Natural Childbirth

When a woman trusts in birth, and allows the process to unfold without medication or intervention, she embraces the power of her body, and her baby -- the power of life itself.

Homebirth

Advantages
For the mother, birthing at home means you don't have to drive to the hospital in labor or deal with hospital routines such as IVs. At home, there's less risk of infection for you and your baby. You stay with your chosen family and friends, and the baby joins this community. You can eat and drink freely, and labor and birth in upright positions. Your religious and cultural traditions are respected.

Limitations
To prepare for a homebirth, you must be involved in taking care of yourself with diet and exercise and good communication with the midwife. Certain health conditions may make homebirth inappropriate. You may not feel comfortable birthing at home if you share the home with others, or if you live far from the hospital where you would go in case of emergency.

Is it safe?
Study after study examining the safety of homebirth has concluded that homebirth with a trained midwife for low-risk women is as safe or safer than a hospital birth. The latest study published in the British Medical Journal looks at outcomes of births with certified professional midwives in 2000. Read the study at: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/330/7505/1416 Other links to information about homebirth on the internet include two articles about homebirth by Henci Goer, "Homebirth 101" and "Homebirth: Is it a Safe Option." Both can be found at: http://www.hencigoer.com/articles/

What supplies are needed?
Each midwife has a slightly different list of the supplies you will need for a homebirth. Heartfelt Midwifery specifies a birthkit. You can order the kit from a company or assemble it yourself. The kit includes things like gloves, gauze pads, maxi pads, lubricating jelly, and baby hats. You will also need to supply towels, washcloths, receiving blankets, extra sheets, hydrogen peroxide, Ziploc bags, a flashlight, olive oil, and a few other odds and ends.

Is it messy?
At Heartfelt Midwifery we strive to leave your house as clean or cleaner than we found it. We use towels and chux pads at the birth and clean-up occurs very quickly. In fact, most people would not even guess that a birth has happened at your home!

Who can attend the birth?
As long as you are comfortable with those attending the birth, anyone you wish can be there. Children of all ages can participate. It is recommended that they have a special adult there to support them and help care for them if they need to come and go and ask questions. You may want a doula at your birth, or a photographer. Some clients want a massage therapist in early labor. The choice is yours.

Waterbirth

Waterbirth is giving birth in water. There are many benefits to laboring and/or birthing in water. Some of these benefits include: deep relaxation, reduced pressure and pain, greater ease in changing positions, decreased need for drugs, perineal support, and gentle transition into the world outside the uterus for the baby. Check out http://www.waterbirthinfo.com/menu.html or http://www.dear-midwife.com/articles-waterbirth.html for more information.

Is the baby at risk of drowning?
Your baby's lungs are filled with amniotic fluid while he or she is in the uterus. The baby is not at risk of drowning until the lungs fill with air and push the fluid out. So your baby should not emerge into water, be brought into air, and then go back into the water. As the baby stays submerged under the water, the risk of the baby developing hypoxia, insufficient oxygen intake, increases. This is because the placenta begins to separate from the uterine wall and the baby no longer gets oxygen through the umbilical cord. Midwives and doctors recommend gently lifting the baby from the water within a minute or so after birth to prevent hypoxia.

What types of pools are available?
At Heartfelt Midwifery we have an inflatable pool with liners that we can rent out to clients interested in waterbirth. The cost is $20. You can also labor in your shower or bathtub but, depending on the size, this may not be the easiest place for you to have your baby. Jacuzzi tubs work well.

Recommended Books on Homebirth and Waterbirth

• Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
• Homebirth by Shelia Kitzinger
• The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
  
• Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper
• Choosing Waterbirth: Reclaiming the Sacred Power of Birth by Lakshmi Bertram
• Active Birth by Janet Balaskas
• Birth As an American Rite of Passage by Robbie Davis-Floyd
• Sisters on a Journey by Penfield Chester