Home Birthing Planning
July 10, 2010
Once upon a time, women had no other option that giving birth at home. As medicine evolved, doctors’ offices and hospitals became the common scenery for labor and delivery.
However, rural communities remained isolated from modern facilities and midwives took the place by the mother-to-be side at the time to give birth arrived. Today, midwives are professional health care providers, qualified and accredited by medical boards.
This is the result of an every day more common trend: giving birth at home. Whatever the reason many women prefer to stay at home, often attended by a midwife.
There is no place like home, and that saying takes the right place when pregnancy comes to end. The comfort of your home will reduce the tension of labor, thus facilitating delivery if you are a pregnant woman in good health and without previous miscarriages or pregnancy complications.
Hospitals are committed to bringing you the ultimate technology experience, and their services are useful if your gynecologist has determined that you will need medical assistance during the childbirth process, but the cold atmosphere of a hospital room can never be compared with your bedroom.
Any expectant mother has the right to decide where she wants to give birth, and if you decide to try this option, speak to your doctor to find out if it is viable in your particular case. If the answer is “yes”, plan childbirth by keeping in mind a few notes.
Firstly, decide who will be your attendant, even though there are gynecologists willing to assist you at home, they are very rare, so it is more likely that you are looking at a nurse or certified midwife, although there are many naturopathic physicians trained for this task as well.
Take some time to check the attendant background and qualifications, then schedule an interview and ask all what you need to know, including number of births attended and the names of a few persons you can talk with for references.
No matter what you gynecologist predicts, consider any eventual complication. Make sure that the person who will attend you is familiar to emergency procedures and has the appropriate equipment in case of postpartum hemorrhage, the need to resuscitate a newborn, or any other unexpected medical event.
Emergencies simply occur, so hiring a practitioner who is in touch with a physician or hospital could be handy, otherwise plan ahead of time with him or her, where you will be taken in case of needed medical assistance.
Having at hand an oxygen tank and oxygen masks, in addition to suturing materials and IV fluids is always important. Probably none of these materials will be used after giving birth, but this equipment will reduce your anxiety especially if this is your first home birthing.
Remember to check your insurance coverage, because many plans will not cover home birthing. If everything goes okay, you can give birth in your own home, that of your parents, your best friend, or in a home close to a hospital or the physician who keeps your medical history records.
Nicky Pilkington
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/home-birthing-planning-71568.html
Home birthing?
Any couples out there are planning a home birth or have had one before?
Do people know how many unnecessary things are done in the hospital…?
People are saying, just in case be in the hospital but I see it as they do things just because you are in the hospital.
C-sections are done a lot of times unnecessarily, sometimes to just get it over with so the doc can go home and they can wheel the next woman in. Much of the bleeding is caused by the doctor prematurely ripping out the placenta before it naturally detaches from the mother.
And whats with that suction cup thing they put on the baby’s head?
Ayden and Jays Mom,
I was going to look up the information for you but others have answered with more than enough (thanks) read the answers that follow.
A lot of good info. everyone thanks.
My girlfriend did! Be ready to faint!
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I thought about it with my second son but didnt do it… i think its really freaky, id rather be in a hospital where i no if something goes wrong something can be done quicker where as if u were at home u having to take an ambulance cud waste the time that cud help u and the baby
EDIT: Well i dnt no about the hospitals where your from but they certainly dnt do stuff like that here… and where is your proof on that?
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mum of 2
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! Please don’t. I understand it was done that way for years, but what if your baby needs something at birth that is unavailable at home? What if your partner needs a c-section because the baby is in distress? Something simple that is missing from home could lead to a lifetime of problems for your child. Don’t do it. Give your baby the best fighting chance and get yourselves to the hospital for delivery. The birthing suites are very private and most doctors will accommodate most special needs!
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My friend lives in Georgia and she has had 4 home births and plans on having more.She said home birth is what she prefers.She has 6 kids.I wouldn’t do it but to each his own.
