The year in celebrity home/water/natural childbirth
Women have been giving birth naturally (without drugs) for thousands of years. In a time when elective c-sections are on the rise, there are still many mothers opting to give birth at home, in water, and/or without medication. Here are a few celebrity mothers who went this route and talked about it this year.
Charlotte Church delivered daughter, Ruby Megan Henson, at home in a birthing pool with minimal drugs. She is also breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Talking with boyfriend Gavin Henson to OK! magazine, she said,
I was telling you I loved you, wasn’t I? Saying ‘I loveyou, but I can’t do this!’ You were brilliant, you kept saying, ‘Justget through this one.’
I was so anxious before, thinking, ‘Is it really going to hurt that much?’ And it really does hurt that muchand ten million times more! The pain is outrageous!
Kellie Martin was set on giving birth naturally and was disappointed she had to be induced because daughter Maggie didn’t want to come on her own.
I was induced, and I really, really wanted to have her naturally.No drugs, no nothing, because that’s what my mom did with me so Ifigured — you know — I’m as tough as my mother!
She changed her mind after her water broke, but her husband and her nurse helped her get through it.
We got a couple of hours into the real, good contractions and theybroke my water… and once that happened, I said ‘Okay, no, no, no,no… can’t do it. Can’t do it! Drugs! Somebody help me…I have tohave drugs.’ And my husband knew how important it was to me to haveMaggie naturally so he just kept changing the subject, and my nursekept changing the subject…She’d be like ‘Ooooh, look! It’s sobeautiful outside!’ And I was like, ‘Seriously, no one is listening tome.’ And by that point I’d really forgotten that I needed the drugs,and it was time to push.
Lisa Bonet (aka Lilakoi Moon) gave birth to daughter Lola Iolani Momoa at home.
Dave Matthews and his wife Ashley welcomed their third child, August Oliver Matthews, at home. Dave said, believing homebirth comes with its own set of benefits,
We had him at home, which was nice, because I knew where the beer was.
Ani DiFranco gave birth to daughter, Petah Lucia DiFranco Napolitano, at home, and believes,
Birth is the epicenter of women’s power.
Actress AJ Langer, best known as Rayanne on My So-Called Life, gave birth to daughter Joscelyn Skye at home in water, with her husband, Lord Charles Courtenay, the future Earl of Devon, helping to catch the baby.
Supermodel and cosmetics entrepreneur Josie Maran considers herself to be relatively eco-conscious, and integrates her green knowledge into motherhood as well. She said,
I gave birth to Rumi in my backyard. Ipractice what I preach.
Ricki Lake’s documentary about homebirth, The Business of Being Born, debuted with a standing ovation at the Tribeca Film Festival. Catch a screening near you in 2008. She gave birth to her second son Owen, now 5, at home in a bathtub. She told The Huffington Post,
I wanted to make this movie after my two very different birthexperiences with my children. I felt like I had an opportunity toexplore and question birthing practices in this country and perhaps bean advocate for mothers’ rights and better maternity care.
Joely Fisher gave birth at home to her second daughter, True Harlow Fisher-Duddy, saying,
I decided to have her at home and had a lot of friends around and ofcourse her father was there. And of course, the doctor, the doula, themidwife, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker.
For more information about natural childbirth, visit childbirthconnection.org, choicesinchildbirth.org, cfmidwifery.org, birthworks.org, lamaze.org, bradleybirth.com, birthingfromwithin.com.
- Posted on Dec 25, 07 at 5:29PM
- Permalink
- 26 Comments
December 25th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
So Nice to see celeb’s helping to make home birth more accpetable- ( in societys eyes!)
I think cindy crawfordd also home birthed- both my chidlren were born at home and I always say that you could not have PAID me to get into a car while I was in labour! =)
Women have been giving birth at home fro generations- and to be honest as dirty as my house can get it is STILL cleaner than our local hospital- closed with two staf infections and a burst sewer pipe the day before I gave birth- YUCKY!
ekaterina
December 25th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I would have never done a home birth myself.
Way to scared of any complications, which I did have pop up during labors, but I totally respect any woman who has done it.
December 25th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
aw… home birthing women are so lucky. i’ve had both my kids with no drugs, and super-fast labours. i so envy home and water births, but can’t have one myself.
