staying at home

As I’ve been mentioning from time to time, I am planning a home birth. I hope that it works out. I wasn’t too sure about it at first. Although I knew that – in my uncomplicated case of pregnancy – a home birth was just as safe as a hospital birth, if not safer, my intuition was saying otherwise.

I try to follow my gut – and my midwife encourages ‘mother’s intuition’ – and so we started off planning a hospital birth. The hospital would likely be okay, anyway, since it’s got nice private birthing rooms, including pools, showers, squatting bars, birth balls, birth stools, etc.

Gradually, as I continued to inform myself about the differences between hospital and home births – and to learn about the slippery slope toward drugs and c-sections that can occur in hospitals – my mind began to change. (I was aware, too, that my ‘intuition’ was likely being influenced by the still-prevailing idea that hospital births are always the safest kind of births.) And then I decided on a home birth. I think that’s the best place for the baby and for me. We live only a few minutes from a hospital, anyway, which helps. And I know that my midwife will watch diligently for any sign that something might go awry, in which case she will not hesitate to recommend a hospital transfer.

I thought that DH would be opposed to my choice but he has been hugely supportive. He trusts that I’m doing thorough research and that I’ll make a decision that’s in the baby’s best interest.

I’ve acquired just about everything I need for birth at home – the list of things to get was surprisingly long: everything from an aquarium net to a bath pillow to a shower curtain to Gatorade. I still have to pick up an extra bedsheet because I have only one for my bed.

I hope this home birth plan works out. We’ll see what happens.

Happy New Year to you all. For those of you waiting for your babes, may 2010 bring you the fulfillment of this dream. xxx