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Best of Both Worlds?

Why I am Choosing Homebirth Before Conception

By Christy Rogers

I didn't understand the decision then, and I don't understand it now. From my point of view, my friend had her right to birth her baby stolen from her, and that makes me mad. And it angers me even more that her chances are lessened of ever being able to give birth the natural way. That's not to say that natural birth will be impossible for her in the future. But next time, it will be even more difficult.

And here's what saddens me the most. She told me before she had the baby that she was going to try to give birth unmedicated, because she believed it was the best way. She told me that she was scared to have her baby with a midwife in case of an emergency, and that if she could make it through the first birth with no drugs, she would have her second baby at home. She thought, like I thought in the beginning, that she could have the best of both worlds. But this didn't happen. Unfortunately, it rarely ever happens.

So, yes, I am scared, but not necessarily of the pain or the possibility of an emergency. Instead, I am terrified of having my right to birth ripped from me, and that after nine long months of taking care of my unborn baby and myself, some doctor or on-call nurse will deem my pelvis too small or my labor too long. Most importantly, I am scared of being reduced to being a patient in a hospital, rather than being a mother gloriously giving birth the way God intended it.