The Road Home - Our Path to Home Birth Part I

{As we near the time for our sweet fifth to be born,  many questions have cropped up in my inbox and in conversations regarding our decision to have this baby at home.  Hopefully some of your questions are answered here!}

Eight years ago, when I was pregnant with my very first baby, if you would have told me that I would eventually have a baby in my own bedroom, I would have laughed - and been incredibly grossed out by my future self.  I couldn't imagine anything more scary - having a baby at home must be disgustingly messy, not to mention dangerous.  And what if I couldn't handle the pain?  No button to push for an epidural?  Certainly I would never do such a thing.  I was not a "hippie" mom, had no problems with hospitals, and simply could not see any benefit from having a child at home.

Its funny, the way time and experiences can change the way you view the world.

Our journey to homebirth was, in comparison to other families I know, very slow.  We did not jump into this mindset with our first, second, or even third baby.  It wasn't until baby number four that I was ready to consider homebirth as a possibility for us.

Along the way, I had my first two in the hospital with all the available technology - including epidurals.  And, if I am being quite honest, those births were just fine.  Everything went smoothly, the babies were healthy, the labors quick.  But once I became pregnant with our third, I began to wish for something...more.  Having had two babies, I knew the basics of birth, but I expanded my knowledge by reading everything I could get my hands on regarding natural birth. I learned, for the first time, about the possible side effects of the interventions I allowed during my first two labors.  I also realized that none of the interventions in my labors had been necessary.  Armed with this new knowledge, I set about to have a different experience with my third: my first ever natural birth.

My first natural birth was wonderful.  I was able to avoid all the interventions that I sought to, and I felt empowered by my ability to have a baby drug-free.  One thing that did bother me as I reflected on it later on was how hard I had to push with various staff to achieve the birth I wanted. Although I had a birth plan and several hospital forms refusing certain procedures, I had to explain and defend my decisions to everyone from the triage resident to the head of pediatrics. 

This gave me a new-found passion for all things related to pregnancy and birth, and just months after my daughter was born, I took the training to become a birth doula.  Through the training and subsequent attending of births, my perspective on birth, maternity care and pregnancy again began to change.  I understood the why's and how's of hospital policies.  I also deepened my knowledge of my own birth processes and how I handled birth.

I began to see the medical model of birth as being one option, but now realized that there were others.  Similarly to choosing where to grocery shop, I could choose where to have a baby.  The hospital offered one type of maternity care, but if I wanted something different, I could choose differently.  As a consumer, I could decide on the things that mattered most to me and find a provider (and a location) that lined up with those ideals.

To be continued.