6 Home Birth Prep Tips

I know that a home birth might sound crazy. Hell, it sounded crazy to me until approximately December of 2017, when I began to plan for my 2VBAC (birth story here).

Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, home birth might become an increasingly realistic (even necessary) option. And because my job is to prepare and support you through birth, let’s talk about it.

Here are a few things that you need to know about giving birth at home…

• Is your pregnancy considered low risk?

  You’re probably in good shape to have a home birth. Discuss with your provider AND reach out to local midwives to discuss your specific situation in greater detail.

• Home births can either be attended by a midwife or unassisted.

  Midwives provide prenatal care, catch babies and provide postpartum care. However, Midwives do not perform surgery. As for complications or emergencies, Midwives generally have solid hospital transfer protocols in place.

• You CAN have your Doula present at your home birth.

• Do you feel safer at home?

  For various reasons - pandemic, rapid labor, hospital fears - many women feel safer birthing at home. I think it’s important to check in with yourself. How do you feel about your birthing location options right now?

If you’re concerned about not having access to epidural, I get it. I had an epidural with the first two, and they can be quite lovely. But here’s the thing - you CAN do this. Should you decide that home birth is for you, here are six tips to help you prepare for a home birth.

6 Home Birth Prep Tips

1. Hire a Birth Doula, if possible.

   Birth Doulas support the laboring woman before, during and after birth. If you’re unable to hire someone to be at your birth, I have a network of Virtual Doulas that I’m happy to connect you with.

2. Reach out to the Midwives in your local area.

   More specifically, try to find a Midwife that attends home births. Have the discussion with them about insurance, hospital transfer protocol, how to set up your birthing space, and so on.

3. Print out birth affirmations.

   Birth affirmations are statements that encourage and calm you. A few examples include, “I can do this” or “My body was made for this.” There are tons on Pinterest that you can either print, or write your own on index cards.

4. Download audio affirmations and meditations.

   These are similar to the printouts mentioned above, but in audio format. You can download or create a playlist to listen to before and during birth. Note: there are a few in my Freebie Library that you’re welcome to.

5. Learn natural pain management techniques for contraction pain.

   First, know that in the absence of medical interventions, such an an epidural, your body releases hormones to help you manage contraction pain naturally.

   And, there are several techniques that you can utilize to manage labor pains. For a full explanation and ‘how to,’ be sure to check out the DIY Doula: Coping with Contractions module of my online birth classes. I initially created the class with my husband in mind, when I was preparing for my first natural birth. He didn’t watch the class, but we did use many of the natural pain management techniques throughout the video during my birth.

6. Prepare for Unassisted, just in case.

   “Unassisted childbirth refers to the process of intentionally giving birth without the assistance of a medical birth attendant. It may also be known as freebirth, DIY birth, unhindered birth, and unassisted home birth (Wikipedia).”

   If you don’t think you’ll make it to the hospital in time, call 9-1-1. And here are some great tips from Mama Natural.

Before you go, you might enjoy my accidental unassisted home birth story!