5 Reasons to Choose a Natural Home Birth
Today we celebrate my daughter Berea’s 3rd birthday!
One of her favorite places to go is the Nashville Zoo. She loves animals, in fact, she prays for as many animals as she can think of DAILY!
I have been told countless times that she is her Daddy made over, and this is nothing less than the absolute truth! She is funny, always the comical one, saying and doing things that would make the meanest grump crack a smile. She’s full of life, going ninety miles a second, always on to the next exciting adventure!
She is my cuddly child; she loves to sit and enjoy someone’s affection for hours on end. She is the sweetest, smiley-est, most loving little girl and we so enjoy celebrating the day she came into our lives.
Not only was it special because she joined our family, it’s also very memorable as it was our very first home birth. We knew from the moment we began talking about children, even before marriage, that we believed strongly in the idea of a natural home birth. We were so excited when we found out we were pregnant and anticipating the reality of delivering our child ourselves. We found out about half way through my first pregnancy that this wouldn’t be our reality after all. Krislyn, my oldest, was diagnosed with fetal arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat in babies while still in the womb) that would need to be monitored closely during labor and delivery. Our expectations were dashed to bits, but as much as we wanted things to be “our way” we knew that God was in control and that His thoughts and ways our not ours. He has a perfect, ordained plan for everything and all we have to do is trust and obey and He will cause all things to work for our good. I told myself this over and over again and ultimately everything ended up perfect!
Fast forward 20 months and you would find us anxiously awaiting the arrival of our second child, little miss Berea Shay. Our consulting physician had given us the green light to proceed with our home birth, and you couldn’t contain our excitement! What we experienced, there in our living room, delivering our child in the comfort of our own home, changed our lives in so many ways. Here are 5 reasons we believe choosing a home birth was one of the best decisions we ever made!
1. It is a spiritual experience unlike anything else!
The whole process, from conception to delivery and beyond, just fascinates me. It always has. The idea that the Creator of the universe has intricately “knit” us together in our mother’s womb with a plan and a purpose before we are even born just astounds me. The fact that He created a woman’s body to carry, nurture, strengthen, and delivery a living human being into existence is mind boggling. Scripture relates the womb (and breasts) of a woman to the compassion and provision of the Father (Hosea 11; Psalm 131:2; Isa 66:12-13; Deut 32:10). Those are exactly the characteristics of our God that women see fully during labor and delivery. Choosing to accept the challenge of a home birth can come from nothing other than complete faith in Yahweh. We have been taught by society to fear all things natural; those things which have been implemented since the beginning of humanity. However, in Jeremiah 6:16, we are told to “ask for the ancient paths” of the Lord; not just to choose them but to DESIRE them! To desire the things of God, and to choose to go after them with full conviction, requires a lot of faith. Faith that cannot be tainted with pride, or haughty, vain ideals of this "super woman" birth experience. Instead, we have to prepare our hearts for a humbling, awe inspiring, let go of everything kind of experience with the Lord. When the curse was laid upon Eve that she would have much pain during childbirth, the judgement was passed, and the order sealed. Through Yeshuah (Jesus) we have been redeemed from that curse, through faith. It is only through faith that one can have a peaceful, victorious home birth experience. And when it’s all said and done, you are left at the end of the battle, exhausted, worn, drained of all physical and emotional energy, but with complete victory! Praise Yahweh!
2. If you are looking for something to strengthen your marriage, try delivering a baby together!
3. You decide!
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| Berea's Birth Day! Our First Home Birth! |
From who you want to be there, to the positions you want to labor in, to the recover you want to experience, to whether or not you want to accept/decline any of the newborn procedures after birth, you decide. Based on the desires and convictions you and your spouse have agreed upon together, you have complete freedom to labor exactly how you want, delivery how you want, and recover how you want. No restrictions, no interruptions, you can do what you want, when you want, and how you want! My favorite part of this aspect is that for the majority of the time during both of our home births it was just me and my husband, doing this together! Our children quietly sleeping down the hall, we labored together in our bedroom, in the dark, by ourselves with no bright lights, loud noises, or people in and out every minute! If I was hungry, I walked down our hallway, paused to work through a contraction in whatever position my body felt most comfortable in, and, when it was over, made my way to the fridge for a snack! Not once was I strapped to a fetal monitor, or “checked” every 10 minutes, or hooked to an IV, or told I couldn’t eat or drink now that I was in active labor. My husband, the only other human being in the world who knows me the way I know myself, was the one tending to my needs. My midwife showed up when we requested her to, sitting quietly and patiently, until I was in need of her assistance. If I felt like laying down, I did. If I felt like walking around, I did. If I wanted to take a bath, I did. If I needed to use the bathroom, I did. You and your husband can choose your ideal environment in which to bring your baby into the world according to how you feel led.
