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Home Birth
Why choose a home birth?
Birth at home is the way people have been born for thousands of years. For any of us to be here, walking on this planet, many many women had to have given birth at home. Midwives traditionally held the knowledge of facilitating birth, often using herbs and ancient wisdom passed through the years to help women and their babies have safe, normal births. In the late eighteenth and early twentieth century, doctors began attending births for women at home, and eventually birth moved into the hospital. In most countries in this world, midwives still attend the births of healthy low-risk women, and doctors attend births when they are needed, usually due to a high-risk situation or other complications that may come up.
So, while giving birth at home is being sometimes portrayed in the media as being new, pouplar, or trendy, in actuality it is a very old tradition. Women are mammals, and most mammals seek out a dark, familiar, and safe place in which to give birth. Oxytocin is the most important hormone in labor: it is its release that causes contractions, and dilation of the cervix. This is the same hormone released during bonding, falling in love, breastfeeding, and all kinds of social behaviors. Many women have difficulty releasing oxytocin when they are overstimulated, scared, or feel unsafe. Being at home, surrounded by loved ones, and midwives whom you have come to know and trust facilitates this release of oxytocin, and can help lead to a gentle, sweet, and safe birth.
When attending a home birth, we bring the old traditions of midwifery and combine them with the evidence-based care of modern midwifery. We bring with us Michel Odent's principles of biodynamic birth: that women deserve to birth in a way that is biologically appropriate, yet dynamic and ever-changing because women are individuals. Some women seek out the dark bathroom, completely alone, and others want to be in a bright living room with everyone in their extended family watching as they give birth. Everyone is different, and we are glad to attend you in the way that feels right to you. At home, you can have candles, music, and your familiar sights and smells. One of the biggest difference in birthing at home is the postpartum experience. When the baby is born, we continue to gently monitor and observe the baby. If the baby needs any additional help, we are there, and trained-- but most of the time, babies tansition beautifully without any help from us. Once the placenta is born, and mom and baby are stable (usually about four hours after the birth) we leave. There is no where to drive, no car seat to struggle with, and no awakenings to check vital signs: just your family and your baby.
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