Natural home-birth is such a magical experience! Saoirse just a few hours after birth. Why choose Natural Home-Birth?
There are many reasons to choose natural home-birth. I love to share with you why I prefer giving birth at home in a natural way. Based on my personal experience. And the research I did before. I would highly recommend it!
Read on to find out:
Why a natural home-birth?
The place where you like to give birth is personal. Some people feel most confident to be in a hospital. While feeling save, with the latest equipment nearby. Others might prefer a birth centre. Which is a bit more personal than a hospital. And there are these (crazy?! – not so crazy?) people who like to give birth at home.
My Home-birth experience
I’m The Netherlands, where I was born. It is relatively common to give birth at home. However here in Spain. Where we live now. Giving birth at home is: “local!” Or in English: Crazy.
Luckily there is one midwife nearby (a big hour away) who could assist me. She was amazing! The same holistic views on birth. And I feel super blessed for her support. My birth was magical.
It was talk of our little village. That I gave birth at our home in the mountains. And some mama’s from my mama group were saying “How brave” I was. Although for me it felt so natural. And it all went so smoothly.
Therefore I love to bring some light into unmedicated home-births. As I feel this is the way nature intended to have birth.
No place like home
Birth is the most important moment in life. At least it was for me when I gave birth to my little girl. At home is where I feel most at ease. No place like home! No doubt for me that is where I feel most relaxed. Which is important for a natural birth.
My intention was to have an unmedicated home birth. Luckily it happened. And I’m so grateful I chose to give birth this way. I feel blessed to be able to share my positive home birth story.
Unmedicated birth
First of all. It is such a natural thing to give birth. Everyone comes to earth this way. All humans, all animals. For thousands of years. Without any medical interventions.
- If they can do it, I can do it.
My intention was to have an unmedicated home birth. I truly believe in the power of thoughts, intentions and mindset. I fully trusted that unmedicated home birth would be the best experience for me and my little girl. And so it was.
Pro’s & Con’s of natural home-birth
Pro’s of a natural birth:
- Fast postnatal recovery
- Less tearing
- Shorter “pushing”
- You can still change your positions
- A lower risk of needing interventions
- Ability to bond and breastfeed immediately
Con’s of a un-medicated birth:
- Need to manage without medications
- Pain distracts from the experience of birth
- “Natural birth” may not be possible for women with high-risk pregnancies
- Due to medical reasons, the pregnant person may need interventions or drugs anyway
- Potential for prolonged labor if the mother is tired, anxious, or stressed
- No access to medical assistance if necessarily
Does a drug free birth live up the expectations?
My personal experience on the pro’s & con’s of natural home-birth.
Fast postnatal recovery
Yes! My recovery was super quick. I felt back to normal after 3 weeks. And the first 3 weeks where good too. My belly shrunk back very fast. And I didn’t experience much vaginal pain. Maybe only the first week when peeing.
Less tearing
Yes! I only had a small tear that didn’t need stitches.
Shorter “pushing”
For sure: I pushed twice and Saoirse came. Although I felt my body was pushing her down for a while. This all went natural. When my midwife told me: “Nikita now I want you to push”. She came in two pushes.
You can still change your positions
Again yes: I’ve changed my position often. I guess that is more comfortable than being in the same place all the time. Your body wants to move.
A lower risk of needing interventions
Luckily I didn’t need any interventions.
Ability to bond and breastfeed immediately
Yes! What magical first moments. Saoirse was feeding straight away. And, although I felt high on birth… I was totally present. So I still remember these beautiful first moments of holding our baby in my arms.
Con’s of natural childbirth
Luckily most of the con’s didn’t apply to me. I wasn’t a high-risk pregnancy. Also, I didn’t need any medical interventions during birth. As my birth was real fast about 6 hours from the early contractions to birth. I also didn’t experience any tiredness.
Need to manage without medications
The whole time of birth I didn’t think once about needing medication. It did however got intense. Which was only a short time before the baby arrived. It felt for me supernatural and part of the experience to feel the different sensations. It was part of the magical journey towards motherhood.
Pain distracts from the experience of birth
For me it feels the pain was part of the birth. It didn’t distract me from the experience. It felt like part of the journey.
Summary
Everyone is different. As well as everyone’s preference to birth location. However, a drug-free home-birth might sounds strange to many…
Natural home-birth has many pros’s like a quick recovery, less tearing and the ability to bond and breastfeed straight after birth. My unmedicated home-birth was a magical experience. Which I would highly recommend for those of you aiming for a natural experience.
Guided by your body and your instincts. Your body knows what to do!
What about you birth?
Are you planning on an unmedicated home-birth? Or did you already gave birth?
Please inspire us mama’s in the comment section below.
