Homebirth. I did it, and you can too!

After bawling my eyes out the night before because I was still pregnant and feeling like I would be the last one on earth to give birth, I woke up in the middle of the night (2:30 a.m.) with a pretty strong contraction. I went to the bathroom and had a very strong ctx there. I silently crept back into bed and waited to see if another one was coming. Another one did, so I quietly slipped back out of bed and to the guestroom where my mom was. I lay there with her for a while I let my husband sleep so he would have the energy for me later and went to wake my mom. I didn't want to wake my husband if it was a false alarm in case he had to work that day. The previous Saturday, I'd had an entire day full of pre-labor contractions, which had brought my mom into town. So mom and I started timing the contractions and they quickly went to 6 min. apart coming pretty strong and with "after shock" contractions (my term) that would last only a few seconds. I had started there in bed but as they started coming closer, I had grabbed the birth ball (your regular exercise ball) and was rocking through the ctx on it while my head and my arms were resting on the bed. We called the midwife at about 4:30 a.m. and she wanted them to last longer (at least one minute) to the peak so she suggested I hop in the shower to space them out a little. That only brought them on closer and stronger and I didn't want to stand up through them at all. After the shower, I made it to the couch and had 2 really strong ones and felt a few sensations I knew were signals of transition. I ran into the bedroom and threw up (a major transition sign) with the urge to push a little. I yelled, "Get Dottie here NOW!! I'm in transition and I feel like pushing." This occurred around 5:30. I told Kyle to fill the tub and got in as soon as I could. Dottie arrived at 6 and examined me. I was 10 cm! I labored a little while longer until I really felt the urge to push. My water broke about 6:15 and then the real work began. I pushed until she came out at 7:59. It felt to me like time flew- I had no concept of the hours unless someone told me. I also was making sounds that I couldn't imagine were coming out of my own throat. The initial contractions had me making moaning sounds while the pushing was very gutteral and like a frustrated stallion near a mare in heat (low bellows and primal grunting). My hubby was amazing through the whole labor and really seemed to know I what I needed. He supported me physically and emotionally. There was a point in the labor where a ctx would be starting and I needed him to do the sacral press. He pushed at the right spot everytime and I could lightly touch his arm to let him know when I needed it and he was right there. It seriously alleviated 20% of the pain for those ctxs I needed it for. The rest of the time I rested on his arms as I pushed. He never complained of being tired (though he only had to do it for an hour) or hungry (my mom fed him clementines). Everything I needed was there before I asked. I had a well-oiled birth team that had barely ever been in the same room together. I can't tell you how important your choices of people there for your birth are. I was so blessed and you can be too. My birth was exhilirating, fulfilling, and one of the top 3 proudest moments of my entire life. I think my daughter is healthier for the choices I made and happier also!

My personal disclaimer: I believe every person must make their own choice. I do not condemn anyone for their birth choice. I believe in everyone making the choice that is best and healthiest for them. I made my choice based on much research and all opinions on this site are my own. I also believe homebirths should be reserved for those pregnancies deemed low-risk by a midwife or physician. I do not support unassisted homebirths. I believe obstetricians have their purpose though they are often guided less by patients needs/desires and more by liability. They help those higher risk pregnancies and are required to attend those cases.

READ READ READ!! I have listed several books below (amazon)that I would highly recommend. The best support I received was from books that had tons of homebirth stories in it. Their stories inspired and encouraged me like nothing else could. They also gve me the freedom to labor in my own way.

Most men like the safety and ease of hospital births because there is less responsibility for them. Luckily my husband enjoys most hands on things and this was an easy hurdle. Most of them need to know there will be jobs for him to do during the birth including helping to provide pain relief through the sacral pressure or the "hip squeeze" (more on that later). They can help prepare the birth area as you labor as well as providing you with encouragement and support.

The wallet is another area that helps with your argument. Our birth was $2000 as opposed to $9000 for your basic hospital birth.

My husband was mostly concerned about my safety. We live very close to a hospital and could get there quickly as needed. My midwife explained that first off she was certified in neonatal resuscitation, carried oxygen, and pitocin in the event there was excessive postpartum bleeding (not for induction purposes). Second, she explained that when you go into labor naturally, "emergencies" happen more slowly. Pitocin speeds labor and usually it makes emergencies more "emergent" this can also be the case with epidurals as they may accelerate problems. This coupled with the fact tht 90% of natural births proceed without complication and you have some very good odds! Another useful statistic is tht while hospitals have a 30% c-section rate, most midwives have a 3% rate.

I interviewed 3 midwives and chose the one I connected with most. See the next section for interview questions

Pure and simple. Your midwife may let you borrow some too. Below are some books I read to help me prepare for a natural childbirth.

Take a Bradley Childbirth Class (some like Hypnobirthing, but many didn't use it during the labor).

Take a breastfeeding class.

Visualize your birth. Discuss it with your birth partner.

Practice relxation.