Homebirth vs Hospital Birth

I know you all have been waiting anxiously to know where I will be giving birth to baby groundhog *insert sarcasm*. You will be happy to know that a decision has been made! Yahoo!

Remie and I talked with some midwives about our option for a homebirth. The idea of a homebirth really excites me. I like knowing that when I go into labor that I don’t have to go anywhere and that everyone comes to me. I also love the idea of laboring in a peaceful environment that won’t be disrupted by routine poking and prodding by hospital staff.

We also talked to my OB about the routine use of pitocin during the delivery of the placenta. I explained to her that I am ok with the use of medication if medically necessary but I don’t like the idea of routine medication being administered “just in case”. My OB was very understanding of my wishes and agreed that she would only use pitocin if needed and that she was very supportive of naturally delivering the placenta (rather than using traction). She also supported having the baby breastfeed immediately after birth to encourage my uterus to contract on its own without the use of pitocin.

We were faced with a big decision now that both locations for giving birth would support my natural approach. The more I thought about homebirth, the more I got excited about it’s potential to be a dream birth but at the same time my anxiety and stress increased. I started stressing out about the house being clean, dogs behaving and the variety of items I would have to prepare in order to have a homebirth. I am extremely type-a and I know that the minute I go into labor I would be vacuuming and cleaning so that my house was perfect for my “dream birth”. I know that in order for labor to progress, I have to be relaxed and I didn’t see that happening while I am busily preparing my home.

Remie and I talked and talked and talked about the pros and cons of both locations and decided that we would stick to our original plan of birthing in the holistic birthing room at St John hospital.  We like that we have options to have a natural birth but still having everything that the hospital has to offer.

We are counting down the weeks for this little ones arrival and can’t wait to see who’s been kicking me all this time! Only 6 more weeks to go!