My nephew was born at home with a midwife and as my sister-in-law tells it, it was a wonderful and amazing experience that trumped her previous two births in a hospital setting. I wrote about that almost two years ago on this blog and also about the documentary, The Business of Being Born, check it out if you haven't already. You can read that post here.
The hubby and I were all set to do a waterbirth at a hospital with our midwife but the more we talked about it the more we wanted to do it at home. So we changed the plans and Baby C will be delivered in my living room, or bedroom :) We will get a big tub/pool and do it all at home. I am super psyched!!!
I actually feel like a weight has been lifted. I won't have to stress about when to go to the hospital and mess up the good flow I will have at home with my doula. I am also excited about my doula...we all clicked when we met with her. We knew she was the one.
Water has long been used to ease the discomforts of labor and by using a midwife where you are not strapped to a bed and hooked up to machines and can walk around and eat, etc, women can tune into what their bodies need and allow the powerful birthing energies to flow, while keeping the non-productive stress hormones to a minimum.
Waterbirths allow a woman to dialite more quickly, which can result in a shorter labor.
By using a midwife, the C-section rate is drastically reduced as well as rates of episiotomy and the need for interventions.
I am under no illusion that this will be a painless experience but I am confident that doing it this way is the best way for me. Our bodies are made for this and there is no way I wanted to be rushed during this process and have a doctor push induction or a C-section just so they can get home faster. I am confident that my body knows what to do and how.
The hubby and I are also taking a hypnobabies class starting in Sept -- it's hypnosis for childbirth.
There are two hypnosis-style birthing classes. One is the traditional hypnobirthing and the other is hypnobabies, which uses hypnobirthing techniques and tweaks it into a more comprehensive class. I decided on that one and am pumped to start the classes.