728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Homebirth/Waterbirth › The Home Birth Hype

The Home Birth Hype

Everything You Need to Know About Delivering at Home

By Shel Franco

Pages:  1  2  3  

Who a woman is and what she does has much less to do with having a successful home birth than her health and mental well-being do. "In general, women who are healthy and have normal pregnancies without complications such as elevated blood pressure, twins and breech presentations are candidates [for home birth]," Brethauer says.

During a home birth, care is generally provided by midwives. They can be:

  • Certified Nurse Midwives, who are registered nurses with additional education in midwifery and certification through their professional governing body
  • Certified Midwives, who gained their knowledge via schools and/or practical application and are certified by the state or through other organizations
  • Direct-Entry Midwives, who learned their craft through apprenticeship with experienced midwives

In a few cases, as with Hawkins, local physicians will assist at home births. "I was fortunate to find an old-fashioned country doctor when I moved to Maine," Hawkins says. "He and his wife came to my home to assist me with both my sons' home births."

Why Do It?

Mary Jane Hoover, of Rochester, N.Y., found herself interested in home birth because of a strong dislike for hospitals. However, it wasn't long before she discovered even more reasons. "I looked into a midwife and found she was a fourth cheaper than a hospital delivery," Hoover says. "I found [her] care was much less stressed and more patient-friendly than [with] a doctor."

For many women, privacy is a pivotal issue. "Childbirth at home is more intimate and the people at the birth are all hand-selected," Brethauer says. "They are people who you already know, including father of the aby, whatever family and friends you invite and of course the midwife and her assistant. No one is going to leave in the middle of the birth because her shift is over."


Pages:  1  2  3  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.