2007-09-11 23:20:43 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Congratulations and good luck! You're in for a treat!
I HBAC'd my 4th child, and it was the most beautiful experience I had ever had.
Priority number one? EDUCATE YOURSELF! Be sure to include your partner's questions and concerns when you're browsing and interviewing. There are a ton of resources out there. Make sure you're on the same page as your husband. You're going ot need his support, so try not to leave him out of the selection process!
When you are interviewing midwives (and I highly recommend you don't just grab the first one to come your way, unless you fit perfectly!), don't be afraid to ask questions, and expect detailed responses. As well, any midwife worth her salt is going to have a list of parents she worked with as references. Don't be shy about contacting them!!! I'm sure you remember in vivid detail the births of your first 3 children, right? Don't you still love talking about them?! I've found that home-birthing parents especially enjoy sharing their experiences with new-to-it parents.
Talk to your insurance provider, don't just browse their benefits pamphlets. You'd be surprised what they'll cover for home-birth. (I was reimbursed for my birthing kit, and partial payment for the midwife. The homeopathic remedies I used were out of pocket, but that was to be expected.) It's money you can save, if you're provider is honest. Many insurance companies cover doula/birth coach/monitrice services these days, because it saves them money on anesthesia, emergency surgeries, and post-partum recovery issues. If you don't ask, you won't know. Just make sure you're midwife is on the same page as you, so that you can use her information when submitting your claim.
Expect to pay $2000-3000 for your home birthing experience. This should include monthly and weekly visits with your midwife, on-call services, and post-partum care.
I found it was good to work with a solo midwife who had assistants, but lots of midwives work as a group, or in conjunction with an OB/GYN. In my opinion, if they are ANTI doctor, seek elsewhere. That could prove dangerous if they let their pre-judgement of doctor's cloud their ability to see a doctor/hospital warranted visit.
Make sure you inform your older children of the plan, and have a contingency plan for their care in place well before you go into labour. The last thing you need is to be in hard labour with only the midwife by your side because your husband is busy dealing with a worried/scared older sibling. We were lucky enough to labour at night, and delivered at 3 am, and our older children woke up shortly after their brother squalled into the world. However, I know several women who's labours were a little more stressful because their pain and grunts were scary to their other children.
After the birth and recovery, get the child registered ASAP. This will make the birth certificate process MUCH easier. Make sure your midwife is going to help you with it, too. That was my only complaint with mine: she verbally gave me instructions, but didn't come with me to get my son's paper work in order, and I bounced back and forth between documentation offices for a month before I could get his official register.
I know there's more to tell and research, but my brain is fried, and my kids have all woken up!!!
Good luck! Best Wishes!
2007-09-11 23:52:15 · answer #1 · answered by Kelly B 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The only thing I feel is absolutely necessary with home births is to have an action plan in place should anything go wrong. IE- delivering close to a hospital should the need arise to go to one. I wouldn't do it if the nearest hospital was more than a 1/2-1 hour away Otherwise, homebirths can be a special occasion for the whole family to take part in.
Good luck
2007-09-12 06:31:59 · answer #2 · answered by Cindy; mum to 3 monkeys! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1--find a midwife! You didn't mention what country you were in, but here is a midwife finder for the USA: http://www.midwife.org/find.cfm
Have you read Mothering magazine? They have great articles on home birth. There is a support forum for it here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=20
2007-09-12 06:29:20 · answer #3 · answered by la_frou_frou 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