I had a homebirth with my second. It was amazing, and helped heal me (mentally/spiritually) from my firstborn’s hospital birth. I get to tell my son, whether he likes it or not, that he was born mere inches from where he was conceived. Recovery and the nursing relationship with babe were *so* much easier with a homebirth, too.

To me, pregnancy is a regular occuring life event, not a sickness. Which is how insurance companies and doctors are trained to think of pregnancy, as a sickness to be treated. At least where I’ve lived.

I have no desire to give birth at home. I would be too worried about something going wrong and I don’t care how “well trained” a midwife is. I would rather be someplace that’s meant to handle potentially life-threatening situations.

I had my twins in a hospital with an epidural. I was very happy with the way things went and of course the end result!

I have absolutely NO desire to see Rikki Lake labouring and giving birth in a tub. Yuck.

I had my first baby at a hospital, but my second baby was born at home, in a water tub, with a midwife in attendance. By far the home birth was the most memorable and pleasant birth.

I guess I’m pretty lucky. My first two were born in a hospital but I had an awesome supportive doctor who knew I didn’t want any interventions if at all possible. I was able to walk around, eat, shower, I didn’t even have an IV put in, which is routine in a lot of hospitals. I knew my choices and was well educated, I just knew I wanted to go natural and I just stuck to it. In my birth plan I said I didn’t even want the nurses asking me if I wanted drugs while I was in labor… I didn’t want the temptation. I also had a doula with my first two. I loved her. With my first I labored at home with my doula and my hubby for the first 7 hours and then went to the hospital were our daughter was born 3 hours later. With our second I planned on doing the same thing… laboring at home for the most part. Well, when my doula was on her way over I called her back and said she better just meet us at the hospital. Good thing to ’cause Our son was born an hour later after only three hours of labor! He really sneaked up on us! Wonderful experiences both times. Now with my third (a year ago) both my doctor AND doula had moved so I decided to go with a certified midwife but still deliver in the hospital. Our third was born after only 4 hours of very painful but very smooth un-medicated labor. I fully support home births and think they are great, but for me… I like to be in a hospital in case of an emergency. Plus, I like the food! And who wants to clean up all that blood and stuff out of your bed and tub when you’re done! Anyway, I guess I got the best of both worlds. I got to have three totally natural births while still being in a hospital.

I would not have my child at home however I would consider a birthing center. We have them around here where you still use a midwife and you don’t have the drugs but they are hospitals that allow you to have a private room with as many friends and family and stay longer if your uncomfortable about going home.

I am not comfortable giving birth then saying goodbye to the midwives a few hours later! I know several people though who have had natural births with midwives but all went to a birthing center.

One thing I know is I DO NOT one a C-Section unless it’s the last resort and all other options have been executed. I know some people who take this route because they don’t want to experience “labor” but for me I want to experience it. I’m not saying I won’t change my mind and beg for some pain meds but hopefully my support group will keep me from thinking down that road.

I commend anyone whose had a natural no drug birth. But I do agree. It’s not for everyone and nobody should be ashamed on how they have their baby. All that matters is that each and every child is born healthy!

My first 2 were born at home, and I’m planning a 3rd homebirth this fall, as well. My first birth was exquisite and peacefully normal. My second was longer and a little more difficult, as I did it in a foreign country with a midwife who didn’t speak English. But she did have pitocin to give me to help encourage my placenta out. As far as this pregnancy progresses normally and I remain healthy, I’ll definitely do it at home again. I dread the thought of travelling in a car in labor, much less moving from one room to another! I like to labor in one little cozy nest the whole time.

I don’t have a child yet, but if I’m pregnant and everything is ok, I’ll do it at home for sure! Even my boyfriend likes the idea of a homebirth a lot…

I’m planning a home waterbirth this time around.

My first birth was a schedule c-section because she was a footling breech. I was actually one of the few women (less than 5%) that NEEDED a c/s instead of the alarming rate of 23-25% of women who end up with one. I’m glad that it was scheduled as I ended up having a condition that none of the doctors/ultrasound techs knew about beforehand. My uterus had a septum down the middle and my daughter was only in the left side. So had I went into labour it would have torn causing a lot of bleeding which would have ended up as an emergency c/s.

I’m glad that we both ended up healthy after the fact however this time around I want a homebirth. I don’t want some doctor scheduling me for another c/s come my 40th week just because I can’t be induced. I want to be able to birth this baby the way that I want with no outside pressure.

i have a bleeding disorder so i wouldn’t even consider a home birth for a second. i might have considered it if not for that though. you never know…

Oh, and most midwives carry well stocked bags. Oxygen, pitocin (for hemmorage), herbal remedies and more for all kinds of “emergencies” that are minor and/or need to be dealt with immediately before transferring if need be. They also know manouvers and procedures to deal with things that doctors with other resources at their disposal may not be overly familiar with.