Baby Talk- So, What DO we Want?

The single most important factor in the outcome of your birth is where you choose to begin your journey.  

I am enormously confident in my ability to have a baby.  My body is designed for this.  I am mentally prepared for the stages of labor.  I understand the process.  I have had over 36 hours of led classes preparing me for this event.  I have done countless hours of research on the subject.  I have the most incredible and supportive husband/coach.  I know I can do this and I am not interested in interventions or in my labor being managed by an OB team and various nurses.  I want my birth to be passively managed.  I basically want to be able to go through this process with John and I working together in this experience of labor and birth.  We do need someone who knows what normal is and what an emergency looks like.  We need to trust that person's ability to decide when we need to transfer to the hospital.  

Which is why we have selected the midwife we have to attend our home birth.  Many people have the same reaction when they think of a home birth.  They assume it is unsafe.  I have several articles to introduce the topic here, here and here.  

The midwife we have chosen is trained by the Ancient Art Midwifery Institute as well as serving as an apprentice, has attended over 200 births, and has an 8% hospital transfer rate (including non-emergency transfers from moms who change their minds mid-labor).  There is another midwife who lives 1 mile from us who has attended 1400 births over the last 30 years.  We feel very safe with our choice of care provider.  The reason we chose the midwife we did, even though she has attended fewer births than our second choice midwife, is because of the connection and comfort we felt with her.  If we were picking a surgeon to operate on us, we would pick the most experienced doctor, anyone would.  But, we are not picking someone who is going to get us through a life threatening process.  We are picking someone who can help us navigate a natural birth and also knows what is normal and what is not.  As long as she can recognize when something stops being normal, we will transfer to a hospital and trust the experts to take over our medical care.  Most likely, that will not happen.  We do not need a medical expert, we need a normal birth expert.  That is just what midwives are trained to know.  Normal.  

I am so happy with this decision and so excited for our birth!  John was hesitant at the beginning of our pregnancy when I mentioned having a home birth.  After months of research and education, he has made a complete 180 and fully supports home birth as the best option for our low risk pregnancy and birth.  John is not someone who believes everything he hears.  He in an engineer and likes his facts.  For him to have made such a massive shift really solidifies in my mind that this is the right decision.

So, what DO we want?  A normal birth in a setting where we will feel comfortable, have access to all of our things, have access to foods and drinks we like and are accustomed to.  A relaxed birth with a care provider who understands and  respects our choices, decisions, and ability to birth our baby.  A healthy, happy baby, mama, and papa!

Check back next week for: "Why we didn't want a hospital birth"