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I am a Naturopathic Family Physician and midwife and have been attending out of hospital births since 1993.  Childbirth at home is family centered, peaceful, empowering to the mother, and dare I say- fun for all involved. Although my first choice for labor and delivery is at home, sometimes that is not possible or advisable.

In my practice, I have had to transport women to the hospital for complications on a number of occasions.  There are various factors that affect how well received my patients are when they deliver at the hospital, including the prevailing recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  However, the most important is the attitude of the medical personnel that you work with.  I have had far more positive experiences than negative ones.  I find that arriving at the hospital with well documented charting of the pregnancy and  labor helps my patient and myself gain the respect of the doctors and nurses caring for her.

Of course emergencies happen, but if one is an attentive caregiver, one can recognize a trend in the pregnancy or labor that can predict a possible emergent situation.  I prefer to transport before the emergency, in plenty of time to avail the patient of all the hospital has to offer.  I believe that the doctor who takes the case feels that they have time to assess the patient themselves and without rushing to emergency procedures, or feeling they have to deal with a patient who has not been cared for properly.  I feel if I have done a competent job, the less the medical profession will be able to criticize our abilities, and that should go a long way toward building trust and mutual understanding between midwives and hospital staff.

Hopefully mothers will be able to choose where to give birth without conflict or strife between the caregivers.  As a midwife, I am grateful for all the hospital can provide when the need arises, but I am also grateful for the wonderful experience that homebirth gives to the mothers, the babies, and their families.

posted 3 years ago
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