'birth coach' at hospital births. It really scared me how women were given only the options that the Dr's or nurses wanted to give them, & how 'bored' for lack of a better word, they were with the whole birth process.
That was my first reason for looking into home birth. Then, I discovered what the other women has much more eloquently stated, and actively had two home water births.

Why I chose water birth was because it looked sooo much easier. I to this day, do not understand why anyone would want to leave the comfort of a tub and birth on land.. Water seemed to help the pain a lot!
I know of a couple people who have had Unassisted births, I've toyed with the idea; but I liked the companionship of having other women at my birth. :)

Eta: My mom had all five of us at home, and I previously thought she was nuts! :lol
You can see birth photos of my first here www.midwifemama.com/darlene
Disclaimer: I'm buck ass nekkid

[DesireeH]

nak

why?? Because I had a hospital birth and i would never subject myself to that again for a normal low risk pregnancy. My second baby was born @ home and in water...here is the story and pics of the birth: http://69.20.14.30/discussions/showthread.php?t=392316

(katie....great pics! :throb )

[mtnsunshinemama]

What's not to love??
For something as sweet and sacred as bringing your child into the world, why wouldn't you want to be in the comfort and SAFETY of your own home? Supported nd surrounded by those you love and trust?

http://www.soulshinefamily.smugmug.com/gallery/805260

One of the most amazingly wonderful experiences of my life!

[PatchyMama]

DD1 was born in a hospital, DD2 at home. I was in a lot less pain for the homebirth... I think it was just being somewhere I was comfortable and free to do what I wanted. I was able to relax more and more effectively deal with pain and what was going on with my body.

[Viola]

The biggest benefit, it seems to me, is freedom.

I was planning on having another hospital birth with my second, but I wanted fewer interventions. I was reading the book Birthing From Within and so much of what I read sounded wonderful and like something I'd want for my birth. But the more and more I read, the more I realized that there was no way that I would be able to get that in my birth experience, especially not in the hospital I had available to me. I did not want to be in the situation of having to fight for every single thing, every time I wanted it, no matter how small or sensible it seemed. I've heard horror stories not just of women not being supported during birth, but if being negatively treated when they tried to buck any trend, having the pain of their contractions used against them. By that I mean, instead of being allowed to deal with your contractions on your terms having nurses shove papers in your face to sign or wait to ask a question until you were at the peak of a contraction, and then get snippy if you didn't answer it. There was no seeming reason behind this other than to make things more difficult because some health care practitioners have a low opinion of women who choose natural birth.

[Lizzardbits]

Both of my kids were medicated managed hosptial births. Although after my yuckky unattached pitocin and epidural birth of my son, i wanted my daughter to be born at home. Unfortunately, i was living with my parents at the time and my dad said no homebirth.

I was mananging my ctx fine, until we got to the hospital and as soon as they put the external monitor on my belly, and i couldn't rub my belly in clockwise circles (kind of like when you rub your calf when you get a charlie-horse) I started making noise and couldn't focus. Well then the nurse gave me some nubain because i lost my focus. I believe that had i just been allowed to labor with everyones hands off of me that i would have been fine.

That is one thing that i HATE, and i rarely use the word hate, but i HATE that when you become pregnant, you instantly become public property. poking and examining your crotch, poking you for blood, poking your belly, touch Touch TOUCH, poke Poke POKE! It is my body, naturally growing another body, and I AM still in charge of MY body.

this next pregnancy and delivery i want mostly UP (just enough for documented proof that i am pregnant) and I want my future hubby and i to do it ourselves at home in water. He's the one that helped put the child in there, he should be part in helping him/her out.

I think that the medical profession has made us fear birth and thus fear our own bodies. Once that fear is gone, and we trust our bodies, will the labor pains be labor love.

[honeybee]

I had a good, relatively low-intervention hospital birth with ds1, but it just couldn't compare with my recent homebirth. There were many similarities between the two births. I had awesome caregivers both times, the first my family practitioner, and the second a CPM. Both respected me as an intelligent human being who was in charge of her own birth experience. Both trusted in my body's ability to give birth naturally. I had my wonderful birth team to help me through --dh and a doula the first time; dh, my mom, friend, MIL, and a photographer the second time. Both labors were med free and fast, and in both cases my caregivers almost didn't make it to the birth. Both births resulted in a healthy, perfect, new baby boy with whom we fell into love. But, Oh, the DIFFERENCES!

