This weekend I joined a Utah Valley Attachment Parenting group I am really excited about this group and I hope I can go to the activities often. I loved wearing my babies in a sling when they were younger, they would often fall right to sleep once they were placed in the sling and it made vacuuming, grocery shopping and other activities easier. Then once they learned to walk they became so independent that they don’t like being in the sling anymore. I still use it for Bekah occasionally like when we don’t want to use the stroller.
I also use cloth diapers, delivered both babies while unmediated, breastfeed and follow other ‘attachment parenting’ practices. However I do have my children immunized and let them cry-it-out sometimes 
Still I feel that I will be able to relate well to this group of women. Some of them have had homebirths and I am considering having a home birth for my 3rd baby (no, I am not pregnant!). I would be too scared to do an unassisted birth but I would love to get recommendations of midwives that will do home births.
One reason why I am considering a home birth is because with our insurance we would have to pay $5000 for the birth which is pretty much what the maternal and delivery costs would be. Of course I could get additional insurance but I hate how nurses at the hospital were always checking to make sure I was nursing properly and the nurses who don’t even have any children act as if they knew more than me (even though it was my second child), and I couldn’t sleep with all the noise that goes on at a hospital. The delivery the second time was so much better which I relate to having a midwife so I wonder if a home birth would be even better.
What are your views on home births? Would you give birth at home?
September 29th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
If I had more support from family I definitely would. In fact I seriously thought about it for this one, but instead I am going to a new birth center that is about as close to a home-like setting as it gets. Maybe next time I’ll do a homebirth, depends on the support I have. My midwife does homebirths and she is so wonderful, and her fees are very affordable, just $2000 (and some insurances like BCBS actually cover it). So I would definitely recommend her
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September 29th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I have no choice — I have to have hospital births. I am both high risk and have preterm labor issues that the baby has to be monitored. But we are done having babies so its not an issue for me anymore.
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September 29th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I could not do something like that as I am too much of a risk to even think about it.
IF you do something like this, take the time out to research the negative as well as the positive:
-What would you do as far as supplies? Would the hospital provide those, or do you have to buy them?
-WHERE in your home would you do something like that? What about the cleaning up afterwards? What about sterilization of your surroundings?
-What if something goes wrong? Yes, it is annoying to have nurses check on you but at least you know if something goes wrong you’re at the hospital. Something like hemmoraging, a drop in heartrate, an episiotomy, stitching?
-Are you close enough to the hospital where you can go to if something goes wrong?
I don’t mean to scare you. Heck, having to pay 5K would scare me. But these were the first things that popped in my head. Why would you have to pay that much? That’s crazy! I paid $50 for Maddy, and I’d pay that again through my insurance. It would be $500 through Adam’s insurance.
I had Debbie at a birthing center and it was like a house. It was so quiet and so peaceful. The hospital was right next door. It was perfect. I would just feel safer knowing help was an instant away.
Good luck.
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September 30th, 2008 at 2:25 am
*high-five* on the sling – I LOVE SLINGS!
home births eh? the thought of gives me goosebumps…extremely challenging and for the non-experts or the first-timers, I guess the risk is that much higher too as compared to when you are on the steel bed in the hospital, wouldn’t it?
but hey, if I have an experienced midwife with me and my baby can’t wait till I’m in hospital, why not? *wink*
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September 30th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Heck no! (ha ha ha) I view going to the hospital as a break. I always allow the nurses to keep the baby in the nursery and then I take pain killers and go to sleep uninterrupted. That is my last chance to get a full sleep for months. Yes, I tell the nurses to give my kid a bottle and no it never affected my kids nursing. I like some attachment parenting things, like co-sleeping. I did research on this way of parenting in college years ago and believe in some aspects. It is based on parenting as natural as possible. However, in old societies, women had huge extended families and close villages to help them out. Men were not allowed around a woman in birth and women had to hide from men for 30 days. (but the other women in the village would care for her)
Also, I like to be served hand and foot in hospitals. You can even be massaged and soak in a hot tub, and no clean up later!!
