Why we want a home water birth

A lot of people have questioned our plan for a home water birth.  It's something that really feels natural for me and I actually look forward to it.  The idea of rushing to a hospital, being admitted, waiting around there under the harsh lights and strange smells....it just never appealed to me.  My cousin in Holland delivered both of her children at home, and I think hearing stories of those births as a teenager instilled an early confidence in me that a home birth was a positive thing to experience.

Home births are often "safer" than a hospital birth, if you have a healthy pregnancy,you have an experienced *certified* midwife and have done your research.  I can't emphasize this enough if you live in the United States, because it is not supported by the medical community at large the way it is in other places such as Europe.  Read through this report on Homebirth in the UK by Midwifery Today.  Another good place to start is the infamous Ricky Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born (also a book!).

My mom forwarded me a great blog post about another family planning one, and I really liked the summary of why they are doing it:

Here are our main reasons:

• Water promotes deeper relaxation. When the mother is relaxed, the birthing process is less of a struggle and the natural hormones kick in to aid in a better delivery.
• Water minimizes pain. So much so that many mothers do not need any pain killers while delivering the baby, which is good for both mother and child (and father’s nerves!)
• Immersion in water lowers blood pressure. Immersion in water feels good to the body, allowing the heart to be more relaxed, all good things for the stress levels that are already elevated (especially for first time pregnancies).
• Greater comfort. Water allows the mother to re-adjust herself more easily, which enables her to get into the most comfortable position easily and effectively
• Lowers anxiety levels. People have used water to aid in relieving stress across many applications, and the soothing feeling of water surrounding the body helps put the mother at ease, helping her to focus less on pain and discomfort and more on the task of delivering the child.
• Allows the father to take a more active role. With the mother having less stress, the father is able to help out more often without feeling like he is causing more trouble than he is worth. This helps the family unit bond better than if the father is just making things harder.
• Assists in dilation. Water helps the muscles relax, and by relaxing, the natural dilation process happens much more quickly. Quicker dilation = faster delivery!
• Empowers the Mother. With a healthy, relaxed, and present mother, the delivery becomes a much more spiritual experience, allowing for all the emotion to set in, devoid of drugs or pain to mask the true feelings.

I'm not sure I entirely buy that the warm water is going to completely obliviate any pain I might have and want for pain killers!! I plan on taking a class to help with this (like hypnobirthing).  In fact the pain is definitely one thing that has me a little bit nervous.  Despite the fact that Gisele Bunchen said her water birth was "pain free" I do know what she is describing.  That the pain was not "pain" as we regularly know it.  I also have always regarded childbirth pain as a different kind of pain than, say, breaking your ankle pain.  "Natural pain"--perhaps--and I know that doesn't mean it will hurt any less!  I hope my focus and the training I might get in advance from something like HypnoBirthing might help.

Like the family blogging about their planned water birth, we also live less than 10 minutes from two world-class hospitals.  So long as when the time comes I'm still healthy and deemed "a go" for a home birth, we will stick to our plan to birth at home.

In the meantime...plan B will be meeting with an OBGYN and establishing a relationship, and picking a hospital...just in case I do end up needing to deliver in hosptial setting.