the following was used with permission from the Midwives of Maine
Women have given birth in their homes, attended by other women, from the beginning of humankind. Following the rhythm of your labor with support from friends and loved ones, feeling your uterus contract stronger and stronger, trusting your innate wisdom and ability to see this through, giving birth in the position your body seeks for best effort, experiencing the intensity of pushing your baby out into the light, hugging your newborn to you in awe to smell and admire and suckle.
This is the picture of normal healthy human birth, designed to complete the transformation of woman to mother, fetus to newborn, bonding them together for life. Unfortunately it is not how most mothers and babies experience birth in this country. Today in the U.S. only 1 – 2% of births take place in a home setting. Birth shifted to hospital settings in the 19th century, attended by primarily male physicians. But the increased use of medical technology applied to pregnancy, labor and birth, while intended to improve the health of mothers and babies, has failed to produce improved outcomes.
The U.S. continues to rank behind most of the developed world in terms of infant and maternal mortality rates. The escalating use of epidurals, vacuum extraction, inductions, intravenous pain medication, antibiotic prophylaxis, and surgical birth has in fact resulted in a cesarean section rate of over 30% nationally along with increased incidences of infection, prematurity and unsatisfactory, sometimes traumatic, experiences for mothers, babies and families.
Homebirth provides the perfect environment for mother-baby bonding by allowing continuous physical contact between you and your newborn. This attachment is not only crucial to a mother’s transition and healing, it enables a baby to respond fully and joyfully to life and to develop future healthy relationships.
Homebirth also gives fathers and partners an expanded role in providing comfort care to the laboring woman, maintaining a safe and supportive space in which to do her work, and touching or even assisting the birth of their baby. New parents tell us this hands-on experience gives them more joy and confidence with their newborn. These benefits are extended to siblings and others who witness the birth, hear the first sounds, or watch the newborn unfold in the moments after birth as they welcome this new one to their family and to their home.
For a healthy woman who sees pregnancy and birth as normal life processes for which her body is well-designed homebirth may be the best choice. The benefits for you and your family include:
✧ Laboring, birthing, and meeting your baby in a safe and familiar environment
✧ Avoiding the risks of routine interventions used in hospitals
✧ Avoiding an unnecessary cesarean section
✧ Having continuous access to your partner, family and support people
✧ Keeping your baby with you from the moment of emergence
✧ Being able to eat, drink, walk, bathe and assume any helpful position throughout
✧ Being able to fully participate in decisions that affect your and your baby’s health and well-being
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