Homebirth - Magna,UT

Books I found helpful: Ina May Gaskin's "Guide to Midwifery"... the stories of homebirth at the beginning of the book were great and normalized it, and I really loved the appendices; and the pain-relief/relaxation techniques mentioned. Look for 'horse lips'-- I used that very well during my own homebirth. (it's meant to help dilation and relaxation)

The Bradley Method-- will discuss the emotional stages of birth, and this will be good for your husband/partner to know as well.

Birthing From Within was good-- this is more for the mom who wants to do some emotional processing before the birth. I had some baggage and fears to identify (most women do, I think) and this book uses guided art exercises, making lists, and encourages good communication between the prospective parents AND the mother/birthing helpers.

Best wishes.:)

Everything Hazel suggested! All of those were wonderful resources for us. We took a Bradley Method Class before our first homebirth (our 2nd child). All of what we learned carried over not just to our 2nd homebirth (third child) but to our 4th child's hospital birth. The deep breathing that Bradley teaches significantly reduced my pain.

I will tell you something about the 4th baby :) Assign the others a specific task before the baby is born, something they will be responsible for to help you rest and heal. My oldest was 7 1/2, he could hold the baby on the couch, or sit next to her bassinet so I could take a shower (he'd come get me if she cried) as well as make a sandwich and tea. The next in line was only 4, he was a silly kid but played well with his younger brother, so he helped that way. My youngest was 23mo, and he was my 'fetcher". He was smart as a whip with a great memory, so he was the one to get me diapers and wipes and other simple things I might need.

Each of my homebirths was an amazing experience. It's where I felt safe, and I had the best births at home. But what I found was just having a dedicated and loving midwife meant that no matter what happened, I would have her support and guidance.

I also feel the need to give you some stern advice :) Do not do too much too soon. Being at home gave me the impression that I was on the fast track to healing, and I remember complaining to my midwife how much my abdomen hurt about a week after the birth. She scolded me for going up and down stairs too much. Heal at your own pace and accept help. Take care of you so when you can get up and resume your regularly scheduled programming, then you will be doing it as a healthy mom.
Also accept the fact that, if something goes awry, you might need to go to the hospital. Homebirthing means accepting a small amount of risk concerning life-saving measures during a birth, but midwives are trained to see signs to avoid unnecessary complications. I know two people that had to be transferred, and one fought it the whole way and had a traumatic birth experience. The other woman trusted her midwife and went without a fuss, much less traumatic for everyone. You can only control so much. I say this because many of us have homebirths so we can control things we can't control in a hospital, and that's true, we can. But there are things out of our control, and having a conversation with your midwife about emergency protocol is imperative.

Happy birthing!

I had a home birth with my second baby. It was an awesome experience and I am so happy to hear that you are planning the same. Mothering Magazine (and their website) has great info about natural birthing, and while I don't think it's in print any longer, if you can get a copy of Sheri Menelli's Journey Into Motherhood, it's an excellent collection of natural birth stories - some home birth, others not, but a beautiful and inspiring read.
Good luck, I hope to hear about your home birth story!

I had an awesome experience with my midwife(who was my friends Mother), and even though my son came too early for me to use her, my back-up plan OB I happily found out later was a former midwife, which is why I got plenty of the same treatment as I would have at my midwife's hands.

NEVER let a NURSE boss you around--that's what the buzzers are for!

I kicked out three nurses from my hospital room BEFORE my OB arrived(one for trying to put an IV in instead of giving me a glass of juice, one for snarking about me being too late for an epidural that I NEVER would have taken, and one for calling me a name I won't repeat here). YOU are the patient, and YOU have the right to proper care. My OB backed me up every step of the way, and would have let my midwife be there(only she ended up delivering her own grandson that day!).

Homebirth is beautiful, and if I end up finding Mr. Right, I plan on trying for it again.

Congratulations Mama!

I home birthed my son. It was the most amazing experience of my life. A birthing pool is essential, as is a good midwife.

If you are positive with the group b, as I always am, my midwife gives me an oral antibiotic starting around week 37 or so.

And remember, open mouth and lose hands ----I tell myself this whenever I start to feel tension during contractions and it really helps me to relax into it.

oh, I don't know anyone who has used a tub after baby 2 or 3. Tubs take a long time to fill, so be aware! I'm planning on having hubby fill mine really fast this time around (i'm due march 6th). Fingers crossed I can use the tub. Sometimes it all just goes so fast.

