A Personal Experience: Do It Yourself Childbirth A Personal Experience:Do It Yourself Childbirth by Laura Kaplan Shanley Childbirth — the word alone makes most people cringe. Instantly, one imagines a frightened, tearful woman lying in a hospital bed surrounded by masked men and women and perhaps a family member. Monitors are beeping and people are yelling "PUSH! PUSH!" as the poor woman struggles with all her might to expel her baby. Her forehead is sweating and periodically she cries, "I can't do this anymore!" Medical personnel assure her that she can — but if she can't, they will be more than happy to assist her with drugs, forceps, scissors, and a knife, if necessary. Thank God for modern medicine. How did we ever survive without it? ...
BestFed.com: Unassisted Childbirth The Unassisted Childbirth information Page is a place to discuss all aspects of birthing and pregnancy. Specifically empowering your birth for you and your family through independentbirth. We invite you to join in the discussion and ask as many questions as you like.
Bornfree: The Unassisted Childbirth Page Welcome to the world of unassisted childbirth. In these pages you will discover not only a new way of birthing, but a new way of being. Cast off your fears, open your mind, and prepareto be enlightened, entertained, and most of all, inspired.
For a Natural Birth, There's No Place Like Home In fact, study after study conducted on the issue has shown that for healthy women with low- to moderate-risk pregnancies, giving birth in a hospital is actually less safe than giving birth at home with a trained midwife.
Home Birth and Out-of-Hospital Birth: Is it Safe? Sheila Kitzinger, British childbirth expert, states that planned home birth with an experienced lay midwife has a perinatal death rate of 3-4 babies per 1,000 births (51). Hospital births, by contrast, carry a perinatal mortality rate of 9-10/1,000. [Perinatal death rates include fetal deaths on and after 28 weeks gestation, whereas neonatal mortality rates only include deaths occurring in the first 28 days after birth (Jones 96,98)].
Home Birth FAQ's Questions and answers about birthing your baby at home.
Home Birth Reference Is home birth safe? What are the statistics on outcomes for mother and child? Contains summaries of research into home birth, references, links, and recommended books.
Home Birth Reference Page The aim of this site is not to persuade you to book a home birth. What I would like to do instead is to provide information about home birth, for parents who think that it might be the right choice for them. and for health professionals looking for facts and ideas.
Home Birth.Org Questions and answers about birthing at home. What if... just what if, the hospital isn't the very What if the hospital is not the very best place to have a baby? Birth is a time when women need to feel safe and nurtured. Our culture assumes that the hospital is the best place for birth, but studies show that healthy mothers and babies do as well, or better, giving birth in the safety and comfort of their home, attended by a qualified midwife. This page explores some stories, questions, and answers surrounding a different approach to birth. We have some stories from women who have been there, information about home birth, and links to other interesting birth sites.
Homefirst Health Services The nation's largest PHYSICIAN ATTENDED homebirthservice! Under the direction of Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, M.D.,J.D., the Homefirst® team of Licensed Physicians have delivered over 14,000 babies in the Chicagoland area since 1973! At Homefirst® Health Services our physicians are specially trained to give you and your baby the intimacy, security and safety of a homebirth or birth center delivery, along with the support of the latest medical technology.
In His Hands Birth Supplies We are a provider of the necessary supplies for home births to midwives and expectant mothers all over the United States. Our supplies can be ordered in the form of a specific midwife birth kit or a kit that is customized to your needs.
Is Homebirth for You? The choices you make in childbirth for your baby — home vs. hospital. midwife vs. doctor, natural vs. medicated birth — will impact the rest of your child's life, and yours, too. It can be for good or for ill. The choice is yours.
Preparing for a home birth Whether you've already settled on having a home birth or you are researching your birthing options, there are certain things to consider. Following are some of the preparations you should make when planning a home birth.
Rent A Stork RENT A STORK for the front lawn in your yard announcing the birth of your newborn baby. Storks stand 6 (six) feet tall with a custom personalized sign.
Siblings and the Homebirth Setting As birth moved out of the home, and families were splintered by the birth experience, birth no longer was a family event. Birth became dehumanized. With the return to home and with the consumer demands for more "home-like" settings in institutions, the concept of children at birth has became a "problem" that needs special preparation, classes and advice from "experts". I have a very strong prejudice regarding children's presence at birth -- if the mother and father want their children present at the birth and if the children want to be there, then that is how that family should have their birth.
The Safety of Home Birth Home birth can be a safe option for 90% of mothers, with appropriate prenatal care and attendant personnel. It makes both financial sense and medical sense for state laws to permit home birth attended by midwives, for insurers to reimburse for home delivery, and for hospitals and obstetricians to provide medical back-up.
