|
|
What Makes Homebirth Different?
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
|
In North Carolina birth typically takes place in a hospital. So, you may question why some women choose to have their babies at home. Isn't it dangerous? What if something goes wrong? Can you get an epidural at a home?
It is important to investigate and question any location where you plan to give birth, including hospitals, birthing centers and home.
The majority of North Carolinians who give birth at home are educated, middle class women that have discovered that women have been conditioned for nearly a century to believe that the hospital is where babies come from. These women have decided to take back birth - the one achievement that is theirs alone. They find that homebirth gives them total control over the decisions of their birth. They report that they receive the best-quality care, support, and encouragement from their midwife and that their relationship with her will last a lifetime. Furthermore, those who birthed their second baby at home report the outcome superior to their previous hospital birth. Women who gave birth to their first child at home were enamored with the wonderful outcome.
Aside from the issue of safety, there are important differences between hospital and home birth. To get a better understanding of why women choose home over the hospital, let's explore these differences.
|
|
Homebirth...
|
Allows labor and birth freedom
Promotes family bonding
Allows mother and infant bonding
Allows the mother to be more comfortable
Allows the baby to be more comfortable
Prevents unnecessary medical intervention
Promotes a less painful labor
Produces emotional well-being
Provides as much as or more safety than a hospital
Is much more convenient!
|
"Childbirth is an experience in a woman's life that holds the power to transform her forever. Passing through these powerful gates - in her own way - remembering all the generations of women who walk with her... She is never alone."
|
|
You are powerful, beautiful, and strong. You were created to give birth without intervention and you are in control. Birth is the process that is all yours, you own it; it is the one time in your life that you are the star and shine brighter than any other.
|
Photograph courtesy Megan Daniels |
A homebirth guarantees you and your partner total freedom, the ability to choose whom you want at your birth, what participation your midwife will have, and where in the home you will labor and ultimately give birth. Your labor may progress more rapidly because you are laboring with people you have chosen, you are in familiar surroundings and you are able to discover the labor positions that work best for you. You do not have to be subject to bureaucratic red tape and hospital protocol. You can take your time with your labor and delivery, you can be loud, you can eat and drink at your leisure and you do not have to worry about medi-
|
| cal staff overwhelming you with offerings of medications and interventions you would rather not have. After your baby is born you are in complete control of who visits, when, and for how long. |
"When your wife is at her worst, you need to be at your best. Be a tower for her to lean on, an anchor to steady her. You don't have to fix anything - just be there. Love her. She'll appreciate it more than you know, but don't expect her thanks until later."
|
The ultimate result of your labor is the birth of a beautiful little person with the traits of you and your partner perfectly coalesced. The birthing process, however, serves another equally important purpose, the ability to bind you and your partner more tightly than any other event you will experience together.
Home is the best place for this partnership to reach its full potential. Your midwife can guide your partner to appropriately comfort and support you during labor and birth. Unless you need her, she will respect your birthing style and will not distract you from each other as you work together to bring your baby into the world.
|
| Homebirth brings your partner, your new baby and you closer together and it makes the addition of the new baby easier if you have other children. |
The sibling knows what is happening, even if he or she is not present at the birth. You and your partner did not leave and come home with a new baby; it came to you. Also young siblings will not suffer the separation anxiety that typically accompanies hospital births. As your children wait for the new baby, they are comforted with their own bed, toys, and food.
|
Photograph courtsey Megan Daniels
|
"Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of life."
- Maureen Hawkins
|
Mother-infant bonding is a hot topic of twenty-first century parenting. You may hear arguments touting its importance or other arguments stating its irrelevance to a healthy relationship with your child. You yourself may have been taken to the hospital nursery immediately after your birth, separated from your mother. Maybe you have a great relationship with her, proof that there’s not much to mother-infant bonding, right?
It is true that most mothers who are separated from their children immediately after birth are not doomed to a life of detachment. There is powerful evidence however, that shows that both mother and baby benefit greatly from being together immediately after birth and staying together. 1
You are your baby's whole world you are all she knows. You have carried her with you for many months, you have talked to her, you have rubbed your belly and she has kicked you. You have slowly bonded with her since conception. Your heartbeat and the motion of your body have comforted her; so it can be overwhelming for you and your baby to be separated after birth. Of course, for some women, this separation is necessary to insure her health or that of her baby. But if you have a choice, it is better to have time to connect with your baby immediately following birth and then be with your baby during and after all procedures.
