the low down on home birth
Hello beautiful people! Today I want to give you some of the basics on home births. There’s lots of hospital restrictions in the midst of COVID-19, but if you fall into certain pregnancy categories you might be eligible for a home birth! Here are a few pre-requisites if you will.
1) You (the birthing person) are healthy.
2) The baby must be healthy.
3) You have a low risk pregnancy, i.e. no preeclampsia, no diabetes, no chance of preterm labor.
4) You understand the reality that you will be having an unmedicated labor, and want to completely avoid interventions unless absolutely necessary.
If you fit into ALL of these categories, a home birth is a fantastic option for you and your family!
Safety
You may have concerns regarding the safety of home births. This is normal and is probably due to the long-time lack of research done on home births. For many years the research did not distinguish between unassisted home births and assisted home births, which skewed the data. In more recent years, studies have shown that home birth is an excellent choice for low risk pregnancies with healthy moms and babies.
MANA (the Midwives Alliance of North America) conducted a study of 17,000 women from 2004-2009 and found that 89.1% of those were completed home births and the most common reason for a transfer to hospital is because of failure to progress (probably due to exhaustion.) If you would like to see the complete results of the study, here is the link.
https://mana.org/healthcare-policy/homebirth-study-fact-sheet
Cost
Unfortunately, most insurances do not cover home birth costs in the United States. But it’s important to do your research. Depending on your insurance you may pay the same or more out of pocket for a hospital birth than you would for a home birth. Since you literally live in the place you’re giving birth, all you have to pay for (unless there’s a hospital transfer) is your midwife and the supplies you need. Most home births fall into the range of $2,000-$5,000.
Benefits
The most obvious perk to home births is that you’re in the comfort of your own home. You have all the space to roam around and can take any positions you want. There are no restrictions when you’re in your own home.
You can have all the people you want there. Again, it’s your home, you make the rules.
You can also eat and drink to your heart’s desire! This is typically limited to juice and water in hospitals because of the possibility of interventions that require an empty stomach.
There’s also the reality that you will never be separated from your little one. You can immediately breastfeed, relax, eat a snack, and fall asleep!
Like everything in pregnancy, there are numerous choices. But, if you think you have the pre-requisites and the idea of a home birth excites you, please reach out to me! I would love to chat with you about what a home birth could look like in your space and make that vision become a reality to the best of our abilities!