This post is 7 months in the making, but I still wanted to share certain things for anyone curious about pregnancy, home birth, or our experience. Plus something very cool came out of our birth in particular – aside from our amazing baby of course! Read until the end, or scroll to the bottom to get there right away.
Home birth is a big topic and it can come with big feelings, so we’ll really only be glancing over it here. If you want more resources here are a couple that we’ve enjoyed from people with expertise and experience in the world of home birth:
- Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
- The Empowered Pregnancy & Birth Course
We will share our story, and select birth photos, but will keep it safe for work and family.
How we chose home birth
Originally we were interested in a birthing center birth for our first baby. We knew we wanted a natural birth and felt comfortable birthing outside of a hospital given a healthy pregnancy. In our area we have multiple hospitals nearby within 15 minutes, so we could go there if needed. We thought it would be good to have the equipment and services available at a birth center. When we started talking to Midwives they said having a birthing center birth was basically the same as a home birth but in someone else’s building. So we thought “oh, then we’ll just do it at home.”
How we prepared for home birth
Finding a Midwife to provide us care throughout pregnancy, birth, and post partum and she guided us on what supplies to gather for the birth. Working with a Doula, which we would highly recommend doing for any birth plan. We wanted seasoned women around us to tell us if everything that was happening was normal.
Involving family: Because we were going to be in my parent’s space we cleared our home birth with them. They were on board and a critical part of the smooth operation and positive experience we had. We all got to share in the birth and they contributed greatly. They made coffee and food and even brought hot water to fill the birthing tub when our hot water heater couldn’t handle it. You never know what help may be handy.
How was our home birth?
Amazing! I am grateful to have been able to labor in my own bed without having to commute anywhere. Everyone came to us. After she was born our baby was in her own bed surrounded by family with all the comforts of home. She was born a few feet from where I sit writing this 🙂
Did we transfer to the hospital?
For the birth, no. However I had to make a brief visit (only a couple hours) to the hospital post partum. I had a complication that can occur commonly in birth, regardless of location, that was severe enough in my case to need to see a doctor. My mom and midwife came with me, and then I was right back in my own bed with my new baby afterward. While I was gone Thomas and baby bonded with a well-earned nap.
Do we recommend home birth?
Yes, absolutely! But it’s not our recommendation you should go on. Something that helped in our choice was the principle that Doctors are trained to spot and address unhealthy conditions in pregnancy and birth while Midwives are trained in supporting healthy, natural birth, while also knowing when the attention of a doctor is needed. We were fortunate (but also worked hard) to have a healthy pregnancy and we wanted a provider and a birth plan that aligned with that. In short, whatever birth plan you feel comfortable with given your pregnancy and comfort level is what we urge you to pursue.
So what came out of our birth other than our baby? lol
Well our Doula, Natalie, is also an award-winning birth photographer. Her love of birth and her eye and heart for photography make her art truly beautiful. She asked us if we felt comfortable with her entering a photo from our birth in an international birth photography competition. We told her go for it, and she won!
We joke that “we won a nude modeling competition” but really we are so honored to have had our moment captured so skillfully and respectfully. If you want to see the winning photo feel free, but this one isn’t safe for work. Just humans doing human things, but still 😉
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