Why I'm chossing out of hospital birth

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but it’s taken this long to get some free time and my thoughts in order! I’ve received a few questions on the subject, but thankfully no one has outright questioned my sanity. I’ll start with a few disclaimers:

1. Frederic is in total support of this decision, and my ob/gyn is ok with the idea.
2. I would never, ever hesitate to go to the hospital if advised by my midwife to do so, of if I (or she) felt instinctively that the birth was not going as it should.

Eliot was born at l’hopital de Morges, a short drive from our house. When I arrived in L&D, I was 3cm dilated, and had to be monitored for contractions during 30 minutes while lying on my back, which was extremely uncomfortable. I then labored for several hours in a birthing pool, which was very nice, but the most comfortable position did not work with the fetal heart monitor, and so the nurse constantly came in and made me move. I did not know at the time that continuous fetal monitoring is medically unnecessary. I got an epidural at 5 cm, which worked for 45 minutes, then wore off on one side. Because it was still working on the other side, I couldn’t get out of bed or change position. Eliot was born and I was able to hold him for a few seconds before he was taken away for oxygen and clean up, despite having apgar’s of 8 and 9. I got terrible sleep in the hospital because I could not stop replaying the birth events in my mind and questioning my decisions about how I went form wanting a natural labor to having a non-functioning epidural and being stuck in bed for the second stange of birth.

These are only the negative aspects of my hospital birth. The nurses and doctors were very kind, and the woman who caught my baby advocated for me with the doctor when the doctor wanted to use a vacuum extractor and I said no. The food was great, Eliot roomed in with me, and the breastfeeding support was excellent.

After weighing the positives and negatives of my birth experience, I have decided to birth out of hospital for our next child. There are two birthing centers nearby, and my midwife practices out of both. Each birthing center is like a studio apartment, where mom labors, births, and recovers. My reasons for choosing this option are the following:

1. All studies show that home birth/ out of hospital birth are as safe or safer for mom and baby, involve less unnecessary medical interventions, and result in far fewer unnecessary c-sections.
2. I want to know the person who assists in the birth, and I want her to know my medical history and personality through regular contact and check-ups before the birth.
3. I want more labor support (the only labor support at the hospital was the nurse coming in every half hour to ask if I wanted an epidural) which does not rely on medication.
4. Assuming all is well, I want to have my baby in my arms from the moment of birth until I feel like passing him/her over to someone else.
5. I want the option to choose the birth location and position (in or out of water, standing, kneeling, lying, squatting) without restriction.
6. I want the option to decide after the birth if I want to go home right away, stay the night, or stay several nights.
7. I hope that by recovering in the same room that I give birth, discussing with the same person who helped me deliver, and being in a comfortable home environment, I will be able to process the event of birth faster and recover faster mentally and sleep better immediately!
   
8. I want follow-up appointments to take place in my own home. (My midwife will come to our apartment every day for 10 days to check on me and baby, throw in a load of laundry or cook a light meal, etc, and then visit several more times in the following 6 weeks)

One of the only drawbacks to these birth centers is that, if both are already occupied by a labouring/recovering mom, I must have a back up plan- either hospital or home birth. Frederic and I are both ok with a home birth (with midwife in attendance) under certain circumstances (fast labor, already dilated to 6-7cm, rush hour traffic…), and a hospital birth otherwise (plenty of time to arrive without stress). When I go into labor, our midwife will come to our home to assess the situation, and then take us to either the birth center or hospital, or stay home with us and assist in the delivery.

Some of the resources I have used in making this decision:

Hynobabies Guide and CDs

Active Birth

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Heart and Hands

Many, many midwife, doula, and homebirth blogs

I'd be happy to answer any questions, because I know that babies are not just the concern of the parents, but of society in general, and friends and family in particular.