Having your child in the home? Who would even think of such a thing?  Didn’t that only happen back in the early days of our country when doctor’s had to go out to the prairie and deliver babies?

Not quite.  There is a large group of women who are discovering the benefts of having a baby at home, or homebirth as it is sometimes 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.

With that taken care of, lets examine why women are choosing to have babies at home.  What are the benefits that are causing women to have homebirths?

First off, with the continued presence of the midwife, the length of labor can 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 really causes more pain and the labor actuallly lasts longer.

Second, the techniques of midwifery actually reduces the likelihood of the need for forceps or other operative devices during delivery.  The process of naturally allowing the birh and delivery to occur is what causes the reduction of the need for those devices.

Third, cesarean delivery possbilities are reduced.  Most cesareans that happen in labor were because it was thought that a vaginal birth 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 3 benefits when you have a natural homebirth.  There are a lot more benefits, but I am positive most women who are pregnant would say these are 3 huge benefits. 

So although, most might consider it strange to want to have a child at home, studies have shown that allowing the natural birth process to happen is safer for the mother 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.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 5:36 pm and is filed under Alternative Remedies, Proven Health Remedies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.