My second child, Edith, was born at home 20 minutes before the midwife arrived. I had my doula (who I’d called so she could help me decide if I should be calling the midwife), my husband and my mother-in-law. My older daughter Laura was sleeping.

I actually “caught” Edith as she came out–I was in my bathtub. It was a really neat experience, and I had been reading about unassisted birth for the past month. I’m glad I’d done that reading because the experience might have been more scary had I not known that many people actually choose to birth that way.

For me, it wasn’t a choice, it just happened that things progressed so fast that the midwife couldn’t get here in time for the birth. My take on it is that the birth itself can be handled just fine, but it’s nice to have a midwife afterwards to see to the cleanup, looking after the mom, checking out the baby, and other birth aftermath stuff that I’d as soon not be bothered with.

But I would encourage women to read about unassisted birth, even if they wouldn’t choose it for themselves, because it makes birth seem like a more straightforward process. Then, if they happend to be in a situation where they do birth without a midwife present, like I did, they can just relax and go with it.

Fernanda
http://www.fernandapowers.com

That being said, I believe I would have died during the birth of my first child. I’m not being overly dramatic and I certainly respect every family’s right to choose. Quotes like “the woman doesn’t care to work through pain” is insulting to those of us that choose a hospital birth. For me, it wasn’t about pain. It was about doing everything in my power to ensure I had a healthy baby.

I applaud that you encourage all women to educate themselves and agree with so much of what you have to say, but please remember that those of us that choose a different path are not necessarily doing it because we are uneducated or wimps.

I