Natural Childbirth

Most of you all know by now that I’m planning to deliver this baby NATURAL for my first time. That’s right, no drugs with this childbirth. What you may NOT know is that I’m also planning to have this baby in the comfort of my own home.
I know what you’re thinking…
WHAT! YOU’RE CRAZY! That’s not safe.
Well, before you get all judgmental on me, let me explain my reasoning’s
First of all, I literally live 5 minutes from a hospital, and second of all, I’m not opposed to going to the hospital if complications arise. My midwives come prepared with an emergency back-up plan. Items they bring: include oxygen, IV, suturing materials, drugs to control hemorrhage, and neonatal resuscitation equipment.
That being said, I really don’t expect anything to go wrong. I’m visualizing a safe, and beautiful natural homebirth.
In the past I have really enjoyed my hospital stay after giving birth. Seemed to be a nice place to relax and recover. It was also nice having help with the baby from the nurses at night. But I’ve just decided that a homebirth is the best way for me to go this time around. Probably the main reasons include:
•    I won’t be tempted to get the epidural if I’m at home. I won’t have that option, and I REALLY want to have this baby natural.
•    I can have a water birth and I have the choice to deliver in any position I choose, instead of being confined to a bed laying flat on my back. I’ve read that squatting is a more natural position for childbirth and lying on your back is one of the worst. Makes labor more intense and pushing even harder, but it’s the best position for the doctor so that’s why it’s being done this way.
•    I won’t have to be away from my kids and they can be more a part of the whole experience. I’m not planning on having them in the room when I deliver, but I’d love to have them there as much as possible after baby arrives. Also, my husband won’t have to leave me to take the kids home for the night. We can all stay together the whole time.
•    Less risk of germs and infections. Even though I’m sure they take all sorts of precautions at the hospital. I can’t help but think of all the different people who come in and out of each room, the blood, ew! I never dared walk barefoot in my hospital room. I always had socks on, but then when I’d get back in bed I would think of all the germs on my socks that I’m putting into my own bed. Then to use the bathroom and the shower… I just felt like I was using a gas station bathroom. Maybe I’m just a bit of a germ freak.
“Homebirth is safer because the infection rate at homebirths is less than half of that at hospital births. There are several reasons for this: the baby is born with antibodies that were passed from the mother to the placenta.  This includes immunity to the family’s household germs.  Your new baby is protected from hospital-acquired infections at home.  In addition, because mothers and babies are kept together all the time, the baby’s immature immune system functions optimally. Also, this constant mother-baby interaction fosters successful breastfeeding, which is your baby’s best protection against infection.  Since midwives provide continuity of care and comprehensive mother/baby care, they can provide a level of care that is not possible with the assembly-line care provided in hospitals.”
Information from www.gentlebirth.org
•    I’ll be able to relax more being in my own home. Don’t have to worry about what I’ll need to bring to the hospital. I’ll have everything I might need here with me.  I’ll have more privacy and less random people coming in and out of my room every 15 minutes.
“In childbirth education classes, you learn about the fear-tension-pain cycle, where fear increases the tension, which increases the pain, which increases the fear, etc. until a woman is in terrible pain.  The opposite cycle could be called the confidence-relaxation-comfort cycle where the more confident you are, the better able you are to relax and the more comfortable you’ll be, which increases your confidence, etc.  This allows your body to take advantage of endorphins, which are the natural pain relief that your body provides in natural childbirth.  As a laboring woman’s body produces more oxytocin to increase the contractions, she also produces more endorphins for pain relief. I’ve seen women become more and more relaxed as their labor progresses and their endorphin levels climb to provide wonderful pain relief.  Being in your own home increases your confidence and allows you to relax into your labor very nicely. And, of course, if you have one of the beautiful birthing tubs set up, that provides marvelous pain relief.”
Information from www.gentlebirth.org
•    It will just be a more intimate experience. It’s a much more relaxed setting and everything goes slower after birth. The baby isn’t whisked away for unnecessary bathing, weighing, ect. You get the time for immediate bonding and breastfeeding without any disruptions.
The more I’m learning about natural homebirth, the more excited I am about this new experience. Can’t wait to share it with you all. I’m sure I’ll have lots of pictures and video footage to show you.

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