I'll Catch Your Baby in a Gas Station Bathroom, or What you NEED to Have a Homebirth...

I'll Catch Your Baby in a Gas Station Bathroom, or What you NEED to Have a Homebirth...Often times I am puzzled by the things that people think about when they are presented with the idea of birthing at home.  Is my house clean enough, is it large enough, is it accommodating, close enough to a hospital etc.

One thing I have to constantly remind people is that babies come out.  One of the best things is that they come out when mama is relaxed and feeling safe in her environment.  Whatever it is that makes you feel safe, warm and supported, THAT is what you want/need for your homebirth.  It doesn't matter that your house is small, or even an apartment.  It is your HOME and that is the perfect place to birth.

I'm reminded of a recent client, who when she found out she was going to have to move into a much smaller apartment, was DISTRAUGHT over the whole thing, thinking that she would have to scrap her plans for a homebirth.  I said to her "Sweetie, I'll come catch your baby in a gas station bathroom if that is where you want to give birth... Is your apartment bigger than a gas station bathroom?"  What you need to know about space for a homebirth is that it needs to be a place you feel safe.  I personally prefer running water and electricity, but the reality is that babies come out, they come out in cars, on trains, in grocery stores, in ambulances, in cold hospital rooms and operating rooms, with harsh lights and cold metal.  They come out.  They come out best when you feel safe and comforted.  Babies need very little, and it is a little known secret that mama's and babies are PERFECT dance partners when they are left to figure it all out, unhindered and together.

The rest is just fluff.  The dishes in the sink will wait, or they will get washed.  The laundry in the dryer will wait, or it will get folded.  The rest of it will keep.  Trust yourself, trust your body and your baby, and do what women have been doing for eons, in caves, in plywood and tarp shacks, in huts and hovels.  All that baby needs is you.