After reading all you can about birth-the choice to deliver at home is yours to make. No one can or should make it for you. Don't deliver at home just because your mother or a friend did. Deliver at home because it is what you want to do.
Advantages of a home birth:Your uterus is a very strong muscle. At the bottom of the uterus is the cervix. It is part of the uterus, but we will talk of it as if it is separate. Think of the cervix as a shape of a donut, with the center closed up. The cervix (this word means neck in latin) is very powerful. It is a band of muscles. It is closed thru the pregnancy and has a mucus plug inside of it. This reduces the chance of infection. Once labor begins, you begin to dilate (the cervix opens up, measured in centimeters) and effacement begins (softening and shortening of the cervix) It goes from feeling firm like the tip of your nose to soft like your lips. As you dilate this mucus plug comes out. Sometimes it comes out in a glob, and other times it comes out a little at a time. You can be dilated 1-2 centimeters for a week or two before you go into labor. This means you may have to wear a panty liner due to the mucus discharge. The practice contractions (braxton hicks) will help you dilate. If you were going to run a marathon race, your would practice for months ahead of time, well your body is doing that for labor. The mucus will be clear to white in color, and as true labor begins may become blood tinged. The blood can be pinkish to red (recent bleeding) to brown (older blood) but it should NOT be pure blood.
If you ever have unusual bleeding you need to see your care giver IMMEDIATELY! If the mucus becomes bloody mucus this could mean that you are further dilated than what you think so call your midwife right away! During labor your uterus will contract causing your cervix to dilate and efface (called ripening and effacement). Hormones called prostaglandins cause this to happen. There are 3 stages of labor. The first stage is from the beginning of labor until you are completely dilated. The second stage of labor is when you begin to push. The third stage of labor is from the birth of your baby until the placenta is birthed. During the first stage, you have three phases.
In phase one, also known as early phase, you will dilate from 0-3 centimeters. Your contractions will be about 5 to 30 minutes apart. They will last from 15 seconds to 45 seconds.
During the second phase, also known as active phase, (in the first stage of labor), you will have contractions lasting from 30 seconds to one minute or sometimes a little more. They will be from 3 minutes to 10 minutes apart.
During the third phase of labor, in the first stage, your contractions will be lasting 1 to 3 minutes and will be from 2 minutes to 8 minutes apart. This final phase is known as transition phase. It is the hardest part of the first stage of labor. Some of the Hormones you produce: Prostaglandins work to soften and thin the cervix. Oxytocin causes the uterus to contract . Once you are 10 centimeters dilated, you are done with transition. You may begin to push now.
Sometimes you might have what is known as a 'resting phase' after you are completely dilated. I had this with one of my children's delivery, and my nurses wanted me to push right away. I did not want to, so I did not. This gives you time to rest. Resting is ok to do at this point. The medical community usually does not allow you to rest here. They may say things like "don't waste your contractions, or it will just take you longer then'. It is NOT wasting your contractions to wait, it is allowing you to rest. So it will take longer, it allows the baby to move down into the birth canal slowly which reduces stress for you and baby. When you push slowly, not doing purple face pushing, as what is often done in hospitals, it is safer for baby. I don't allow you to do purple face pushing. I want you to do slow exhale pushing or 'grunty' pushing. This way you are breathing during the contraction and not just holding your breath for the contraction. If you are holding your breath, so is your baby.
The third stage of labor is from the birth your baby until the placenta is birthed. This can take from a few minutes to a half an hour. Nursing helps you to get the placenta to detach, so we will put the baby to breast right away. I do not pull on the placenta, I do not pull it off the uterine wall. I believe the process that God has designed for the placenta to detach is the best way to proceed. (there are a few very rare cases where a placenta does not detach, and those will be taken care of by a physician) Remember that God has a perfect design, and my job is to support you in your decisions, to work with you in those decisions, even if they are ones that the medical community would not agree with. My job is to work with you and your family.
There are many studies out there about home birth. Some are older studies from 1984 and on. Remember that although these are older, they are still good studies/articles. I will list a few here, but I encourage you to read all of these and any more you find. Remember that there are many more out there. I am also suggesting you read the CPM study which was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) June 18, 2005. Click here for BMJ home birth study.
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Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3 |
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