by Krista Trotter, CLD
My husband and I started planning to expand our family and a few months later we found out that we were pregnant! We waited until 7 weeks to reveal to our family and friends that we were expecting and the reaction was absolutely priceless. We also revealed that day that we would be delivering with a midwife in Tennessee. We had been making these choices surrounding our birth far before we ever started planning this pregnancy. I believe firmly in research and gathering information to make informed decisions. Our families had questions and we were fully prepared to answer them.
“Is this safe?”
“Will a doctor be there?“
“What if there is an emergency?”
“Your baby is being born where? The Barn??”
All of these questions we knew were coming and we felt empowered to answer all of them.
Our last birth we made a switch of hospitals and doctors after delivering our first 2 with the same doctor. We made this switch because we did not feel supported in the birth experience that we desired. My husband and I drove a hour and half to a doctor and a hospital that could meet our needs. Our new doctor was very supportive of our plan to have a medication free birth with a doula. We were very happy with our experience and delivery of our third son! We had a very supportive birth team who made me feel absolutely amazing!
My birth made me hungry for more knowledge and understanding of this supernatural childbirth that I had just experienced. I went home to find my passion for breastfeeding and baby wearing along with reading, watching documentaries, and researching everything I could about childbirth and the culture that supports that. During this time is when I became a Certified Labor Doula and have had the honor of attending many different types of births since.
Many women feel safest in hospitals as I did also for my previous 3 births. I am very thankful for the access that we have to hospitals in high risk cases and emergency situations where they are needed. However, I knew that this time I wanted to be free of fear, clinging to the members of my birth team as I need, trusting my body to do what it has so naturally done 3 other times. We wanted to be surrounded by love and support, making my own decisions concerning lighting, pictures, and sounds that play into my baby’s first moments; free to move around, eat and drink, monitor baby with doppler, and have no time restraint. Because of hospital policies and restrictions, having a hospital birth this time was not the route I wanted to go.
I have chosen to birth with a midwife because midwifery focuses on the power of the female body; that my body was designed to give birth and knows best how to deliver my baby. I want to be provided with evidenced based information regarding every decision along the way and I make the final decision. I have a midwife that believes in intervening only when it is necessary. She is trained to do so and fully equipped to handle most emergencies. My midwife believes in the need for hospitals and will transfer me there if necessary. I want to be surrounded by a birth team that believes in me laboring naturally and provides me with emotional support throughout the entire labor process.
We are very excited about our upcoming birth experience with our 4th son, John Henry. I am really looking forward to sharing our birth story with everyone in just a few months!!
-Krista
For more information about home birth after hospital birth, click here for an article from Science & Sensibility.
