Why a HomeBirth?

I gave birth to my 3rd child at Home a little over 6wks ago. It was the most amazing experience…one that has changed me forever. With that said many family members, friends & peers question my choice. “Why?” I could simply answer, “why not?” However, I won’t. I want to share my “why.”

So, I choose to give birth to my baby girl at home because……

1. It was BEST for Mariah, me, and our family
(multiple studies have determined that low-risk women who have planned homebirths attended by a Midwife have better maternal & fetal outcomes than delivering in a hospital)

2. I wanted to!!!

3. My Grandmother did it 4 times!
(My Grandmother had 2 hospital births & 4 homebirths. I asked her why did she go to the hospital & she said “cause I didn’t know any better.”)

4. I wanted my girls present & did not want to be separated from them
(they would not have been allowed to spend the night with me in the hospital & Sarah would not have been happy about that! And I was worried that being in a hospital would scare them)

5. It was obviously more convenient for me & Leonard
(no running to the hospital while laboring, no awakening sleeping kids to get to hospital, no need to make arrangements for the kids for our 48hr post partum hospital stay)

6. I wanted to have more control

7. Privacy!

8. I didn’t want to worry about routine hospital policies & procedures

9. I didn’t want to be a L&D nurse having a baby. I wanted to be a woman giving birth to her child
(I found it very difficult to stop being a nurse with my previous births. I wanted to be a “good little” patient for my nurse)

10. I wanted to take back my right to birth how I choose
(I’m NOT saying my previous births were “bad”. It goes back to my control issues)

11. I wanted to sleep in my own bed
(I had the worst backache after my first 2 deliveries and I swear it was due to those uncomfortable hospital beds. I could never get comfortable)

12. I wanted my Baby Girl to sleep with me in our bed

13. I didn’t want to argue with the post partum nurses about co-sleeping and choosing to feed my baby when she wanted to eat
(I don’t wake my babies for feedings. I follow their cues and feed them when they want to eat)

14. I wanted the option to have a water birth
(the hospital has jetted tubs for comfort, but patients are not allowed to deliver in them & the aren’t large enough for my 5’11 frame!)

15. I wanted my girls to know that they too had a choice!

16. I have faith in God & what he created my body to do

17. I believe that birth is natural & doesn’t always require medical intervention

18. I wanted an unmedicated labor/birth

19. I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted

20. Why the hell not?

With all that said, I do realize that ALL women should NOT deliver their babies at home. Unfortunately, some pregnancies do cause illness or have complications that medical intervention is necessary for a good outcome. By no means am I knocking my friends & peers who work with me in L&D and Mom-Baby. We are truly privileged to be a part of so many women’s births and have witnessed some amazing women birthing how they choose ("naturally", C-section, VBACs, with IV meds, & epidurals).

We did not make this decision lightly. Leonard & I researched the prospect of a home delivery in great deal before even deciding to have another child. I wanted to be certain of our decision even before needing to make it (again that control stuff). This is a quote I read & it just sums it all up for me. "To women who choose a home birth, it’s a risk worth taking. Birth is a very powerful experience. I felt that being at home allowed that process to unfold in the safest and best way for my body and my baby.”