The 3 Reasons I Chose A Home Birth
“Aquadural” from the Birth Undisturbed photo series
None of my friends or family have chosen home birth. But thanks to the power of social media, I have been exposed to positive home birth stories and videos. Instagram accounts like BadassBirtherMother, MidwifeMummy, SacredBirthDoula and this incredible photo series depicting #BirthUndisturbed (above photo), and books like Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth got me thinking that this was the right path for me.
The first thing that got me thinking I wanted a home birth was that in my research, I never heard anyone speak about a hospital birth in the particular way that I’ve heard people speak about home birth. Who knows if this is because people who choose home birth are particularly inclined to have a certain connection to the experience that could get lost in a hospital setting, I’ll never know. But the words magical, special, amazing, I have only heard when referencing a home birth. And my feeling is, if I’m going to experience this spiritual portal, this intense physical experience either way, why not set it up so that I can make it a special experience for me and my partner and my baby.
Baby’s nursery, where we planned to set up the birth pool
2. Another reason is simply that I abhor flourescent lighting. I say this as a reason only half joking. Being someone who is very affected by my surroundings, I can see being very uncomfortable in a hospital setting. In order for labor to progress smoothly, being relaxed and comfortable is important! I want the option to control my environment and have candles and low lighting, fresh air, and my own sheets.
40 weeks pregnant, little did I know I would be pregnant for 2 more weeks!
3. The final reason is: from everything I’ve read and learned, it does not seem necessary to be in a hospital to give birth. Pregnancy and birth are not an illness. They are natural functions of the human body. Women have been birthing babies since, well, the beginning. That is, indeed, how we got here as a species. It was only recently in human history that doctors got involved. In fact, the reason that many people label childbirth as “dangerous” is because of the history of doctors getting involved. In the 1600s, (male) doctor’s would do an autopsy and go straight to a birth. Not understanding germs or hygiene, they would infect mothers and babies and mothers would come down with the mysterious “childbed fever” or “purpural fever.” A few hundred years of this gave childbirth in western culture a dangerous reputation. Now if we had just let midwives do what they had done for centuries, instead of label them witches and burn them at the stake, we would all collectively have a very different view of childbirth.
Moments after delivering my son in my bed.
These are the three main reasons I chose a home birth. A lot of it comes down to being able to control the circumstances and the narrative in a way I am not sure I would be able to do in a hospital. My doula said something that made a lot of sense: People who give birth in a hospital also want to have some control over the situation, it’s just that the kind of control is different. It’s all about where your comfort lies. Some people’s comfort lies in doctors’ authority, in bright lights and machines, and other people’s comfort lies in the hands of a seasoned midwife and their own home environment. I do not have a strong opinion that one is a better option over the other, only that a home birth was what felt right for me, and it was a privilege that I was able to carry out my wishes. Read more here about how my home birth almost didn’t happen and how it actually went down.
