How home birthing can work for you?

Home birthing, as the term implies, is an option wherein your baby will greet the real world

right in the comfort of your own home. However, not all mothers can choose to home birthing

for one striking reason and that is if the mother is considered as high risk and needs special

attention of doctors in a hospital setting. You can determine this or your pregnancy test results

can help you determine if you are high risk or not. But if you have a healthy pregnancy, then

there is no reason for you to experience home birthing. Once you are fit to do so, then some of

the important factors that you need to keep in mind are the following:

• Constantly practice how to have a good breathing. Practicing your breathing through

numerous breathing exercises can help you endure labor pains during child birth. In

fact, it can help you relax as proper breathing can regulate the natural flow of oxygen

in your body. The deep inhale and long exhale and how to hold your breathe during

contractions can really help you during child birth.

• Keep your focus during labor and delivery. To help you focus, you will then be directed

to breathe properly. The intervals of your contractions including its frequency and

intensity should be aided with a long abdominal type of breathing.

• Stay relaxed as much as possible. Learn the different relaxation exercises to help you

maintain your focus and stay relaxed. Drawing in a long and deep abdominal type of

breathing while in labor pains and contractions can help you achieve relaxation. To do

this, draw in air in four counts then draw out air when you reached the eight counts.

See the rising and falling of your abdomen? If not, then you must be doing it incorrectly.

Aside from the three main factors that you need to keep in mind, you will also benefit from

enrolling in a program that will teach you different techniques in breathing like the Bradley or

Lamaze techniques. The first technique will mostly aid you in between your contractions and

give you the most relaxation and rest while the latter technique is good for you to manage

labor pains. However, another important factor to help you get through all these exercises is

the support coming from your spouse or partner. But to give you support on other things, you

have the midwife to rely upon.

How to choose your midwife and other support system?

There are actually three types of midwives—Lay Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife

(CPM), and Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM). Each type of midwife can aid you in home births or

delivery at a birthing center. However, each type has a certain set of qualifications that should

meet your needs. For the lay midwives, they learned from years and years of experience in

aiding mothers deliver their newborns into this world. They are self-taught and opted not to

have certifications or accreditations from different midwife registries. They can also collaborate with a physician but they do not necessarily need a physician’s go signal.

The certified professional midwives, on the other hand, have received formal training and

they need approval from the North American Registry of Midwives, while the certified nurse-

midwives hold greater qualifications since they have formal degrees in midwifery and nursing.

They hold certifications from the American College of Nurse Midwives, thus aside from aiding

you in home births or in any birthing center, CNM can also assist you in a hospital setting.

Thus, the care and support you will expect from your midwife will depend on her expertise and

credentials. So, determine what type of midwife you will work with and make a checklist like:

• Type of midwife—lay, CNM or CPM?

• Years of training or practice

• Number of assisted births and mostly what setting (home, birthing centers or hospital)

• Kind of support can she provide

• Her views on pregnancy and giving birth