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September 30th, 2008 at 9:38 am
OH yeah, I think the birthing centers would be a great alternative. Do you have to pay $5,000? Just tell JJ not to touch you for a couple of years!!
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September 30th, 2008 at 11:34 am
It is interesting to hear different people’s opinions on home birthing. I know it is not for everyone. I would like to learn all I can about it before I make that decision. I am thinking of having Amber come take care of me after I have baby #3
We’re thinking of having another baby when Bekah is about 3 or 4.
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September 30th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Last night, I visited your blog right before shutting down for the night. I went to sleep and dreamed that you were pregnant and had twin sons and you named them “Track” and “Field”.
I don’t think my dream means anything, but I have to admit that I am chuckling at the those names right now.
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September 30th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Oh, I don’t think I could ever have a home birth. To me, it is comforting to know that if a critical complication arose during or after the birth (as what happened with my baby #1), that specialized doctors are just a step away. To me, saving the money just isn’t worth the risk. Midwives are great- I used one for #2 at a hospital, but it was nice to have a doctor and OR room ready if needed.
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October 1st, 2008 at 7:39 am
Who would watch the kids? Maybe I can help with number four or five:-)
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October 1st, 2008 at 10:25 am
Dana, That is so funny! Did you know that I am a twin?
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October 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
I have had two hombirths attending by a CNM. I would not do it anyother way.
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October 1st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Heck yeah I would have a home birth! I had a UC, in fact, just this past July. There’s no reason for healthy low-risk women *not* to have a home birth! If an emergency arises, there’s nothing, short of a c-section, that a competent midwife can’t handle. You can read my UC birth story on my blog.
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October 1st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I used to think that I would but after having an unexpected complication that would have killed both me and my baby had we not been in a hospital I will never consider it again. I think it is wonderful for people who have low risk pregnancies but you never know when something is going to go wrong. I had no idea that I would abrupt during delivery before it happened.
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October 1st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I’ve had two hospital births and one birth center birth. The next one will definitely be a homebirth. I enjoyed my hospital births, but the third was so much more personal, so much more empowering, and IMO much less risky. I’ve actually just spent the morning watching TLCs “Baby Story” and all the hospital births just scare me. The unnecessary interventions, and the total disregard for what the mom is feeling just really irritates me.
I loved that my midwife with #3 let me do whatever I felt I needed to do during the birth… and I was even able to catch my own daughter as she shot through the water.
BTW… you can still be waited on during a homebirth. You can still get a hot bath, a massage, and your midwife should still do all the clean-up. You can also hire a post-partum doula to do your laundry, dishes, cooking, etc and still end up paying less than a hospital.
Overall… I don’t plan on ever giving birth in a hospital again, and pray I won’t have complications that would actually require a hospital birth. Thankfully, my husband completely agrees.
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October 1st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Esmeralda –
I just thought I’d answer a couple of your questions, as they are common FAQ regarding homebirth.
**What would you do as far as supplies? Would the hospital provide those, or do you have to buy them?**
This is usually included in the midwife’s fee. Sometime’s it’s a seperate package, in case you already have the needed things lying around… either way, it’s only about $100.
**WHERE in your home would you do something like that? What about the cleaning up afterwards? What about sterilization of your surroundings?**
Space can be an issue in a homebirth, it’s actually the reason we chose a birth center for my last birth instead of a homebirth.
Clean-up after is handled by the midwife and her apprentices.
Hospitals are not nearly as “sterile” as you would expect them to be. Personally, I would much rather have my newborn at home with all the germs that are already in our family, instead of having them in a hospital with other people’s germs.
**What if something goes wrong? Yes, it is annoying to have nurses check on you but at least you know if something goes wrong you’re at the hospital. Something like hemmoraging, a drop in heartrate, an episiotomy, stitching?**
In a homebirth situation, the mother is generally much calmer and will recognize herself if something is going wrong. All midwives will transfer to a hospital if necessary.
Midwives are equipped to handle hemmorage, episiotomy (which is almost never necessary in any birth), and stitches.
**Are you close enough to the hospital where you can go to if something goes wrong?**
Again, in a homebirth, the mother is generally the one to notice that something is wrong, and notices with enough warning to get to a hospital if needed.
