Six Reasons Why I Homebirth (Sept. 29, 2009)

Contrary to the popular saying that “all that matters is a healthy baby,” I believe that women matter too.

After 2 hospital births, I sought out the amazing alternative of homebirth. I am now a homebirth junkie.  Two of my children were born gently at home.

Here are 6 reasons why:
1. I knew I needed my own time and space to go within myself, free from time constraints and hospital protocols to conform to. I didn’t want to be ‘on the clock.’
2. I didn’t want to subject myself to the typical hospital interventions, not to mention the much increased risk of a c-section (about 1 in 3 hospital births on average end in cesarean).
3. I wanted to feel the power of birth and know that we, we, did it ourselves. I wanted a gentle, welcoming entry to the world for my baby, who would be surrounded by people who loved him or her.
4. I believe birth is for families, and I wanted my older children to be participants if they chose.
5. Every story I’d read of homebirth was beautiful and empowering for the woman and her family. I wanted to experience that.
6. I knew homebirth was safe and that by empowering myself and taking responsibility for pregnancy and birth, by choosing my attendants and by consciously releasing the societal conditioning of fear of the birth process, I had done everything I could to ensure a happy and healthy birth.
If you are intrigued by homebirth, read more about it. Knowledge is power, and when we open our minds and learn about alternatives to the norm we can only benefit from that knowledge. So seek it out! Some resources I recommend are The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block, and the documentary The Business of Being Born by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein.
Krista Bocko is a self professed birth junkie. Two of her children were born gently at home. She and her husband and four children live in ‘Old Town’ Noblesville in a historic home. She can be reached at kbocko@sbcglobal.net or via her blog: www.cachet-cachet.blogspot.com.