Good for you Ricki, a huge thumbs up to her for speaking up and sharing her story, bringing homebirthing back as a ‘normal’ thing to do.

So glad a celebrity face is bringing attention to a much needed topic. While I had my first in the hospital, I did it all natural and am considering a homebirth for the second. I think the important thing is that Moms are informed! Take your health into your own hands and do the research yourself! Make a decision you can live with and make sure you understand all aspects of a having a baby in America.

I agree, homebirth can be awesome, my friend had both of her children at home, the second one completely unassisted. I had natural births, but was too scared to go the homebirth route and chose to go to the hospital to give birth to my son and daughter. Home births are great if you choose to do it, I just couldn’t get past the “what if something goes wrong” part, even though I had a completely normal healthy pregnancy. I was super paranoid and couldn’t do it at home. Each to their own, some moms can do it, others are like me, too scared of the “What if” to even try giving birth at home.

Go Ricki! I had a home waterbirth too and it was very empowering. I also had my first in a hospital after a long induction/labor so have been through both experiences. I would choose another home waterbirth anyday!

Thank you so much for this story. I immediately looked for more information and caregivers in my area. As it turns out, our midwife will be fully funded by the government (thank you Canada!) so I don’t have to worry about additional costs. My second pregnancy went horribly wrong when a doctor decided it would be great for her to ‘experience’ a cesarean section and delayed my delivery. Luckily, a resident caught it at the last moment and reported her secretly. The administration came in and had a full change of staff and the baby was delivered in 10 minutes. One of the residents later came by and apologized (even though they were risking liability) but I was just so glad that my son didn’t die that I was happy with a simple ‘sorry’. No amount of money can ever replace what could have happened. Now, I would like to have a different experience. I could have had that baby naturally without medication or intervention, but was prevented. This, at least, gives me some options.

Thanks, again!

I don’t think anyone here is intentionally putting down home births. These forums are, after all, meant for people to voice an opinion. If we all thought the same thing, the world would be very boring.

Home births/tub births aren’t for every woman. Even women with an uncomplicated, healthy pregnancy might choose to give birth in a hospital. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with either, it’s a personal choice.

This is great – thanks for posting it.

Homebirth midwives are trained medical professionals and they know how to manage normal birth. They know when a labor is becoming complicated, and they will transfer you to the hospital in that event. Studies show that homebirths have consistently better outcomes than hospital births, for both mothers and babies. Many women are having their babies at home and none of them are dying. Homebirth is a wonderful option for low-risk women who live near a hospital and have access to midwifery care.

Making uninformed and fear-based statements about homebirth doesn’t help anyone.

I gave birth in a birth tub with my second, at home. It was peaceful and wonderful. The water helped ease the pain a little and I think it helped me not tear more than I did. Position changes were also so very much easier than out of the tub! The water was not very dirty at all, even after the birth and the placenta was delivered.

Homebirth is a safe option for a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy – often safer than going to a hospital if there are no complications with the pregnancy. Even if complications arise, a good midwife can recognize the need for a hospital transfer in plenty of time, and does carry supplies with her to deal with some things on the spot.

I love to see other birth options publicised by more high profile people. I hate that society’s expectation is that birth is a thing that doctors MUST help with and MUST be done in a hospital with drugs. It’s become so highly medicalized that women sometimes no longer trust their own instincts, which is not an ideal start to motherhood!

All 3 of my children were preamies, so giving birth at home wasn’t an option.