This is part two of my interview with my friend Fatim. Fatim is married to macrobiotic counselor Warren Kramer, who you’ve probably read about in my previous blogs.
Earlier, I shared the portion of my interview with Fatim about her pregnancy. This time, Fatim shares her experience having a natural childbirth with her adorable son Adam. Check it out:
Did you ever hesitate about having a natural, home birth? If so, what were your concerns and how did you decide?
Actually I didn’t. Warren and I talked about it, and we both agreed on having our baby at home. It felt very natural, and a continuum to our natural lifestyle.
Did anyone give you a hard time about having a natural birth? How did you cope with it?
I think that when you tell your family that you want to have a home birth with your first baby, they can be scared as they feel you don’t know how it will be. So, we had a back-up plan, just in case something would have gone wrong. So, they felt more comfortable knowing that.
Note from Alicia: I asked my midwives about back up plans, and here’s what they said:
“Midwifery is not legal in all states, so no, not every midwife has a back-up doctor. That being said, midwives are well trained in recognizing problems and would send the mother to the hospital if a problem arose. There are studies out there proving the safety of home birth. They basically show that morbidity and mortality is relatively equal to birthing in the hospital, just the types of risks are different. In addition, there are many countries (that have far better morbidity and mortality rates than the US) where home birth is the norm and that the only women who birth in hospitals are high risk.”
"According to my state regulations, through the Board of Registered Nursing, a nurse-midwife has to have a "supervising" physician. This doesn't have to be direct supervision but I need to have identified a physician that I can contact to transfer a patient at anytime during the pregnancy, birth or postpartum. All of our clients have identified a back-up plan in case we need to transfer care to a hospital. These vary depending on the location of the client. If we need to transfer, we call, and then go to their physician's hospital. In a true emergency we call 911 and the EMS takes us to the closest appropriate hospital."
Did you ever during pregnancy wonder if you were doing the right thing? And did you seek advice from someone or somewhere?
Of course!! who doesn’t?! Especially with the first baby, right? Warren was there for me, to help me, guide me, nurture me and give me some very good advice regarding foods, cravings, exercise … I also talked to some experienced macrobiotic moms and wanted to know how it was for them, even if things are always different for every woman, and every baby.
How long were you in pain? You said no pain!
Pain? Actually there wasn’t any un-manageable pain; it was very smooth. I felt that the prenatal yoga was such a great tool to help me relax during the contractions. And I’m a belly dancer at heart too (that is one of my passions, with cooking), so my body felt like doing some hip circles and hip shimmies too! Knowing that my midwife was there, with me, I knew that I was in very good hands. Overall, I knew that my body was meant to give birth, and was very peaceful with the process and very confident too. I have to say this was the most powerful, spiritual, beautiful experience in my life as a woman.
What do you think about cords around neck? Were you concerned about that?
I didn’t think about it. Our midwife was very experienced and we knew that we had nothing to worry about.
Do you think your diet is what made your birth so easy?
I feel that my birth was so painless because of my macrobiotic diet.
Next, I’ll share Fatim’s discussion about raising a superhero baby!
I had a hospital birth for my first child and a home birth with midwives for my second. What a blessing it was to be in the comfort of my home with a caring team of people around me. It is still one of the most treasured memories for our entire family (my home birth story is here: http://lunapads.com/blog/2006/08/a-gentle-home-birth-story/)
Wishing you a lovely pregnancy and birth Alicia!
I have 3 kids & my last 2 were born at home. When my second came out he wasn't breathing, our midwife thinks that he swallowed some fluid after he came out. I am thankful I was at home and not at a hospital. If we were in a hospital and he wasn't breathing they would have cut the cord and rushed him away from me and immediately gave him oxygen. At home the cord remained intact which meant he was still getting oxygen & our midwife did massage on him until he started breathing. The oxygen was ready but was never needed. Everyone was very calm about everything. I think what most people don't understand is that midwifes carry equipment and are very educated to deal with these situations. It also took 3 hours for my placenta to deliver, in the hospital they would have manually taken it out, after 15-35 minutes. Instead we just waited for it to come out naturally.
I really admire women who have home births or have natural births in hospitals. It just wasn't an option for me. I was 4 days past my due date, no dialation, and my baby was measuring 10 lbs! Just the thought of that freaked me out! Hahah! I ended up having a c-secition which for me was a piece of cake. I was walking the next day and actually walked about a mile home from the hospital. I often wonder if I missed out, but I still enjoyed the experience. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is a healthy mom and baby.
I believe Ceasarians are morally and intellectually superior to non-Caesars, and I should know, I am one! CAESARIAN AND PROUD!!!!
I gave birth to my son with the help of a midwife, but in a hospital. He was premature, so it was a blessing, in some ways, to be in the hospital just in case. I give my midwife complete credit for keeping my birth experience 100% natural. She was there with me from the moment labor began and helped both me and my husband stay calm, peaceful, and dediated to our natural plan throughout. The end of my labor was a bit scary, but she helped me though it and I was up and about afterward. My son was in perfect health as well. I will also say that it's wonderful, if possible, to stay in touch with your midwife after your birth. Because my son was born early, they kept us in the hospital for a few weeks. At first, I was told that because he was born early he wouldn't be able to nurse. They gave him a feeding tube and I pumped (sorry if TMI). After a week and a half of this, I finally broke down to my midwife (I knew in instictively that he should at least be given the chance to try, but I was scared and unprepared). She immediately came to the hospital and convinced the pediatrican to remove the tube and let him try. It worked almost instantly. I wish I'd known to speak up that first day! Trust your instincts!!!!
I just watched a documentary last night called The Business of Being Born about the differences between hospital and home births. It is really eye opening and sheds some great light on widwifery and natural child birth. I loved it and recommend it. I am totally pro-home birth now!!
Hazel, I totally agree about wishing there were more birthing center's. For me, a women's hospital seemed like a better option than a regular hospital where down the hall you might have a patient dying of cancer. If I had had a birthing center option I would have jumped at the chance. I also agree that women are disconnected from their bodies. I know women who have said they don't want their husbands to see the birth. I think it because they don't want them to see them in a nonsexual light. That is really sad. I will continue to say that I wish there was more of a middle ground between home and the hospital. I think many people are turned off by veganism and home birth because they seem so extreme to others. I think the more open and nonjudgemental you can be, the more people you can win over. If you tell someone they are horrible for eating meat, then they probably aren't going to listen much longer. I think the same is true of birthing and breastfeeding. I also know a woman who didn't breastfeed because she was molested as a child and couldn't mentally do it. I think not judging others is such an important element in our journey in life.
I also think it is possible that more women die in childbirth in our country because of obesity. I know the maternal death rate is higher for obese women. And doesn't The China Study point out that it is industrialized nations like ours that eat more meat and dairy. If the cancer rates are higher because of this, then why wouldn't death rates in other areas be higher? I think it is less to do with hospitals vs. home births and more to do with the woman's overall health going into the birth and her prenatal care when she gets pregnant.
Thanks for the thought-provoking comments!
Love this! I too had a natural water birth at home and it was the best!
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