Some of the biggest differences were what I DIDN'T experience with a homebirth:

No uncomfortable ride to the hospital while going through contractions.
No hospital gown.
No lying down in a bed just so they can get a test strip.
No sleep-deprived residents poking into my nether regions and uttering inane statements like "What is that cheesy discharge... oh, it's the head!"
No being treated like an invalid, being transferred by gurney from triage to the labor & delivery room just because I was 6 cm dilated upon admittance.
No putting up with 3 different nurses trying mulitple times to get an IV inserted while dealing with strong and hard contractions.
No filling out paperwork, discussing all the things the nurse thought I should change about my birth plan, and generally being bothered while going through transition.
Not having to wait for "permission" to get in a tub.
Not having to go behind a nurse's back just to drink a friggin glass of water.
Not needing a doula to drag my reluctant nurse--who hadn't spent 10 consecutive minutes in my room with me, but knew I couldn't possibly be ready to push yet-- into the room and offer me an exam.
Not having to get back into a bed to be examined by the same idiotic sleep-deprived resident who freaks out upon discovering I'm complete.
Not going through 3rd stage lying down flat on your back in order to slow things down so I could get the last drop of antibiotics and wait for the doc to get there...and not protesting this because I REALLY don't want the idiot resident delivering my baby.
Not having the nurse automatically start getting out the stirrups, despite the specific statement in my birth plan (which we reveiwed extensively while I was in transition) about pushing in alternative positions.
No third-degree tear due to pushing in the lithotomy position (my own fault... my wonderful doc DID ask me if I wanted to move positions, but the point is that at home there was no need for me to have been in that position to begin with!)
No having the baby taken away shortly after birth, to be measured and warmed, etc.
No post-partum anemia (CPM more preventative care, with emphasis on diet and monitoring iron intake, etc.).
No being absolutely flooded with fluids from an IV drip that was set incorrectly.
No having nurses ask me if I'd like to send a SLEEPING ds to the nursery so I could "rest," while they keep coming in and waking me up every couple hours to check vitals.
No waiting for "permission" to leave hospital from idiot resident, after my own doc cleared us to leave.

And remember, that was a good hospital birth.

Here are my two birth stories so you can compare them for yourself.
Kian's homebirth:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=424904

Aaron's hospital birth:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=367316


Here are my two birth stories if you'd like to compare them for yourself.

[the_lissa]

Some of the biggest differences were what I DIDN'T experience with a homebirth:

No uncomfortable ride to the hospital while going through contractions.
No hospital gown.
No lying down in a bed just so they can get a test strip.
No sleep-deprived residents poking into my nether regions and uttering inane statements like "What is that cheesy discharge... oh, it's the head!"
No being treated like an invalid, being transferred by gurney from triage to the labor & delivery room just because I was 6 cm dilated upon admittance.
No putting up with 3 different nurses trying mulitple times to get an IV inserted while dealing with strong and hard contractions.
No filling out paperwork, discussing all the things the nurse thought I should change about my birth plan, and generally being bothered while going through transition.
Not having to wait for "permission" to get in a tub.
Not having to go behind a nurse's back just to drink a friggin glass of water.
Not needing a doula to drag my reluctant nurse--who hadn't spent 10 consecutive minutes in my room with me, but knew I couldn't possibly be ready to push yet-- into the room and offer me an exam.
Not having to get back into a bed to be examined by the same idiotic sleep-deprived resident who freaks out upon discovering I'm complete.
Not going through 3rd stage lying down flat on your back in order to slow things down so I could get the last drop of antibiotics and wait for the doc to get there...and not protesting this because I REALLY don't want the idiot resident delivering my baby.
Not having the nurse automatically start getting out the stirrups, despite the specific statement in my birth plan (which we reveiwed extensively while I was in transition) about pushing in alternative positions.
No third-degree tear due to pushing in the lithotomy position (my own fault... my wonderful doc DID ask me if I wanted to move positions, but the point is that at home there was no need for me to have been in that position to begin with!)
No having the baby taken away shortly after birth, to be measured and warmed, etc.
No post-partum anemia (CPM more preventative care, with emphasis on diet and monitoring iron intake, etc.).
No being absolutely flooded with fluids from an IV drip that was set incorrectly.
No having nurses ask me if I'd like to send a SLEEPING ds to the nursery so I could "rest," while they keep coming in and waking me up every couple hours to check vitals.
No waiting for "permission" to leave hospital from idiot resident, after my own doc cleared us to leave.




