Home Birth.

   My wife and I welcomed a new beautiful baby girl yesterday, Ayn Monet Sanford. She, like our first daughter, was a big baby. 21.5 inches long and weighed 9.6lbs. And like our first daughter, she was born at home. I love the look some people give me when I tell them that. I think most people think we are some crazy hippies or something, well I know we are too young to be hippies, and I shower regularly so why would we do that? Or isn't that dangerous? The reason we do it is actually to avoid danger. 
   So whats dangerous in the hospitals? Isn't that place safe, well not really since it is the best place to catch an infection. But how about the birth process? They are doing it wrong! The hospital "system" sets women up for failure. Why do you think c section rates keep going up. Did women forget to have babies? Of course not. Hospitals need to be efficient in order to be profitable. A woman in labor for 12 hours isn't exactly efficient. They need the beds filled, and emptied as quickly as possible. So if you are taking a little too long, or are past your due date, then you need to be induced. Since everyone's body is exactly the same right? (sarcasm) The problem with this is most often it will lead to a c section, you really have no chance. 
   Once you are induced with Pitocin, contractions will come stronger and faster with less rest in between. It actually says that Pitocin should never be used for elective induction, so if you are a couple of days past your due date is that medical necessity? Our first daughter came 2 weeks past her guess date, the baby will come when it is ready. Pitocin is also used in abortions. These extreme contractions caused by Pitocin then become too much for mom to handle, this now is not the body's natural process it has been tampered with, and she will need an epidural. The epidural will then slow contractions, and slow down the assembly line, and since the baby is not "progressing" you will need an emergency c section. You are rushed to the OR, and then the doctor is the hero and he saved the day. But he is the one who started this chain of events to begin with. 
   Do you see how this sets a woman up for failure? Induce her, put her in a position on a hospital bed that goes against the laws of physics and gravity and expect her to push out a baby. With induction and the epidural this also prevents some of the body's natural processes that are suppose to come at certain precise moments in the birth process. For example the flow of oxytocin, known as the body's natural morphine, to put the body in a somewhat euphoric state to help with pain. It also assists with milk let down and certain emotions like attachment and protective instinct. When I see a hospital birth on Tv or a movie and it shows a woman screaming and yelling in pain, that is not what we have experienced with our two daughters. Am I going to say there was no pain? Of course not, and my wife will second that. But I think the process is a lot different than you would imagine. 
   But what if there is an emergency? Well I'll preface with my wife has not ever been a high risk pregnancy. But I will also add that midwives aren't just some ladies who have seen a few births or had a few kids themselves. They have gone through schooling, testing, certification, and attended hundreds of births before certification. They carry things like you would see at a hospital, IV's, some drugs if needed. I would go as far to say that most midwives are better at birthing babies than OB's. Calm down I said birthing, I didn't say surgery. That is one of the problems with the system. OB's are trained surgeons, they train on the worst case scenario, thank God we have them for emergencies. But birthing, caring for, and turning babies has became a lost art among doctors. 
   So why do we have home births? It is simply the safest environment I have found for my wife and daughters.   

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