Preparing For A Successful Home Birth
This past September, my husband and I had a beautiful home birth with our first baby girl. I would like to share what truly made this an unforgettable experience, as well as tips for a successful home birth.
Solidify Your Reasons For a Home Birth
It is essential that you establish your own reasons for a home birth. Birth is not an easy task, but it is the most rewarding experience. These reasons must be rooted deeply in your mind and not superficial ideas. For example, with our current healthcare system and variable insurance plans and copays, a home birth may be cheaper than delivering in a hospital or birth center. Although this was the case with my husband and I, it was not the only reason we chose a home birth. From the beginning of my pregnancy, I knew that I did not want to go to the hospital unless it was absolutely medically necessary.
Although not the primary reason for not wanting to go to the hospital, the presence of COVID-19 did have a part in my decision. I wanted to be in an environment that I could control, where I felt safe and could have a private space with only people that I knew and wanted to be present for this miraculous event. It is my belief that birth is a physiological process that God designed the female body to do. I wanted little to no intervention to allow my body to function as it was intended with no interference to the hormone matrix. By creating a calm, disturbance free space, I was able to focus on each contraction that was bringing me one step closer to meeting my daughter.
Develop Your Support System
I was blessed to have a supportive husband who was present and assisted during the birth. We decided only to tell a few relatives and friends our plan for birth. Whether you share your plan or not, it is inevitable that people will share their opinions regarding birth with you. I chose to ignore most of the commentary and focus on the evidence I found around birth. At a home birth, you decide who you want to be present. You may choose to hire a midwife, birth keeper, doula, or just have you and your partner there.
Also, think about your current household. For us, we have two dogs. Thankfully, my labor was short, and we were able to keep the dogs in the other level of our house. If I did labor long or needed to leave in an emergency, we had a list of people we knew we could call to care for them. If you have other children, I recommend having a babysitter or family member who can take care of them even if you want them present for the birth.
Prepare your partner or birth team with what they may do to help you during labor. My husband offered me water, drinks with electrolytes, and snacks, such as crackers, trail mix, and jerky. He rubbed my back and during contractions, provided sacral counterpressure with my guidance and instruction from our midwife.
Create a Birth Plan
Although it is not wise to focus on the negative events that can happen during birth, I do believe it is important to educate yourself and decide what you want to happen in case of these circumstances. Whether you are planning on home birth or decide to go to a birth center or hospital, it is beneficial to have a printed-out birth plan that details how you want your birth to proceed and what interventions you would or would not want.
Setup the Environment
At a home birth, you are not limited to your bed. I found it very beneficial to get into the shower and had a birth ball available. I also chose to have a birth pool. We dimmed the lights to provide privacy and a calming environment. We had soothing nature sounds and worship music playing in the background. You may choose to have an essential oil diffuser or battery-operated candles. To protect our mattress and facilitate a quick cleanup, we had a set of sheets covered with a plastic liner and another set of sheets on top. We pinned the sheets and liner together with safety pins to keep the bedding in place. Following the birth of the placenta, we took the top sheets and plastic liner off and had a clean bed to cuddle with the baby. We also had disposable underpads we placed on the floor and bed. Have snacks and drinks readily available. Around week 35, I began to stockpile essentials and snacks in our room. I recommend collecting food items that you could handle when you were nauseous in your first trimester. Also have water and snacks for whoever is with you during the birth.
Visualize and Speak the Birth You Want
Although your birth may not go as you have planned, it is important to visualize the birth you want in your mind’s eye. Your mind is a powerful tool to achieve the birth you want. Speak positively over you and your baby. Listen and watch positive birth stories. Free Birth Society, Built To Birth, and Evidence Based Birth, are just a few of my favorite birth podcasts. Develop your own personal affirmations that you speak to yourself and your baby daily. For me, I daily prayed for a healthy, full-term baby and for us to have a beautiful home birth.
I hope you have found this article hopeful in preparing for your own home birth. Stay tuned for our article describing our pregnancy and home birth in detail.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalms 139:13-14, NIV
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”
John 16:21, NIV