I had an attempted home birth- hospital transfer with my first, and my experience was very different, so do you mind if I ask some questions?

What is a test strip?


I didn't have to wear a gown. I never saw a nurse or anybody from the hospital until after the birth and that is only because I had a hemmorage. My midwives were still my primary care providers. My midwife discharged me, but the nurses tried to talk me into staying longer. I was 6 cms dilated and never had to go on a gurney or wheelchair. I walked. I didn't lay on my back. The baby wasn't taken away to be warmed or measured. I had also preregistered in case of a transfer, so I was lucky to not have to do paperwork. I never even saw stirrups there. I didn't think anyone still used those.

So I guess I had a "good" hospital birth, but it sucked to me.

[Belle]

I also had a pretty good hospital birth for my first baby. There were a couple minor little annoying things that happened in my first birth that I didn't like but most things that I didn't like happened after the birth.

-They were really pushy about me having an IV.
-I couldn't give birth in the tub there.
-It was an uncomfortable environment and I felt like I had to fight for everything.
-After the baby was born instead of letting her get the oxygen from her cord, they cut it and rushed her away to get O2 on the baby table.
-We had wanted to leave the hospital within hours. In retrospect I wish that we had. But I wanted to speak to the hospital LC before we left. She didn't show up until about 46 hours after the birth. We left at 48 hours.
-I was producing a lot of colostrum. Hence, my baby pooped 8 times in first 24 hours. They were alarmed at the amount of weight she lost (11%) but commented that she looked healthy otherwise. When we told them how much she pooped this was ignored.
-We were asked if we wanted to circ our baby. (girl) We wouldn't have circ'ed her if she had been a boy either, but it proves how observant the nurse was.

Here's a link to my dd's birth story. http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=286753

[djinneyah]

my first was a hospital birth. i had to fight with the nurses every step of the way, and still received minimal interventions that i had initially not wanted. the only time the doctor was even present in the room was to break my water at 6 cm (she then went back to her office, and didn't show up again until after ds was born :angry ).

i ended up with an IV i didn't want, artificially ruptured membranes that i would have been happy to keep intact, having to fight with the nurses to "let" me get up and walk around instead of starting pitocin, a shot of stadol i could have done without, and when it came time to push, a couple of nitwit nurses who had me do purple-pushing (holding your breath while counting to ten and pushing as hard as you can), an oxygen mask i ended up flinging across the room, my poor ds ended up with a scalp monitor (he has a lovely little scar from that), and my favorite part...ds was crowning, the nurse told me to stop pushing, and when his head continued to emerge with the next ctx, she yelled at me to stop, that i wasn't listening to her, etc. i yelled back at her that i wasn't actively pushing, my body was pushing the baby out on its own. she told me i was lying, and that i was pushing and was basically being disobedient. meanwhile, ds slid out onto the table...no one caught him. :(

so, i've had an unassisted pregnancy this time, and will be delivering unassisted, as well. i was less than impressed with my prenatal care last time, and i have no desire to go to the hospital to fight for what i want, only to be defeated by "hospital policy and procedure" and nasty nurses that would prefer to tell me i'm doing it wrong. :irked:

i don't think homebirth is for everyone, but i do think it's an option that you should seriously consider if you're low-risk. to dismiss it outright is to close your eyes to a possibility that could change your life and your way of thinking. and definitely read Henci Goer's book. very eye-opening and informative. :thumb

[gemelos]