**Why would you have to pay that much? That’s crazy! I paid $50 for Maddy, and I’d pay that again through my insurance. It would be $500 through Adam’s insurance.**
It’s nice that your insurance was able to cover most of the birth. Here in Utah there is pretty much a standard $5000 maternity deductible with any insurance. That said, with my last baby my insurance would have covered 100%… and instead I chose to pay a $1700 co-pay so I could use the birth center instead. After researching my options (both positive and negative aspects) I felt this was a much safer situation for myself and my baby… even though my closest hospital was 5 minutes away and the birth center was 45 minutes with no traffic.
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October 1st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
One more note… a drop in baby’s heartrate during contractions is not a bad thing… It’s NORMAL. A prolonged drop in heartrate that does not increase again between contractions could signal that something is wrong… but midwives are able to monitor that also and would detect any problems.
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October 1st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I am actually planning my first homebirth right now. I am due in March with my second child. My first was born in a hospital and looking back, I realize that I am lucky to have had a normal vaginal birth. The interventions that they are so quick to do in hospitals actually put the mother and baby at more risk than at home. I feel very safe having a baby at home for a few reasons: wherever a woman is the most comfortable is where she will labor the best/easiest. (ex. animals rarely give birth under stressful conditions like bright lights, being watched..etc) I also know the risks of having a homebirth vs.a hospital birth and I feel that for a low risk pregnancy, homebirth is safest. More complications happen in hospitals. I also know that I am about a 2-3 minute drive from a very large hospital should something happen during labor..transfer to the hospital from the nearest birthing center would be 12 minutes. Birth can be wonderful in any setting (I just attended a beautiful natural hospital birth this weekend) but the mother needs to do her research..especially on care-providers and birth facility statistics. Find out about c-section rates(there are many docters around here who have a 30-40% c-section rate!) Also, feel comfortable with your choice. Don’t do a hospital just because you feel that that is where you are “supposed” to have your baby and don’t do a homebirth based on the price alone. You need to feel confident about your choice because whether you have a good/bad experience at a hospital or at home, the choice was made by you and you are partially responsible. Personally I am looking forward to not having to rush anywhere in labor, no russian roulette with if I will have a nice nurse or not, and I can labor however I want because I am in the comfort of my own home. I also look forward to bringing my baby into the world in a calm and loving atmosphere.
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October 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Frogleymom and Sarah, you both really touched on points that that encourage me to want a home birth. I was really upset with the doctor I had for my first baby because he didn’t care at all what I wanted. And for both children I felt very stressed going to the hospital because both times I was ready to push (fully dialated) and there was a lot of rushing around, nurses asking 100′s of questions and my husband having to leave to move the car out of emergency parking.
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October 1st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I would most definitely have a home birth. My first baby was a planned home water birth, but ended in a c-section because of his presentation. There was no point in which either of us were in danger. My midwife was very competent and helpful. After 3 hours of pushing I decided to go to the hospital. You can birth your baby anywhere you want at home. In your bed, on the floor, in the tub…. You name it. If the U.S. had a higher homebirth rate, we wouldn’t have the second WORST infant mortality rate in the world. My next birth will be a HWBAC. If you do the research, you’ll find homebirth is completely safe with a low-risk pregnancy.
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October 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I absolutely would have a homebirth!! I’m actually pregnant with my second right now and initially I contacted a homebirth midwife and was going to go that route. However, my son was born a little early and I couldn’t shake this feeling that I should go to the hospital again for this baby. :/ If mama and baby are healthy and you listen closely to your intuition there is nothing dangerous at all about a homebirth!
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October 1st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Melissa,
I know I’ve told you my DD’s birth story. It’s also at my blog- in fact I re-posted it a couple of days ago so it should be easily found.
I’m very glad I had my girl at home. She was born at 43 weeks after 44 hours of labor. There’s no way that would have been “allowed” in a hospital. I would have been induced, maybe labeled as “failure to progress.” My water would have been broken.
From my experience, prayer and blessings were the biggest help for me in my labor.
