Small World
In a perfect world I would have this baby at home.
As far as hospital births go, I have no complaints about my labor and delivery experience with Joshua. But I am not particularly looking forward to another hospital birth. I had Joshua at Northwestern Memorial, one of the best women's hospitals in the country. While it is definitely a baby factory, I never once had anyone question any of my decisions about labor, delivery, or aftercare. I'm not so sure how things are going to go here.
I have looked extensively for a midwife willing to perform a homebirth, but the only midwives in the area work for the big hospital and won't do deliveries at home. Heck, I can't even find a doula within 50 miles. But short of a homebirth (in which I envision myself laboring in my own bed, in my enormous tub, even in my yard) I would prefer to make this one work without medication. I feel much more confident in my ability this time around since I will be able to labor at home longer now that the hospital isn't sixty miles away and since I've already been through this once. But just in case I decided to do some more reading on unmedicated birth to supplement my Bradley Birth classes from my pregnancy with Joshua. I searched the internet and noticed that many bloggers had read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Rewind to Christmas...
My mom, my best friend, and her mom were visiting together at my mom's house. We were discussing scenic routes in Middle and Western Tennessee, and fun, out-of-the-way places like Hohenwald. My mom started talking about Summertown, TN, a commune founded by some California "hippies" in the 1970s who wanted to live in intentional community and create their own utopia. This story surprised me. I've lived in Tennessee for most of my life and had never heard of The Farm, as it is known. It is still going strong, as you can see from their website and they are most well-known for their group of nationally-recognized midwives, led by the co-founder of the commune.
Can you see where this is going?
Yep, the co-founder of the commune and preeminent midwife in the United States is none other than Ina May Gaskin of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. And she lives 120 miles away.
Now my ideal birth is on The Farm with Ina May and the Midwives. But I have a sneaking suspicion I'll probably be in the hospital.
Just for fun, Vanity Fair recently did a story on the Farm. It's fascinating. You can find it here.
As far as hospital births go, I have no complaints about my labor and delivery experience with Joshua. But I am not particularly looking forward to another hospital birth. I had Joshua at Northwestern Memorial, one of the best women's hospitals in the country. While it is definitely a baby factory, I never once had anyone question any of my decisions about labor, delivery, or aftercare. I'm not so sure how things are going to go here.
I have looked extensively for a midwife willing to perform a homebirth, but the only midwives in the area work for the big hospital and won't do deliveries at home. Heck, I can't even find a doula within 50 miles. But short of a homebirth (in which I envision myself laboring in my own bed, in my enormous tub, even in my yard) I would prefer to make this one work without medication. I feel much more confident in my ability this time around since I will be able to labor at home longer now that the hospital isn't sixty miles away and since I've already been through this once. But just in case I decided to do some more reading on unmedicated birth to supplement my Bradley Birth classes from my pregnancy with Joshua. I searched the internet and noticed that many bloggers had read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Rewind to Christmas...
My mom, my best friend, and her mom were visiting together at my mom's house. We were discussing scenic routes in Middle and Western Tennessee, and fun, out-of-the-way places like Hohenwald. My mom started talking about Summertown, TN, a commune founded by some California "hippies" in the 1970s who wanted to live in intentional community and create their own utopia. This story surprised me. I've lived in Tennessee for most of my life and had never heard of The Farm, as it is known. It is still going strong, as you can see from their website and they are most well-known for their group of nationally-recognized midwives, led by the co-founder of the commune.
Can you see where this is going?
Yep, the co-founder of the commune and preeminent midwife in the United States is none other than Ina May Gaskin of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. And she lives 120 miles away.
Now my ideal birth is on The Farm with Ina May and the Midwives. But I have a sneaking suspicion I'll probably be in the hospital.
Just for fun, Vanity Fair recently did a story on the Farm. It's fascinating. You can find it here.
Comments
And yes you'll be able to labor much more at home this time around and it will be much more relaxing I think. Second births are always better.
Any chance of it actually happening? How far away is it? and is that sort of thing covered by insurance? I mean, it's not as if you're asking the lady down the block to bring the blankets and the men to boil water; they are professionals and all...
I absolutely love the idea of a natural birth, because, you know, this is what our bodies are meant to do, and I find that amazing. It's discouraging to see so many moms turn to epidurals on those shows (not that I'm judging them, it just makes me wonder if, when the time comes, I'll be able to make it through without meds). For me, a true needle-phobe, the very thought of an epidural makes me cringe. I think I would have a panic attack if they tried to stick a needle in my back...it's just a guess, but I can really see myself taking the pain over the puncture.
Then again, I've never given birth!
Please keep us posted on this. One factor I'm especially interested in is whether or not insurance will cover midwife/doula services. I've heard that most do not.
Good luck!!
I thought this was the definition of a midwife. Mind you, I have not had much experience in this department. But I thought that’s what they did – came to your house and delivered your baby. Odd.
I really admire women who choose to go through childbirth without painkillers or people in scrubs running around with sterile instruments. I’m not one of them. I would freak out. But more power to ya, sister!
I am going to spend the rest of the day exploring The Farm. Fascinating!!
Ritz--I stopped watching "A Baby Story" and "Bringing Home Baby" because I was tired of watching doctors advise women to do all these things that are so counterproductive to labor (i.e. pushing while laying flat on your back, suggesting C-Sections during plateaus in labor) and watching women and men who were so obviously uninformed about the whole process. I actually saw one where the doctor came in to do the internal and informed the woman that she was "minus 2 station." The husband said, "What does that mean?" and the wife said, "I don't know." What? Read a book for heaven's sake! And the Bringing Home Baby show made me mad because they always made a huge deal about "Will she give up breastfeeding?" The answer? Probably so if she's got a camera in her fact 24 hours a day. Breastfeeding is hard enough without having a stranger in your house. And, funny enough, those shows were always sponsored by formula companies. Hmmm. But the "House of Babies" sounds like fun. I'll have to watch!
I had an epidural with Joshua. I was way too unprepared (despite 12 weeks of Bradley classes).
I must've missed that part of the article. But breast stimulation and sexual arousal help the cervix open up more quickly and easily. In many cultures men actually have sex with their wives while they're in labor because it helps so much.
Jennifer--Lots of midwives attend hospital births. In many cases it's a financial issue. In our town we have several Ob/Gyn practices and one Nurse/Midwife clinic. The midwives charge much less per visit than the doctors because, well, they're not doctors. But they still attend births in the hospital. Weird, huh.
I eventualy realized I was more interested in the politics of midwifery and why women and been shut out of the "birthing industry" than with the actual birthing itself.
Another great book for ya'll is Emily Martin's The Woman and the Body. She details how ob/gyns came into being as a way to provide income for the too crowded and competitive sphere of male physicians.
<3
adrienneK.