My conversation today with Joyce Kimball (Birth Services) and Rachel Blessington was so enlightening! I had no idea that THIS is what homebirth is like! Now I want to have another baby (maybe not) so that I can do this too! Home birth midwives get a bad rap when it comes to discussing it in any type of medical setting. Just like sometimes you may have a doctor that makes some poor decisions that gives the whole practice they’re involved with a bad reputation, sometimes you’ll have a midwife that does the same thing . . . but most of them are amazing! I have always thought having a homebirth would be risky and terrifying, but after this conversation today I realize just how wrong I’ve been! Midwives are so conscious of what your needs are and pay extra attention to what’s happening. The result is that they’ll get you to the hospital if a need arises for you or the baby, but so often don’t have to because they’re paying so close attention to you both that they can prevent things that might otherwise be problems! If you’re like me and always thought homebirth wouldn’t be an option for you – please listen in on this chat – you’ll have a much better understanding of what they do, I know I learned a ton! Thanks for joining me today ladies!
As promised too – here’s a list of great resources from Joyce!
Association of Ontario Midwives: Choice of Birthplace: Guideline for discussing choice of birthplace with clients: Methodology and review of evidence. AOM: Toronto: 2017.
video about choice of birthplace (scroll down for the animated video) and other tools for client decision making that are worth checking out as well like this birthplace options chart for midwifery practices
Home birth, the rest of the story
Is out of hospital birth safe?
Ted Talks for pregnancy and birth
Home birth as safe as hospital birth
Berglind Halfdansdottir, Alexander Kr. Smarason, et al., Outcome of Planned Home and Hospital Births among Low-Risk Women in Iceland in 2005–2009: A Retrospective Cohort Study, BIRTH 42:1 March 2015
http://www.homebirth.org.uk/firstbaby.htm
From a mom: “This is a really interesting video that helped my husband and parents realize the safety (and my reason for wanting) of a home birth. My husband is a scientist, so he is all about numbers and facts, and he thought this was great. It’s not specifically about ”the safety of home birth” but more about how BROKEN the hospital birth care system is in the US. And about how safe and common home births are in other countries.” Unbreaking Birth
http://www.peggyomara.com/2015/06/08/why-homebirth/
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/home-births-as-safe-as-hospital-births-research-finds/
Birth in the squatting position
Home Birth After Hospital Birth
Dear Friend, birth doesn’t have to suck
Ted Amherst: home birth
Home birth matters – to all women
Research Review: Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States
Meta-analysis on the safety of home birth
An Annoted Guide to Home birth
Home Birth in a Risk Society; Commentary by Sociologist Barbara Roth Katzman, PhD
Planned hospital birth versus planned home birth (Review)
http://evidencebasedbirth.com/2012/07/10/what-is-home-birth/
Women Speak Out About What’s Gone Wrong with the United States Birthing System
Here is the link to the published study in the British Medical Journal.
This is one of the most well done study, also published in the British Medical Journal
Here’s the elephant journal pictures of home birth. The entire elephant journal site is pretty neat.
great videos of unmedicated birth, in hospitals and home
the “midwives are awesome for low risk moms” study
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEtRVRwmkhQ&NR=1 (nice home birth in Maine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhYde6G-Vus (home birth)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqaXVGgbB7k (great home birth montage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDz0-OgR9iI&NR=1 (a “Normal Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery” NSVD in the hospital, just so you have a basis of comparison)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFVkDV45MM (really inspirational montage of women who had a c/section for because they “failed to progress” or “cephlo-pelvic disproportion” i.e. your baby is too big, who had their subsequent babies at home, often bigger babies)
http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/08/hospital_policy_of_withholding.html (yup, the hospital really doesn’t want you to eat or drink in labor)
http://www.articlesbase.com/pregnancy-articles/is-home-birth-right-for-me-3976527.html
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/05/the-joys-of-home-birthing.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110413101916.htm (more interventions is not better for mom or baby)
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/04/childbirth_care_and_access_to_midwives.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwhcnDpv3dM&feature=player_embedded (from c-section to home water birth)
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/181/6-7/377.full.pdf (another big study on the safety of home birth)
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=5374dabe7d13fb2938adb1&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url (first birth at home in water)
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