I, too, would counsel against the home birth. I think the home birth/midwife movement was a reaction to the overly clinical and medicalized approach to hospital births that may have existed in the past. Most hospitals with “birthing centers” aren’t like that any more, and you should be able to find one easily.
My first son was born with a midwife at a hospital, and my wife spent 29 hours in miserable labor because the midwife wouldn’t, or couldn’t, induce her or give her an epidural. It is to my eternal regret that I didn’t have the nuggets to tell the midwife to bring in a doctor and get the hell out. My second son was born with an MD in a “birthing center” that looked just like a hotel bedroom. The doc induced her and doped her up a little and the kid was out lickety split. We were able to enjoy the emotional aspects of the birth much more in that environment.
When I’m in a position where having a doctor around could very likely be a good thing, I go to a hospital. I don’t see why having a baby should be an exception.
If you’re interested in a midwife-assisted birth, why don’t you use a midwife for all of your obstetric care? They’re not just trained to do the catching - they do all the same stuff that an OB does over the course of a low-risk pregnancy.
Congratulations! I think being a dad is great. We had complications so a home birth was out, but my wife had originally wanted one. My friend used a dula and had the baby in the hospital, and really liked that.
I second this and add something which I did (and still do) which is to not pass off the crying baby unless he/she needs to be fed, so they get used to the way you comfort them. Often fathers will pass off screaming babies to the mothers, and then the baby is conditioned to think it will take mommy to make them feel better. Unless she’s feeding them, mothers don’t have any special powers, usually just more practice. By doing the care of the baby, and not just playing, you learn a lot more about your child and he/she gets more used to you. It also is good for your wife in that she can rest that much easier knowing she doesn’t have to be on call all of the time.
The Skeptical OB is extremely biased against anything having to do with homebirth or natural birth. I don’t think she is not a reliable source of information because she exaggerates the risks of homebirth, and ignores the risks of hospital birth (and the cascade of interventions that goes along with most hospital births).
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I really enjoy the Navelgazing Midwife, the Feminist Breeder, Mamabirth, the Unnecessarian, and Dou-la-la blogs. You can google them if you are interested.
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I think it’s great that you and your wife are looking into all of your options. Having all of the info is the best way to make sure your child’s birth is a beautiful experience rather than a traumatic one. Too many people put their faith in hospitals without realizing how unnecessary (and harmful)their interventions can be.
The Skeptical OB may be biased against homebirths (for good reason, IMO), but the blogs you name are biased in favor of homebirth. The suggestion that it’s a good idea to read both points of view for balance is a really good one.
There’s really no hospital intervention that’s anywhere near as harmful as a complication at home that can’t be resolved.
That is certainly debatable. Many babies and mothers do suffer because of the interventions that go on in hospitals. Unnecessary inductions lead to worse than normal contractions (because of pitocin), which leads to an epidural which, combined with not being able to move and being stuck flat on her back, slows down labor, which causes the doctor to do a c-section because of “failure to progress.”
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On the other hand, if the same woman waited until labor began naturally, her contractions would probably have been more gradual and she might have been able to use alternate techniques for pain control. She could labor as long as she needed to and push her baby out on her own.
Obviously, these results vary, but the first scenario happens every day in hospitals. The c-section rate is insanely high in this country, and it makes sense that women are looking for alternatives to the hospital norm.
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Obviously, not all hospital births are bad, and not all homebirths are good. If you have the information and choose a great midwife or doctor, along with an experienced doula, you give yourself a much better chance of a positive outcome.
Also, the sites I mentioned are all very well-rounded with their information. They do have a natural slant, but I gathered that’s what the OP was interested in.
Congratulations! I love seeing prospective Dads so excited.
As to the viability of a home birth: it depends entirely on where you live. I mean, where I live home birth is just normal these days, especially for second or subsequent births, but I’m in central London, never more than five minutes’ drive from a hospital where people are used to having home-birthing labours come in if necessary, and our midwives are all real specialist obstetric nurses with years of training. They’re not doulas.
So it depends where you live and what is provided. Take note of what people within ten miles or so of you say - the rest can’t tell you anything useful, at least for a first baby. You don’t need people talking in theory, but telling you what is likely to actually happen with a birth where you live.
