Did you worry about the "what ifs" of homebirth?
If so, how did you work through it?
The responses were typical of birth junkies and homebirth advocates. Lots of "I trust my body" and "I trust my midwife" and "we had an emergency back-up plan".
All very good and honest answers. And, yes, my own response was very typical of my birth junkiness....."I didn't worry about the "what ifs" either. I had faith in my body and I had faith in my midwife to identify and deal with problems before they became emergencies."
True. Very true.
But, not very helpful if you are worried, or even worse, fearful.
Of birth. Of giving birth at home. Of the unknown.
So how does a woman get to that point?
The point where labor is a welcomed event.
The point where each contraction is exciting because it brings your baby down and out.
The point where you let go of preconceived concepts of birth.
The point where you accept that your body was designed to give birth.
The point where you don't worry about an emergency at every turn.
Whether you are considering conceiving, trying to conceive, pregnant and planning a hospital birth or a homebirth.......worry and fear needn't be a part of the equation.
I quickly realized I have entirely too much to say on the topic of confronting fear about normal birth for a single blog post......love me a new blog series.
Planned topics:
1. Learning about normal birth.
2. Immersion in natural childbirth.
3. Deciding on homebirth.
*If you are interested in writing a guest post about VBAC, HBAC, another topic about overcoming birth fear or to simply share your story about how you overcame your fears, shoot me an email and we can chat -----> lmd328 (at) gmail (dot) com.
The point where labor is a welcomed event.
The point where each contraction is exciting because it brings your baby down and out.
The point where you let go of preconceived concepts of birth.
The point where you accept that your body was designed to give birth.
The point where you don't worry about an emergency at every turn.
Whether you are considering conceiving, trying to conceive, pregnant and planning a hospital birth or a homebirth.......worry and fear needn't be a part of the equation.
I quickly realized I have entirely too much to say on the topic of confronting fear about normal birth for a single blog post......love me a new blog series.
Planned topics:
1. Learning about normal birth.
2. Immersion in natural childbirth.
3. Deciding on homebirth.
*If you are interested in writing a guest post about VBAC, HBAC, another topic about overcoming birth fear or to simply share your story about how you overcame your fears, shoot me an email and we can chat -----> lmd328 (at) gmail (dot) com.
4 comments:
Great idea for a series! While I did not have a homebirth (the only midwife I knew of was unavailable-so we couldn't even consider it), I was definitely open to that possibility. I think the crux of the matter is understanding the *risks* of a hospital birth due to the cascade of interventions. If women truly understood how risky induction, epidurals, not eating, etc were-they would think twice about how "risky" it is to give birth at home.
This is a GREAT topic!! I definitely think it's important that women learn to reach that point, regardless of where they choose to birth. I had my first in a hopsital (with an epidural) and I remember the pain was SO awful and each contraction was terrifying! But then after my next birth, a carefully planned, extremely well researched unassisted homebith, I learned to LOVE childbirth!! I immediately wanted to do it again, I CRAVED the experience!! I was THRILLED to have another beautiful UC (though a VERY different experience in length and size of baby, etc...I'd certainly have been sectioned had I been at the hospital) and I just pray that the Lord has more in store for us in the future (if I can just STAY pregnant next time!!!) because I absolutely LOVE giving birth and honestly, that's one of the most exciting things of all for me. I seriously can't even describe how much I adore the whole process and how excited I get thinking of getting to do it again, even the painful parts!!
Kaitlin, totally agree. And in addition to the 'cascade of intervention', I also think that hospital acquired illnesses are a under-realized problem in this country.
Joyfilled, yes! The transformation between my two babies was amazing and having a natural birth is definitely most amazing experience of my life.
I like this! I know for me, when I first found out I was pregnant for the first time, I certainly didn't think I would in just a month or so be meeting with my home birth midwives and be on the path that has lead me to where I am today. I feel like women today don't see REAL childbirth and don't have a clue about it. Education is key. Knowledge truly is power and there is nothing to fear when the understanding of the process is present. All it took for me was just a few weeks of thorough research and I knew a natural childbirth was for me. It also took only 1 day visiting local hospitals and OB's to know that they weren't in my childbirthing future either. Women not only need to be educated about their bodies and the mechanics of child birth, but also be fully informed about their options!
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