Two of my three were planned waterbirths at home. I loved Ina May Gaskin's books, also "Birthing from Within." It's not really a homebirth book, but is all about birthing naturally and the safety of birth. In my experience though, people are either open to homebirth, or they aren't. I don't think I changed any minds--and many of the people who decide homebirth is ok after all, have only done so after a long, personal journey. In fact, so many people think it's crazy, that I just stopped telling people, unless they asked. Good luck and congrats.

I did not have a home birth, but I did have my daughter in a birthing center with a midwife and it was a water birth. A- mazing, and beautiful way to bring a child into the world.

Since you've had babies before, you'll know what to do as far as breathing and pushing with the baby's help. The water takes away any back labor and really makes delivery easy. And when that baby comes out... gosh, the sweetest most peaceful thing. My daughter blinked from the lights like she didn't know what was going on (because the water was the same temp as inside, cuddled up, and I was nursing her within the hour. I remember it like yesterday and she's almost 9.

Best of luck to you. I recommend water birth to anyone who has the option.

I'd also recommend the book "Birthing From Within"

Your "ogre hands" nurse sounds dreadful!

I have no experience, but just want to wish you the best of luck in the homebirth. You sound like childbirth is pretty "natural" for you (I hope that made sense - I could no more have called any birth of mine "easy peesy" than the woman in the moon!)

The only thing I would venture to say is to please accept it if your midwife tells you that you need to go to the hospital. We had another mom on here who was SO much against hospital births that she labored for a terribly long time because homebirth was a HUGE goal. She finally had to give in and go to the hospital and when they took the baby by c-section, it turned out that he was over 10 pounds and she physically could NOT birth him vaginally. I shudder to think of the outcome if she hadn't given in and gone when she finally did. (The baby did have complications, but I don't know if they were caused because of the delayed birth.)

I'd hate that for you, but let's hope that you sail through this one "easy peesy" without any complications!

Dawn

I would also recommend the Ina May Gaskin books!

My second baby was a drug-free delivery. He was a VBAC, so I wanted to be in a hospital because of the tiny chance of something happening with my scar. Frankly, I wish I had a home birth. The only negatives about my birth experience came from fighting with medical staff about how I wanted things done. I think you are very likely to have an amazing experience. Midwives are highly trained, licensed medical practitioners- they may be very laid back and support your choices to avoid intervention, but they absolutely know when you need additional medical treatment.

Husband-Coached Childbirth is the book that is the "text" for Bradley classes. I highly recommend taking the classes and the book has great information for people with questions about the method. My first baby was a c-section due to high BP at the end of my pregnancy. I followed the Bradley diet and exercise rules...well, mostly...and had perfect BP right through delivery and waaaay less water retention. Oh, and if you do not have one yet, I would consider looking into a chiropractor who will make a house call during labor if needed, if your midwife recommends one.

Best of luck, and as my doula always told me, you WILL have a beautiful birth :)

It's just...every birth is different. God forbid something went wrong you'd lose time getting the baby to the hospital to an intensive care nursery and equipment.

I would not assume easy births for future kids based on the first ones. My four were all easy too, luckily. I hope you DO have an easy birth!

Water birth might be nice! Sounds somewhat comfortable.

I have also done medicated and non-medicated births, and I preferred the non-medicated births with a Certified Nurse Midwife! CNM’s are the BEST! But I have had all my babies in the hospital. I love the idea of a home birth but my first baby was born seriously ill from group B strep (I had been given IV antibiotics during labor but she was already infected in utero). I was very grateful to give birth in a hospital with a NICU because otherwise she might have (doctors said probably would have) died. I don't mean to scare you, I just want to point out that it is very important to have someone who is medically knowledgeable about BABIES, and midwives are mostly trained to deal with the possible health issues of the mother. If you have a homebirth make sure that you have contingency plans for medical emergencies, if you live very close to a hospital THAT HAS A NICU that would be best. Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful birth experience!

All three of my boys were born at home with a midwife, and I treasure the memories of each of their births. I'm certainly glad the hospital is there if I were to need it, but I'm just as glad I didn't!

My favorite homebirth book was Shelia Kitzinger's Homebirth book. It may be a bit dated, but the photos and the stories were so inspirational and real. Worth having to look at when you feel moody and hormonal.

Happy birthing!