December 25th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
This is great to see! Celebrities are role models for many women, so it’s encouraging to see that not all of them are choosing c-sections. Ricki Lake’s film is wonderful! I’m sure it will inspire countless women to give birth at home. All of my babies were born at home (unassisted) and it was a fantastic experience. Please continue to keep up posted on this.
Laura Shanley
Bornfree! The Unassisted Childbirth Page
http://unassistedchildbirth.com
December 25th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Good for all of them!!
I gave birth to my daughter in a birth center, (NO drugs), with my mom delivering my baby and my husband as my coach. My dad and sister were there as well, and I called the shots! We were out of there 1 1/2 hours after I gave birth and at home enjoying our new little girl. Next time, we’re having our baby at home.
It was beautiful…the birthing experience seems so much more powerful when you’re not bombarded with drugs, doctors, and the sterile environment of a hospital room.
December 25th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
the butcher, baker and candlestick maker…
LMAO!
December 25th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
as a physician who has seen first hand how prenatal care and the delivery process are in a developing country, i was a bit irritated that ricki lake thinks we need “better maternity care” in this country. i have given birth to 2 beautiful children in this country and think we have a lot to be thankful for as far as receiving prenatal care and options for the we choose to give birth.
December 26th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
The U.S. has brutal delivery practices. Just b/c we’re better than a developing country doesn’t mean it’s as good as it could/should be. Hospital birth in the U.S. involves all sorts of processes done to the mother and baby that are almost always unecessary and risky. Most moms are not informed that normal physiological birth is better for the baby. Instead, they’re pumped full of pitocin which makes it more necessary to have the epidural thus changing the baby’s physiology at and after the time of birth (and not for the better).
December 26th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
The fact that the U.S. is currently 2nd in birth mortality among equally industrialized countries speaks volumes about why these women are bucking the system of hospital birth. The WHO recommends no more than a 10-15% C-section rate, and it’s currently double that and rising. That’s a definite sign that something is wrong. Kudos to all the celebs AND regular moms who take charge of their birth!
December 26th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Glad to see it all in one place. I gave birth to my daughter in a freestanding birth center (no drugs) and had a wonderful experience. I will give birth at home next time if we are so lucky to get pregnant again, because there are no freestanding birth centers where I live now.
December 26th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I’d never give birth at home. I trust my doctors 110%.
December 26th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Love the info about home births. I am definitely planning one.
I had a great OB with my previous birth, but, nothing beats the superb care of a qualified midwife. One who comes to your home for prenatal visits, and is prepared for surprises.
I’ve seen way too many interventions in hospitals because the labor is “taking too long”, or the woman is “not progressing”.
It’s also way hard to have a VBAC in a hosptial, as many OB’s are too afraid of malpractice. JMO.
December 26th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
My home waterbirth was the best of my 3 births. I just have to give props to CBB for being a great advocate of natural living!! What a great end of the year roundup
December 26th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Yay for the homebirthers! If all goes well I’ll be joining them at the end of July!
December 26th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I think it’s important to keep in mind that no matter how your child is born, it’s still your glorious incredible baby.
What happens at the birth is only one day – it doesn’t compare to the rest of the life of raising your child.
December 26th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Great blog. Thanks for the celeb birth info and great resources. This positive stuff is exactly what we like!
I had my third baby at home in a birth pool with my husband- in the pool- and my sons, doulas and midwives all around.
It was magical!
December 27th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I trust my doctors 110%, too. That’s why I had my daughter at a freestanding birthing center.
This debate inevitably ends with someone suggesting that doctors are lazy or unskilled and that they are the reason that births have become highly medicalized in this country. But the truth is that doctors are legitimately afraid of malpractice and are overburdened and overworked and at the mercy of insurance company demands.
There were many reasons that I chose not to give birth in a hospital and one of those was the desire to “free up” the doctors’ time for the truly complicated pregnancies. I would feel much safer in a system in which doctors have ample time to attend to the high-risk births. In order for this to happen, low-risk births should be handled by capable midwives.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
It is so refreshing to see homebirth being portrayed positively in the media. It is great to see so many celebrities having peaceful births in a culture where cesareans are becoming the norm.