Hospitals now recognize that many mothers want to be close to their babies and offer "rooming in" as an alternative to the nursery. But, if you want to experience "rooming in" at its best, homebirth is the answer. At home the time that you spend with your new baby after birth is honored and revered. Your baby is immediately laid on your chest for skin-to-skin contact. No one whisks her away to be measured and weighed; this is done soon after, on or near you.
Homebirth midwives encourage new mothers to breastfeed, not only because they believe it is the only food that is suitable for babies, and that is the perfect method for bonding, but also because they rely on it to help the uterus contract after birth which prevents hemorrhage. More than likely your midwife is a pro herself at nursing and who better to from than she. According to a recent study in The British Medical Journal on planned home births with Certified Professional Midwives, of the 5,200 (96%) mothers who returned for the six-week postnatal visit, 95.8% of these women were still breastfeeding, 89.7% exclusively. In addition, Suzanne Arms, leader of the natural childbirth movement, says that the mother that has her baby at home with a midwife continues to nurse for at least a year afterward. In addition, you can expect your midwife to help with any nursing problem that you may have weeks and months after your baby is born.
|
“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.”
|
 |
Women who give birth at home report that the special touches of home improved their birth and recovery. You give birth in your own bed, not in a bed that thousands of other women have birthed in. You get to use your own toilet and you don't have someone you've never met ask, "Are you finished?" You can labor naked and not fear that people you don't know will see you. And if you prefer to wear clothes, you can wear your own comforting jammies, not a gown that is split up the back. You don't
|
| have to endure strange noises from machines and hospital personnel when you want to sleep. And you don't even have to leave all the comforts of home for your postpartum visits, because your midwife comes to you! |
"Over my slumbers your loving watch keep;
Rock me to sleep, mother; rock me to sleep."
|
|
Babies have a better transition from the womb to the world when they are born at home. Their birth is usually gentler because midwives rarely help the baby out by pulling or other means. When the baby is born she enjoys the soft warmth of her mother’s chest, not the impassive incubator. Her eyes open to greet her family in the diffused glow of home lighting. She lies with her mother with her cord still attached until she receives all of the additional blood, full of oxygen and nutrients, from her cord, then it is clamped and cut.
|
 |
| Immediately after birth, she lies quietly with her mother while the midwife assesses her condition. Other procedures such as weighing and measuring are delayed, quiet, and calm. After birth the she is comforted to sleep beside her mother, a person whose voice and heartbeat she knows. |
When asked if she was scared to have a homebirth, one particular woman replied, "The thing that scares me most about having a homebirth, is that I will have to go to the hospital." Many women, including those who plan to deliver at the hospital, fear the unnecessary use of medical interventions. These include IV drip, external and internal fetal monitoring, internal exams, dorsal lithotomy position (laying on back during labor), amniotomy (breaking the mother's water), epidural, catheterization, induction of labor, episiotomy, vacuum extraction, forceps, and coached pushing.
Although homebirth cannot be completely free of some of these procedures, they are never routine and are reserved only for the women who really need them. For example, midwives may place an IV if the mother has tested positive for Group B streptococcus and needs antibiotics during birth. Coached pushing is only necessary in rare situations where it is important to get the baby out quickly and could include an episiotomy. Most midwives will probably prefer to do an internal exam at some point to check the progress of your labor. However, they don't do them often and as long as there is no danger, will respect your wishes if you do not want one at all. Your midwife will encourage you to try different positions during labor and will never force you to lie on your back.
|
"The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the wall of our own homes."
|
For women who want to make sure that they have a medication-free birth, homebirth offers protection. At home you labor free of epidurals and narcotics, a choice seen as heroic by most hospital birthing women. However, home birthing women experience less pain because their midwife and partner support them emotionally as well as physically. In fact a study that compared 282 couples that had planned homebirths with 191 that had planned hospital births reported the mothers in the home group rated their pain significantly lower than the hospital group. 2
Pain in labor is caused by two factors, the physical and the emotional. Physical factors come from your muscles cramping and straining, medical tests (pelvic exam, IV, shots, etc.) and the position of the baby. 3 To work through the physical pain at a homebirth means to change positions whenever the pain becomes more intense, it means to listen to your body, which tells you that your baby needs you to help him get in a better position. .
