Why did I choose homebirth?

15 days ago I had a baby


This is quite an unusual email for this newsletter, however my choice of having a homebirth lays on the same exact principles of why I believe Bitcoin is better money and why I believe a second passport is a necessary tool in this time and age. 


I also had such an amazing experience that I want to spread the word in hopes that some of you will also choose this route for your family.


Most likely, this piece will either resonate with you or make you think I am crazy, however I want you to respect my choice, as the birth of a child is one of the most sacred moments of a woman’s life.


Let the body do what it’s built for 


I don’t consider childbirth a medical event, it’s a physiological body’s ability and women have been proven to be able to do it safely without medical interventions in most cases. Now once you step over the hospital’s doorstep it is becoming a medical event no matter what. IVs, unnecessary monitoring, hospital cold lights, doctors and nurses checking on you just to follow their protocol – all these little seemingly small procedures play a big role in an event like childbirth. Childbirth is a complex sequence of little wonders, the hormones, the movement, mother’s comfort and emotions – all these either help in childbirth when nature does its job, or they can also play against the mother and the child in case the process is disrupted.

Hospital birthing experience is full of those disruptions, unfortunately I know based on my own experience, two years ago while I gave birth in a hospital setting and while overall everything went well, I had to push back on tons of invasive procedures and keep my boundaries up the entire time of labor.  Thankfully, my husband and I are on the same page and in the times I wasn’t able to make a call on certain decisions, he was there to advocate for me and our son. 



Better prenatal care


I also want to come clean and say – I was planning a homebirth with my first too, but it didn’t happen the way I hoped. He was born earlier than the gestational age at which homebirth is allowed and recommended, so I did end up going through a hospital birth, however all those hours with midwifery care gave my by far more knowledge on how to stay healthy and nourish my body throughout the pregnancy, what are my non-negotiables during labor, how I want to manage pain because I was and still am advocating against epidural. My first birth didn’t go according to the plan but I am still glad I went through pregnancy with my midwife and then made a conscious decision of going through a hospital birth.



Conflict of interest 


My biggest problem with the medical system is misaligned interests. 
The hospital’s most desired scenario is optimized for short term results, while my focus is on high quality of life long term. This is why the hospitals will often utilize invasive procedures that come with a long term side effect which I try to avoid. 
The easiest example would be how many hospital born babies get antibiotics “just in case” before the bloodwork comes back only to realize there is no sign of any infection neither in mother or a child, but now the little immune system the baby had has been nuked and needs to be rebuilt.
Body autonomy

Another reason, I like to have full authority on what’s going on with my body during childbirth. Nobody can feel what I feel, not even the contraction monitor that has a single data point while me as a woman simultaneously feels a whole bunch of sensations giving me signals on how to move, when to push, when to rest. Being attached to multiple wires really limits you in how you can live through those experiences and how you can respond to your body needs.  It is quite difficult to opt out of any of that in the hospital setting. 
It is also a common practice for hospital staff  to tell women in what position she has to push, making it more convenient for the care provider rather than a mother. 



Free market and direct Client – Service provider relationship

For those who aren’t familiar with the operations of a homebirth, you do have a care provider if that’s what you choose. The medical professional attending your birth is called a Midwife – A midwife is a healthcare provider who is trained to provide obstetric and gynecological services.They are true experts, highly skilled and certified when it comes to pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care and postpartum health. 

I very much appreciate the model of business that comes with midwifery. 
You have a free market where you shop around, interview people, learn about their principles of practice, their skillset and how they would react to certain events in pregnancy and childbirth and choose the provider that resonates with you. You then have a direct Client – Provider type relationship. 

The payment goes directly from you to the midwife. She represents your interest, she owes a service to you and therefore she will be more keen on listening to you and providing the service you desire and demand. 


You might say – “ Ah you can do it with a hospital OB as well,” but my experience and tons of anecdotes from my friends say otherwise. On top of it you have an absolutely broken insurance industry completely shifting incentives of the care providers but I don’t think I need to explain that, it’s way too obvious. 


So here you are, in the comfort of your home, moving the way your body tells you without any limitations, the care provider is there for you and it’s not a random person who is “on shift” today but somebody you chose, somebody who spent about 20 hours of direct care with you over the course of your pregnancy. Somebody who knows your medical history really well, somebody who knows your diet, exercise routine and family relationship. You have full authority over your choices.


Intimacy



Obviously, childbirth is an intimate event and only having the people you are comfortable with insetad of a full team of medical professionals you’ve never met before is nice.


Heavenly postpartum

I have touched on why homebirth, I touched on the better quality of maternal care and now I also know how incredibly nice it is going through postpartum in the comfort of your own home. Woah. The operations just work! The homemade nutritious meals, your own bed, your shower, anything you may possibly need is in your reach.Instead  of having to adjust twice – first to a hospital setting and then to your new life with a newborn at home, you just set everything in place from the get go and things just work. 
I never thought of the afterbirth experiences at home so it was a nice bonus surprise. 


I am happy to answer any questions and concerns you or your spouse may have about homebirth.

Now for those interested in my recent experience or those wanting to learn how the operations of homebirth work, here comes my birth story.