Home Birth

This may be news to you, but we've decided to have a home birth. It's going to be attended by a MidwifeWhat is a nurse midwife? allnursingschools.com, her assistant, and a DoulaWikipedia entry for Doula. A few years back we considered having a home birth, but we were told it was illegal in IL. It wasn't until recently that we discovered that it wasn't, and that started the ball rolling. (The AMA might actually want it to be illegalAs stated in the AMA Resolution #205, but hopefully they will not prevail.) We have received a great response from the people we've told so far, and we appreciate that. You have been really supportive, thanks!

For those of you who are skeptical, you would be pleased to know that the largest study of homebirths attended by Certified Professional Midwives, as published in the British Medical Journal, has found that homebirth is safe for low risk women and involves far fewer interventions than similar births in hospitals.Quoted from the Family Midwifery Service According to Amie's medical records her current pregnancy is low risk, and the midwife said we looked to be perfect for a home birth.

Please feel free to talk to us about the decision, and ask questions about the home birth. We are learning a lot! You should see the reading material we are getting from our midwife and doula!

Don't feel free to share negative comments or experiences (especially to Amie.) We've done our research and the facts show that an assisted home birth is completely safe, and any horror stories will only make Amie more tense and apprehensive during labor (It is well known that a variety of psychological factors can influence people's health and interfere with medical treatment. In obstetrics, levels of anxiety have been found to predict obstetric complications.Taken from a prospective study in midwifery practices in the Netherlands.) I may be preaching to the choir on this one, but I thought I'd throw that out there for you. :D

Also, you can search for your own information, or you can look at some notes that I put together here.