Birth Matters, Inc. - Holistic Midwifery

Home birth, having control over your own birth.

Since the dawn of time women have been giving birth supported by caring family and a trusted midwife in the comfort and safety of their home. It is only in the last century that the birth process has been turned over to doctors in medical facilities. While the medical arts have brought many valuable contributions to our lives, it has also medicalized one of the most natural and rewarding life changing events in a woman’s life. Birth is a normal physiological process!

In fact, if the labor process is supported completely without any interventions, 96% of births would occur spontaneously without complications! With this knowledge and the expertise of a trained Midwife, birth at home becomes a rewarding experience for the woman and her family. When the midwife departs, the woman is left bonding with her precious new baby in her arms supported by loved ones in the comfort and familiarity of her own home.

You may still wonder, “Is a home birth as safe as a hospital birth?” It is not only my belief and experience that home birth with a skilled midwife is safe; it has been statistically proven for nearly half of a century now that homebirth outcomes have far fewer interventions, less birth injury and perinatal death when compared to hospital birth outcomes. These studies* matched women for age, parity, socio-economic status, gestational age and individual risk factors. Repeatedly, these studies showed fewer complications during labor and delivery and fewer neonatal complications in the homebirth setting. Additionally, studies have shown that midwives over other care providers (OB, FP, GP) regardless of location of birth (home, hospital, birth center) have better outcomes overall.

Whether a home birth or hospital birth, we all desire the same outcome – a happy, healthy mother and baby. How do we reach this desire? I believe that home birth has many benefits, which far outweigh the few disadvantages. The ability to make the decisions that best serve you and your baby can be made more instinctively and be more readily supported when birthing in your own home. It is true that when choosing to give birth at home, you take on an extra measure of responsibility. You also have more control over your experience, which is the number one reason most women make this choice. I find that most homebirth families embrace this responsibility and control that is rightfully theirs.

*References:
“Outcomes of Elective Home Births: A series of 1,146 cases”, Journal of Reproductive Medicine Nov. 1977
“The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study”, Journal of the American Public Health Association, March 1992

The advantages of homebirth far outweigh the disadvantages and far outweigh the advantages of hospital birth for most healthy low risk women. These are just a few of the many benefits you will experience:

You have more control over your birth experience
Statistically safer
Promotes natural childbirth
You are not subject to routine hospital procedures
Limits medical management of pregnancy and birth
Privacy, comfort, security and familiarity of your own home
Family centered experience
Freedom of mobility
Encourages shorter labors
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Reduces complication rates
Relaxed and peaceful setting
You can eat, drink and bathe freely
You are less likely to need drugs or mechanical means to deliver
You and your baby have less chance of infection
Gentle experience for baby
No baby/mother separation
Uninterrupted bonding and breastfeeding
Higher level of commitment and responsibility of the parents

Delayed access to blood products
Delayed access to emergency surgery
Higher level of commitment and responsibility of the parents
Possible lack of support from family
Possible lack of support from society
Possible transfer to hospital

Midwifery is holistic by nature, combining an understanding of the social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, psychological and physical. Midwifery care is centered upon a respect for pregnancy as a state of health and childbirth as a normal physiological process, and a profound event in a woman’s life.

As a Midwife, I provide care that is responsive to the needs and values of women and respect the dignity of my clients. I actively encourage informed choice throughout the childbearing cycle by providing you with complete, relevant, objective information to facilitate your decisions about your own care. This approach enables you to develop the understanding, skills and motivation necessary to take responsibility for and control of your own health.

My primary responsibility as a Midwife is to safeguard the well being of the women and newborns in my care, while supporting your right to participate fully in decisions about your care. I use my knowledge and expertise to provide a high standard of care to you and your family.