10 reasons we’re planning a home birth (again!)

Before I get into any reasons why we personally chose a home birth - I want to be clear - there is no right or wrong way or place to give birth. How and where you give birth should be very personal choices and no matter where or how you do it - birth is an incredible experience. And of course, you can’t actually 100% plan birth either so we’re very content and at peace with the possibility of needing to transfer care to a hospital if need be!

It’s less about where you give birth and more about how you feel about your birth.

My views on home birth are my own and it’s okay if you don’t find yourself in agreement with me! I completely understand why home birth wouldn’t feel right for many families and why a hospital might feel like a better fit for your family. With all things considered, planning a home birth is where I think I’ll be able to feel best about my birth. Let me explain.

Home birth was on my radar yeeeears before I got pregnant. My oldest sister had had one hospital birth and three home births and over the years we had talked at length about her experiences in both settings. She shared so much insight and wisdom from her experiences but I knew I still needed to do my own research before deciding which direction I personally would want to go in when it came to where to birth my future kids.

When we became pregnant with Ruth, I was about 95% sure we would be doing a home birth. We had our first few appointments with a home birth midwife from my hometown but were still weighing out our options (we were also hoping to move that year so we weren’t sure of what our situation would look like / what town/city/region/housing we’d be living in, etc.) At this point, the only thing holding me back from confirming our decision to have a home birth was the fact that we were still living in a downtown apartment directly on top of a business. While I firmly believe that any clean and stable home environment (including an apartment / condo / etc.) is suitable for a home birth, I personally didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of going through labor and birth in our apartment at the time. It was a nice clean apartment, don’t get me wrong, but the walls were thin, we had no outdoor space to ourselves, little privacy, the business below, and I just didn’t want to feel self conscious during labor and delivery. I didn’t want to feel like I couldn’t scream for fear the whole building would hear me. Ya know?

Anyways, we were able to find a beautiful home to rent (that we now own!) and it solidified our plans for a home birth. We were lucky enough to be given great home birth midwife recommendations from my hometown midwife/family friend (she was a little too far away to be our midwife) and ultimately found our PERFECT fit. We’re lucky to live in an area abundant with wonderful home birth midwives.

We’re using the same midwife we had with Ruth for my current pregnancy and it’s been so lovely to reconnect and for Ruth to have a bond with the woman who helped deliver her and played such a crucial roll in bringing her into this world and our postpartum care. Our midwife has a special adjoining play room for older siblings and encourages parents to bring them to their prenatal appointments, especially if the parents are planning to have the older child(ren) present for the birth. This has really been helpful in preparing Ruth for not only our home birth but a good way to involve her in my pregnancy and understanding what’s going on.

Anyways! Here are the main reasons we decided a home birth was the best fit for us!

1) I believe that labor and delivery are natural processes that occasionally need medical support, not medical processes that are sometimes natural. I wholeheartedly understand that sometimes medical intervention is necessary and life saving!! And like I mentioned earlier, if need be I have no issue with a hospital transfer if it’s what we (Edgar, myself, and our trusted midwife) feel is in our best interest.

However, spontaneous vaginal birth rates are decreasing worldwide, while cesarean delivery, instrumental births, and medical birth interventions are increasing. And not all of these interventions are necessary and (dare I say) are often at the convenience of the medical team/ob, not for the benefit or convenience of the birthing family. While at the end of the day getting baby out safely and keeping mom and baby healthy is the ultimate goal, some interventions aren’t necessarily ideal. If you want to learn more about some of the malpractices that go on in hospital birthing wards, I highly recommend reading Pushed (it’s slightly dated at this point but still relevant) and/or watching The Business of Being Born.

So, I personally feel more comfortable working with a home birth midwife who I trust to only suggest medical intervention if it’s truly necessary. In the event we (or she) deems it’s necessary for us to go to a hospital, she will provide doula services for us and be our advocate. If you feel more comfortable with a hospital birth, hiring a birth doula can be a great way to be sure your wishes are heard and respected.

