Statistically birthing at home is safer than at a hospital. I had 3 beautiful home births and witnessed my friends home birhts. No one died, only one transfered after giving birth. Hospitals are for sick people. Birth is a miracle not a disease. Until Dr's get the fear factor out of birthing I think technical interventions will be the mainstay. please read my post. Feel free to contact me for more details and my birhting stories if you are interested.

 Sincerely, Claudia

Claudia, I do appluade you. That is so scarey to me but again I am 51 and still beleive all the middle school rules. Not old school becuase they all had their babys at home. Please feel free to share all. I bet there are a lot of people on this sight wanting all the info they can get. And going to be a grama in feb I do too.

Smile

Sheilah  

Well Sheila, So funny that you view yourself as a member of anything considered old! LOL middle maybe. I am 50! Actually it is my opinion that techno birthing is a modern creation not old. I can totally understand that home birth is uncomfotable for some people. But  the propaganda that we Americans have been fed by the phamacutical companies and other vested interest groups over the years has taken away our ability to make conscious decisions. In addition women have been totally disempowered for so long that it is accepted that we should do as we are told. This is all within 100 years. Our submissive behavior shows up in almost every relationship. Read "Male Practice" I think the author is Dr. Brewer. It takes alot of strength to be a 50 something year old women in todays society. I don't think we were given the tools by our mothers and fathers to be as independent as we need to be. I hope my daughters choose the birth experience they want and get as close to what they want as possible. Perhaps you and or your daughter in law can go to the to the book store. There are many books that show safe alternatve birthing options. I'll try to complie a list of books for you...or her. BTW I was a natural child birth educator, The Bradley Method. 2 of my students choose home in the 8th month!!!, a few choose birthing centers but the majority went to the hospital. It was perfect for all of them. Did you read my blog?

Claudia

I birthed our dd at home.  She is our 3rd child, the two boys were birthed in the hospital.  While I had good experiences fortunately with them I learned and studied enough in the mean time to know that home birth was a very safe option especially with my very skilled midwife.  I also teach natural childbirth classes, The Hypnobabies Method, and have doula'd at several students' births.  While I had wonderful care providers for both of my hospitals births I was horrified to see the way that my friends were treated in the hospital by their OBs.  It's unfortunate to me that conventional medicine doesn't respect the need for emotional support the way that the traditional midwifery model does and should.  

She might could have both...I did. I delivered in a hospital, but with a mid-wife and she was fabulous!! Mid-wives can do Perineal massages (no, they don't feel great but it works) and it prevents tearing and possibly having an episiotomy. There were no meds used (totally natural childbirth), no forceps or instruments and the delivery was a huge success! I was ready to go home that day because I felt so good. I never had any problems before, during or after delivery but if something had happened we were right there in the hospital. See if she can have a mid-wife deliver her baby in the hospital of her choice. Congrats and good luck! :)

Hi,

I am a former Respiratory Therapist and worked in the neonatal intensive care unit. I am now a senior midwife student. I had my first baby in the hospital because that is what I "thought" I was suppose to do. It was a horrible experience. My second was born at home with a midwife. I caught her myself. It was the most beautiful moment of my life. Midwives are trained and equipped to handle emergencies which are rare. I have yet to see a mom or baby die or have damage from a homebirth, however I have seen mom's and babies die in the hospital simply due to hospital mismanagement. Studies have shown over and over again that the safest and healthiest place for a low risk mom to give birth is at home. Please read and educate yourself on the facts about homebirth. There are some great books, anything by Sheila Kitzinger. Also, books by Henci Goer. The thinking womans guide to better birth and Obstetric myths vs. realty. You should also watch The Business of Being Born. If you have any specific questions or concerns please email me. My email address is lisakestler@earthlink.net.

Blessings,

Lisa

I'm glad that I made the choice fo a hospital birth. It was a wonderful experience for me. If I am ever granted the blessing of having a 2nd child I want to return to that same hospital to have my 2nd child. My birthing experience was unforgettable to me. It was the happiest day of my life.

I had back pains for 3 days, and when I went in for a weekly ob check I was told that since I was 4 cm dialated that it was probably contractions. My midwife also told me that since my blood pressure was up again that I would be induced the following morning. My story begins !

I get checked in at my 4 cm. I get started on pitocin, but after 2 hrs my baby's heart rate starts to drop so my care was handed over to a dr. My midwife still checked in on me a majority of the time, but once the 1st epidural wore off (at 9cm into labor) I was beginning to feel the full effects of labor. She then became my doula giving me every comfort measure that she could think of. All my labor was in my back. A 2nd epdidural was administered, but didn't take. I went from 9 cm down to 0 cm and was taken to the operating room for a c/section.

I don't know what they gave me in there, but it knocked me right out. I went to sleep within a couple of minutes. I had to be woken up to see my baby for the 1st time. i didn't even get to hold him before falling back to sleep. I woke up for a minute or two in recovery, but went straight back to sleep again. I didn't awaken again until the next morning.

That was my story of labor and delivery. Anyone else have the same experience as I did? I'd love to hear more odd stories of labor/delivery that people have gone through. I laugh at what I went through now. When I tell my story people always say that is so strange; they've never heard anything like it before.

