When you tell people that you are planning a homebirth, you have to be ready for their reactions. Some people look at you like you have an arm growing out of your forehead, some think you've been brainwashed, some nod and smile while doing a mental calculation of the distance between your house and the nearest hospital. And others just completely expect it from you.
Since we began talking about having a family so long ago, we've planned to have a midwife in place of an OB, home or birth-center birth in place of a hospital birth, and with no drugs. It fits our lifestyle and our philosophy.
While telling our closest loved ones our big news, these topics came up. Some expressed a bit of concern. Some are just not well-versed in how midwives work. Before we could even talk about birth plan, my best friend automatically said, "This will be my first homebirth!" Comfort with our choice is something we'd like all of our loved ones to have. It's better for them and it's much better for us and our growing spawn.
A wonderful, caring professor that we had in our time at Parker introduced us to a film as it was first being screened to the public. Although the information in the film wasn't necessarily new to us, the message helped us feel more confident in our future birth plans. If you haven't had a chance to see it, I'd highly recommend checking it out. It's called The Business of Being Born. Some libraries will likely have it available and Netflix has it available to be added to your queue or for Watch it Now.
If you get squeamish, maybe skip the pasta with red sauce while you watch it. I tend to get a little teary-eyed watching some parts. Mostly the awesome births. Jordan tends to get a little teary-eyed when he sees Ricky Lake naked.
