Both our midwife and the back-up [they are both present] are Certified Nurse Midwives] which means they have the medical background. That was important in our decision. They have emergency medical equipment right with them, including pictocin (sp?) if needed. Our particular midwife had to have a certification to carry it, otherwise it was illegal.
Also, she has never used it. Case in point, one of her last births, [last week] the baby’s heart beat [tones] went waaay down, far enough where a doc would have called for a c-section. Our Midwife, alerted the father and mother they may have to transport, but before we do, she asked the woman to stop squatting and move into the tub, 30 seconds later, dad was holding the mother, moms back was relieved of all tension and her legs spread in the tub - floating - the baby’s heart tones immediately went back to normal.
Very true, but back then we were still considering the birthing center. After meeting with the midwife several times, we opted for the home birth.
One thing I must mention, something I put a lot of stock in: is that the chemicals that are floating your the mothers brain at the time of birth are very important to bonding - not that bonding does not happen during a c-section or with an epidural - but one of the main reasons for natural birth is to experience it…some people say it is a spiritual experience: I’ll say for me and my wife, it is a rite of passage that we want to be fully present for.