Tuesday, July 14, 2009

More Reasons to Birth at Home

For obvious reasons, I have Birthing On My Mind. I can't believe our little GIRL might be here in FOUR weeks! Maybe five or six. But either way, it's soon.

I've been spending a lot of time lately on the web, researching things related to a more Natural Lifestyle for this blog. I've noticed what seems to be a trend: more people are becoming less satisfied with the "standard" hospital birth. Those same people are helping to publicize Natural Childbirth, which almost always means Home Birth.

This is Good.

In getting closer to my own birthing experience and poking around on the web, I've discovered something: I am very passionate about hombirth. I see these interviews and read of people's experiences and tears stream down my face as I feel sad for those who don't know how peaceful and wonderful the birth experience could and should be.

Here is an extremely well-done video which further helps convey some reasons we choose to birth at home. For anyone considering this, or just wanting to know more, WATCH THIS.

It's one video, in two parts.




And here's an article from the LA Times about Ceseareans in hospital births http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/17/business/fi-cover-birth17

3 comments:

  1. Do remember though, that having a birth at a hospital doesn't necessarily mean it will be horrific and stressful! A lot is about the mother's attitude and expectations.

    I took Hypnobirthing classes along with Lamaze classes before the birth of my daughter. I didn't quite like the idea of going to the hospital, because I don't view childbirth as an "illness" but homebirth wasn't an option for me because of the distance from the hospital (And our incredibly awful roads near where we lived at the time. As it turns out, it was a very, very good thing I was NOT at home-- I had some complications immediately after the birth that required additional care.)

    Using the Hypnobirthing concepts was unbelievably helpful-- I remember being extremely UNcomfortable and exhausted (my labor took place overnight and I don't do well without sleep) but I can't remember blinding pain that so many women talk about. I think having the knowledge that your body is doing something very natural, and it is capable of handling the stress will remove the fear associated with childbirth, and can make it maybe not an altogether pleasant experience, but not the nightmare that so many people love to tell about.

    It's not so much about where the birth takes place, but that the mother is in a place-- both in body and mind-- that makes her feel safe, and IS safe for her situation (high-risk moms should always take proper precautions).

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  2. Thanks for sharing your perspective, Lee.

    I agree that it is important to be in proximity to a hospital should the need arise for transfer; it sounds like your decision was the right one for you. I know that not ALL hospital births are bad; I know many who have had good experiences. The problem is that just by being there, the likelihood of intervention is so dramatically increased that to me, the risk is too high. Plus the impersonal and technical environment is not appealing to me. But for some people, it's right. Mostly I want people to be informed:informed that the hospital makes a LOT of money from them, that they are more likely to get a procedure done that they might not want or really need, that home birth is very safe in most cases,etc, etc. I think it's sad that so many women don't even know they have a choice.

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  3. I agree Kim. I think the most important thing is that more women just need to be given the opportunity to make an informed choice.

    Lee, I also agree that ultimately it is the mother's state of mind and body that matter too no matter where she births her baby. As women, we have to learn to trust in our body's ability to birth our children regardless of what society tries to tell us otherwise.

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