This is the birth of my third child, Sage Darian on Christmas morning (the other two were also homebirths, vids in the way!)
My midwife, Susan Lees, delivered all my babies and her presence during my Christmas Eve labour and Christmas Morning birth was awe-inspiring. Thank you, Sue!!!!
No mother would ever put her unborn child at risk.
As a homebirther of 3 myself, it was imperative to me that my pregnancies were monitored very closely by my midwife and my OB. Only once all physical birthing conditions were right and we were all confident that the births would run smoothly, did we finalise our decisions to homebirth.
Once labour commences, the midwife is called and she in turn calls the OB to put him or her on stand by. Initial communication with the midwife is telephonic until such time that you feel you need to have her there. For some people it's in the early stages of labour, for some it's later. That is entirely a personal choice.
Throughout the labour the midwife is doing cervical checks and monitors the heartrate of the baby with a doppler RELIGIOUSLY. If the midwife AT ANY STAGE feels that you are not dilating and that in turn could place stress on the foetus, then she will call the OB and tell him/her that you are on the way to the hospital STILL IN EARLY STAGES OF LABOUR BEFORE THE BABY IS IN DISTRESS. This often ends in a C-section if the mother was not dilating.
Back to homebirths: Once you are 10cm dilated, and the baby is on the way down, there is no turning back. A C-Section (hospital) is no longer an option. The baby is now in the birth canal and it is now you and your primitive instinct that is going to push this baby out. Your body knows EXACTLY what it needs to do (even if your mind doesn't) and once again the baby's heart rate is monitored closely.
The birthing position is also one of personal choice. The body adopts a position it feels most comfortable in.
The midwife at hand (all midwive's are registered nurses and have done many many hours in labour wards)has all the necessary equipment with her should she need to intervene with the birth. Some midwive's at homebirths also have another midwife to assist them.
All instruments etc are sterilised in the same manner in which they would be in a hospital and NOTHING is left to chance. We choose to birth our children at home, not because we are ANTI-DOCTOR, stubborn and stupid, we choose to birth them at home because it is very important to us that our children arrive onto this planet NATURALLY as intended, into an environment that is calm and overflowing with love.
The labour process is also one that requires TREMENDOUS focus and will power, so you should be in an environment where you feel most comfortable and at ease. For some this is a hospital and for some it is at home, surrounded by one's loved ones.
"In a sincere effort to catch complications early and produce healthier babies, medical science has changed the atmosphere surrounding birth from one of a circle of loving support around laboring women to one of space age technology in a laboratory setting.
Though technology can save lives in a crisis, the routine use of technology can interfere with the normal birth process"
Hospitals are for people who are very ill, why would you want to birth your precious child into an environment like that if you don't have to??
http://gentlebirth.org
Peace
Tags: homebirth birth pregnancy new parent labour baby Sledd Luke Johnson
