Our Home Birth Story : An Unfiltered, Raw Look

Baby Smarika was born approximately after 8 hours of labor. Smarika began to go into distress, which made doctor to perform a C-section of my wife. My eyes rolled into tears when I hold her after 10 minutes. I was amazed when I held her in the delivery room. My partner and I felt the biggest surge

I prepared myself mentally, physically and spiritually for the birth of my second child. I decided to become a better consumer by educating myself with all the child birthing techniques that were

For hundred of years, women have wrestled with their womanhood, bodies, and what it means to be a woman in our society. Being a woman comes with a wonderful and empowering responsibility--giving birth. What sets us aside from other countries is that the process and expectations of giving birth has changed in our society; coming from midwifery, as it has always been since the early times, to hospitals where it is now expected to give birth at. Midwifery was a common practice in delivering babies in

I tried to keep my head, I was awake and alert. I had dreamed about those first moments, getting to breastfeed right away, all that. And so when I had to go to the hospital, it was a shock.

Describing her child's birth she'd experience, I had the privileges to interview Jakedra Hightower, who is a mother of a 3 year old boy name. Ms. Hightower, explained her stages and different procedures it took to deliver her baby boy. During her first stage (The first stage begins when you start having contractions that cause progressive changes in your cervix and ends when your cervix is fully dilated) she stated that she was on her way to the grocery store, and soon as she sat in her car, intolerable contractions inevitably rushed through her body. She then stated, ''I was very fortunate that I didn't actually leave my house. I don't know what I would of done if I was on the road with my severe contractions.'' When she arrived at the hospital

According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.

Delivering a baby in the home and in the hospital both provide comfort to some, but homebirth offers decreased cost and hospital births offer more options. Some women have different birthing methods in mind when it comes to delivering a child. Some women feel that it is more convenient to stay home to deliver their child. Mothers-to-be will choose to have a hospital birth because they may feel safer or more secure knowing that if something is not right or if she has had complications, the doctor is there and she is in a hospital and everything will be okay.

Ultimately, after examining the child's location with an ultrasound, the physician informed Dax, "I have to take her for the C-section." I yowled for 10 mins. I was so dissatisfied. I attempted actually difficult! Yet she appeared magnificently. They placed her on my breast, and also I was so delighted that everyone was safe.

It was a gorgeous, warm day, and I was scheduled to be induced at 8pm. My husband had decided to spend the day at home with me, and it was both lovely and surreal. We sat on the porch in the sunlight and drank beer. I propped my feet up on the concrete wall and we watched trucks pull in and out of the Devon Market receiving area. We may have talked . . . or perhaps not much. All I can remember is sitting in the glow of the afternoon sun with that strange feeling of “my life is about to change forever” surrounding me like a cloud.I kept hoping I’d go into labor naturally, but even though there had been a few evenings with patterns of contractions, they died out after an hour or so. Time was running out, and I had tried all the methods of natural induction I could think of (except for acupuncture and membrane stripping). Pressure points on the heels and wrists, using a breast pump, sex, spicy food, and long walks home from my appointments at Swedish Covenant Hospital, where they were monitoring my baby with nonstress tests since I was overdue. But nothing seemed to kick labor into gear.

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNMb) (2015), home births account for 1.4% of all births in the U.S. In eight years the number of home births in the US increased by 41% (ACNM, 2015b). Providing home births falls within the scope of practice of midwives and is supported by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM, 2015b). A mother can have the option of a home birth as long as the home birth follows regulations set in place by the state and can provide a favorable safe environment for both mother and newborn (ACNM, 2015b). Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that the ultimate decision of having a home birth is a patient’s right, especially if she is medically well informed (Declercq, & Stotland, 2016).

The midwife’s role in a woman’s pregnancy becomes quite important during labour and birth. Even more so during a homebirth as the midwife assumes the position of a motivational coach, support system and a medically trained professional. A birth plan should be established already during the antenatal period between the midwife, woman and partner, in which it becomes the midwife’s responsibility to adhere to it as much as possible. The journal articles ‘Outcomes of planned homebirth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician’ and ‘Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to

Two years ago, I was introduced to midwifery when my brother and his girlfriend were considering options for the impending birth of my nephew. Since that time, everything I’ve pursued and studied has helped bring me a step closer to becoming a midwife myself. I find pregnancy, childbirth, and babies to be the most fascinating things in the world. I spend heaps of time independently researching different aspects of childbirth. Last year, I wrote a research paper on the differences between home births and hospital births, and I’m currently working on a podcast about home births and the role midwives play. There's so much knowledge out there that I was oblivious to; once I figured out that pregnancy, birth, and even postpartum care need not be

     Dr. Dermer came in to see me around nine that evening. My contractions were getting harder and were getting closer together. Dr. Dermer felt that if I continued in this manner that I would be able to deliver that night. At the same time, Dr. Dermer stated that after being in labor all day he did not think that I would have the energy to push. His final decision was to stop my labor. He advised me to get a good night sleep so that I would be prepared for the next morning when the nurses would induce my labor again.

I will never forget the moment my labor began, the moment that marked that step in my journey into motherhood. I can remember everything about it so clearly. My mom, fiancé, and I woke up early Friday morning to make our way to Western Missouri Medical Center. I stood in front of the mirror looking at my belly knowing it would be my last time standing in that bathroom with my baby inside of me still. It was a bittersweet moment that I cherished as long as I possibly could. I was set to be induced that morning and very excited, yet a little bit nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I’d been waiting a very long 37 weeks to finally meet this precious human that had been growing inside me. I had ideas of what he might look like, and what the experience might be like, however nothing could have prepared me for what was in store over the next few days.

Mother: I have a case of moderate arthritis from playing tennis and gardening, so my doctors were concerned about my body's ability to carry the pregnancy to full term and handle the full ordeal of the delivery. The birth of our child took a long time. I was in labor for nearly four days. We hired a lovely midwife who has specialized knowledge in handling special births, but after the second day, we decided to load me up in the car and head for the hospital. It was frightening, I suppose, but I also felt a clarity of purpose. I really wanted this baby and I knew that the baby's best chance and my best chance for survival was for me to stay calm and coherent as possible, for the sake of my family.