Monmay,

Important points in your experience. 1.Your blood pressure. What is your history? How much protien did you consume every day? How much weight did you gain? How much did the baby weigh? Less than 25 lbs. puts your at risk. Low birth weight in full term babies is a huge problem in this country. Dr. Thom Brewer who wrote "What Every Pregnant Woman Should Know - The Truth About Diet and Drugs". discusses how pre-eclampsia and toxemia directly relates to undernurishment in pregnancy. It seems like your body was handling labor well. 2. Pitocin. Stresses your system and the baby Epidurals given before 6 cm can slow labor and make the uteris flacid. 3. A watched woman can experience a longer labor and it can even stop all together. I have never heard of anyone reverse dilating to zero. That must have been a shock for you. Some midwives are more traditionally trained and go for the interventions a bit too quickly. They are afraid of not being respected by the mighty Doctor. So they go along with status quo so as not to make too many waves. I was surprised to read your story after I read it was a wonderful experience for you. It actually sounds scarey. You have an optimistic attitude! I always say...better to be in acceptance than rejection.

Innervoice: To answer some questions that you asked. I had high blood pressure throughout my pregnancy, but had only one scare about a month before delivery. I was at my regular monthly appt with the midwife. She said my pressure was up again. She asked me how I felt, I said fine. I didn't feel bad or anything. She said she was going to walk me across the hall (corrider leading to the hospital) and have me admitted. The whole walk over she kept asking me if I was okay - made me nervous with the way she was acting. I had to be admitted and observed for a few hours, but once it went down I was released. I was told it was not pre-eclampsia or even toximia, but just that my pressure was high. I don't know how much protein I ate, but I certainly ate well. My sister in law kept me fed for my nightly meal and leftovers I would eat for lunch at work the next day. I gained 30 pounds, which I thought was pretty good since gaining

Innervoice:  I gained 30 lbs; since gaining is easy for me I thought I did pretty good ! I had high blood pressure throughout my pregnancy, but only had one scare; had to be admitted and observed for several hours, but was then released. I'll never forget that walk to the hospital through the corridor that connected office to hospital; she made me nervous, kept asking me if I were okay when I felt fine. I was told that I didn't have pre-eclampsia, but toxemia wasn't mentioned.  Like I mentioned I started having pains on the 1st of the mth, but it was now the 4th ! Induction by pitocin !! Baby's heart rate dropped and care was handed over to dr. He said to reduce pitocin and then when all was ok to up it again; it worked ! Time passed epidural was given. Late into the evening was told I was at 9cm. Anticipation filled the room (about 2o relatives there). Then, shortly after pain set in. I could feel my baby pushing into my bones. I was in agony and it showed. Abt half an hr passed and I was checked again, told I was down to 0cm. I was immediately whisked off to the operating room. I was given a different medicine through my epidural line. It felt cold going down. I was alseep before 2 minutes had passed. They woke me up to see him; a healthy 8 lb 9 oz baby boy !! I can honestly say I wasn't scared throughout the entire process with the exception of the pitocin scare, but other than that.... I wasn't scared. I'm grateful God allowed me to have such a wonderful blessing after so many yrs of trying without intervention !!

If your daughter-in-law has a healthy pregnancy than an at home birth is actually safer. You don't have to worry about infection as much since only the mid-wife will bring in outside infections. Family infections shouldn't bother the baby as long as the baby is nursed.  I have had 5 hospital births and 4 home births. All were good experiences but I feel much more relaxed at home and I trust my mid-wife more than any other doctor.  She has delivered well over 200 babies and has never had any problems. Less intervention is best with a normal labor. Premature breaking of the water or even continual checking of the cervix brings  in infection. My husband was against a home birth until he met a couple of mid-wives and than he became impressed with their knowledge and ability to birth a baby. With 3 of my home births my babies had the cord around the neck. My mid-wife was totally calm and knew how to deliver them safely. (she has a really cool trick) They had great apgar score as well.  If it is possible for you to meet the mid-wife and find out about her experience and what is her track record I think that would help you to feel more comfortable about it.

For this very reason, we did not tell our families or neighbors when we had our first home birth.  Also remember that it is not just your daughter-in-laws choice but also your son's choice.  This may be a good time to ask good questions but let them know that you respect their choice no matter what that may be.

Congrats on having a new grandchild

I think it depends on the individual - I myself felt better having my kids in a hospital because I was nervous the hospital would be to far away for that "just in case".  Well I am glad I made the choice - my 1st pregnancy was perfect no morning sickness no cramps nothing. I gained the right amount of weight had great check ups etc.... so I started having contractions & went to the hospital.  Well when my son was delivered with no problems - I heard his first "cry" right then I knew something was wrong - he didn't sound right, so they rushed him to the NICU - he had a collapsed lung and was having trouble breathing. I was so glad at that moment to be in the hospital vs at home!

Forgot to mention with my 2nd child I was tested for and ended up having the strep virus (I think that's it) that you as a woman can develop during pregnancy - so I had to be put on antibiotics so I didn't pass it to my baby during childbirth - Can midwives test for that & if they do do they have med's ready to deal with it?

Statistically birthing at home is safer than at a hospital. I had 3 beautiful home births and witnessed my friends home birhts. No one died, only one transfered after giving birth. Hospitals are for sick people. Birth is a miracle not a disease. Until Dr's get the fear factor out of birthing I think technical interventions will be the mainstay. please read my post. Feel free to contact me for more details and my birhting stories if you are interested.