Birthing at Home
Here is C. Mishler's account of delivering her baby at home using the Lamaze method and how she prepared for childbirth.
by C. MISHLER
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My husband and I once lived in Mexico for five years and,
while there, I was constantly puzzled by the Mexican's term
for giving birth: "to bring to the light". Such a blessed
refer ence to an experience which I had always thought of
as horrible didn't make sense at all.
It didn't make sense—that is—until Dick and I
studied on our own, learned to ignore the scare tales with
which we were flooded and brought our third child to the
light by ourselves in our own home. Now—nine years
later—I've had two more children the same way and am
teaching the Lamaze Method of Training for Childbirth to
other couples. Naturally, I've developed some ideas on the
subject that I'd like to share.
First and foremost, if you want to have your baby at home,
be very, very faithful about pre-natal checkups. The
slightest indication of possible trouble should
send you to a hospital for the birth.
Really good nutrition (read Adelle Davis) is another
important part of preparing for childbirth: natural and
unrefined foods, lots of fruits and vegetables . . . you
know what I mean.
The study of some method of birth "training" is also
extremely vital. I prefer Lamaze, having found it most
effective in my own experience and having seen it work over
and over for the parents I've instructed. Lamaze or not,
however, you should know—and know well—some way
of controlling the possible pain and discomfort of a
delivery. Wide-awake parents, who are informed and aware of
what is happening during normal birth and who know what to
do to keep the mother comfortable and to assist—not
impede—nature, are vitally important in any delivery
. . . and especially so for home deliveries.
You should also (unless you're an Amazon) have a third
person—in addition to the mother and
father—take the childbirth training with you. A
mother in labor should not be left alone and we always have
a trusted adult (someone we vibe with) handy to run
errands, fetch water, etc,
It will be ideal if you can find a doctor who will come and
assist if needed and not interfere when not needed. It will
also be unlikely. Right or wrong—to avoid
hassles—we've learned to simply not tell anyone when
we're planning something so outrageous as having a baby in
our own home.
You should be making other preparations as the time for
delivery approaches. Have the bed protected with rubber or
plastic sheets several weeks in advance, in case the water
breaks at night. We used newspapers on the bed for our
first home delivery but found them too crackly and didn't
repeat that idea. When you know for certain you're in labor
remove the plastic, make the bed with clean sheets, put the
plastic back on over the linen and then put another clean
sheet on top of the plastic. After the birth you'll be able
to strip down to the underneath sheets and have a clean,
fresh bed again with little hassle.
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