2) I feel comfortable at home. To me it makes sense that labor and delivery might be more relaxed at home. No nurses barging in every 15 minutes, no peeping, no frequent cervical checks (frequent cervical checks allows for more opportunities for bacteria to enter the vagina), etc. There’s a reason why many women’s labor slows down when they arrive at the hospital. At home, we’re typically more conditioned to release and let go (both necessary for birth) than we are in a more foreign setting.

3) I can move any which way I want throughout the entire labor and delivery. No being hooked to any machines, no being told I can move about during labor but need to push/birth on my back. During my last labor I took a walk through our neighborhood and went outside several times, labored in my own shower, slept in my own bed, ate good food/snacks, labored in a nice big birthing pool. I was encouraged to move in ways that felt intuitive to me (and of course my midwife suggested poses that might help labor along at my request) and birth/push in a position of my choosing. (which, certainly was not laying on my back because that’s not actually a very ergonomic way to get baby out- I pushed for awhile laying on my side and ended up getting onto my hands and knees and birthing in that position.

4) home birthing allows for bed sharing right away. okay so this is definitely not our number one reason for a home birth BUT I do like that my home is set up for bed sharing with minimal risk. In a hospital setting it is in no way safe to bed share with your new baby. The hospital beds are not set up for that and nor is it safe to “bed share”/sleep together on a recliner. So to mitigate any risks, either the baby sleeps in our arms while we’re awake or in the provided bassinet.

5) I don’t want to pay extra for skin to skin immediately after birth. This one is probably dependent on your insurance provider and hospital BUT I’ve seen itemized hospital bills with an extra charge for skin to skin immediately following birth. WHAT. It is well and widely known that immediate (and continued) skin to skin after birth is EXTREMELY valuable to the newborn. Why on earth are families being charged extra for that??

6) I want to be able to hold our new baby while routine exams were performed. (except weight and height measurements, which took place 2 feet away from me.) There’s no whisking baby away at any point. Edgar and I held Ruth for all her newborn exams (which yes, a qualified midwife can provide all the same newborn screenings that a hospital can!) She was measured on our bed (which I was resting on) and weighed there as well. We were able to comfort her through any screenings/pricks/etc that occurred.

7) We don’t want to bathe our baby immediately after birth. According to research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the vernix, removed during early bathing, contains antimicrobial proteins that are active against group B strep, E. coli and other common perinatal pathogens. Bathing or wiping baby’s skin can remove the vernix and weaken their immune defense. By delaying a bath there is also a greater chance of successful breastfeeding since the mother and baby have more time together, there is less stress for the infant, and they can work to stabilize their body temperature. Many hospitals will let you delay bathing, but it’s not the norm and you’ll need to request it. We personally opted to wait 2 weeks before giving Ruth her first bath. Remember, babies aren’t born dirty and any amniotic fluid or blood from birth can gently be wiped off with a towel.

8) We want delayed cord clamping. again, another thing your provider might allow but you’ll need to make this intention clear. Delayed cord clamping allows for more blood to flow from the placenta to the baby after birth. This can potentially increase the infant’s blood volume by up to a third. The iron in the blood increases the newborn’s iron storage, which is vital for healthy brain development. After conversations with our midwife, we felt comfortable clamping the cord after it had turned white and it was clear there was no longer blood flowing through it. Some families go as far as to keep the umbilical cord connected to both baby and placenta for multiple days following the birth (typically placing the placenta in a bowl and carrying it around with the baby) but that didn’t feel as necessary for us.

9) I want an intimate birth, not a room full of doctors and nurses running every which way doing who knows what? Again, I am NOT anti doctor/nurse/medical professional in any way!! I am very grateful for western medical advances and if it’s in mine and baby’s best interest for me to birth in a room full of doctors and nurses, then so be it! BUT, personally my first choice is at home with my husband, maybe Ruth, and our two midwives. That atmosphere seems SO much more calm and relaxed to me. Of course it’s my birth and baby and I’m allowed to have as many or as few people there as I want. But if I choose to have anyone else present it’ll be people I love and am comfortable with, not new faces.

