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Home Sweet Homebirth

It is getting so that a homebirth is the only way to have a normal, uninterrupted birth. Now, before you close this window and yell at the computer how unsafe this is... in most cases it is safe. Studies have been done showing that for low risk women, a homebirth is as safe or safer than birthing in the hospital.

Women are discovering the wonders of staying home to birth their babies. There are no interventions like IVs, electronic fetal monitors, and pitocin, and they can eat and drink as needed.

At home, you and your baby become a team. Your baby is an integral part of his own birth, he's not just along for the ride. Normal birth can be intense, but the rewards are great. Your hormones react the way they are designed to. Oxytocin floods your system and your baby's. This hormone not only causes contractions, it is the love hormone. It prepares you and your baby to fall in love with each other when you meet. Natural oxytocin, unlike its synthetic cousin, pitocin, does not overwhelm your uterus until it can't receive it any longer, preventing your uterus from clamping down efficiently after the birth to prevent hemorrhage.

Beta-endorphins provide a natural cushion for pain, with the levels rising gradually throughout labor. This does not mean you won't feel pain, but it increases your tolerance levels. Studies show they also reduce stress and trigger feelings of euphoria and pleasure.

You will experience the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones give you the energy to continue to labor. This adrenaline keeps you going. It also will slow or stop your labor if you are traveling to the hospital to birth. This is why it is not uncommon for women to arrive at the hospital and have their contractions slow down or stop upon arrival. When this happens, your body is behaving normally and trying to prevent you from birthing in what it senses could be a dangerous situation. In late labor, however, these chatecholamines act differently, helping to trigger the fetal ejection reflex. The baby also gets a surge of these hormones when he feels pressure on his head. This helps him adapt to life outside the uterus. It increases his glucose and fatty acid levels, which protect his brain from low blood sugar. These hormones help the baby to clear his lungs and breathe more effectively, and make baby alert for his first meeting with his mom.

Prolactin is the mothering hormone. It stimulates milk production and let-down, nesting and nurturing.

Hospital procedures interrupt these hormonal responses that occur in normal birth. While induction, augmentation and cesareans are life-saving in some cases, in the majority of them it is best to leave well enough alone. Instead, I constantly hear stories from new moms saying they overheard their doctor discussing how best to speed up a labor so they could go home sooner, or that if they broke a laboring mothers' waters, they could attach an internal monitor and not have to worry about the baby shifting away from the ultrasound.

For many women, homebirth is the answer. I know that the pain is a temporary inconvenience for me that I am happy to endure in order for my hormonal system to work properly. I don't expect every woman to agree with me, and that's okay. I freely admit that homebirth isn't for everyone. If only we could get the AMA and ACOG to admit that birthing in the hospital wasn't for everyone, we might be able to reach a nice partnership.

At home, you can move around, sit in a birth pool, or take a walk around the block. The natural hormonal cocktail that is released during labor to you and your baby is intact, preparing you both for your first meeting.

At home, you can have the birth you and your baby both deserve.

Of course, having a natural birth at home does take some preparation on your part. You should learn about the physiology of labor. Just what does it take for your baby to move through your pelvis and those few inches to join us earthside? You should plan on some options to try and help you deal with contractions. While you are in the comfort of your own home, there are no epidurals. Your baby will thank you for that.

7 Steps to Preparing Your Bed for a Homebirth

Taking Birth Pictures

Medical Disclaimer

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