How I did it: My son Declan Kevin Doherty was born at home January 24th 2008 at 3:26pm. He weighed 10lbs 7 ozs and he was 21.5 inches long. In attendance were my husband Brendan, my mother Amy, midwife Nancy Wainer, midwife Heather, and apprentice midwives Jessica, Seraphina and Tammy.
The labour was 12 hours long, 3 of which were pushing. I slept in between all my pushes. I used Hypnobirthing, and it was wonderful. Declans shoulder got stuck and my knowledgeable midwives employed the Gaskin Maneuver, which is when they flip you quickly onto hands and knees, and it dislodges the stuck shoulder.
We did have an unplanned transfer to the hospital. Because of meconium aspiration, he needed to be hospitalized for 2 weeks. I also needed to be hospitalized, for 4 days. The OB at the hospital pulled my placenta out, I hemorrhaged and lost 1000ml of blood. She also painfully violated me afterward to "make sure all the placental tissue was out". I believe she was punishing me for choosing homebirth. Because I had a big baby and because I am a big woman, if i'd chosen to give birth at the hospital I would have been forced into a cesarean.
I plan to have all my babies at home. The complicated circumstances of Declans birth wont deter me. I dont think the complications were related to the fact he was born at home. It could be argued that if I were at the hospital, I would have probably had a cesarean and therefore the complications would have been avoided, but I believe cesareans are only necessary when the life of the baby or mother are at risk, not as a preventative measure. Meconium aspiration is a relatively common occurrence, and in Declans case it was not life threatening.

Lessons & tips: Be VERY healthy during your pregnancy so that you remain low risk and are able to achieve your dream of a home birth.

Resources: Hypnobirthing!

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Jan 22, 2009, 03:55PM PST | 2 comments | 2 cheers