Home Birth!

Early on I decided I wanted to have a drug free birth.  Much of this decision was because I wanted to be sure I could breastfeed.  I'll come back to how these two things are related in a while.  In my opinion, Breastfeeding is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do for not only the health of you and your baby, but also for bonding!!!  

Not being a "Pain" person, I decided I would hire a Doula,  AKA a Labor Coach.  

Doula - a nonmedical person who assists a woman before, during, or after childbirth, as well as her partner and family by providing information, physical assistance, and emotional support. The provision of continuous support during labour by doulas is associated with improved maternal and fetal health and a variety of other benefits.

April of 2011 - Preconceptual Visit - I wanted to have an all natural drug free birth and was told I couldn't have a Doula or a Midwife assist because they "tend to step on the nurses toes"!

Started doing LOTS more research.... decided on hiring a Midwife.

September of 2011 - Found out we were expecting, interviewed Carol Hutson, Tiny Blessings Maternity Care, asked about Birth Center or other options and found out that Home Birth was the best choice!

History:

1900 - 95% of births in the US were at home

1938 - 50% of births in the US were at home

1955 - >1% of births in the US were at home

The number remains the same today! 

(But I personally know 5 other women here in Abilene and I meet more all the time!)

        

Here I am the day after we found out!

         

And 39 weeks (and 70 pounds!!!) later....

 41 Weeks: Spicy labor cookies! Just one of the MANY things we tried to get labor going... including Homeopathics, herbal supplements, curb walking, lunges, and even acupuncture!!

Maybe this is a good time to explain why I didn't want to be induced.....

1.) Desire to breastfeed

2.) fear of C-section

Carol using the doppler to listen to the baby's heart rate.

Statistics:

US has the 2nd worst newborn death rate
in the developed world:

or if you consider only the top 9 developed
countries the US is LAST!!!

We also have one of the highest
maternal mortality (mother death)
rates among all industrialized countries, despite spending almost $100 BILLION dollars annually on hospitalization for pregnancy/childbirth... 

Our Birth Story

From "Active Birth" by Janet Balaskas

-sacrum squatting vs. lying down

-contractions upright vs. lying down

ADVICE:

Always ask WHY??? "Why do I need that?"  "Why do you want to give that to my baby?"

Nothing is a "given"... You are free to do what you want!  Remember you are the one who HIRES the doctors, schools, etc.  They are not in charge of you.  You can "fire" them and find someone else at any point in time. 

HOMEWORK:

The Business of Being Born

Pregnant in America

Babies