Choosing freebirth

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT SAYING FREEBIRTH IS FOR EVERYONE, IT IS A DECISION ONLY THE MOTHER AND FATHER CAN MAKE. I AM NOT IN ANY WAY TELLING ANYBODY TO FREEBIRTH. I DO NOT ADVOCATE FREEBIRTH, ONLY WANT TO SPREAD AWARENESS SO PEOPLE CAN ACCEPT IT AS A LEGITIMATE CHOICE FOR THOSE WHO SEEK IT.


It's  not an easy decision, to chose to freebirth. With that decision comes great responsibility, for my baby's health and wellbeing as well as my own. I have 2 children, neither of their births were traumatic or even complicated, yet I still choose to give birth without a midwife when I have my next baby. Of course, only if my baby and I are still low risk.


I choose freebirth because I completely trust birth, I accept all responsibility of the outcome, and I take on all responsibility for knowing when to seek help. I take complete responsibility for educating myself and my fiance on all aspects of birth. I don't feel I need a midwife there by my side, I trust my intuition, I trust my body works. I also, contrary to popular belief, will happily head to hospital and have a cesarean surgery if it was required. Obstetricians are there for a reason, I am very greatful they exist and will not hesitate to seek their expertise when it's needed. I'm not so selfish that I'd put my baby's life at risk just because I want the experience of a home birth.

I don't want to hand all responsibility to another person, who is not responsible for the life of the child, sometimes decisions can be made for the benefit or fear of the caregiver and not the child or mother in question. This has never happened to me, thankfully, but it does happen. Where I live now, the hospital where babies are born, is - anecdotally - notorious for that. Friends who have been labouring beautifully have been drugged without consent or knowledge, coerced into being induced for no medical reason and sectioned because labour took 'too long'. So the decision to freebirth, was a no brainer honestly. Although that wouldn't stop me going in an emergency, not at all.


DS was a freebirth but decided at the very last minute. We were preparing for a homebirth, so naturally I prepared for an accidental freebirth just in case my midwife didn't make it. We moved, home birth plans were cancelled and we had to either hire a private midwife (we were going through the hospital's midwifery group practice program and had an awesome midwife who worked both in and out of the hospital) , birth in the birth centre with my MGP midwife at the hospital or freebirth. Since I was 37 weeks, there was no time to get the funds to hire a midwife, freebirth was something my fiance wasn't 100% on so we decided on the hospital's birth centre where I was planning a water birth, attended by my lovely midwife.

The universe wanted my baby to be born at home, baby wanted to be born at home and I wanted him to be born at home. And he was, it was completely out of my control and I am so greatful for the opportunity, as it has changed the person I am for the better. I had a precipitous labour, I woke to contractions a minute apart from the very start of labour and it just got more intense. I gave birth to my son, standing in the bath with the shower running over my back, and my fiance caught him. I was in labour little over an hour. There really wasnt that much time to get ready and leave for the hospital, especially since we were also waiting on my mother to come babysit our eldest, and she lived 40 minutes away, so we decided it was best to stay where I was safe and things were going well. My midwife knew I'd never make it just by hearing me work through a conrtraction but she had faith in birth and didn't try and scare us into heading to the hospital. Another midwife did ask us to call an ambulace to be on the safe side, we knew it was unecessary but agreed, just in case.


 It was an incredibly empowering event, and because it was not the least bit frightening, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I know, deep in my heart, that is how my babies are supposed to be born into this world. I very much look forward to giving birth again. I will post my children's birth stories when I have the chance, I tend to reflect a lot when I read them. Remembering those awesome times in my life.
 
Peace, Love and Light