Five Things No one told me about homebirth
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"The maternity care system in America is broken. With maternal mortality rates being the highest in the developed world, costs for care through the roof, and experiences of moms in the toilet, it is no secret that maternity care needs to change. While many hands are working tirelessly to improve the system, mothers have turned their gaze to a system nearly as old as the human race: midwifery.
With my first pregnancy, I dreamed of a homebirth and my insurance company laughed. Being young and financially strapped, I had a hospital birth that was fully covered by Tricare. And it truly was a positive experience. The hospital was equipped with a birthing tub, which allowed me to relax and labor the way I had hoped for. The staff was helpful, and encouraging, and I felt supported as I walked into my first moments of motherhood.
My second child was born in a different hospital, with different protocols, and a very different experience. My cervix was swept without my consent at a 37 week office visit, starting my labor weeks before my body was ready. The hospital staff was terribly rude and disrespectful of my birth plan. Natural births were too inconveniencing to their schedule. I was left sick; feeling bullied, and like a sacred right was stripped from me.
For my third baby, I wasn't going down that path again. I found an amazing midwife when I was 36 weeks pregnant after more terrible experiences with military doctors and botched prenatal care. I was ready for the birth of my dreams, but there were a few things no one told me about it.
Now, 36 weeks is incredibly late in the game to start preparing for a homebirth. There's nothing like waiting in line at the store to pick up your birthing pool/ kiddie swimming pool while having contractions! But, that was my first surprise. Unlike hospitals, homebirthers need to prepare by assembling their own birth kit.
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With my first pregnancy, I dreamed of a homebirth and my insurance company laughed. Being young and financially strapped, I had a hospital birth that was fully covered by Tricare. And it truly was a positive experience. The hospital was equipped with a birthing tub, which allowed me to relax and labor the way I had hoped for. The staff was helpful, and encouraging, and I felt supported as I walked into my first moments of motherhood.
My second child was born in a different hospital, with different protocols, and a very different experience. My cervix was swept without my consent at a 37 week office visit, starting my labor weeks before my body was ready. The hospital staff was terribly rude and disrespectful of my birth plan. Natural births were too inconveniencing to their schedule. I was left sick; feeling bullied, and like a sacred right was stripped from me.
For my third baby, I wasn't going down that path again. I found an amazing midwife when I was 36 weeks pregnant after more terrible experiences with military doctors and botched prenatal care. I was ready for the birth of my dreams, but there were a few things no one told me about it.
Now, 36 weeks is incredibly late in the game to start preparing for a homebirth. There's nothing like waiting in line at the store to pick up your birthing pool/ kiddie swimming pool while having contractions! But, that was my first surprise. Unlike hospitals, homebirthers need to prepare by assembling their own birth kit.
518 additional words
..."