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ADVANTAGES OF HOMEBIRTH

Ninety-eight percent of all the people now alive in the world were born at home. (Sousa Childbirth at Home) That's an amazing fact. In our culture we tend to see birth as dangerous, especially when occuring anywhere other than a hospital. We've all seen the TV shows with the father-to-be nervously racing through the streets to the hospital with his wife in the back seat screaming for him to go faster. We've also heard the stories of women who claim to have almost died if it hadn't been for her doctor. There's also the dramatic tales of women being whisked into the operating room for an emergency c-section because her baby is in distress. But in spite of this cultural conditioning, there is a growing homebirth movement. Women are birthing at home as safely and with fewer complications than in the average hospital birth.

Here are some of the reasons that I, and a rapidly growing number of women, choose to birth our babies at home.

PERSONAL CONTROL

When you birth in the comfort of your own home, you are not a patient. You are the one in charge. You can invite as many or as few people as you desire to be present. This was important to me because I wanted my older children to be present. You also have control of the atmosphere. You can dim the lights or light candles. You are free to move from room to room, to labor wherever you feel most comfortable. This could be in your bed, bathtub, the toilet, even outside. No one is going to confine you to one room. Afterall, it's your house!

FAMILY BONDING

In a homebirth, the father is able to take a much more active role in the birth of his child. A couple can share in the intimacy of labor and birth without feeling as if they are being watched. You won't be bothered by shift changes or the dozens of internal exams a laboring woman inevitably has to endure in the hospital. Many fathers even "catch" the baby. Their hands are the first to touch his child rather than the latex-gloved hands of a perfect stranger.

Older siblings can share in the birth as well. They can be present to immediately bond with the baby during those crucial first hours. Also no one has to be separated after the birth. Baby never has to go to the nusury to be poked, prodded, weighed, and measured. Your older children don't have to be sent off with relatives during your hospital stay. This can be very comforting if you have a toddler or young child who doesn't take well to being away from mother for very long.

AVOIDING UNNECESSARY MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

When you birth your baby at home, you can avoid routine medical procedures. Some of these procedures can be helpful in high-risk cases, but can actually endanger the health of healthy, low-risk mothers and babies. Some of these interventions include routine anesthesia, forceps or vacuum extraction, electronic fetal monitoring, pitocin, episiotomy, and IV. You also don't have to interrupt you rhythms by transporting from labor room to delivery room or going from home to hospital (Who really enjoys a bumpy car ride while trying to deal with contractions?).

You may also choose to avoid some of the routine procedures that newborns endure in the hospital. Some of these procedures can interfere with mother-baby bonding. Eyedrops, heel pricks, early vaccinations, heating lamps, and rough handling are all things that can be easily avoided by birthing your baby at home.

CHOICE OF POSITIONS

At home you will have the freedom to choose what position to use for labor and birth. You might choose to squat, or be on all fours, or even float in your tub. Pushing out a baby while on a narrow metal table with your legs in stirrups is not only degrading and uncomfortable but is also the worst position in which to birth. It is this position which most often causes tearing of the perineum or necessitates an episiotomy. Being able to birth in a more relaxed position at home, you almost never need an episiotomy and you rarely tear. Squatting can actually move along a labor failing to progress without the need for drugs or forceps.

ADVANTAGES FOR BABY

Babies are born at home without being groggy from drugs or dragged out by forceps. Baby enters the world in a loving peaceful environment and can immediately be comforted by gentle touches and soft words of reassurance. You will be able to spend time nursing and bonding rather than baby being whisked away to be bathed, weighed, footprinted, and examined. Your baby will be treated as an individual rather than one of dozens born on any given day.

Baby's every need can be instantly met when you are caring for him rather than him being one of a crowd in the hospital nursery. Breastfeeding on demand rather than on the hospitals schedule will help your milk come in and prevents common nursing problems. A happier and more secure baby will result since baby doesn't have to endure separation from his mother, or wait for his needs to be met when hungry, lonely, or in pain. There is also less of a chance of infection at home than in the hospital nursery.

Articles:

Homebirth Scientific Studies

Is Homebirth for You? 6 Myths of Chilbirth Exposed

Home Birth and Out-of-Hospital Birth: Is it Safe? How Safe is that Hospital Anyway?

The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study

ARE MEDICAL SERVICES SAFE?

Homebirth Safety - What Really Keeps the Baby Safe?