All the other mamas pretty much summed it up. I chose to homebirth my twins for many reasons. My home is much more comfortable and sanitary than a hospital. I had an excellent pregnancy with no complications so there was no reason to go to a hospital. I knew if I went to the hospital there was a very high risk of me getting a c-section, and if I managed to have a vaginal delivery it would have been in an operating room, hooked up to all kinds of wires and about 20 people in the room. Hospitals treat twin births like a very high risk situation. I wanted to be able to labor and deliver in peace and quiet, MY way. I chose to birth in water because it just seemed natural to me. The baby goes from warm water to warm water-it is a peaceful transition for them. Also it was so comfortable and helped me manuever in a way that would not have been possible on dry land. I was 40 weeks with twins and HUGE. The water made me feel weightless. I also didn't feel the ring of fire when the heads were crowning and I am guessing that is due to the water. Also waterbirths are less messy and easy to clean up. I wouldn't want it any other way. :)

[Aura_Kitten]

i think everyone covered it! but i'll add a few of my own cents anyway. :)

my own birth experiences:

my son was born at a hospital. i was forced into a lot of stuff i didn't want and didn't need (such as being forced to lay on my back at 8 cm dilation, just because it was "hospital policy"). i was in labor for about 37 hours. i suffered a full perineal tear and an inch long cervical tear ~ mostly because of unnecessary interventions. i consequently wound up with an infection in my cervix that took well over a year to heal. nurses interfered with breastfeeding, so much so that i ended up not successfully nursing my son. immediately after birth, he was whisked away, bathed by a nurse while he was *screaming*.......... and so on. after birth, i felt as though i had been hit by a train. i couldn't walk for a week. i had hardly anything to eat in the hospital, and that was after they had with-held food from me all throughout the labor. at one point i had to send my partner out to find me food because the nurse never brought me lunch.

my daughter was born at home, unassisted. i was in labor for about two and a half hours. i didn't tear at all. i suffered no infections, and we established a nursing relationship right away. i got to cuddle up with her immediately after birth, in my favorite blankets. after birth, instead of being covered in foreign hospital germs, and scrubbed clean by a nurse, she got to lay in our bed and be welcomed by her family (and her family's germs :lol ). :love after birth, i had no problems getting up, walking around... the night she was born, we had barbeque chicken and garlic-roasted vegetables. :D my libido returned *immediately*... and within just a few days i was taking walks with my daughter to the park in her sling.

while my son's birth was a violent experience that left me physically and emotionally scarred, my daughter's birth was warm and joyous, and truly worthy of celebration. i cannot believe that these are isolated incidents! hospital birth is interfered with from the moment you step into the hospital. homebirth, you can take at your own pace, with whoever you want and nobody you *don't* want. you can eat or drink whenever and whatever you like (with my daughter, when i went into labor i had a bowl of cereal and milk). you can move around freely, cuddle into your own blankets ~ you could make love with your partner, if you were so inclined. :love

[Mrs Dimples]

Others have given their personal experiences, and I could give mine as well (first son born in a hospital, my daughter was born at home two weeks ago, in a pool in my bedroom). I won't though, except suffice it to say that having experienced both, I would choose a homebirth next time. I don't know anyone who has done it both ways and would choose a hospital birth over a homebirth.

To me, homebirth is the only way to go. The experience, care, safety, and atmosphere is superior in every way. Hospitals are designed to serve the lowest common denominator. In your home, the care you receive (assuming you take the time and effort to choose a caregiver well) is tailored to YOUR needs alone. Hospitals serve pregnant women as a group, without taking pains to worry about YOU personally (in general, of course). They have to operate at a profit, and there are a lot of other motivations to their actions besides just what is best for you and your baby. That is not the case at home. It's all about YOU, YOUR baby, and what is best medically, physically, emotionally, spiritually, for YOU. It's just a much, much higher standard of care.

Good luck as you begin your research - there is a lot to learn, but taking responsibility for your birth is a very important choice, one that can change your whole life. You are lucky to have thought to ask these questions before becoming a mother. I wish I had begun this journey earlier myself. :)

[kalisis]

Sick people go to hospitals - pregnant women are not sick, they're doing something that is completely natural and within the scope of normal for their bodies.

I have only had a homebirth, but I wouldn't for second even consider going to the hospital. For a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy, there is no better place for them than their own home.

