watched the Business of being born

funny bunny · December 2009

I was quite astounded by some of the statistics.

I also happen to know an anesthesiologist - he tells me that about 99% of the births in his hospital (major hospital in Toronto) take an epidural.

I know from experience as a coach for my friend while she gave birth, that sometimes, it's impossible without the medical intervention. But 99% of the time??

So then I read this article: https://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/217456

about Toronto Mid-wife services being in a crisis, but they are govt funded. So I am starting to think that movie was predominantly talking about an American problem.

So then I started thinking about home birthing and how torn I am about this concept. I mean, what if something goes wrong, and the 1 reason that it did is because you are not close to a hospital that moment?

I would feel guilty forever over that.

Has anyone here done the home-birth thing yet?

Any thoughts about this?

trevess · December 2009

My SIL had four successful home-births. I am quite interested in home birthing, also, but I can't bring myself to do it for the first one. Maybe after I see what birth is all about I will try it for my second, but I think I have chosen the middle-of-the-road by going with the hosiptal setting with a midwife and a doula who will advocate for as little interventions as possible for me.

I also think that it is as high as 99% because most women either don't educate themselves about birth or simply don't believe in the power of their own bodies. They seem to forget that pain medication was only invented a few decades ago, and prior to that ALL births were natural!!!

Ashleysred · December 2009

I would not consider a home birth just because I don't want afterbirth all over my house. I don't want to clean it up and I don't want any stains. I know that is terrible but the whole thing just kind of grosses me out.

Also, I want the option to have pain meds. I really don't think I can do it without them. Being at home would take away the option and I might freak out.

With that said, many kids out here who I went to school with were born at home. I think that as long as you are low risk and healthy the chances of something going wrong during labor are slim. The midwives come very prepared and should be able to handle most common emergencies.

AshNicole331 · December 2009

I never considered a home birth. I'm honestly not very educated about them but the whole idea of it really makes me a nervous wreck. Things can change on a dime and God forbid you aren't close enough to a hospital to save your baby or yourself.

I knew ahead of time that it was likely I was going to ask for the epidural and I was just glad to have that option. I definitely needed it...I don't know how women do it natural. Really. I'm not trying to freak anyone out but I tried to go as long as I possibly could and it's some serious pain. It comes in waves and I felt like I couldn't catch a break in between contractions. Once one ended another creeped right back and they only got worse and worse to the point where I was moaning outloud and grabbing the railings to get through them.

I do understand why some people choose to do home births. I get it. It's just not for me. I think I would be too worried about something going wrong and losing my baby than being able to focus on breathing and managing the pain.

dani_girl08 · December 2009

I do understand why women would want a home birth. It would be an intimate experience, natural, etc. However, I don't think it's something I would ever want to do. When my sister had her baby, he had meconium aspiration & developed an infection. He needed immediate medical attention, & was to in the NICU on a ventilator for 2 days. I don't even want to think about what could have happened if the medical interventions he needed in those first few minutes weren't available. I do know 2 people who have done home births, & are very happy that they did them. I just couldn't take the risk.

Mrs.N.H. · December 2009

I had considered birth at home years ago.

But after hearing about Nick's cousin that was born at home and not breathing and the paramedics got there in time to revive him, but by the time they got there the baby had brain damage already. Now he is in a bed, can't talk, can't move on his own and requires oxygen chamber therapy in a regular basis (so much the parents had to buy the machine).

So now the thought of not having the most advance medical care right there on the spot will freak me out. I really don't care if my doctor cares about me or the baby in an emotional kind of way...I just care that he is the best trained profesional to deliver my baby safely and have the equipment to handle an emergency right on the spot...for the emotional part I have my husband and family.

About the meds...I think I want them, but I'm not sure yet...I know I can deliver without them, I mean...my mom and sister did it and many other woman have done it too...but at least I wanna have the option available.

jebuell · December 2009

I attended a home birth on October. I actually just wrote a REALLY long response but instead I'll just invite you to e-mail me if you want the play by play of what I got to experience.

I will say that it was an amazing experience and not at all what I thought it would be. It was so different from hospital births. Remember that a lot of problems come from the interventions you are getting at the hospital. Take those out of the equation and you have a lot of possibilities removed. Also if there is a problem, like a cord wrapped or baby coming out the wrong way the midwife is specially trained to deal with that and can easily solve problems without making a huge emergency out of it. However, there are some things that happen that happen no matter how careful, normal, or trained you and your midwife are. In that case, go to the hospital. Most midwifes will not do a homebirth if you aren't less than 10 miles from a hospital just in case something does go wrong. And they are just as trained to keep you and your baby alive as OBs.

I recommend reading "Ina May's Guide to a Better Birth". It's very granola, but she covers how she deals with certain problems in her book and gives her statistics and it's amazing, really! She talks a bit in BoBB but goes into more details in "Ina May's Guide". That book completely settled any fears I had of having a homebirth. I am planning one if my birth is normal or even moderate risk. High risk I won't have a choice, legally.

Seriously, if you are interested in it try to find a local homebirth community. Mine is very, very active and they have some wonderful people who are more than willing to talk about their experiences. Also there's a PodCast called Pregtastic that you can find on iTunes. Then listen to the Birth stories. They had one recently where there was something wrong with the baby after a birth center birth that required him to go to a hospital. That story put a lot of my fears at ease because everything is perfect with her and her baby now. The transfer was really just precautionary, but goes to show that a midwife will know when it's best to transfer.

jebuell · December 2009

Ashleysred:
I would not consider a home birth just because I don't want afterbirth all over my house. I don't want to clean it up and I don't want any stains. I know that is terrible but the whole thing just kind of grosses me out.

Just an FYI, you will not get afterbirth all over your house nor will you have to clean anything up. That's part of the midwifes job (she may also cook you dinner and do your laundry if you ask). The homebirth I attended all of the afterbirth was contained in the bathroom and when the midwife left I peaked in and that bathroom looked cleaner then my own bathroom and my husband is an OCD cleaner.

Ashleysred · December 2009

jebuell:
Ashleysred:

I would not consider a home birth just because I don't want afterbirth all over my house. I don't want to clean it up and I don't want any stains. I know that is terrible but the whole thing just kind of grosses me out.

Just an FYI, you will not get afterbirth all over your house nor will you have to clean anything up. That's part of the midwifes job (she may also cook you dinner and do your laundry if you ask). The homebirth I attended all of the afterbirth was contained in the bathroom and when the midwife left I peaked in and that bathroom looked cleaner then my own bathroom and my husband is an OCD cleaner.

I am glad to hear that the after birth is cleaned by the midwife. But it is so messy. I can't even imagine having that all over my house, or bathroom. Besides my tub isn't very big.

And I am not eligible for home birth anyway, there isn't a hospital within ten miles of my house.

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