Natural Birth
Natural childbirth is a philosophy of childbirth based on the understanding that women who are adequately prepared are innately able to give birth without external intervention. The natural birth event is mother and baby-centered and led by the mother and baby. Natural childbirth aims to maximize the innate birth physiology and movement of healthy women during labor.
For the mother, natural birth increases the probability of a healthier postnatal period and an easier recovery due to fewer interventions. For the infant, natural birth reduces exposure to narcotics and drugs that augment labor and lowers the likelihood of needing separation from the mother after birth. Immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the first hour after birth increase the likelihood of successful breastfeeding for a longer duration. Psychologically, many women find natural birth empowering. A woman who labors as she instinctively wants to is more likely to feel positive about her birth experience and future parenting skills. Her baby is more alert, facilitating bonding and successful breastfeeding.
Home Birth
Giving birth at home allows you to surround yourself with family and supporters, including your midwife and doula, who know and care about you. You can move around, eat and drink, and give birth in whatever manner you choose—whether in your own bed, in a water tub, or anywhere you’re comfortable. You and your baby are never separated.
Women can have a positive, safe birthing experience anywhere if they are listened to, treated with compassion, feel in control of their birth, and have competent care. Providing quiet, attentive doula support to the birthing mom and baby is divine. I believe that mom and baby intuitively know how to engage in this “dance of life,” and I am there to support and encourage your innate knowledge. Birth is a transformational experience for the mom, dad, and baby. If the mom, despite any difficulties with labor, stays consciously connected to her baby, the baby feels cared for, and the experience can be a positive memory for the family. As a doula, I help create a ‘safe space’ for your baby to be born into. “Baby’s gentle beginnings allow them to become the person they were meant to be.”
Questions to Consider for Home Birth:
- Do you believe that home birth is right for you?
- Is it the best thing for your body and baby?
- How does your partner feel about it?
- What about your family?
- Are you willing to go against some mainstream myths about home birth?
If your answers are “yes,” then home birth might be right for you. Are you also willing to be a good consumer and shop around for your midwife?
Midwifery
History of Midwifery
Midwives have been part of human experience for as long as history records. Ancient cultures referred to midwives with terms that emphasized their wisdom and supportive role, such as the “wise woman” or “with-woman.” Midwives offer personalized and intimate care that empowers women, preserving the normal, physiological processes of pregnancy and labor without unnecessary interventions. Midwives provide physical and emotional support not only for the woman but also for her entire family, spending more time with them than most physicians do.
Only you know what is right for you. Be selective, ask questions, and interview as many midwives as needed to find the right one. It’s important that your partner also feels comfortable with the midwife. If you are low-risk and healthy, home birth is safe! This isn’t just an opinion; it is evidence-based practice. Research the safety of birthing at home by asking midwives you interview for articles and studies on safe home birthing.
Types of Midwives in Arizona:
- Certified Nurse Midwife: A registered nurse with additional training in midwifery, certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and licensed by the State Board of Nursing in Arizona.
- Licensed Midwife: Licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services under the Arizona Department of Health Special Licensing Midwife Program.
To learn more about the responsibilities of licensed midwives, visit the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Birth Center Birth
A birth center is a special place for women to give birth, equipped with all necessary birthing tools but designed with a warm, home-like environment that respects and supports the mother, her partner, and family. Birth centers may be freestanding or within a hospital, providing a caring setting where you feel safe and supported.
At a birth center, you can:
- Make yourself comfortable
- Walk around
- Wear your own clothing
- Eat and drink when you feel hungry
- Soak in a tub or give birth in water
- Enjoy a comfortable environment for your family and friends
Birth centers welcome your loved ones so you can decide who will be with you during birth. They provide continuous support and information on infant care, breastfeeding, parenting, and family planning.
Tucson has the only freestanding birth center in Southwest Arizona, the Birth & Women’s Health Center, where women can have a safe labor and childbirth experience in a comfortable, home-like setting.
Water Birth
“Birthing women also make their natural sounds next to running bath water.” — Michael Odent, MD
Water helps facilitate natural birth by providing another option for women to birth awake, aware, and in control, leading to an enhanced birth experience and personal empowerment. Many find warm water soothing and supportive, offering relaxation and ease of movement. Babies transition well into water from the warm, fluid environment of the womb, and water immersion blocks pain impulses by stimulating touch and temperature nerve fibers in the skin.
- Birthing tubs can be rented for home births; speak to your midwife about a possible home water birth.
- The Birth & Women’s Health Center in Tucson, AZ is well equipped for water births in a large, built-in birthing tub, accommodating your midwife, doula, nurse, and partner.
Benefits of Water Immersion:
- Buoyancy: Immersion relieves the woman from supporting her full weight, facilitates movement, and allows deeper relaxation.
- Reduced Pain: Hydrostatic pressure equalizes pressure in all directions, reducing pain and aiding spontaneous rotation of the baby.
- Decreased Blood Pressure: Immersion leads to a drop in blood pressure due to increased endorphins, decreasing anxiety and pain.
- Optimal Space for Movement: Water helps muscles work more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of perineum tearing.
For more information on water birth, visit Waterbirth International, Waterbirth Solutions, Inc., or watch a Waterbirth video on YouTube.
Alternatives to Hospital Intervention
A doula offers various methods during natural childbirth to aid the mother. Non-medical pain management techniques include hydrotherapy, massage, relaxation therapy, hypnosis, breathing exercises, vocalization, visualization, mindfulness, and water birth. Other methods include changing positions, remaining upright to increase pressure of the baby on the cervix, and walking. To reduce the need for an episiotomy, techniques such as counter-pressure on the perineum, hot compresses, and slow pushing are used.