Choices

I’m about to write about something that many of you may find disturbing or not understand completely. Let me preface this post by saying that no I’m not in some sort of hippie cult and yes I still shave my legs and pits.

Have I got you interested in what in the world I’m about to write about yet???

Most of you know that I am a HUGE advocate for natural, unmedicated child birth. I really believe in the numerous benefits of giving birth without pain medication or any type of chemical to augment labor. My favorite saying is “Pregnancy and child birth are not medical emergencies.” I trust that our bodies were designed to give birth. That being said, I do believe that in a case of emergency that there is a place for medication.

With my first 3 pregnancies I chose to give birth in a hospital with an OB that I love. She has always been very supportive of my desire to birth naturally without medical intervention. I enjoyed the conveniences of the hospital such as having meals made for me, not worrying about filing for a birth certificate and not worrying about after birth clean up. I actually consider my time at the hospital after giving birth to be a sort of mini vacation where everyone takes care of me and I am able to bask in the glow of having a new baby.

When I became pregnant this time I knew I wanted to give birth in a different environment but I wasn’t sure what that was. I researched free standing natural birthing centers and unfortunately there are no birth centers close enough to home. I have a history of lightening fast labors and I would hate to deliver in the car on the side of the freeway trying to get to the birthing center. I have always loved the idea of a homebirth. I dream about being able to labor at home without medical staff poking and prodding me. The problem with a homebirth is that my insurance covers 0% of homebirth costs and 100% of hospital births.  So the cost involved with a homebirth has always pointed me back to having a natural hospital birth which was our plan again this time.

Everything changed about a week ago after I had a conversation with my OB about my birth plan. I’m not going to go into detail about the conversation but I will tell you that she was insistent on giving me a drug during child birth that I was insistent on not receiving. I went home unsure of what to do. I started researching my options on this particular subject and found that if I choose to birth in a hospital then I have no options on this subject. A majority of hospitals now make it mandatory for mothers to receive this specific drug. I completely agree to the use of the drug in the case of a medical emergency but to give it to every birthing woman “just in case” doesn’t make sense to me. I was at a loss about to give in.

That’s when I jokingly said “Well if the hospitals require this medication then I won’t deliver in the hospital!” I think it hit Remie and I at the same time that homebirth is still an option! We’ve discussed in depth and more depth the possibility of leaving my beloved OB and finding a homebirth midwife.  I can birth the way I want to without someone telling me I’m doing it wrong. I’ll tell you that this is not a decision I am taking lightly. Statistically, homebirths are actually safer then birthing at the hospital. Midwives aren’t the stereotypical braless hippies and carry medications to use in case of emergencies such as maternal hemorrhage. They are fully trained in neo-natal resuscitation and know to look for problems before they arise so if needed the mother or baby can be transferred to a nearby hospital.

So, what are we going to do? Honestly I have no idea. We are in the process of interviewing midwives and discussing our options with them. At the same time I will be having another conversation about hospital protocol with my OB. Right now I change my mind about my birthing location about every 6.2 seconds. My poor husband receives a detailed text or phone call with each decision change!  Poor man has the patience of a saint!

Please keep us in your prayers as we decide what route is the best option for our family.