Also, it’s worth looking into homebirths just because you never know how suddenly the baby might arrive. I’m not saying prepare to deliver the baby yourself (there’s no harm in reading about that, but it’s a desperate circumstance) but find out what happens if your wife is suddenly awake and feeling the need to push.
Actually, the Unnecessarian is a balanced resource about labor, birth, and other women’s health issues. It’s not just an opinion blog, they give accurate information that is backed up with cites. It’s not all homeopathic granola people, I promise, lol.
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The ceasarian rate in this country has risen 53% from 1996 to 2007. Now it is about 32%. The WHO says the rate should be about 5-10%, and that anything above 15% does more harm than good. Some hospitals have even higher c-section rates.
. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databrief/db35.htm
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I think anyone having a baby owes it to herself to learn about this stuff so she can find a midwife or doctor whose philosophy is aligned with her own.
I think most people believe that their doctor, or labor and delivery nurses would never do anything that isn’t in our best interest. Unfortunately, a lot of women find out the hard way how wrong that is.
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This blog post by Navelgazing Midwife sums up a lot of issues we face when we go to the hospital. And FYI, she is NOT against hospitals, and in fact works in them almost exclusively. She’s a very smart woman, and knows childbirth than most doctors.
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. http://navelgazingmidwife.squarespace.com/navelgazing-midwife-blog/2006/8/12/when-you-buy-the-hospital-ticket.html
But that sounds more like the need for women (especially first time mums) to educate themselves about the birth process and the pros and cons of medical intervention, the cascade effect, and the need to be very clear about the care you want than a real argument that hospitals are bad. Unfortunately a lot of women don’t want to think about the birth, don’t research and then feel it’s all something that happens ‘to them’.
My friend had a home birth a couple of months before I gave birth. She was ‘amazed’ that my ob let me labour without drugs, and continually told all her friends about this fantastic ob. The reality is that he is fantastic, but he ‘let me’ do this because it was what I wanted and demanded. I researched what I wanted as my birth options and we discussed them up front. Part of the conversation was to acknowledge that he was the medical expert in the room and if he had ever felt that my choices were seriously risking my health or that of my baby he would have made this known - but that’s what I was wanting. I was lucky, and it all went to plan, but I was able to do what I needed to do knowing he was in my corner if things hadn’t.
I agree, although I’m really skeptical about hospitals that have over 50% c-section rates. Of course, that’s something you can easily find out about before deciding on a hospital.
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I’m glad your birth experience went so well. Did you have a doula? Just curious.
No - just my partner and my mother at home, and a midwife and ob once in hospital. But I do like the idea of a doula, particularly if my mother wasn’t there next time. I arrived at the hospital already basically pushing, and the midwife didn’t really believe me. Finding out I was fully dilated she wanted me to hold off pushing by ‘breathing through it’ until the ob arrived (20 min), but if you’ve ever been at that point, not pushing is kind of hard! My mother instead coached me through panting etc. If she hadn’t been there it would have been much harder. A doula would have been great - someone who could keep me on track in terms of the birthing while Boy From Mars focuses on not freaking out.
The problem is, what is an “unnecessary intervention?” - I know two people who rejected inducing labor because it was “unnecessary” and had stillborn children.
It’s this kind of off the cuff remark that instills fear in many women, and forces them to only seek hospitals and not look thoughtfully and intelligently at all their options.
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That is certainly debatable. Many babies and mothers do suffer because of the interventions that go on in hospitals. Unnecessary inductions lead to worse than normal contractions (because of pitocin), which leads to an epidural which, combined with not being able to move and being stuck flat on her back, slows down labor, which causes the doctor to do a c-section because of “failure to progress.”
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This is the very reason we are looking into home birth. Lying on your back delivering is not the only way, or even the most effective way to have a baby.
There are a group of moms who live where we do called mountain mommas and many of them are home birth moms. I have no heard one negative thing from any of them about home birth or birthing center birth with a midwife.
Again its an unnecessary fear factor - I am not skeptical of hospitals - I’m fully aware they are businesses and the whole thing about “Failure to Progress” is about a doctor not wanting to wait…
No one can say you are not convicted about your points of view. I wish you the best and hope that you and your wife don’t experience the same fate that the people that Dangerosa know.
I would disagree and say that its about doctors putting the baby’s life above the feelings of the parents (who aren’t doctors) and don’t really understand the potential medical risks.