Don’t worry about space. If you can fit the mother, there’s enough space. I gave birth in a studio apartment.
Clean up isn’t all that bad. If you go with a midwife, they’ll handle that. With ours, since we were unattended, McKay cleaned up. I actually think it was somewhat therapeutic for him to clean up- gave him time to gather his thoughts about what just happened.
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October 1st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I absolutely want to have another homebirth! Our second birth was fantastic and I am glad that the doula and midwife only made it in time to clean up? My first birth was a vacuum extraction with a 3rd degree episiotomy in the hospital. I later learned that is was completely unnecessary and had a homebirth with my second child. Like Sarah, after doing research I feel that a homebirth is much safer for me and my baby. Birth is as safe as life gets even in the hospital.
To answer some of the questions:
-What would you do as far as supplies? Would the hospital provide those, or do you have to buy them?
My midwife included the birth kit in her fee. Or you can get one online or at a medical supply store.
-WHERE in your home would you do something like that? What about the cleaning up afterwards? What about sterilization of your surroundings?
I have 3 friends who have had homebirths in tiny student housing. We had ours in our second bedroom. Our midwife cleaned up everything. You couldn’t tell we had a baby in our apartment. I would rather take my chances with my home germs which are less likely to be superbugs like staph.
-What if something goes wrong? Yes, it is annoying to have nurses check on you but at least you know if something goes wrong you’re at the hospital. Something like hemmoraging, a drop in heartrate, an episiotomy, stitching?
Our midwife was trained to handle complications and stabilize me and baby for a transport to the hospital if necessary. Midwives can also do as much or as little heartrate etc. checking as wanted. Midwives are also able to handle most hemmorages at home as well as stitches. They also know when a drop in heart rate is just normal and when it means something is wrong. Midwives can do stitches and episiotomies are rarely necessary, but can be done at home. For me it was helpful to go through the list of complications and learn more about each one and then what we would do if the midwife was there or if we were on our own.
-Are you close enough to the hospital where you can go to if something goes wrong?
We are very close to a hospital.
Here are some good links:
British Medical Journal study:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom_
Most recent outcome report for licensed homebirth midwives in UT (the current year isn’t available yet):
http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/forms/LDEM_2007OutcomeReport.pdf
Homebirth safety sticky with lots of good websites and book reccomendations at http://www.mothering.com:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=407301
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October 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Thank you Joy and Frogleymom for answering my questions. Out of both of my deliveries, my first was by far the easiest (though it lasted 22 hours!). I had a midwife, plus she was born in a birthing center and in a tub. But like I said, the hospital was right next door…attached to the birthing center in fact.
My second was complicated because of complications but I felt like I couldn’t decide what it was I wanted. Which is normal in a high risk situation I guess.
If it were in a birthing center, I’d do it 100%. But I don’t think in my home.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
JJ actually suggested me having a water birth for Sariah “because Esme did it” but the doctor said it was illegal in Rexburg he also said that by law I had to have an IV and all the monitoring equipment on while pushing. When I had a midwife for Bekah she told the nurse not to give me an IV and just to check the baby’s heart rate occasionally.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Very interesting, Melissa. When I had Maddy I was given the cordless monitors so I can sit in the jet tub. They’re waterproof too. While it was a nuisance having it on, the jet tub felt good. lol.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I have a Jet tub in one of my bathrooms
so maybe I should give birth in there next time!
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October 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 am
Wow, your first Dr sounds like an jerk Melissa
Those may be their policies, but it wouldn’t be against the law to have a waterbirth or refuse the IV and monitoring. I hate when Drs lie about stuff being “law” when it’s really just “policy” and they don’t let you know you have the right to refuse treatments.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
You are right Kara! JJ and I were actually talking last night about how we didn’t like the doctors we went to with Sariah but we felt like we had no choice because they were the clinic that our insurance covered the most. The doctor who delivered Sariah is actually here in Provo now.
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October 7th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
[...] I gave birth to a baby boy in my jet tub. Must have been caused by writing that crazy post about home births! 8. Your favorite drink? Peach Lemonade 9. Your dream/goal? That my children will all lead good [...]