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I’m having a home birth for my third child due in Jan. i had hospital for the first two but i hate hospitals so i decided to have this one at home with help of a midwife I’m really excited about it
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It is the most dangerous thing you can do. In this day and age, not to give birth in a hospital setting is irrisponsible as a parent. There are SO many things that can go wrong. There might be an emergency, and you would not have enough time to get to a hospital to give birth to a neurologically intact infant. A baby should not have to pay for a parents misjudgement for the rest of its life.
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the idea of it sounds natural and nice , but i personally wouldnt so many things can go wrong in birth if you are at the hospital you give the best start possible to you and your baby not only that it gives you more of a chance to get rested as you have nurses looking after you , this makes it easier to adjust to being a new mum and also you may learn some new things, i didnt like being in hospital but it did make it easier and made coming home more relaxing and special
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I don’t think it’s safe……
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I think home birth is a wonderful thing. For most people it’s not like you’re just going to hang out and drop your baby on the couch or something. You have a midwife, possibly 2, and other support there. Midwives are knowlegable and trained in what they do (training depends on the type of midwife). Most midwives will make sure you’re close enough to a hospital in the event of an emergency, but barring something very serious they can usually take care of the matter themselves by using natural means. A good midwife won’t hesitate to have a mother transferred to the hospital if mom or baby is in distress. Birth is a natural process…it’s what a woman’s body is meant to do. What better, more peaceful way is there for a child to be born than in a happy home with the people who love him/her?
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I don’t think you are going to get informed answers here at Yahoo Answers. This is something you need to research for yourselves. Studies are showing it is actually safer to homebirth. Midwives have a lower mortality rate in infants and in mothers as well as lower cesarean rates too. Most emergencies can be handled just as quickly as they could be in the hospital.
Try these websites for some study guides:
http://www.gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homesafe.html#safety
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/homebirth/homebirthsafety.htm
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/mid.html
http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/home-birth.html
http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/ArticlesBySheila/BIRTH_March2000.htm
Research, and then do what you feel is safe.
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There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with having your baby at home as long as you do your research. You can do it with the aid of a Midwife, who is very capable, and they are required to be liscensed. I have a Nurse friend, who had both of her children at home with a midwife. She had no complications. As long as you are healthy, and you have a healthy uneventful pregnancy, then go for it.
IN FACT: Recent studies have found that women are more likely to have complications in the hospital, because of the stress of being in the hospital. Not all hospitals are willing to let you do the birth the way you want to. Also, hospitals are too eager to intervene at the slightest hint of a possible complication, (even if they have to make it up, or embellish it to scare you) because they are so afraid of being sued.
A friend had a nightmare experience in the hospital, because they were putting so much pressure on her to do it their way, as though she was too young and stupid to know what she wanted, because she was on medicaid. They tried to push her in to having an epidural, when she was adament that she did not want one, they tried to force her to lay on her back the entire time she was in labor, they tried to give her Pitocin 4 hours in to labor because THEY didn’t think it was progressing fast enough. They would not allow her to get out of bed to walk around, or even lay on her side or anything to get more comfortable, or in any positions, that she knew would help progress her labor. And they were making her push, before she had the urge to push. Huh????They treated the whole thing like it was some big emergency, and were ready to cut her open and take the baby out, even though she was doing just fine. They just simply would not listen to her, or the baby’s father. Fortunately, she was able to deliver him, before the epidural Dr. got there, and was able to avoid that unneccessary procedure. She wanted a natural child birth, and the hospital just wouldn’t listen. If I had been there, I would have been all over them, because I have had 3 kids, and I am very well educated in the medical field. I really think they were trying to get all the money out of medicaid that they could, and traumatized my friend in the process. She is planning a home birth for her baby that is due the end of April. Hospitals are NOT always the best option. You are usually more relaxed at home, and so your body is going to be more relaxed, and the delivery will be easier as a result. Check in to Lamaze classes as well.
