I've been getting comments on my last post about pregnancy and birth. While I don't expect everyone to agree with me on homebirth, I do want to explain a little bit. Then again, the most popular blogs are controversial, right? So maybe I'll be the controversial homebirth advocate. Either way, here I go again.

    Yes, I know that complications happen. That doesn't mean that they will happen to everyone, or that we should necessarily all check into a hospital "just in case". A lot of complications are brought on by "routine procedures"... inducing to get labor going before the weekend, using pitocin on a regular basis, and keeping women in bed instead of upright and active are a few. 

    I know many of you won't agree with me. That's okay. Even if one person starts to think and does the research before making her decision, that's wonderful. That way, if she opts for the hospital, an induction and an epidural, it is because she made an informed choice, not because that was what was expected.  

    If I ever have another baby, I will be planning another homebirth. If complications arise, I will see whomever I need to for treatment. But I feel my homeborn babies had a much better start than my hospital-born babies. My homeborn babies were not subjected to ultrasound, pitocin or medications. They were born relaxed, alert, and calm. I was relaxed, alert, and calm. My time with these children was uninterrupted by protocols.

    It's not like I've never been through hospital birth. I have. Four times. My first  had all the bells and whistles... a paracervical (they don't use this pain relief method anymore), an epidural, and a cesarean after two hours of purple pushes. Could it possibly have been because my water was broken before my daughter was in the best position? If I had been more active, possibly she would have shifted anyway, but, alas, I was in full beached whale syndrome, and once the epidural was administered, I couldn't have gotten up if I'd wanted to. I take partial responsibility here... I wasn't the most cooperative mom on the ward that day. But was that worth a cesarean where I was left tied to the OR table without anyone monitoring me while the epidural wore off and I couldn't help pushing even though my legs were tied together? I don't think so.

    Even after this, I returned to the hospital. VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean) were popular in the early 1990s, so we were aiming for one. The CNM ruptured my waters in such a manner that it felt like the entire ocean was pouring forth. My son's heartrate plummeted, and took quite a while to recover. I received a large episiotomy, and my poor son was subjected to all sorts of tests because they thought him to be oversized. He was 9 lbs 5 oz. Turns out, I have large babies more often than not, so it was probably unnecessary.

    And still I went back, good little lemming that I was. This time I avoided the epidural. They still broke my water, but they encouraged me to be up and active. I walked the halls, I was in the shower, I sat on the birthing stool and the birth ball. Asked for a half dose of fentanyl for that last cm of dilation, though it turned out to be not what I wanted. Live and learn. My son was yanked out so hard that they thought he may have broken his clavicle. Luckily, he didn't. I suffered from postpartum depression after this birth, and was on medications until shortly before my fourth was born.

And still I went back. The last time, I only went back because my husband was not yet ready to try birthing at home. My CNMs were fired two weeks before I gave birth. We had some premature labor issues, which I learned later were most likely due to the zoloft I had been on for depression. This birth convinced me and my hubby that we should just stay home if there was a next time. No one bothered to be there. The nurse checked me, declared me at 5 cm, and left. The doctor did not bother to come in when she arrived. Even my hubby went out to the parking lot to check on our other kids who were staying in my inlaws' motorhome. The only person with me was my doula, and she was napping. Well, I had to push! My doula ran to the door, calling down the hall for the nurse. The doctor barely made it in to catch the baby. We could have done it ourselves. 

    I'm planning on writing on this in more detail, hopefully for a book sometime in the future. Next time, I'll write here about the homebirths. 

Tags: Pregnancy Birth Baby Hospital Epidural