What resources will help me prepare for a home birth?

Home birth is essentially unmedicated child birth, and can be a mental and physical challenge. Midwives may require that you take a childbirth education class or hire a doula for your birth. Your midwife will not have an epidural or pain medication for contractions. You should prepare yourself with comfort measures (examples: breathing techniques, Hypnobabies, aroma therapy, birth pool/hydro therapy, music, meditations..) and coping techniques ahead of time. Many people have found the following things helpful when researching home birth options or trying to get a picture of what home birth may look like:

BOOKS

Ina May’s Guide Guide to Childbirth

Spiritual Midwifery

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth

BLOGS/WEBSITES

Midwife Thinking

https://midwifethinking.com/

Feminist Midwife

https://www.feministmidwife.com/

Evidence Based Birth

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/

VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARIES

Why Not Home?

Available for free on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC1o7_POkcM

The Business of Being Born

Available on multiple streaming services (Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play) for under $5Rent on Amazon Prime for $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/Business-Being-Born-Helen-Ayres/dp/B001IIHAGK

YouTube has tons of different videos of actual home births. Watching a few may give you an idea of how broad the scope is when it comes to coping with pain, midwifery styles, setting up a birth space, what to expect immediately after birth, etc.

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