Why Home Birth Is Important by Natalie Meddings
My rating: 4 stars out of 5
I love the premise of this book, which is why I wanted to read it. I embrace the idea of home birth and understand that hospital births are relatively new. However, despite everything, it is difficult for first-time mothers to imagine giving birth at home and even more difficult for their partners and families. Natalie Meddings brings a balanced and refreshing perspective to this conversation. Her style is clearly friendly and approachable, but she brings out the nuances of the complexities of home birth rather well in this edition of the brilliant “Why It Matters” series.
Natalie does not paint an extreme and wonderful picture of home birth as many books and proponents of this ideology tend to do. She does not dismiss the necessity and place of medical intervention, which sets this book apart from the general chatter of hyperbole from both extremes when it comes to home birth.
I really like the structure of the book. Natalie addresses the charged nature of this conversation quite early in the book. This makes the rest of his arguments much more understandable. I enjoyed reading the little personal stories that were interspersed throughout the book at relevant times to make the reader feel that home births have different sides, different flavors and that in general, unlike hospital births , they do not tend to follow a particular agenda. This is actually one of the strengths of this book, it comfortably accommodates the variety of births that take place at home.
The sections on planning and organizing a home birth are great. Natalie has not forgotten any aspect of preparation or indeed the need not to prepare when considering a home birth. Her advice, delivered in a calm and inclusive manner, leaves the reader feeling that home birth is for everyone, not just a certain type of woman and family. I wasn’t at all surprised to find the fantastic teachings of the Spinning Babies movement here. They are second to none when it comes to understanding optimal fetal positioning and its impact on labor and delivery. What is surprising, however, is the lack of credit given to the organization for its work. Spinning Babies isn’t even on the playlist.
At this point I would like to disclose that I am neither pregnant at the time of reading nor inexperienced with home or hospital births. I had both. So I read this book with hindsight. This is perhaps an important aspect of this review. I see how all of the elements in the book will help a mother consider her birthing environment. In this regard, I differ from Mrs Meddings on a few points, but these are only differences of opinion. I wish a little more emphasis had been placed on the topic of consideration for neighbors/homeowners rather than a dismissive tone, “the sounds of childbirth are deep rather than high-pitched and so it is Unlikely neighbors to be a problem.” This is the kind of writing that sometimes makes women feel like they might not be fit to give birth at home. If they are first-time mothers, they may be unsure of the sounds they will make and if they have given birth before, they are more likely to use that past experience to make a judgment about how they will behave during subsequent births. Every birth is different and so enabling a roaring birth experience should be included in the normal birth repertoire, including home births. How else will we ensure that women feel empowered about whatever birth experience they end up having?
Along the same lines, the advice not to tell people that you are planning a home birth does a disservice to spreading the wonderful concept that this entire book is about! Why not have the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation and help other women consider this choice too? In fact, wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to recommend a gem of a book like this?!
Despite these omissions, Natalie Meddings played an important role in the conversation about childbirth preferences. I would recommend this book for simple tips if you are considering birthing your baby at home. Along the way, you’ll find strong, evidence-based arguments in favor of home births that will help you spread the word and restore the confidence we women need to talk about our choices when it comes to our bodies , our babies and ours. well-being.
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