“I think that a women’s birth experience has the ability to leave an impression on her the rest of her life. Mine was life changing, the most incredible experience I have ever had. It was empowering, and it transformed me.”


“My goal was to have a natural hospital birth, “ex-


plained Heather,” and I was really afraid of having to com- bat the hospital staff about it. That was a major reason I had hired a doula. There is a lot of pressure from the hospital staff [to use medication and drugs] because they are operating under protocol to cover themselves legally. That’s why if you get there too early, They will want to take unecessary measures.” As luck would have it, Heather ended up having


an at home birth, but it wasn’t for the reasons you may suspect.


“The hospital was planning to have construction


going on in the labor and delivery unit, which made me concerned because I couldn’t see being in labor with a jackhammer going off. But, I accepted that, and still planned on going to the hospital. Then I found out they wouldn’t provide the [birthing] tubs I needed, Due to construction I couldn’t even bring in my own birthing


18 Healthy Hippie Magazine | September October 2010


pool because it is against hospital policy.” Heather and her husband Scott then made the


decision at nearly the end of her pregnancy to have an at home birth. Heather is not shy about admitting that she was intimidated by the thought of a natural birth, but explains the ultimate reason why she choose that path in simple terms. “I decided I wanted to go natural because my


widwife told me the fewer interventions used during de- livery, The less risk of complications,” Heather said. “In the end, I didn’t even know I was in labor until I was 8 centimeters dialated, and the entire delivery was about three hours long.” Both mothers caution that at home births are


not for everyone, but they do advocate strongly against the use of labor inducing and pain medication. According to their research, staying at home for as long as possible before heading to the hospital has multiple benefits.


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