I gave birth to all 3 of my children at home! Yep, I am that person who wants to feel every contraction and experience it all, at home. All 3 of my labors have been long and hard, with my third being the hardest. I wish I was that person, who pops out beautiful children within seconds and looks like they belong on the cover of vogue afterward! But that is not me at all.
We decided quickly into the pregnancy with our first child that we would hire a midwife to help us on our home birth journey. Do you know anything about midwives and their legal status in Michigan? It’s alright, I will quickly explain it.
DEM- direct entry midwife, this could be a very new midwife or a very experienced midwife who has chosen not to take their licensing exam. Each state has their own unique twist on how they handling licensing.
CPM- certified professional midwife. This midwife has passed her exam with the national accrediting organization.
CNM- certified nurse midwife, this midwife became an advanced nurse practitioner first, then went on to to complete special training in midwifery.
Here in Michigan, we see DEM’s or CPM’s performing most home births. Home birth midwives in Michigan are not licensed providers, so they do not accept insurance nor can they write prescriptions.
For our home births we sought out the care of a CPM, as passing a licensing exam is important to us. My husband is a veterinarian who passed his board exam and I am getting ready to take mine to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, IBCLC.
Over the years, we got some crazy comments about the style in which we chose to give birth. Here are some of my favorite comments:
“Where do you give birth, like on your kitchen table?” Um no… for the most part you can choose what position you labor and birth in. I am not sure how comfortable birthing on a kitchen table would be but I suspect our midwife would have gone along with it if we really wanted to. Two of our children were born in our bed and one was born in a birthing tub.
“What happens with all the blood and stuff?” Shocking, there is very little trash, 1 bag of trash and 1 load of laundry. The placenta is placed in a separate bowl and examined after birth. Everything is bagged up and disposed of, just like normal medical waste. The midwives do a pretty good job of cleaning up the house and mess that is made during the process.
Recently a friend asked me about giving birth in a birthing tub. So the tub itself is not a normal hard plastic kiddie pool or my own personal bathtub. Our midwife rents us an inflatable tub and we purchase a liner from her. The pool has air filled chamber walls which do a very good job of staying warm. The pool is filled by running a hose from the faucet or pouring very warm buckets of water into it. I have never actually seen the tub filled so I had to ask my husband for the details!
The tub we have used is big enough for 2 people to comfortably stretch out in. One thing to remember is all of the birthing fluids come out during the birthing process and they flow into that tub while you are sitting in it.
*Funny Fact* Right before our second birth we purchased our house and had planned to labor in the tub. A few days before my husband freaked out about the tub, “what happens if the tub ruptures with all that water in it, it will destroy things!” So I did call our homeowners insurance to verify things, which was the first time they have ever been asked that question.
With each birth there are always questions about the emergency plan. Yes our midwife has medical gear she arrives and has a very detailed plan! In the weeks prior to delivery, we go over the plan, talk about things that would require a transfer and where we would be transferred to. Having a home birth isn’t a haphazard event, it is medically monitored and charted.
The days post birth are amazing and filled with newborn snuggles! For us, grandparents usually take the boys for special outings and give my husband and I time to recover and rest. We always have a freezer full of meals and try to focus on recovery versus keeping our house clean, because that is what visitors are for! Our midwife stops by frequently to check on us and monitor our new little one. Having a home birth has been a very empowering experience and we have loved every minute of it.
So that is a little bit about our home births. Are you ready to have one?
*Thank you to Courtney Blackwell and Yamile Branch Photography for the beautiful images*
Hi there!
Just curious who you had help with your home births?
We used a certified professional midwife to give birth to all 3 of our children and are using the same one for our fourth which is due any day now.