The emotional factors of labor pain come from fear of pain, fear of the unknown, anxiety, self-doubt, lack of information, exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger. 3 Being in your home can relieve much of the anxiety you may feel. Your midwife will educate you throughout your pregnancy about the process and stages of labor and what to expect during each. She will develop with you ways to cope with the contractions and she will be by your side cheering you on when you discover the awesome power of your body as you work your baby out. She will keep you well hydrated and insist you drink at regular intervals and she will offer you food. .
Homebirth facilitates the use of a variety of pain relief that also helps by encouraging the birth process and can be used to manipulate the baby into the proper position.
|
"Often we can help each other most by leaving each other alone; at other times we need the hand-grasp and the word of cheer."
|
Homebirth encourages your emotional well-being. Your midwife will inspire you throughout your pregnancy to work on your mental weaknesses and listen to your body. Elizabeth Davis, in her book, Heart & Hands A Midwives Guide to Pregnancy & Birth says, "Self-reliance and self-love are the cornerstones of connectedness in pregnancy, birth, and parenting." And, "If you can help an expectant mother identify and activate some latent part of herself, she may find new power in synergistic balance, and find new skills for birthing and parenting in her own special way." 4
During your birth positive people surround you. They do not leave your side or change shifts. Immediately after birth, you get to savor the rewards of your hard work as long as you like by holding your newborn without fear that someone will whisk the baby away to be examined. You receive postpartum care in your home. This does not interrupt precious time between your family and you following birth, and allows your midwife to make sure that your needs are being met. She will make sure that you are getting help with household choirs and meals, that you are getting enough rest, which reduces your stress level and increasing the time you spend with your newborn.
|
"Birth is as safe as life gets."
|
|
Homebirth is not second-class, backwoods obstetrics in action. It is first-class, first-rate prenatal care, birth, and postpartum care by trained professional midwives. It is superior to and safer than hospital birth because of the absence of unnecessary interventions. During your initial interview you will ask your midwife what problems that she is not capable of handling should it arise during your birth and you will develop a plan of action together. Otherwise, she has been trained for any possible unexpected turn of events, and she will promptly transport you to the hospital if needed. Your midwife should be trained and have up-to-date certification in neonatal resuscitation, and she should bring an oxygen tank to the birth. Your midwife knows how to stop you from hemorrhaging. She is trained to suture any vaginal tears, and can administer an IV if necessary, and most importantly she knows when to go to the hospital.
|
“As soon labor began, I could tune into my body without having to worry about packing bags, shuttling kids off to friends, driving to a hospital, and having my husband whisked off to do all that paperwork.”
- The Pregnancy Book by William (M.D.) & Martha Sears (R.N.)
|
It's convenient! You don't have to pack a suitcase, hoping that you remembered everything. You don't have to get in the car to go to the hospital while having contractions. If you choose you can keep everyone up to date on the progress of your labor and birth via e-mail or telephone. You don't have to worry about who will take care of your other children or your animals while you are away. You partner will not have to sleep in a reclining chair.
Home may seem like an unusual place to have a baby, but it offers everything and more, total care during pregnancy and birth, including physical and emotional care, to be able to control the decisions being made during your birth, and the chance to have an above average outcome. Hands down, homebirth is the premier place to bring your baby into the world!!
NOTES
1 Bonding Period by Robbie Davis-Floyd, Ph.D. from her book Birth as an American Rite of Passage (University of California Press, 1992) found on http://www.birthpsychology.com/birthscene/ppic4.html authors website www.davis-floyd.com
2 "Simulated home delivery in hospital: a randomized controlled trial" by Mac Vicar J, Dobbie G, Owen-Johnstone L, Jaggar C, Hopkins M, Kennedy J (Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK) from the British Journal of Obstetrics Gynaecology 1993 Apr: 100(4):316-23 found on http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/hombrabs.html
3 ”What Causes Labor Pain and How to Cope” by Terri Isidro-Cloudas found at http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbaby/laborpain.html
4 Heart & Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy & Birth by Elizabeth Davis published by Celestial Arts Berkeley, California, copyright 1997. Page 73.
5 “Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America” by Kenneth C. Johnson and Betty-Anne Daviss. BMJ 2005; 330;1416-doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1416 found at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416
|
|
