How is homebirth different?
On average, there are differences between a homebirth and a hospital birth. For example, the rate of problems during labor is higher in the hospital due to the increased use of medical techniques to change labor. The type and amount of fetal monitoring is also different. Many women find their attitude changes to being a “patient” when they labor in the hospital, leading them to feel they must follow every command from the nurses. Many women also find there is less stress during labor at home not only because they are around familiar things and working with people they know, but because there is no rush to pack the car and head to some other location in the midst of strong contractions. It is the same process whether you give birth at home or in the hospital. Your body must do the same work. My mind went to the same place during labor and I wanted to do the same things (I liked the shower and I liked the hands and knees position with both labors). The only real difference was that at ho
The safety of homebirth begins with the belief that women are innately built and born to give birth. This stems greatly from the relationship between the birthing family and their midwives and the trust that is held for the birthing woman and the process of birth itself. During the prenatal appointments, the family will meet and get to know well all of the people who will be attending them at their birth. There will be no surprising shift-changes in the middle of their labor, no unexpected strangers doing vaginal exams or telling the mother how to breath. The midwives spend ample time (45 minutes to an hour on average per appointment) in the prenatal appointments getting to know the mother as an individual and learning what is normal for her rather than what is normal for an “unknown” woman on a chart. We intimately come to know her personal history, concerns, and fears as well as her strengths, convictions, and beliefs. This is the foundation of trust and safety, built during the pren
