Unassisted Birth

Well if you are going to try, I would make sure you both are well versed in Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery and all that can go wrong. You are probably already familiar, but if not, it is a technical manual of how to deliver babies & how to treat emercency situations.

All of my friends and I had homebirths or birthing center births and 2 of us had bad outcomes. One was a placenta praevia (baby died and mother nearly did too). This was her 6th child & she figured she had done this enough times that she could go it alone. They live in a large city so parametics were there quickly, but it was too late. The baby was on life-support for 17 days and was then removed. I am told it was a miracle that the mom survived.

In my case, my third baby was born with a life-threatening GI/lung defect. My midwife was instrumental in assessing the situation and knowing what to do. My daughter was born at 3 am after only 40 minutes of labor. She cried and looked completely healthy to us, so we would've likely wrapped her up in a blanket and nursed her off to sleep with us sleeping too and quite possibly have woken to a dead baby. To survive, she needed surgery to remove most of her left lung and to push her GI organs into her abdominal cavity (they had herniated into her chest cavity inutero).

These things happen rarely, but they do happen and I would want an experienced midwife there if at all possible.

-S.

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Hi! I had sent you a reply before, but I found this really great link that has videos of unassisted births, and I thought it would interest and encourage you ;)

http://www.joyinbirthing.com/FrameFiles/doula_los%20angel...

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I had both of my children at home. My first labor was long and difficult but my second home birth with a different midwife was fantastic. If you can find the right midwives, most will be involved as little or as much as you need. If the birth goes great and you don't need anything a good midwife will be there to observe. If something did happen it is sure better to have someone at hand if needed. For my second baby's birth, the midwives pretty much stayed out of the picture until right as the end when things got intense and I needed a little focusing guidance. I don't know if this is helpful at all but I wanted to share.

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Sounds like you already have some experience with unassisted birth. I would consider some prenatal visits with a midwife, and an ultrasound around 8 months or so, just to have a base line of labs and make sure baby in in a good position and there are no abnormalities. Then excersize, eat good and study, study, study. Information is certainly powerful. I had a VBAC at home, and it was wonderful (despite everyones negative comments). I did have a retained placenta and had to have it removed at the hospital, where I was scolded many a times. As long as you are making an informed decision, you should be able to do what you feel is right for you. Good luck, I hope you have an amazing and calm birth.
T.

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One thing I know. My sister was strongly considering this, largly for financial reasons. She had 2 home-births with midwives, and was considering an unassisted birth with the third. The big question was if her husband was comfortable. They would learn together, but really he would be assisting her. He would learn what to watch out for and he would assess the situation. They thought about it a lot, and although my sister was comfotable with it, he felt uncomfortable. He really wanted the midwife there. In the end they were happy with their decision. I'm studying to be a midwife. As far as I know it's a pretty controversial topic in the midwifery world. I think you and your husband need to look deeply inside yourselves and listen. Ask the baby in your belly. I'm sure he or she knows the right answer. If you feel any uncertainty you might want to choose a midwife. Be sure to look at all of the risks, and make sure you are prepared and ready to take on whatever an unassisted birth might mean. It really might be the right thing for your family at this time. Go deep and listen, to yourselves, and to the baby. That's my advice. -R.

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M., I commend your courage! As you follow your heart, you will be guided. I have given birth to ten children. The first 5 were in hospitals with ob/gyns. I then had my next 5 at home, the first 4 with midwives, the last ALL BY MYSELF! It was the most empowering, amazing experience of my life. And, from first contraction to first breath--45 minutes. My 9th had died shortly after birth and so, of course, there was much static that "if I had just had him in the hospital with a doctor, there would have been no problems," yada yada. So, it was quite an undertaking to be a single mother and go solo. But, I believe that as you choose to be completely open to your inner guidance, get ego completely out of the way and follow your intuition, you will have the experience of your lifetime--no matter what that looks like. Blessings to you!
K.

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