How to Prepare for Home Birth by Shantel Silbernagel

Author:Shantel Silbernagel
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510751453
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2020-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

A Single Mom Surrounded by Supportive Women

“I want mamas to know that home birth isn’t only for happily married couples. It’s important to share that having a baby with a supportive group of family and/or friends or all by yourself can be just as beautiful and impacting. There really is no cookie-cutter or picture perfect birth story. Each of my three children has a different birth story and each one has impacted me differently, changing me as a mama and human being.”

—Terra, registered nurse Vancouver, Washington

I have been pregnant five times and delivered three babies. Heather, my first, was born in the hospital—not a great experience. The estimated due date for Heather was July 27th, and by the time I was approaching two weeks “overdue” my doctor told me if I happened to be out of network when I went into labor, my insurance wouldn’t cover her birth. She also told me that it’s dangerous for my baby to be in the womb for too long, so induction was the best, safest option. I wanted the best and safest situation for my baby, plus, I was young and unaware of factors that can affect the length of pregnancy (e.g., the length of my menstrual cycle, or my health at the time of conception). So, naturally, I agreed to be induced. It’s important to note that even with my original plan of having a hospital birth, I wanted to avoid an epidural or any other interventions that might negatively affect my baby. I signed my husband at the time and myself up for a Bradley Method birth class. However, it was a thirty-minute drive from our house, and he had to get up early for work, so he didn’t want to go after the first class. Instead of being well-prepared for a natural birth, I felt ill prepared for any birth!

On August 10th, I checked in for my induction at seven in the morning. I was told that we’d start easy with misoprostol to soften my cervix with the goal/hope that my body would be inspired to go into labor. That didn’t work. The next step was Pitocin, which I really didn’t want, but I was told that if my own laboring efforts didn’t kick in I could decide if I wanted to go home. By the end of that day, I had barely dilated and my body was not participating in the process at all. But when the question of home or baby tonight came up, I was too exhausted to say no. Looking back, whether or not they meant to, it feels like I was scammed! Once I signed on to the “we’re having a baby tonight!” plan, the Pitocin route became a lot more aggressive.

I felt sick. I was having massive contractions, and still not progressing. With that medication, I was begging for anything that could help with the pain I was feeling. I was told I wasn’t dilated enough for an epidural, so they gave me a

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