Arvizu: Why Do Women Still Choose Home Birth?

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Erin Arvizu, GoLocal Worcester Health Columnist

Today, most hospitals are pretty high tech when it comes to delivering babies. Every fetal heartbeat and contraction is recorded and the security of a sterile operating room is just down the hall. So why then, do some women still choose to birth at home without the fancy bells and whistles found at the local hospital?

Melissa Pratt chose to birth at home because she wanted a family centered birth where her young daughter could be present. “I didn’t want to be told who I could and couldn’t have in the room at the time of my baby’s birth,” Pratt said. She also wanted the midwife she chose to be in attendance, not whoever was on call at the time, which is pretty standard at the hospital.

Lia Reilly also wanted her older children to be allowed at her birth. Birthing at home gave her the privacy and autonomy she desired. “I wasn’t a patient,” Reilly said, “so I didn’t have to follow standard protocols implemented in the hospital.” Such protocols may include an IV, limited food or drink and routine internal exams.

Stephanie Buzzell chose home birth because she felt her trusted midwife was providing her with the best evidence-based care that kept her individual interest in mind. “The prenatal care I received,” says Buzzell, “focused on preventative health, proper nutrition and being closely monitored to ensure I was low risk.” She made informed choices about her care during thorough hour-long discussions at her prenatal visits with her midwife. And that customized care didn’t end with the birth of her baby, her midwife swooped in with special remedies to help ease her breastfeeding troubles immediately, before they became detrimental.

So the decision to birth our babies at home doesn’t simply answer the question of where our baby will be born, it guarantees that the trusted midwife we’ve developed a close relationship with will be present at our birth; the freedom to make ourselves comfortable during labor whether it involves a tub, a bed or the company of a dozen family members; and individualized prenatal care that immediately transforms into top-notch postpartum care after the baby has arrived.

Home birth is not going to be the best option for every pregnant woman, just as birthing at the hospital was not the right choice for these women, but the important thing is that we have these options. We almost lost that at one point in history when our state governments began outlawing midwifery.

Thankfully, a little home birth movement happened in the 1970’s that restored our freedom to choose how we give birth.

If you need help exploring your birth options, stop by Wild Orchid Baby located at 490 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester and chat with local birth professionals and childbirth educators.

Erin Arvizu is owner of Wild Orchid Baby.