I had my twins at home (a VBAC) last year and it was the most amazing experience of my entire life. Nothing can compare to that moment for me.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Anyone can have a homebirth. Most complications are caused by hospital based providers. It’s unfortunate that so many women think that they cannot have one. There are so many more options at home, it is safer than in the hospital and it is a gentle birth experience for the baby. Look into it!
December 28th, 2007 at 3:50 am
As a nurse-midwife, I am heartened to hear so many positive comments about women birthing naturally. Over the past 20 years, birth has returned to practices of the 1950’s- it is once again a spectator sport with the medicated woman convinced she is still an active participant in the birth process. I expect the hand and leg straps will soon reappear, as have the enemas, IV fluids and immobility.
Whether it’s an epidural in 2007 or the twilight sleep of 1950, overuse of interventions like medications and csections rob women of what is intended to be an empowering, developmental stage in their lives. Such interventions should be used only when indicated. With epidural rates nearing 100% across the nation, the mere fact one is in labor does not justify a knee jerk intervention like a needle in the back or a slice of a knife across the abdomen.
It is not the health care professionals that will lead a change. The call for change MUST come from women themselves, as it did from their grandmothers in the 60’s and 70’s.
Jane
December 29th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I’m planning a homebirth in late february/early march, and I can say that I trust my body and my ability to birth (without being told how to do it by a doctor) 110%
December 30th, 2007 at 5:07 am
It is fantastic to see that celebrities are homebirthing too. I have homebirthed myself (no intervention, no drugs) and caught my babe myself in the birth pool, while my 3 year old breastfed son looked on with my husband. It was awesome. My adorable midwife watched on, holding the space.
How lucky was I when in our society over 30% of babies are born via (unnecessary) LUSC and are exposed to multiple interventions.
Birth is so much more than just one day in your life, it is the beginning of your parenting and we should give birth gently and start as we mean to continue.
Birth is as safe as life gets when you put your faith into a midwife. Homebirth rocks.
2008 year of homebirth awareness–for more into see http://www.joyousbirth.info/
December 30th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
How are babies are born DOES matter birth is a process and no it is not just about getting the prize (a healthy baby) and stuff what the mother goes through. It is more than just our personal experiences too. Our society is fast becoming one where C/S is seen as normal, safe and convenient option while our hospital based care providers are fast losing any skills they had towards natural birth. If we want natural birth to be an option for our daughters and granddaughters we need to stand up and take back our power. Trust your body to birth and give it the time it needs,the support it needs and the environment it needs. Choose homebirth !! Great to see some celebrity role models for homebirth. I homebirthed this year in water (no interventions no drugs thankyou very much) I will never birth in a hospital again. In my humble opinion it is just not worth the risk to myself or my precius baby. Homebirth ahhh just awesome !!
Saving Australia $$$ and freeing up hospital beds for the sick. “I paid for my babies birth with my own money”
There is a secret in our culture and it is not that birth is painful but that women are strong Laura Stovell-Harm
January 1st, 2008 at 1:37 am
I had my first two children in the hospital, both c-sections. Then I had my next two children unassisted with my husband catching. They were the most amazing, spiritual, glorious experiences. I trust my doctor, but i trust him to BE a doctor. He’s trained to treat illness and injury, my body doesn’t need a degree to do something I was born to do. For what it’s worth he was in awe and loves to ask me question about my births.
It makes me so sad to see how many people around the world are too fearful of the what if’s that they are paralyzed by it. What if we were all so scared of the things that could happen when driving a car? We’d never leave our homes. Food poisoning? chopping onions? ooooh the danger. I’ll call a doctor when I need one, until then they’re just another person with a job.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Good for them! I had a homebirth the 2nd time around, and it was wonderful! They lie to women SO much in the hospitals!
December 19th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I gave birth to my daughter at home in a birthing pool. The pain was incredible and I didn’t think I was going to make it through, especially towards the end. My husband, midwife and doula made sure that I was as comfortable as possible and coached me the entire way. Five and a half hours after my contractions began I gave birth in the tub. That was the most incredible moment of my life. My husband and I cried together at the miracle we bought into this world. You truly never know what it is like until you experience that joy. My friends have all given birth at hospitals and after describing my birth to them some are looking into home birth for possible subsequent pregnancies. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, no matter how bad the pain was…