Midwifery Arts

Home Birth
An Ancient Tradition…A Safe Option
Reasons Women and Their Families Choose to Give Birth at Home

"To give birth where I feel the safest." For the process to go as smoothly as possible a woman should give birth wherever she feels the safest. For many women this place is in their own home.
"To reclaim a position of power and authority." During a home birth the attendant is an invited guest, equalizing the relationship between the woman and her care provider. Responsibility is shared and woman's abilities are realized.
"To be supported by a tradition that trusts the natural process." Working with a midwife who is practiced in effective alternatives to intervention reduces the need for medical interference and increases the likelihood of a natural birth. It challenges cultural myths that have defined birth as a pathological, medical event. It reframes birth as a transformative, creative, feminine act. After all, babies have only been born in the hospital for the last 90 years. The world is plenty populated—birth works and women’s bodies work!
"To freely make choices." Freedom to labor and deliver in any position and to eat and drink according to the mother's wishes. The mother decides who will be present. Family, friends and other children may be available during delivery to lend support and to be part of the experience. The mother and her needs direct the care.
"Home Birth can be safer." Unnecessary medical interventions, which can lead to complications, are avoided (restrictive, continuous, electronic fetal heart monitoring, routine I.V.'s, drugs, etc.). There's no handling of the infant by numerous hospital personnel. Exposure to hospital bacteria and viruses is avoided.
"To be in your own home." To labor and deliver in one's own environment fosters relaxation, through familiarity, rather than being in an unfamiliar and often frightening environment. To avoid impersonal and perhaps unsupportive hospital staff. To avoid the discomforts of travel while in labor and minimize disruption of family, particularly older siblings.
"To preserve the privacy and sacredness of birth." Making the choice to give birth at home calls one to engage consciously and actively in the process. It renews and revitalizes a woman's strength and confidence in herself and her body and affirms her relationship with the natural world.

For more information about home birth and traditional midwifery in the Kalamazoo area please contact Creative Health Arts,
Janice Marsh-Prelesnik at 269.599.4237, or email janice at creativehealtharts.com.
Creative Health Arts…For Your Whole Life