Can This Really Happen?

Yes. And it did.

Expectant mother taken to hospital after four hours of minor, but relentless contracting. She is 36 and a half weeks pregnant. At 8:30 pm, nurse finds her to be 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. At 1:00 am she was to be re-examined for change. At that check, water bag was broken....(on purpose.) Remains in hospital until morning. Morning, no change. Most likely was given Pitocin. No change. At 5:30 pm she had a Cesarean section.

In the words of Marsden Wagoner, M.D. and former director of the World Health Organization, "If you really want a humanized birth, the best thing to do is to get the hell out of the hospital."

From the documentary The Business of Being Born:

• Midwives attend over 70% of births in Europe and Japan. In the U.S. they attend less than 8%.
• The U.S. has the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world.
• The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among all industrialized countries.
  
• In 1900, 95% of births took place at home.
• In 1938, half of all births took place at home.
• By 1955, less than 1% of births took place at home. This is still true today.
• Since 1996, the Cesarean section rate in the U.S. has risen by 46%.
  

A Home Birth Story

Yesterday morning at about 2:00am I got the call. It was the call I had been waiting for for about two weeks. She said "Hannah, my water just broke and I am having really strong contractions." I said, "ok, I will be right over. She was having a home birth and lives about 25 minutes away. Surprisingly, I was not nervous or anxious despite the fact that this was only my second "natural birth" and the other one I had attended was not truly "natural" (that story is for another time). I had been praying a lot that I would have the instincts to know what to do for her when the time came. I had also been praying very specifically that I would be able to attend all of her birth and that the baby would not come at a time that I could not get to her immediately due to other obligations.

I arrived at their home at about 2:4oam. She was still in first stage labor and dealing very well with her contractions. We tried several different positions for her to be comfortable. I did some massaging on her back to ease her contractions as well. Ultimately she found the bathtub filled with warm water to be most comforting. She had prepared for this birth which The Bradley Method (taught by my friend Donna) and with hypnobirthing techniques. While in the tub, she became very peaceful and allowed her body to work for her not against her. So much so, that none of the midwives, nor I, could really tell when she was having contractions. Although extremely tired, she was very relaxed and trusted her body at that point. As she got close to second stage (pushing) she wanted to be out of the bathtub. As it was being drained for her to safely get out, she began to have the strong urge to push. It seemed as though she wasn't going to be getting out of the tub and that the birth was going to take place right there. With her husband and I at her head coaching her along, she had one midwife at her bottom and one midwife at her side. With several pushes a baby girl was born at 5:22am. Mother and baby bonded right away. After immediately nursing, mother and baby enjoyed an herbal bath together. Dad did an awesome job in his support roll for her. It isn't always easy to fully understand the needs of a laboring woman and, in my opinion, we worked together well to achieve the mothers needs. I stayed for about two hours postpartum to ensure mother, family and baby were doing well. The midwives were going to stay for a few hours as well. I will be visiting her at least one postpartum depending on her needs.

I feel very honored to have been a part of the birth. It is such an intimate experience for the family and to be asked to attend is such a wonderful feeling. I enjoy working along side women who desire to have an amazing and memorable birth experience. I know that having support and comfort during that time means a lot to moms..... and dads too!

And, I highly recommend the midwives at The Cleburne Birthing Center in Cleburne, TX. They were amazing!

The Safest Birth Place

I get asked this question a lot. "Where is the safest place to give birth?" I think that after my last post, many of you know where I think the safest place to give birth is. But, that is because I think that will be the safest place for me. My husband is comfortable with it and that is important for me as well. I believe that the safest place to give birth is wherever you feel the safest. Your environment the people you surround yourself with during your birth need to make you feel calm, comfortable, and at peace. If you are worried about your husband, your other kids, the dog, bright lights, cold air, phones ringing, medications, and so on, you will not be at peace. Try no to feel pressured to make a decision about your birth place because someone else believes it best for you. You know your needs and your body and what is most relaxing to you. As a doula, I support birth in the place of your choosing, whether that be in a hospital, a birthing center or in your home. It's your birth after all!

I want to hear from you. Take the poll on where you believe the safest place to give birth for you is.

Choose Your Birth Place Wisely

I have attended two hospital births in the past week and a half, both resulted in a cesarean birth. I believe this was due to the excessive amounts of interventions, medications, and clock watchers on the staff. I am saddened and concerned for the young ladies that had to go through this. It is difficult, as a doula, to believe that this is how it "had" to be because in my heart of hearts I believe otherwise.

Having not had children of my own, I don't necessarily have a validated biased opinion, however, I plan to give birth in my home when the time comes. Many people that I tell this to are appalled that I would consider such a "dangerous" way to give birth. A lack of education and information allows them to form such an opinion. My husband and I believe that for our birth, that our home if the safest place to be. I, myself, have only heard through the grapevine of one instance that a friend of a friend went to the hospital during her home birth. I have, on the other hand, heard of many successful and wonderful home birth stories. My sister has had two amazing home births that transpired incredibly well. She is quite an inspiration to those who have questions or fears about having a baby at home. She trusted her body and it did for her what she wanted and prayed for it to do.

My friend, Donna, has recently blogged about her take on home births. She has had two of them herself. Take a look at her blog for some more fascinating information! Click here for Donna's Blog!