The Health Bliss

Having your child in the home? Who would even think of such a thing? Didn't that just happen when there weren't many hospitals and doctor's had to go to the home to deliver babies?

Not quite.  There are a growing number of women who have discovered the benefits of having your baby at home, or a homebirth as it is commonly called.

The practice of homebirths is usually called midwifery.  Although they are usually not doctors or nurses, people who are in this profession are professionally regulated.  I myself have seen the steady rise of homebirths through my practice as a San Diego certified midwife.

The people, generally women, who perform this line of work are called homebirth midwives.  Midwives is the term most people are familiar with and means a person who helps during childbirth by providing support of the labor and delivery.

Now why a midwife is usually not a doctor or nurse is because the practice of having your baby at home, or midwifery is generally the belief that pregnancy and birth are natural normal events.  This is contrasted with the medical model which believes that pregnancy and delivery should be accompanied by medicine to assist and improve the situation.

That out of the way, lets take a look at why women are having their babies at home.  What are the benefits that are causing women to have homebirths?

First, with the midwife's continued presence, the labor time can actually be reduced.  Most women don't realize that the use of pain medications although seemingly helpful in regards to pain, actually slows the labor down.  This in reality causes the pain and the labor to last much longer.

Second, midwifery practices actually causes a reduction in the need for forceps and other devices in a delivery.  The process of naturally allowing the birh and delivery to occur is what causes the reduction of the need for those devices.

Third, the possiblity of c-section deliveries are actually reduced.  Most c-sections happen when during labor, it was thought that a natural birth process was not possible.  Either it was the baby's safety that was in mind or the mother's safety.  Well in reality, complications were caused when the natural process was stopped and not allowed to continue.

These are just 3 of the benefits of having a natural birth at home.  There are plenty more benefits, but most women would agree for pregnancy these are 3 huge benefits. 

  So even though some might call it strange to have a child at home, recent studies indicate that allowing a natural birth to happen is much safer for the mom and the baby.  With over 300 births attended as a homebirth midwife in San Diego, this has proven to be the case time and time again.