Homebirth

With more women looking to birth differently these days I see this question asked a lot. If you are looking to hire a midwife there are a few things to think about before you get to the interview stage. I think that we all want to choose a midwife like we have been choosing doctors over the past decades but that really isn’t an option if you want your needs met. If you choose your midwife by location, fees, and availability alone then you may be disappointed in the service you receive.

The first step to finding the right midwife for you is to know what it is that you want in your birth experience. Having a clear vision of your birth plan will help you find a midwife or traditional birth attendant that aligns with your beliefs, needs, and will support your choices. If you haven’t given this much thought I have something for you at the end of this blog. The next step is......

Are you a mom who is considering a homebirth but your husband says no? You're not alone! In this blog post, I'll share how I got my homebirth with my husband and how you can too. Keep reading for tips on how to get your partner to see that homebirth is the right choice for you.

I remember when I wanted my first homebirth and the long conversations trying to convince my husband that this was the way to go. We even met with a midwife, had all our questions answered, and she aligned with our beliefs in all areas of pregnancy and childbirth. He still wasn’t on board, and it wasn’t about concern for me, which may be the block you are dealing with.

For him it was about the out of pocket expense, which I understood, we weren’t rolling in extra funds by any means, but for me my freedom to choose was EVERYTHING! I never gave up, we kept having the conversations and then the moment happened…… 

Man if this isn’t a topic that comes across my feed daily! If you are pregnant, FTM or planning your next, I’m sure it has crossed your mind too. From my experience most women believe that having a baby has to be painful. It’s understandable, given our sources, that pain is pretty much the biggest part of having a baby that women worry about. I have been there too, trust me, with my first homebirth I had back labor and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

After that experience I was pregnant with my third when I heard an acquaintance say that she had a pain-free birth! Of course my response was, “excuse me, say again please?” I mean I was in disbelief because I had never heard of such a thing before. We chatted and I grew in my confidence and belief in my body to birth my babies without pain. Below are some things that I learned that helped me manage the discomforts of labor once I knew what was possible.....

If you have ever experienced prodromal labor you probably understand exactly where this question came from. When you are nearing the end of your pregnancy and things start to happen, you get excited and think okay I’m having a baby today. And then it stops, you go all day or night with no signs of what you thought was the beginning stages of labor. Then it’s back and you are again excited and ready for things to progress only to have it stop AGAIN!

You might be thinking, "What is the meaning of this, it’s torture and I just want to have my baby?!?" 

There are some pretty significant differences between an OBGYN, your standard pregnancy care provider, and a midwife, meaning “with woman”. What is the standard of care that you want through your pregnancy and childbirth journey? What do you want your experience to be like?

We have all been to the doctor’s office at some point in our lives and I’m sure that this first difference I share will make perfect sense to pretty much anyone. So let’s get started…….