Because home birth has recently fallen out of fashion, most people are mystified by the whole idea. I’ve had mothers of several children ask me, “Well, what do you do at a home birth?”
Home birthing isn’t rocket science. After all, hospital birthing has become the norm only in the last 60 years when anesthesia became widespread practice. It’s fascinating to me that in a short 60 years, our society has lost touch with something that was considered “normal” since time immemorial.
Of course, home birthing isn’t for everyone. Only about 10% of US women home birth today. Most women feel more comfortable in a hospital, and so those women shouldn’t attempt a homebirth. Other women trust that birthing is a natural event and do not want modern intervention to stall or disrupt their empowering transition into motherhood. Hospitals have a lot of fancy tools, and they are encouraged to use them. Things like fetal monitoring, inducement drugs, and pain relief are all interventions that home birthing mothers are quite happy to go without, and in fact, home birthing mothers see those tools as a threat to having a healthy birth. And quite frankly, the evidence in on their side.
If a woman is planning a home birth, she has a lot more to prepare than if she were to have a hospital birth.
For starters, she has to more carefully consider who will be there. However, some mothers consider birthing completely alone. There is a new wave of women in the US who are having unassisted births. Many of these women have already had successful doctor or midwife attended home births, and so they feel confident in their ability to do it alone. Cultures from around the world, past and present, let women birth alone. This is not a recent trend just in the US. This is a movement for women who want to be completely in touch with their bodies, their inner strength and confidence to proceed with what they consider an act of normal human behavior. It is also completely legal. That aside, most home birthing women want a midwife or doctor in attendance. After choosing a qualified attendant, the mother can then choose birthing assistants. She should probably remember that home birthing isn’t a party, it’s a serious event. Limiting the amount of invited assistants is probably wise.
Once these people are chosen, it’s a good idea to give them all a set of expectations and jobs for the big event. Personally, I photocopied over a hundred pages from various birthing books and shared them with my assistants. After reading the material, all of them have thanked me for helping them more completely understand why I’m having a homebirth, and they now feel much more confident in my ability to have a baby at home. They also feel more confident in what they should and shouldn’t do when the time comes.
Preparing the birth space is also a big consideration. For example, a mother may ask things like, how private is the area? Are there enough electrical outlets? Will the room be warm enough? Is there enough room for the laboring mother to move about? Is there enough room for the attendant and assistants? Visualizing the event and adequately preparing the birthing space is crucial for a smooth delivery.
The most time consuming task is to gather all the necessary supplies. In this area, I think a home birth mother is much more prepared than a hospital birth mother. Gathering supplies ensures that the mother is considering her baby in the home space environment. She prepares every last detail so there is nothing to trouble her once the baby has passed through to our side. For the first few weeks after birth, the mother shouldn’t worry about getting diapers or extra washcloths, etc. The only thing the mother should be concerned with is who will bring her meals while she recovers, rests, and connects with her newborn.
Because my own list of supplies is exhaustive and may be different from another mother’s needs and wants, I will not include it here. Internet and book research will easily tune a home birthing mother to what she needs for the special event. And most importantly, midwives are acutely aware of what is required for a smooth home birth, and they will most definitely ensure that the mother is gathering all necessary items weeks before the due date. For example, my due date is in a little over three weeks, and I can easily have this baby tonight and feel wholly prepared and at ease. I’ve done my homework, and it feels good.
If you are considering a home birth, or would like to know more about this topic, I recommend studying the works of Ina May Gaskin. She wrote her first book in the 70’s called “Spiritual Midwifery”. If you are stranded at sea and about to give birth, this book will tell you absolutely everything you need to know. Every foreseeable complication is handled in layman’s terms. The other book I recommend is “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.” I’ve read many books on child birth and home birth, and these two were by far the most objective, researched, and complete.
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