Home birth is not the safest option for all women, but for women with normal, low-risk pregnancies, research shows a planned home birth with a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) is as safe as a hospital birth. In fact, according to a recent study of over 5,000 home birth, women who are under the care of a Certified Professional Midwife have substantially lower rates of intervention, including epidural, episiotomy, vacuum extraction, forceps assisted delivery and cesarean sections. The complete study confirming the safety of home birth can be read in the British Journal of Medicine. CPMs provide care to women with normal, low risk pregnancies. They monitor closely and respond promptly to any deviation from normal. With careful attention, many complications can be avoided. Of course, birth is dynamic and complications can arise without warning. For this reason CPMs maintain training in CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation, as well as other skills to manage complication should they arise.
Choice
It is impossible to control birth, but when having a home birth, the emphasis is on personal informed choice. When you birth at home you decide who will be with you when your baby is born. With Birch Moon Midwifery you can birth your baby in the water, in bed, on a birth stool, into the hands of your partner, or in whatever way you choose. When you birth with a CPM, you can choose where you birth, and what procedures you desire for yourself and your baby.
Family Involvement
Historically, birth routinely took place in the home, and it was a family event. Since the middle of the 20th century, most births have occurred in the hospital. One of the results of shifting birth to the hospital is that birth is no longer a family event. Birthing at home offers another option. Home birth allows siblings, and other family members to witness birth as a normal, safe, celebratory event. Having other children at the birth gives them an experience lost to many children and adults alike. They are able to bond immediately with the baby and to carry the memory of normal birth with them into their own childbearing lives.
Stay Home
When you choose to birth at home with a CPM you needn't worry about packing a bag for the hospital, or deciding when is the 'right' time to go. There are no contractions in the car on the way, or wondering when you will be able to go home. When you choose a home birth with a CPM, the midwife comes to you! Additionally, when you birth with Birch Moon Midwifery, all of your prenatal and postpartum care is in your home.
Comfort
The level of comfort a woman feels during labor has a direct impact on how her labor progresses. The adrenaline hormones released with stress interfere with the hormones of labor. It makes sense, therefore, for women to birth where they feel the safest. For some women this will be the hospital. For others, being at home, in their own space, surrounded by people they know is the most comfortable place.
A Peaceful Start
Home birth means no bright exam lights and noisy machines. Babies are welcomed in a peaceful environment of your choosing. You can make your baby's first experience of the world outside the womb one that is peaceful and familiar.