Do your research, and talk to some women who have had home births, and talk to a Midwife. Women are not the wimpy whiney babies the Dr.s want to think they are. We have been having baby’s for thousands of years without medical intervention. Yes, the mortality rate was higher, but it was more from a lack of pre-natal care, than anything. Complications can arise, but rarely. And we have EMS for emergencies, and a Midwife will know if there is a problem in time.
So don’t listen to those who are saying it is irresponsible to have your baby at home. They are just victims of the propaganda, and are too scared to try something out of the "norm".
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I am not pregnant yet but am planning on a home water birth when I do have a child. I’ve done a ton of research…planned home births with a qualified midwife attending have the same mortality rates as hospital births, with MUCH lower percentages of intervening procedures (c-sections, inductions, episiotomies, use of forceps or the suction thing, etc).
In my opinion a home birth may actually be safer because those procedures are often done unnecessarily and lead to other complications in themselves. Most problems that may arise during a home birth will have warning signs that will allow you time to get to a hospital if a C-section turns out being unavoidable. The midwife will have training and equipment for resuscitation if the baby does not start breathing properly. It’s just important to have a backup plan should a trip to the hospital be absolutely necessary. Sometimes the midwife will even call the paramedics to give them a heads up so they will already know where to go if they get the call.
Personally I think the almost 30% C-section rate most hospitals have is absolutely ridiculous. It often starts with an IV (instead of letting the woman eat and drink normally as she is able), which dilutes the hormones in your system, which slows down labor, which makes an induction necessary, which throws off the natural pattern of labor your body has been working towards, which causes things not to progress the way the doctors think they should, which leads to a C-Section.
In addition, most hospitals have you giving birth on your back in stirrups. I haven’t given birth yet, but I’ve been told that pushing is like trying to go poo. The only position I can think of that would be less productive than that is standing on your head. It has nothing to do with the position that’s best for you to give birth in…it’s so the doctor can see what’s going on and feel like he/she is in control. Most midwives are not only much more attentive to you during labor (basically never leave, whereas the doctor pretty much comes in occasionally to check, catch, or cut) but they also are more likely to let your labor progress at a natural pace and allow you to birth in the position that is most comfortable and productive for you, making that part of the labor much shorter on average and reducing your chances of tearing.
I’m planning a home birth because I believe God knew what he was doing when he created this amazing system for making babies and we really only need to mess with it a very small percentage of the time. Look at the statistics…home births are NOT more dangerous than a birth in a hospital (for *planned* home births). You may even be doing yourself and your baby a favor by avoiding unnecessary medical procedures.
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Pineapple and Commonsense are absolutely right! Do the research and see it is much more dangerous to deliver a baby IN THE HOSPITAL — both for the mother and the baby. Speaking from experience, the hospital completely ruined my birth experience. My "doctor" never even looked me in the face much less knew my name, unnecessarily forced me to have pitocin after I had dilated to 7 centimeters just fine on my own, allowed an INTERN to (incorrectly) use a vacuum to "hurry up" and get my baby out though she never showed signs of distress. The only "irresponsible" thing you could do as a new parent is to go blindly to the hospital like a lamb to slaughter. Good for you for looking into all alternatives.
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For some women who are healthy and confident with giving birth at home might not have any complications during labor.
Just be sure that you have everything you need for any possible complications your wife will go through.
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This will hopefully be my 3rd homebirth. All I can say is it is the most beautiful thing to be able to just change the sheets and go to sleep when the birth is over. I am, however, under no illusions that each birth is different and can therefore present problems. However, a lot of these things would not be dealt with in any other way at a hospital. I feel more in control in my own home thus gaining more co operation and respect from midwives. You are able to think more clearly in your own territory and listen to what your body is telling you. Hospitals most certainly have their place; but in ‘this day and age’ as people keep saying, women are quite rightfully being given the choice of where is more comfortable and feels safe for her; something that is paramount regarding birth. To the people saying that it is dangerous, I think they need to do some serious research and think some more before giving sweeping statements probably because of fear of the unknown. A good place to start is; http://www.homebirth.org.uk.
Birth can be a scary experience but for me it has become damn empowering. Good luck to all whether at home or in hospital..
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