Guidelines for Home Child Birth
A home child birth, just like a hospital or birthing center birth, is not risk-free. However, you can lessen the chances for complications by making the necessary preparations beforehand.
Some of the most pertinent include:
- Selecting
an experienced, skilled birth attendant with experience in home
childbirth.
- Making
routine
prenatal care
visits with
your birth attendant, direct entry midwife or certified nurse midwife.
- Maintaining
proper nutrition and appropriate weight gain to avoid complications
such as high blood pressure. Although you may often hear that pregnant
women are "eating for two", the reality is that during pregnancy your
body requires an average of only
300 extra calories per day, or the
equivalent of an apple and a glass of milk.
Step away from the chocolate!
- Informing
yourself and your family through discussions with your birth attendant,
classes, readings, videos and other such resources.
- Securing
enough support for labor and the postpartum period. Many women planning
a midwife-attended homebirth will also hire a doula. Studies show that
women who receive direct support from other women during labor have
easier, shorter labors with fewer complications and lower rates of
intervention.
- Creating an emergency plan with selected contact persons responsible for contacting your chosen alternate birth site or hospital with phone numbers clearly posted by the phone.
If you do have a high-risk condition such as Type I diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease, ensure that both you and your care provider are well-versed in the precautions specific to your condition. Many women have successfully had a twin homebirth when the required precautions are put in place.
In most any situation, a mother can successfullyand safely birth a child at home. As with all things, preparation is key. Once you've taken the necessary steps to ensure your home child birth runs smoothly, you can relax and get down to the real task at hand-giving birth naturally.
