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Big Decisions
What Birth Methods Are Right for You?
By Harmony Cornwell
In Bray's first two deliveries, she was in the hospital and spent a lot of her labor in the hot tub, which she found "relaxing and soothing." When it was time to decide where to have her third child it made perfect sense to her and her husband to have their baby at home in water. Bray and her husband conducted research online on the safety of water birth and after discussions with her midwife they went ahead with the plan.
"Water birth can be an option for women in all birth settings," says Mayri Sagady Leslie, a certified nurse-midwife and Chair for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS). But, she says, "There are few hospitals that offer it."
If you are thinking that you would like to give birth at home, you will need to find a certified midwife to be present for the delivery (most doctors only deliver in a hospital). Collins recommends visiting the Web site of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and follow the links under "Find a Midwife" to find a certified provider in your area.
Leslie says that in addition to a certified provider you need to "[have] a clear mechanism in place for a consultation with an obstetrician if indicated and [a] transfer to a hospital should a complication arise during the birth." She advises that home births are meant for pregnancies that have progressed without medical problems. If you have a high-risk pregnancy, are diabetic or have experienced any other complications thisoption may not be for you.
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