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Having Your Baby at Home
6 Steps Toward the Homebirth of Your Dreams
By Shel Franco
Your clothes. Your bed. Your family. Your birth. So you want to have your baby at home. But how do you do it? What will you need? How will you know what to do? The questions may seem endless, but these six steps can guide you toward the homebirth of your dreams.
Most women think the first step to planning a homebirth is finding a competent midwife. But before you make those phone calls, you might want to be certain that you and your husband -- or birth partner -- agree. "First, I gathered sufficient information to convince my husband that we should explore having a homebirth," says Karen Kohls, a certified doula and mother of two children born at home, in Madison, Wis.
Fortunately, the Internet has made this task much easier than it was 10 years ago. You can find information about homebirth, including safety statistics, through simple Internet searches. There are also several books on the subject that you and your husband might find helpful – Homebirth (Dk Pub, 1991) by Sheila Kitzinger is often suggested.
Once your husband agrees that home is the best place to have your baby, it's time to find a midwife.
"[You] can look in the phone book in the area under 'midwives,'" says Kate Brethauer, a certified nurse midwife, in Oregon, Wis.
But don't be discouraged if there are no listings or if the midwives in the telephone book only attend hospital births. "Sometimes homebirth midwives don't advertise because the cost can be prohibitive," Brethauer says. "In that case, contact a local childbirth educator or birth assistant group. Keep asking."
In addition, Brethauer suggests calling 1-800-MIDWIFE or checking out Birth Partners.
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