Our Experience with Homebirth
Birth Stories
We were so happy when we found out we were going to have a baby. Because of Nicky's experience with his fasting and diet and the natural doctor he found, we decided that we wanted to see what our options were for having a baby. We had learned a lot about medication and the damage that it can do, so we already knew we wanted to do it as naturally as possible. I didn't know many people that had recently had a homebirth, so at first it sounded a little out there and different. We had three options that we were praying about: the traditional route of having the baby at the hospital, the middle route of going to a birthing center and having a midwife deliver our baby, or having a midwife come to our home. Nicky actually had a fourth option which was to do it by ourselves. (Those who know my husband will not be surprised by this... ;) That one was not really on my list, but God remembered that and would answer that desire of my husband's heart with another baby. (You can read about that in Alex and Sam's birth stories.)
The more we looked into it, the more we were excited about homebirth. The thought of having her come to us and having it at home sounded really wonderful. And most of the people I read about all had really positive experiences. However, we really wanted to find out God's will, because He knew where the best place for me was to have this baby. Only He knows the future and what I would really need. We interviewed a couple of midwives and toured the birthing center. One thing we didn't like was that everyone we talked to was going to "make sure" I got enough protein. I totally understand their concern because they had never worked with anyone on our diet. However, we really didn't want to change the way we ate because we felt it was the best for us and that God led us to do it. We had another midwife to interview with and the morning we went to meet her I woke up with an assurance inside that she was going to be our midwife. It turned out that she was a Christian lady and had delivered about 800 babies at the time. She also she felt our diet was fine and in her own words she would "be more concerned if I sat around eating twinkies and ding dongs all day." We were so happy that we found Diane and she has been our midwife ever since. So far we have had three, healthy and wonderful birthing experiences.
The more we looked into it, the more we were excited about homebirth. The thought of having her come to us and having it at home sounded really wonderful. And most of the people I read about all had really positive experiences. However, we really wanted to find out God's will, because He knew where the best place for me was to have this baby. Only He knows the future and what I would really need. We interviewed a couple of midwives and toured the birthing center. One thing we didn't like was that everyone we talked to was going to "make sure" I got enough protein. I totally understand their concern because they had never worked with anyone on our diet. However, we really didn't want to change the way we ate because we felt it was the best for us and that God led us to do it. We had another midwife to interview with and the morning we went to meet her I woke up with an assurance inside that she was going to be our midwife. It turned out that she was a Christian lady and had delivered about 800 babies at the time. She also she felt our diet was fine and in her own words she would "be more concerned if I sat around eating twinkies and ding dongs all day." We were so happy that we found Diane and she has been our midwife ever since. So far we have had three, healthy and wonderful birthing experiences.
Our Decision to Homebirth
Reasons I Love Homebirth
~You get to be at home in your familiar surroundings.
~You get to decide how to birth. (My favorite place is sitting backwards on the toilet.)
~There are no waiting in lines for appointments.
~You get to spend a whole hour with your midwife at each appointment.
~You aren't tempted or pushed to use medication or to be induced.
~It is very natural with no monitors, IVs, or other contraptions.
~Your midwife stays for the whole birth and cleans up afterwards.
~It feels really wonderful to give birth naturally and it is really doable as well. (I am a person who does not handle pain very well but the Lord helped me.)
~You get to decide how to birth. (My favorite place is sitting backwards on the toilet.)
~There are no waiting in lines for appointments.
~You get to spend a whole hour with your midwife at each appointment.
~You aren't tempted or pushed to use medication or to be induced.
~It is very natural with no monitors, IVs, or other contraptions.
~Your midwife stays for the whole birth and cleans up afterwards.
~It feels really wonderful to give birth naturally and it is really doable as well. (I am a person who does not handle pain very well but the Lord helped me.)
A typical appointment with our midwife is usually an hour long. We would drive to her house (which was about 45 minutes away) where she had her office in her home. We would spend the time getting to know one another and she would check my progress and answer any questions. Unless there was a problem she does not do any invasive checking. The things she routinely does are: check blood pressure, check weight, ask a list of questions on how things where going, and check for the position, fundal height, and listen to the baby's heartbeat. For the first baby we also went to a birthing class that she led that was very informative and fun. I'm including a video of one of our appointments with Lucas.
A Look At A Typical Midwife Appointment
I know homebirth is not for everyone, but if you are interested in it, I highly recommend it. But most of all, the Lord will let you know what His will is if you ask Him. Let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to answer them!