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The Home Birth Hype

Everything You Need to Know About Delivering at Home

By Shel Franco

Add to this the absence of pressure for IVs, epidurals, continuous fetal monitoring, laboring in bed and Cesarean section, and for many women, home birth is the leading choice for bringing a baby into the world.

Still, there are women who won't and who shouldn't attempt a home birth. For starters, those expecting to use drugs to ease labor pain should be aware that this is not an option while birthing at home. "Although [midwives] employ many coping techniques for pain, [such as] the use of water and position changes, we don't give narcotics at home, so many women with long, painful labors sometimes choose to go to the hospital for stronger pain relief," Brethauer says.

Some women who would not choose home birth cite safety concerns as their No. 1 reason for preferring hospital births. "While the idea of giving birth in the comfort of my own home sounds very appealing, I could never do it," says Heather Winne, of Nashville, Ind. "Perhaps it is my nature to overanalyze possibilities, asking, 'but what if ...' for every event. I would be terrified of complications that resulted in the death of my baby because I wasn't close enough to an operating room, anesthesiologist and scalpel."

Certain medical conditions or situations might very well require the technology that the hospital can provide. Breech presentation, diabetes, prematurity and toxemia are all indicators that a home birth may not be the safest means for delivering the baby.

But for the average pregnancy, Brethauer says, "The critical part to keeping home birth safe is a good backup plan with a physician and hospital to transport to if any problem arises during labor – as well as excellent prenatal [care], good nutrition and close labor monitoring."

Want to see more?

• Birthing from Within: Experiencing Childbirth in Your Own Way
• Laboring with Lamaze: Childbirth on Your Own Terms
• Delivery Room Visitors: Deciding Who Will Attend Your Baby's Birth
• Birth in the Water, Birth at Home: An Interview with Penny Simkin,Founder of Doulas of North America
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!