4. You want stats? Well, here you go!
Faster recovery rate. Women who plan a home birth require fewer episiotomies and fewer "interventions" resulting in quicker vaginal healing and overall recovery time. A study done by a group of Midwives, Lay-midwives, Certified Nurse Midwives, and OBGYNs cited that out of over 16,000 participating mothers choosing a planned home birth, only 1% of them required an episiotomy.
C-section: In 1965 the national average rate of cesarean operations performed were at 4.5%. Home birth recipients of emergency cesareans today are only 5.2%. This pales in comparison to today’s national average of 32.8% (nearly 1 out of 3) of hospital births ending in c-sections. That’s more than 8 times the amount in 1965! *If you are planning a hospital birth, the statistics for mothers who attend birthing classes, and who actively implement the principles learned, drop that rate way down to only 4-6%. In the study mentioned above, out of the 16,000 participants, 1,100 of them were VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). The success rate was a whopping 87%. That means that only 143 of them required another c-section.
Maternal and Infant mortality rates: Only 11% of the women in the above study required transportation to the hospital. The main reason being failure to progress in labor. Out of the 16,000+ mothers participating, there was only one maternal death and it was due to a pregnancy related issue 3 days postpartum. Not the delivery itself. The overall infant mortality count before, during, and post delivery was a total of 35 deaths. A study conducted by the British Journal of Obstetrics concluded that, in 350,000 low-risk mothers, there was no difference in mortality rates between home births and hospital births. They specifically charted the first 24 hours after birth for both Mom and baby, as well as babies born with illnesses.
Post Partum Depression: One of the main factors contributed to the cause of PPD are plummets in the hormones estrogen and progesterone post partum as well as overwhelming amounts of stress and anxiety. The latter usually being correlated to the stress experienced during labor and delivery and the events immediately following birth. Typically in a hospital the routine is very fast paced. From my personal experience (and many others) as soon as your baby meets your chest, you burst open with joy, relief, and elation of completing the marathon you just finished. You are given maybe 3 minutes with your child before they are rushed over to be examined for every little thing. The best thing for both mother and baby in preventing PPD is immediate skin to skin contact ("bonding") and the opportunity to attempt nursing. The surge in the hormone Prolactin helps to stabilize other hormones that are depleted post partum. Nursing also releases Oxytocin which is known as the "happy hormone". I've made it a rule that for the first 24 hours after delivery, the baby and I are to stay in the bed, cuddled up, skin to skin, nursing as often as possible. This also helps to bring the milk in and nursing on demand for the next week helps to reduce engorgement (OUCH!)! Skin to skin and frequent nursing (plus lots of yummy fats, protein, and lemon water) are the perfect weapon to battle those "baby blues"!
Lactation: Nearly 98% of home birth babies and mothers are successfully breastfeeding by the 6th week post partum check up vs. 54% of mothers who received standard hospital care.
Bonding: Recovering at home verses recovering in the hospital is quite different. Being in a familiar environment allows for a closer bonding experience between mother and baby. Fewer interruptions as well as the constant skin to skin nursing are crucial to the establishment of the new relationship. Also, a better bonding experience lessons the effects of any Post Partum Depression the mother may have. Studies have shown that infants who are denied that immediate bonding time (for whatever reason, there are many) later have difficulties adjusting to life at home with their new family. They also show greater issues with self confidence, problem solving, and separation anxiety later in life.
All medical information is cited from the following articles:
5. Water Births are AWESOME!
Our 2nd Home Birth Baby, Devri Kye!
Final Thoughts
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