Homebirth and midwife thoughts
I have birthed all of my children out of the hospital; three at home, and the last was at a local 'birth center' (which was really a cozy, early 1900s house!) I'm passionate about having options in childbirth, and am so grateful that in my state of Texas, homebirth and midwifery is legal and accepted.
I chose to have midwives present at all of my deliveries. Some homebirth advocates feel very strongly that midwives impede labor, but it is my own experience that they enriched my births. I believe God created women with the knowledge and intuition they need to labor and birth naturally. It is a process that works beautifully most of the time.
I actually found my midwife in the phone book (there was no Google back then!) Once we scheduled a free consultation in her office, I was able to get an idea of the midwife's temperament, personality, and philosophy. I wouldn't assume that just because a woman is a midwife she will feel the same way about pregnancy, birth, and parenting as you do. I wanted to enjoy my prenatal visits and not be in for a surprise at the birth. It helps to start your prenatal care earlier for that reason. My last birth I waited until around 6 months to start my visits due to insurance. It took me a long time to warm up to the midwives, whom I eventually grew to trust by the end. We could have established that rapport much sooner, and I would have felt more relaxed during my pregnancy. The choices available (depending on where you live) are direct entry (also known as lay midwives), licensed midwives, and nurse-midwives. I've heard the term 'medwives' to describe nurse midwifery, and I think it's an unfair judgment. There are benefits to each. It just describes the path one chose to practice midwifery. I used both licensed and nurse midwives and was happy with both.
Home birth with a midwife is a great option for low risk pregnancies.
I chose to have midwives present at all of my deliveries. Some homebirth advocates feel very strongly that midwives impede labor, but it is my own experience that they enriched my births. I believe God created women with the knowledge and intuition they need to labor and birth naturally. It is a process that works beautifully most of the time.
I actually found my midwife in the phone book (there was no Google back then!) Once we scheduled a free consultation in her office, I was able to get an idea of the midwife's temperament, personality, and philosophy. I wouldn't assume that just because a woman is a midwife she will feel the same way about pregnancy, birth, and parenting as you do. I wanted to enjoy my prenatal visits and not be in for a surprise at the birth. It helps to start your prenatal care earlier for that reason. My last birth I waited until around 6 months to start my visits due to insurance. It took me a long time to warm up to the midwives, whom I eventually grew to trust by the end. We could have established that rapport much sooner, and I would have felt more relaxed during my pregnancy. The choices available (depending on where you live) are direct entry (also known as lay midwives), licensed midwives, and nurse-midwives. I've heard the term 'medwives' to describe nurse midwifery, and I think it's an unfair judgment. There are benefits to each. It just describes the path one chose to practice midwifery. I used both licensed and nurse midwives and was happy with both.
Home birth with a midwife is a great option for low risk pregnancies.
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