10) I don’t know how applicable this is anymore but Ruth was born in Oct of 2020 and at that time many hospitals were requiring masking, sometimes not even allowing a partner to attend the birth or extremely limited guests.

Of course it would be naive of me to say that the only way to achieve all of this is a home birth. It isn’t. There is certainly some hospitals / birthing centers that would allow for these requests! I’m by no means trying to bash hospital births or anyone who has had one! You absolutely can have an empowered and beautiful birth in a hospital setting! Again, this is our personal list of reasons we felt a home birth is a better fit for our fam!

FAQs (from my instagram followers!)

Q: Do you have an emergency plan? That’s the biggest thing that scares me from a home birth is something going wrong.

A: We do! Our midwife is highly trained and experienced and we 100% trust her. If she were to tell us we need to go to the hospital we wouldn’t hesitate. Of course she hopes we can have a safe home birth just as much as we do but she’s also not irresponsible either. Around the 36 week mark we typically call the hospital we would like to transfer to and preregister in the event of emergency. Since we live kind of out in the middle of nowhere and google maps often takes people to a cemetery instead of our house, we also call our local EMS. We let them know we’re planning a home birth, when my due date is, and give them clear directions to our house JUST IN CASE labor isn’t going well or the baby or I needs extra support after birth. We also have very simple hospital bags packed and the carseat in the car.

Q: What is the cost like compared to a hospital birth?

A: This sort of depends of your insurance plan. I actually don’t know for certain what a hospital birth would cost us on the health insurance provided by Edgar’s school district (which, spoiler alert, educators no longer get the great benefits they once did.) We’d probably have to pay a considerable amount out of pocket. Very few private insurance companies will cover the cost of a home birth but if you qualify for medicaid/badgercare (WI only) I know they will cover a considerable amount. Our midwife charges a little over $3k which we pay for out of pocket. We also have to provide a lot of the supplies for a home birth so that adds to the cost. We use this savings app that makes it SO easy to save without thinking about it at all. One of our savings goals/accounts is midwifery care and money automatically goes into that account. So it doesn’t suddenly feel like we’re dropping $3k since it’s been set aside slowly over a couple years. (use my refer a friend link to get $25 in your account when you sign up!)

Q: Do you need to do anything special to prepare your home for a home birth?

A: Not a ton! Meaning, it doesn’t have to be overthought, it can be as simple as you wish. A home birth midwife will likely give you a list of supplies you need to gather though. I share all about how we prepare for a home birth in this blog post!

Q: Will you have a water birth?

A: I would LOVE to have a water birth. That’s what I was hoping for with Ruth but when I felt the urge to start pushing there wasn’t enough time to get the birthing tub back up to the right temperature. So, hopefully this time it works out and if not, that’s okay too!

Q: How did you go about finding your midwife?

A: I’m very lucky to have a childhood friend who’s mom is a well established midwife in Wisconsin. I’ve heard her referred to as the “Ina May of Wisconsin” (if you don’t know Ina May Gaskin is often referred to as the the nations leading midwife!) Anyways, I was able to ask her if she had any midwife recommendations in our area (if we lived closer to my home town she would have been our first pick!) and of course she was able to steer us in the right direction. I think google searching can be helpful to see who’s in your area/check out websites and word of mouth can go a lonnnnng way! If you’re in the greater Madison, WI area and need a recommendation I have several! We did do a “interview” with our midwife before hiring her which I think is a good idea to make sure you’re on the same page/get along personality wise/etc!

Of course it would be naive of me to say that the only way to achieve all of this is a home birth. It isn’t. There is certainly some hospitals / birthing centers that would allow for these requests! I’m by no means trying to bash hospital births or anyone who has had one! You absolutely can have an empowered and beautiful birth in a hospital setting! Again, this is our personal list of reasons we felt a home birth is a better fit for our fam!