Home birth
Who can give birth at home? How do you prepare for a home birth? What is the role of the midwife? Clear all your doubts about childbirth in your own home.
What do Cindy Crawford , Demi Moore , Bimba Bosé and Alanis Morissette have in common ? Not only does fame unite these women, they all decided to give birth to their children at home. But home birth is much more than a passing fad, it is an important decision that both supporters and detractors defend with the same intensity. Here we detail the keys, the pros and cons of this practice, so that you can make the most appropriate decision for you. Take note.
Index
WHO CAN GIVE BIRTH AT HOME?
Before deciding to have your baby at home, you should know that not all pregnant women can give birth at home . There are a number of conditions that must be met to ensure safe delivery without complications. The mother’s serious kidney, heart, respiratory and mental conditions make home birth inadvisable. Nor is this practice recommended in cases of risk pregnancies due to diabetes, hypertension or abnormalities in the fetus.
It is essential to have a hospital less than 30 minutes away and that the baby comes in a cephalad position to ensure safe delivery. In the case of premature births -before 37 weeks of gestation- or post-term -after 42 weeks of gestation-, delivery at home is not advisable. The multiple pregnancies, with more than one baby; and a cesarean section in a previous pregnancy complete the list of factors that make it necessary to rule out home birth. If you are not in any of these situations, home birth may be your choice .
WHY CHOOSE TO GIVE BIRTH AT HOME?
Having your child at home is not a very widespread practice in Spain. The number of women who decide to give birth at home each year in our country does not exceed a thousand. Only 600 births occurred in private homes on a planned basis in 2011, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The trend is different in other areas of Europe. In the Netherlands three out of 10 women decide to give birth at home. Delivery in a hospital center when there are no risk factors carries an additional cost.
In Spain the opposite is the case. Birth at home is not covered by Social Security and it is the parents who must bear its costs. The majority of women who choose this practice do so to enjoy a natural birth in which they try to do without excessive medical-technological care.
IT MUST HAVE QUALIFIED HEALTH PERSONNEL
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE BIRTH AT HOME?
Deciding to give birth at home requires time, but you must bear in mind that home birth must be perfectly planned and for this a birth plan must be established before 28 weeks of gestation . If your choice comes later, it will be the medical professionals who decide whether or not the home birth is appropriate.
If you have already made your decision, the first thing you should do is look for health professionals who will assist you during delivery. The search for a midwife is not easy, so we recommend you contact entities such as ‘Nacer en Casa’. This association brings together a large number of midwives and professionals dedicated to home birth.
Once you have found the health personnel who will attend you at home, you must make a minimum of four clinical visits with them . It is recommended that at least one of them be carried out at your home, so that they can evaluate the suitability of the environment in which the birth will occur. In fact, one of the functions of the midwife is to verify the adequacy of the place where the delivery will take place, taking into account factors such as hygiene, temperature and ease of access.
The staff hired for the home birth will be available 24 hours after the 37th week of gestation. You should contact your midwife as soon as the first symptoms of labor appear.
THE MIDWIFE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER CHILDBIRTH
The role of the midwife is crucial in the home birth. In addition to assisting the mother and the baby in the moments before, during the delivery and after giving birth; He will be the person who will determine the convenience of going to a hospital in the event of any serious complication. They are professionals trained and prepared to deal with the common complications that can arise during a natural childbirth such as postpartum hemorrhages or vaginal tears that require suturing.
THE MIDWIFE USES NATURAL RELAXATION METHODS
When the birth occurs, besides attending the mother, the midwife is in charge of performing a newborn the examinations and physical tests relevant. One of the hallmarks of home births is the ‘skin-to-skin’ contact of the mother and the newborn to which the midwife contributes, respecting the times of each woman and ensuring the baby’s body temperature.
After delivery, the midwife will be in charge of helping the parents to adapt to the new situation. The care provided and the bond with the midwife does not end after the delivery, but it will be in charge of caring for the mother and child in the days after the birth.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS
Planning is not everything and complications can always arise. For this reason, it should be taken into account that even if you have chosen to give birth at home, sometimes a transfer to the hospital is necessary. Although these situations do not usually occur, it is necessary to know the risks that may appear during childbirth despite having maintained an exhaustive control during pregnancy.
Possible complications that would require a transfer to the hospital include parked dilation, cord prolapse, and insufficient amniotic fluid . Problems that can affect the mother such as severe perineal tears, severe bleeding after delivery or a delay in the delivery of the placenta would also require a transfer to the hospital. In the case of the newborn, problems such as a low body temperature, breathing difficulties or skin discoloration ; they would force the child to be transferred to hospital.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HOME BIRTH
Giving birth at home is a right that every woman has and that has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1985, provided that adequate sanitary conditions are in place to guarantee the safety of the mother and the baby. However, the convenience or not of this practice raises opinions for all tastes.
Proponents of this practice claim that natural childbirth avoids unnecessary medical interventions and facilitates the mother’s recovery after childbirth. Another argument put forward by supporters of home birth is that the mother has the possibility to choose who is present during the delivery and how she wants the delivery to take place.
On the opposite side are the detractors of this practice who denounce the lack of immediacy in specialized health care in the face of possible complications for the mother or baby. Another disadvantage of this practice is that it must be paid for by the parents if they so decide.
Opinions on home birth are as contradictory as the results of the various studies conducted on it. An essay in the ‘American Journal of Obstetrics and Genecology’ pointed out in 2010 that the mortality of newborns in private homes was double that of those born in health centers. However, a study developed in 2012 by the University of Alicante and Educer with data from the INE points out that there is no difference between the number of infant mortality between births at home and births in hospitals.
The controversy is served, but above official figures and studies is the feeling of each mother and she is responsible for the final choice.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.