Title: Re: Support homebirth on Thursday
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your response - I don't
feel so 'out there' now or worried about consulting with a midwife should I
feel the need one day.
It really does all come down to
choice and I'm very thankful that I had two great homebirths with midwives in
attendance (one only just) but now feel very strongly that to birth
unassisted is where my journey has led me.
Sincerely yours
Jayne
Dear Jayne and listers
For many years I
have supported a group of women whose choice has been to prepare for a 'free
birth'. These women belong to a religious group located in an outer
Sydney metropolitan area. They usually make use of a deep tub of water in
their church hall once labour is fully established and the birth often takes
place within it. Their pastor used to be in attendance if they needed
spiritual guidance and I can remember once in the early days of our
relationship, offering him some free cord clamps if he would like to put them
in the Church birth kit.
Silly me, for thinking they had no resources,
they had all they needed on hand. The pastor told me that the babies didn’t
like having their cord clamped anyway, so they did not use them in his
congregation.
Since the pastor’s death, his wife has taken
over the spiritual/guidance role and mentors the women throughout their labour
and birth. Her daughter has since been groomed to take over when the time
comes for her mother to attend to less strenuous duties. (Memories of
The Red Tent?)
The women in this group usually telephone me once
they became pregnant. They bring their husband and family (if any) and we have
a chat about their birth preferences and I give them any advice or resource
they want. ... They usually make an appointment to see me when they get to
32-34 weeks and I record my physical findings at that time and give them the
record.
In total they usually have two long prenatal session at my place,
preparing them for birth according to their particular needs.
Mostly the births work out beautifully. I can only recall being
glued to the telephone all night on two occassions over the years. It was
difficult answering questions related to worrying labours, but the women
eventually got there themselves. Mostly the labours have been straightforward
and I’ve learnt about the baby through the women themselves calling me to tell
me their news and then later on they would bring the baby to see
me.
Over the years I have become a great supporter and friend of this
group of free birthing women. I have always found them willing to inform
themselves, prepare well and organise appropriate support for their births.
There was no hesitation about going to hospital if I suggested
it.
One independent colleague of mine also supports free birth. She
charges charges appropriately for any visits she makes to the couples
home and also for being ‘on call’ when the couple telephone her at the
beginning of their labour. Her ‘on call’ time ends when they call her about
the birth of the baby.
I’m sure there are plenty of great
free birth stories to be had from other midwives. Only last year I can
recollect lots of two way communication via this chat line between a labouring
woman and the midwives on this list. I heaved a sigh of relief and went
to bed once the woman e-mailed and said the baby had arrived.
So let’s
have some more free birthing stories on this list over the Christmas period.
I’m sure we could classify the birth of the Messiah as a free birth, but in
all probability the innkeepers wife was a well-experienced doula.
Happy Christmas to all and best wishes for all midwives being totally
insured with perhaps some funding for home births in the New Year
Jan
Robinson
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