Having a baby? Ever thought about having it at home?
No why?
Here are 10 reasons for the mother to birth at home which will make your life
a little bit less stressful and will make mummy very happy In order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings - especially babies - require the kind of experience to which our species adapted to during the long process of our evolution. (J.Liedloff – The continuum concept )
1. You are in your comfort zone. Instead of traveling during labour (which can disrupt your labour pattern), you are free to do what you want in your home. You don't need to fit to anyone else' s protocols or routines, you can create your own.
2. You can eat and drink to your heart's content. For your tissues to dilate and expand so the baby can pass through, they need plenty of water. Sipping water, special birthing teas or sucking ice cubes during birth is very beneficiary. Also your body is using a lot of energy in labour, and you may need to eat something nutritious to replenish that energy. In the hospital, they don't let you attend to these basic needs of your body.
3. No
interventions. No induction. Home births always
start spontaneously when the baby is mature and ready to be born. You won't need
to worry about the pain and inconvenience of being tied to an IV or the
electronic fetal monitoring machine, nor the repeated vaginal exams. No one can
slip you a little oxytocin
to make your birth faster and much more
painful, or break your waters for that matter. There is no hurry in a home
birth and all present respect the fact that your baby will be born in its own
time, with its own unique way. 4. Labor and birth in whatever position you want. You're not limited to the bed in a semi-sitting position or lying on your back, which both delay labour immensely. At home you can walk around, dance, rock in a chair, bounce on a birthing ball or lean on the wall. You can give birth standing up, in a birth pool, on your hands and knees or hugging your partner. You can tune into your birthing rhythm and allow your natural birthing drug cocktail take you in another state of being, the primal one.
5. Your baby is born into your own environment, not in one full of harmful germs. Hospitals are made for sick people. It is not uncommon for newborns and their mothers to contract infections and disease during their stay or take antibiotics to prevent it. At home, you are surrounded by your own germs that you are used to living with and which are no threat to you or your newborn.
6. Your baby is born in the most gentle and loving way. By giving birth at home you can protect the baby from receiving shots, tests or any other trauma in the first hours and days after birth. Babies first imprint will be that of gentle love and warm welcome and will stay with him for the rest of his-her life
7. You don t have to worry about when to go to the hospital since your care-providers come to you. Continuous one-on-one care is given by the midwife, providing ongoing assessment of the baby's and mother's condition throughout the birth process and postpartum period. Your care provider knows you well and you know your care provider. A trust relationship has been established that feels like a warm and open hearted friendship.
8. You are supported throughout labour, and encouraged through the personal experience being derived from such a powerful life changing event. Usually there is little talk, low lights, no time limits, lots of encouragement and tender massage. There is a big focus on deep belly breathing and relaxation, it ιs very important for the mother to be connected with her baby and her body at all times. There is no one screaming <Push! Push!> as we know that this action leads to tears and trauma. Breathing or chanting your baby out is much more powerful and less traumatic for both mom and baby.
9. Your baby's cord does not get cut until it stops pulsating. It is such a great gift to your baby to allow time for the communication with the placenta to go on for hours after birth. It ιs not only a back up life support system for the baby but also the wonderful placenta that fed the baby for many months, after birth is giving the baby all the storage of iron and other nutrients it had collected as well as plenty stem cells to help mature the baby's organs once out of the uterus. Also, when the communication is allowed to stop naturally babies do not get jaundice.
10. The baby will never be separated from you, unlike in most hospitals where they take the baby for tests before you have a chance to say “hi”. At home, only your loving hands are touching your baby. Your baby is allowed to rest on your abdomen and given time to crawl alone to the breast and breastfeed.
Privacy is as essential to birth as it is to sex. ( L. Shanley )
