Benefits for Baby

When babies are growing inside their mothers, they feel all the things she feels and identify themselves completely with her emotional and spiritual state.  Helping the mother feel relaxed and confident during her pregnancy and birth bathes the baby in hormones that promote healthy growth and development.  When a mother is stressed during her pregnancy or exposed to frightening or stressful situations, the baby is flooded with the stress hormones that trigger a fight or flight response.  This is even more stressful to babies than it would be to adults because they have no context for their feelings and they can’t fight or run—they just have to feel it.

When babies are born their first contact should be gentle, the lights should be low, the sounds soft and spontaneous and the atmosphere happy and relaxed.  Biologically, babies are programmed to seek their mothers and form a powerful emotional bond with her.  No routine procedures should interfere with this powerful experience unless absolutely necessary.  If babies do need help at birth, it should be provided as gently and unobtrusively as possible and the baby should be kept as close to their mothers as they can.  These first experiences at and around the time of birth lay the groundwork for a lifetime of trust and consideration for others.

Benefits for Mom

Few things in a woman’s life come close to changing her life as much as giving birth.  The profound and unique experience of growing a new life inside of you, giving birth and then becoming responsible for this new and completely dependant creature is like nothing else. 

Benefits for Dad

One of the most frequently neglected participants in the creation of the family is Dad.  During the pregnancy of his partner the feelings of responsibility and need to protect his family intensify. 

Benefits for Other Family Members

The old saying “Mama ain’t happy, Ain’t nobody happy” is absolutely true.  By reducing the interventions and consequent complications of birth, mom’s recovery is faster and easier.  Fewer cesareans and episiotomies aid the physical recovery and non-traumatic births aid the emotional transition and reduces the incidence of postpartum depression. 

Women were not meant to pass through this major life event in a sterile, clinical setting.  When women go through stresses and life-changes, they talk with each other, cry, tell stories, talk some more, call their mother/sister/best friend on the phone and generally obsess over their experiences and the changes ahead.  Midwifery supports this woman’s way of dealing with life experiences.  Necessary testing and physical care are provided in a comfortable, relaxed environment and with plenty of time saved for the talk and relaxed conversation that builds trust between mother and midwife.

Family-centered care recognizes the father as an integral part of the family.  The more private and relaxed nature of a homebirth enables a dad to support his partner in the way she needs and with which he is comfortable.  By having a midwife continuously available, he does not have to be the sole emotional support of his partner, nor does he have to be completely responsible for her physical comfort.  This allows him the personal space to experience becoming a father either for the first time or once again.  The level of his involvement is can vary from being present occasionally to receiving his baby as his partner gives birth.

If you choose to have your older children present at the birth, being at home with people they know (because they are invited to prenatal visits and have the opportunity to meet the midwives when we come visit prior to the birth) allows them to participate in the birth at their own speed and without the stress of a strange environment, strange people and strange equipment.  The more children are able to participate in the birth of a sibling and the less stress in conjunction with his or her arrival the better the sibling bond and the less sibling rivalry you have to deal with.

BirthWise Maternity Care, LC

Bringing Birth Home    

Family Centered Care

Birth is so much more than a physical or medical event.  It is they way new members of our society are introduced into the world.  How we do this has such an impact on both their future and ours.