Homebirth

I just read a very cool interview featuring Ina May Gaskin in the Sun magazine. She is one of my heroes. Ida has been living and working in an intentional community called The Farm in Tennessee since the 1960’s. During that time she has been a leader in the resurgence of midwife assisted childbirth. Here’s a link to the interview: http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/433/oh_baby

I feel so fortunate that the idea of home birth was presented to me. The person I should thank is my beautiful friend Jennifer Suchman. I’m pretty sure she planted the seed, and I feel it’s my mission to plant the seed for others. We DO have choices. Educated women have the right to make educated choices for themselves and their children, and everyone should know that planned midwife assisted homebirth is as safe as hospital birth. In fact, it’s safer in terms of maternal mortality rates for healthy women. We do seem to have forgotten that birth is not often a medical condition and that the female body knows how to birth instinctively and without intervention. Of course there are times when medical assistance is crucial, but it is extremely rare.

Homebirth was an amazing and profoundly beautiful experience. I can’t begin thank those who lead me to such a wonderful gift, which I could so easily not have even known or thought about. I hope others research this option for themselves.