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| Homebirth is safe for low risk women. According to the World Health Organization, birthing at home is just as safe for a first time mother as birthing in the hospital. However, for a second time or more mother it is SAFER for her to birth at home than the hospital (according to WHO). Certified Professional Midwives are well trained for out of hospital births and they are educated according to NARM standards (North American Registry of Midwives). CPMs attend births with all the necessary birthing supplies and equipment. Midwives care for healthy, low-risk women and refer women to obstetricians if they become high-risk during the pregnancy. By having your baby at home with a midwife you are 90% more likely to avoid an intervention in your birth, you are 88% more likely to have a successful breastfeeding relationship with your baby, and you are much less likely to receive a cesarean section. World Health Organization statistics show that out-of-hospital births attended by midwives have lower infection rates, lower C-section rates, fewer complications, and healthier outcomes than medicalized hospital births. Medical studies which demonstrate the safety of midwives: http://mothersnaturally.org/ The safety and benefits of midwifery care have been proven in countries across the world. World Health Organization statistics show that there is no difference in infant mortality between midwife-attended and physician-attended births for low-risk women. Countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and New Zealand, which have the best birth outcome statistics in the world, use midwives as their main maternity care providers. Routine interventions (epidurals, pitocin and cytotec induction) used in American hospital births produce a cascade effect which causes cesarean rates to climb. In the home birth setting, the focus is on the natural birth process, not artificial interventions. Certified Professional Midwives are the only health care providers in the United States who undergo specialized clinical training in out-of-hospital settings! The homebirth study published by British Medical Journal [BMJ 2005;330:1416 (18 June)] confirmed that babies delivered to low-risk women planning a home birth under the care of Certified Professional Midwives experienced outcomes equal to those of low-risk women giving birth in the hospital, but with far fewer costly and preventable interventions, including a five-fold decrease in cesarean section. How is Homebirth different?
*Homebirth provides freedom of movement. A laboring mom is not strapped to fetal monitors nor forced to stay in bed. She is able to move about as she desires. She can naturally assume the body positions she feels most comfortable in while laboring. She can go outside and gaze at the stars and moon. Freedom of movement does not mean neglect of fetal heart tones. Midwives use doppers to monitor heart tones intermittently. When it is time to push, upright postures are often used harnessing the power of gravity. *Homebirth provides continuity of care with a midwife. No strangers are in the birth room. There is no change of shift. *Labor is less painful and shorter
*Eating and drinking are encouraged
*Laboring at home prevents unnecessary medical intervention
*Homebirth is as safe or safer than a hospital birth according to WHO
*Having a midwife reduces the number of internal exams *Having a midwife decreases chances of vaginal tears/episiotomy *Birth occurs in the comfort of your own home. Privacy and a peaceful environment are essential for a laboring mother. *Homebirth allows family members to be present, including children. *Breastfeeding is promoted, and never undermined by formula, bottles, or pacifiers. *We do not use incubators to keep a baby warm; we use skin to skin contact and heating pads if necessary. We do not separate the baby from its mother. *A mother is monitored for vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse) *Fetal heart tones are monitored intermittently with a doppler What safety equipment do you carry?
I carry an oxygen tank and hospital grade resuscitation equipment. I have intravenous equipment, antihemmorhagic medications (prescribed by physician), and oral suction equipment. Certified Professional Midwives are trained to handle situations such as stuck shoulders, postpartum bleeding, and resuscitation of the newborn/need for oxygen. | |
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