Are you dreaming of being able to give birth in your own bed, surrounded by your loved ones? Not sure where to start with your planning?
Welcome to the complete beginner’s guide to having a homebirth!
Today, we’re going to tackle the basics of how you go about having a Tacoma homebirth. You and I know giving birth at home can seem scary and complicated. However, it really isn’t. It just takes a bit of planning.
In this step-by-step guide, I’m going to share with you how to find a midwife and get set up to have a homebirth. Once you’re done with this guide, you will be able to confidently start planning your birth.
If you have any questions as you’re going through it, you can reach me here HERE and I’ll do my best to answer them.
What is a Homebirth and why would I want to do that?
A homebirth is simply giving birth in your home. It can be in your bed, in your tub, in a chair, wherever you want to give birth because it is YOUR home! Your midwife comes to your home, with everything they need to support your birth.
People love homebirths because they get to be in control of their birth environment. They don’t need to worry about strange nurses coming on shift or being told “Only one support person in the room” or having to say no to interventions. Your home can be a quiet, dark, calm birth space. Or it can be loud and busy. Full of your family. Whatever you want. People choose to birth at home because they can have it their way. I had both of my kids at home and I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Step #1 is to find a midwife
This is the very first step you need to take. Midwives can only take so many clients so you will want to find one as soon as you know you are pregnant. I always say, start looking as soon as you are trying to conceive. Then give them a call as soon as that second line shows up on the test. Tacoma homebirth midwives really do fill up that fast. Where will you find a midwife who does homebirths?
- Ask in your local mom’s goups
- Look up “Homebirth midwife near me”
- Check your nearest free standing birth center
- Ask your local doulas
You want to find a midwife who you click well with so ask them for an interview first. If you are stumped about what to ask them, just do a search of “questions to ask my midwife” or you can check out my FREE guide HERE. It has a list of questions to ask.
The perfect midwife should make you feel calm and heard. You are going to be spending quite a bit of time with them over the next 10 months so you should enjoy their company. Midwife appointments are long and detailed and honestly wonderful. You will get to sit and have all of your questions answered without being rushed. With my first pregnancy, my appointments were all about an hour. Many midwives work in teams now so make sure you get to meet both of them if you can.
Step #2 Pick a Birth Coping Method Class
This step is often forgotten or brushed off but it is very important! Just as you would not jump in to a marathon without training first, you should not jump in to birth without training. Unless you have had a natural birth in the past, you just don’t know what to expect. I recommend that you look in to hypnobirthing. Check out Hypnobabies home study course HERE. Other options for birth coping such as Bradley, Lamaze or Built to Birth can be found by doing a web search in your area.
Step #3 Take Care Of Yourself
When you are having a homebirth, you really want to take good care of yourself. Things like having uncontrolled gestational diabetes or uncontrolled high blood pressures can lead to a transfer of care to an OB. While sometimes these sort of things are out of our control, we can always do the best we can to get rest, hydrate, and not to run ourselves ragged. Make sure to ask for help when you need it. Use this pregnancy as an excuse to say NO to whatever you need to. Stressful visit to the in-laws? Nope, sorry, I’m pregnant and I just don’t feel up to it. Planning a big Mother’s day brunch for the whole family? Nope, not this year. You are growing a whole other person and your health needs to come first.
This also means not letting other people put negative ideas in to your head about your birth choices. Their thoughts are not important but they can really get in our heads sometimes. I had people act like I was going to give birth in the city landfill when I told them I was having a homebirth. I really hated when they would say how brave I was. As if I was giving birth next to a man eating shark! I thought they were brave for going to the hospital. You don’t actually have to tell anyone where you are birthing if you don’t want to. It’s really none of their business.
Step #4 Assemble Your Team & Prepare Your Space
The last step is to get ready for your home birth! Your midwife will at some point come and do a home check to make sure that your home is a safe space to give birth. Don’t worry! The house does not need to be spotless or anything like that. They just need to make sure you have access to what they need and that your home is a safe, habitable space for birth. Then your midwife will have you purchase a birth kit. This is full of one time items for your birth. Most of the time, they have already put this together for you. You won’t have to source the items.
If you want to rent a birth pool, you will need to reserve this. Make sure you are clear in understanding if they are setting it up or if you need to. Most doulas know how to set up a birth pool but each one is a little different so make sure to ask the person renting it to you. If one of you needs to set up the pool, make sure that person knows what to do and designate them the pool person. That person should NOT be the person giving birth!
Then you will want to assemble the rest of your team. Who is going to support you while you give birth? You will want to make sure any kids or pets are taken care of and that someone is in charge of feeding everyone. Pick foods that don’t have strong smells such as garlic. Birthing makes you more sensitive to smells then even pregnancy does. Make sure that those who are supporting you are fully on board with homebirth. You don’t need someone’s fear vibes mucking up your peaceful atmosphere. If you don’t have someone to fully support you who has been through birth before, hire a doula! We are experts at support and we absolutely love homebirth.
Lastly, make your space what you want. If you want everything as is, then just leave it alone! After all, home birth is all about being surrounded by what is familiar. If you want twinkle lights, or special music, be sure to set that up. If you need ideas on this, click HERE for my post on making your birth space an oasis.
Recommendations for Tacoma Homebirth Midwives
Check out my FREE Birthing in Tacoma Guide for a list of recommend Tacoma homebirth midwives. These are ladies I know personally and have worked with. They are amazing and I would recommend any of them. My guide also has a long list of potential questions you can ask your midwives during your interview. Click HERE to download your free pdf guide.
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