Why I do Homebirth

I feel a little bit granola when people find out I do homebirth, like I’m a nut or something. I know it’s so different, and truthfully while growing up I assumed I would have a hospital birth with an epidural like most everyone else.

I have been asked just about every question in the book about home birth. First most people ask, “why do you do homebirth?” Simply put, I don’t like hospitals. I don’t like the smell, being stuck on a bed, needles, or exposing myself to strangers.

It all started with a good friend of mine, a mentor and Sunday school teacher, Betty Ludlow. I was very close to her all through my teen years. When I found out she was a midwife and delivered babies I thought, how cool it would be to have someone I knew deliver my baby. I decided to give it a try.

I loved the freedom that home birth offers. I get to labor however I want, wherever I want: playing DDR, listening to my mom play piano, walking around my house, going outside for a quick walk, in the shower… I love being able to eat or drink if I’m hungry. I trust my midwife (who’s delivered more than 1,000 babies) and know that she is doing what’s best for me. The risk of C-section and having an episiotomy are much smaller (I’ve never had one, or even torn). I love the quiet spirit surrounding our family after the birth. I love the intimate feeling of just being us with our newest arrival to enjoy. But mostly I choose home birth because I love being in the comforts of my own home. After the baby is born the midwife helps me shower and move me to my bed, where I stay for at least the next 3 days as everybody waits on me hand and foot. It is so nice to be treated like a queen.

Second question I get, “How can you stand the pain? Doesn’t it hurt?” The answer is a big and resounding YES! I have to admit that every time I’ve been in labor I tell Zui, “I AM NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN! WHY am I having my baby at home? WHY would I put myself through this pain if there was a way out of it? WHY am I not in the hospital getting an epidural, the “gift from God” right now!” *sigh* But it doesn’t last forever, not even a day, usually not more than a few hours. And then it’s over and you’re holding your beautiful baby and you know it was all worth it.

Third question: “Isn’t it messy?” Well, whether you have the baby in the hospital or at home, yes, it is messy. But midwives know exactly how to keep things simple and under control. I had my first 3 babies on the bed. Before labor the bed is prepared with a fitted sheet, shower curtain, another fitted sheet, and flat sheet. Towels and chucks pads are close by. After the baby comes out and while I’m in the shower the sheets are stripped and underneath the shower curtain are the clean sheets all ready to use. In a matter of a few minutes my bedroom is back to normal and there are nearly no signs of a birth happening there.

I loved giving birth in the water. The birthing tub has a disposable liner in it. Warm water is filled and then plugged in so it stays at the same temperature. After the baby was born Dr. Lori and Zui siphoned the water down the drain while I showered. By the time I came back to the bed everything was put away with absolutely no mess at all.

Next question: “Aren’t you worried? What if something happens? Is it safe?” Yes, in my opinion, homebirth is safe, but only if you are a low-risk patient, which I am. Midwives come equipped with many medical supplies including an oxygen tank in case of need. If an emergency did arise, I would head to the nearest hospital, not more than 15 minutes away. My midwives have delivered so many babies and I feel safe in their hands.

Although every time I’m in labor I wish I was in the hospital, four kids later I still find myself having a home birth. I guess I’m sold.

My Home Birth Story

If you don't feel like reading a lot, check out the pics. The long story follows...


Doing my best to quicken labor by playing DDR.

My midwife, Dr. Lori
8 lbs even. Funny 3 of my 4 kids were exactly 8 lbs at birth.

Jasmine's passport picture. It took 62 shots to get one with her eyes open looking at the camera.
Our new little family

The Labor story

Friday morning, May 13^th, I decided it was high time this baby came out. Our whole family had tickets to Taiwan leaving May 31^st, and if I was going I needed this baby out fast. So I walked Anjuli to preschool, a 4 mile ordeal, pushing the kids in the jogger. That night my contractions started. These were different though because instead of the pressure being in the front of my belly it sort of wrapped around my back where I felt a dull ache. Even though the contractions were pretty consistent, I still doubted this could be true labor because I have never gone into labor on my own, and almost thought my body was incapable of doing it. Usually I am induced several days after my due date, which was May 17^th. As the night progressed they started to intensify and I was getting a little worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep through the night. With Anjuli I labored all night long and finally gave birth at 5am—it was really hard, and I was hoping this wouldn’t be the same.

I fell asleep but was woken up several times with more pain. By 5am my contractions were 5 minutes apart. I called my midwife, Dr. Lori, around 6am and told her I was pretty sure we were gonna have a baby today. But then as the morning went on my contractions sort of slowed down and eventually stopped. I thought I was mistaken, another fluke. Dr. Lori said that sometimes labor stops for a few hours and then picks up later. She told me to go for a walk, eat a big meal, and then take a nap. After going for a long, uphill walk in Mililani Mauka for 2 hours in the heat of the day, eating Mexican food and taking a short nap, the contractions came back. I remember being on the phone with my mom at about 4pm saying that the baby probably wasn’t coming that day. But shortly after I hung up with her I started to feel them again, about 10 minutes apart.

Then within a half hour they were back to 5 minutes apart. I was still unconvinced that “this was it” and continued to bake cookies for our neighbors that I never officially met even though we’ve been in our new house almost a year… We walked over to deliver them around 5pm and I remember having to stop inbetween each visit to focus on the contractions. About 6pm things were getting intense and I finally told Zui we needed to get these kids out of here. I called Dr. Lori and she sent the Doula over to check my status. Zui fed the kids and drove them over to his sister’s (Lehua) house.

While he was gone the doula helped me set up the room and talked me through the contractions. Dr. Lori called to check on my status and they were about 4 minutes apart. But several minutes later they just started coming on like crazy, one right after another. I was getting nervous no one was going to be there for the birth! Zui came home at about 7pm and I immediately started crying in his arms. The contractions were very strong now and I wanted to be done. When Dr. Lori came I got into the birthing tub and immediately started pushing. Baby Jasmine was born 15 minutes later, at 8:15pm. I was so glad to see her!