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Best of Both Worlds?
Why I am Choosing Homebirth Before Conception
By Christy Rogers
After reading these books, I made my decision final. I wanted to have a natural birth, the way God intended it, with no drugs and no interventions unless absolutely necessary. I could not have such a birth in a hospital environment. I knew I'd made the right decision. Convincing my family, however, was going to be another story.
My husband, Randy, was a little nervous about embarking on a tremendous unknown without the benefit of close-by technology. However, he totally trusted that I had done enough research on the subject and told me that if I felt comfortable with my choice, he would support me. After taking a little time to get used to the idea, he totally agreed with me. My mother was another story. When I told her my plans, she freaked out. I wasn't quite prepared for her reaction but should have expected it, considering that when she gave birth it was quite common for a woman to be totally anesthetized.
For weeks she questioned me about every aspect of my choice, but finally she said she would support me. Showing her the books I'd read as well as sharing the statistics helped a lot. The others in my family have been totally supportive. In fact, I learned a neat bit of family history when sharing the news with my family. My grandmother informed me that my great-grandmother was a midwife!
When I talk about childbirth with my friends, they look at me in fear. They ask if I am really going to try to give birth unmedicated, as if I am some freak of nature for wanting to do so. They tell me I am brave. But I don't believe my choice has anything to do with bravery. Ask me if I am scared, and I will tell yo yes. Even though I am not yet pregnant, I am scared of putting myself in the position of having to handle something that I don't have the first clue about. I am afraid that I might not be able to manage the pain, and I am afraid that some unforeseen emergency might occur that would jeopardize the life of my baby.
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