Is Home Birth worth it?

[jackrose]

I think it all comes down to your care providers in your birth, especially if you are prone to anxiety. I think a birth experience can be amazing anywhere if you are surrounded by people who you really trust, who are really well trained and allow you to have an empowered, safe birth experience, respecting your needs and the needs of your baby and family.

That said, I personally believe you have a greater chance of finding that support with a homebirth if you seek out a good, reputable, experienced homebirth midwife. Our hospital system is challenging to navigate when you want to know your care provider and tailor your birth experience to suit you. There is a lot of top down pressure to fit a prescribed birthing schedule in our hospital system. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't and I can see a lot of fallout from the mothers when it doesn't work.

I absolutely agree with the previous advice to read some birth stories so you can get a feel of what the women going through the birth felt about their experiences. I also recommend you call to speak with some homebirth midwives. Chatting to some care providers may help sway you one way or another. I know that the difference between my call with a hospital midwife vs a homebirth midwife was astronomical and helped seal the deal right then and there for me to lock in a homebirth!

As for waterbirths, the pool is pretty nice but not for everyone. I certainly enjoyed it and was glad to birth in the water but I didn't find it as relaxing and relieving as I was expecting from the many HB videos I watched. This had more to do with my fast 'freight train' birth and my panic than the 'power' of the water though! What I really liked about the water birth was allowing DD2 to have a few seconds of calm between leaving me and entering the world. I distinctly remember the pause before lifting her out of the water when I could see she was born but was still 'not of this world' if you know what I mean. It was really beautiful and I felt it allowed me to calm down from the pushing and welcome her with full attention. Water birth is said to deliver calmer babies as they are born into familiar 'fluid' and I could certainly see this in DD2.

My birth story (stories - hospital and home) are in my signature.