A curious fact - when in your home, giving birth, nothing needs to be sterilized. It doesn't need that because it's YOUR stuff. You're already immune to the majority of germs in your home. What you're not immune to are the superbugs plaguing hospitals today.

[honeybee]

I had an attempted home birth- hospital transfer with my first, and my experience was very different, so do you mind if I ask some questions?

What is a test strip?


I didn't have to wear a gown. I never saw a nurse or anybody from the hospital until after the birth and that is only because I had a hemmorage. My midwives were still my primary care providers. My midwife discharged me, but the nurses tried to talk me into staying longer. I was 6 cms dilated and never had to go on a gurney or wheelchair. I walked. I didn't lay on my back. The baby wasn't taken away to be warmed or measured. I had also preregistered in case of a transfer, so I was lucky to not have to do paperwork. I never even saw stirrups there. I didn't think anyone still used those.

So I guess I had a "good" hospital birth, but it sucked to me.

I'm sorry your birth didn't go as planned. "Good" has more to do with how you felt about the experience than any particular policies a particular hospital has. It also probably depends on your expectations. When ds1 was born, I didn't have any homebirth visions in my head, and although I made a few compromises, overall it was the type of birth I wanted at the time. But I'll still answer your questions.

By test strip, I just meant the initial 20 minute time in triage when they hook you up to an EFM and monitor contractions and baby's heart beat. I probably didn't "have" to wear a gown, either, but didn't think to bring something different. I don't know why they did the gurney thing. My doula's been to many births at that hospital, and hadn't seen it done like that before, either. Once my IV was in, I was able to get up and walk and move around. They only lay me on my back to try to slow labor at the very end so I could get the rest of the antibiotics and the dr could get there. It wasn't very long. Then they raised me up into lithotomy for pushing. I didn't have to push like that. My dr even asked me if I wanted to move. But, by that time I just wanted it over and it felt like too much effort to move. That was a choice I should have made differently.... but my point was that in my homebirth I never had to get into a bed in the first place so some dr could verify whether I was "ready" to push or not. We were preregistered, too, but there were still a lot of consent forms to sign, etc.

The baby was in my sight at all times, and only got taken care of by the nurse for 2 minutes before he was back in my arms, but my dr had signed my birth plan saying he wouldn't be removed from me at all. The stupid nurse got me to agree to that when I was in transition, vulnerable, and just wanted to get her out of my face.

[rad]

There are a few reasons I chose not to go to the hospital for any of my births.
1. I'm comfortable in my house and feel I will always labor better in a comfortable environment.
2. The hospital policies make for a difficult natural birth IMO. I think the nurses, machines, IVs, etc are way too invasive for me. The more labor is "controlled" the more problems arise and the more intervention is required.
3. Germs. Yuck. Hosptials are not the sterile places they'd like you to think. It's where sick people go to get better. I'm not sick, I'm going through a very natural process, so I'm not going to a hospital. Your home is full of YOUR germs. There is no need to worry about those germs.
4. I like being spoiled. I like having just me, my midwife and my dr and their undivided attention if I need it. In a hospital I may have to share a few nurses with several other patients.
5. Postpartum is just me and my family. I can rest. I don't have to worry about being checked on every hour.
6. Lastly, at this point I seriously doubt I would even make it to the hospital of my choice. I don't care for the hospitals closer to me. And my labors have been fast enough, I would most likely be delivering a baby in the car. So why not just stay home and deliver my baby in the comfort of my home?

[honeybee]

[QUOTE=rad]
6. Lastly, at this point I seriously doubt I would even make it to the hospital of my choice. I don't care for the hospitals closer to me. And my labors have been fast enough, I would most likely be delivering a baby in the car. So why not just stay home and deliver my baby in the comfort of my home?[/QUOTE

Oh, yeah, I can't believe I forgot that one. IF we had left as soon as I woke dh up once I realized contractions were regular, I MIGHT have ended up giving birth in the hospital ER (no way we would've gotten up to OB). But, then we still would've had to wake up ds, get everything in the car, drop ds off at my mom's, etc. Hmmm, nope. I'd have delivered on the side of the road. Yuck.