Thinking of Switching to Homebirth Due to Covid-19?
The coronavirus has everyone on edge and pregnant people and their families are, understandably, left wondering about their added risks and how their birth and postpartum time may be affected. We certainly are hearing from potential clients who are nervous about their hospital-based care! Locally, we know clinics are limiting in-person prenatal visits and all hospitals have put restrictions in place on the number of visitors you can have with you during your labor and birth. Restrictions in health care settings coupled with the added stress of welcoming a new baby in a place that houses and cares for sick people have some people wanting to switch to an out-of-hospital birth experience. We hear you and can sympathize with the stress you are under.
Most of the Twin Cities’ birth centers and homebirth midwives are making room in their schedules for those who are passionate about switching care. But should you switch? Is home birth right for you? Out-of-hospital birth is a safe and wonderful option for many people but delivering at a birth center or in one’s own home isn’t always the right choice for everyone. How you perceive the safety of the environment in which you give birth can play a role in your labor and the outcome of your birth. We recognize for some of you that your perception of safety may be a moving target right now. Many of you who are reading this post probably made an educated and very personal decision to birth in a hospital setting to begin with. Midwifery care in the out-of-hospital setting typically is chosen by individuals and families who, either before or early into their pregnancy, have done their research, fully understand the pros and cons and are willing to make truly informed, non-fear based decisions about their ongoing care. Coronavirus is changing that dynamic and sadly fear is now part of some people’s birth location decisions.
At Mandala Midwifery Care, we believe to our core that pregnant bodies are made to keep babies safe and are designed to give birth without major interventions the vast majority of the time. We believe (and the evidence supports) that home is the safest place for most low-risk births to occur. But we also are skilled to recognize when the pregnancy, labor or birth may be verging from this normal, low-interventive place. In addition, right now we are busy every day keeping up on the latest news, reports and evidence on Covid-19 so that we can provide the safest care possible to our existing clients and to those who might need to come to Mandala Midwifery Care later into their pregnancies. We are honored at the trust clients place in us and this drives all aspects of our care, including helping determine birth location.
The safety of homebirth depends on many things, including the education and preparedness of the birthing parent and their family. If you are contemplating a switch to home birth, here are a few things to explore:
- Fully discuss your concerns with your current care team and see if your anxiety dissipates. Can they continue to accommodate your needs? Does this discussion make you relax and feel safe or quite the contrary? You should fully understand how they are going to safeguard you and your baby against exposure to Covid-19. (You should understand the new protocols of any home birth care provider in this regard as well–Mandala Midwifery Care is swimming in coronavirus resources right now and is always happy to discuss the implications for your care with us.)
- Think through what type of birth you envisioned and whether that translates well to your living room/bedroom. Were you planning on pain medication? Pharmaceutical relief isn’t an option at home so begin to explore all the many ways homebirth families manage the rigors of labor at home. Do you have time to prepare your mind, body, soul – and partner – for this change in plans? It is true that most home birthers rave about how great their experience was afterward. But it’s important to note that many of those people spent months visualizing, taking classes, reading, watching videos and/or generally emotionally preparing for their homebirth experience. In addition, we help clients down this road during each and every prenatal visit and if you join us late to care, we spend time playing catch up to help you accelerate this process. If you were planning a water birth, then you are in luck! The vast majority of home birthers give birth in one of our loaner tubs, if that appeals to them.
- How do you feel about true informed consent and shared decision making? Many mainstream clinicians and hospital policies limit true informed consent but we are all about empowered decisionmaking and we work in partnership with you and your family to make the best decisions about your care. We find that those who have experience with a hospital-based provider take a bit of time to adjust to our new model. In the event of an emergency or a major medical concern, we have no problems directing you to the best course of action but, outside of those scenarios, we provide you with the information and guidance you need in order to make your own informed decisions. Does this sound amazing to you or intimidating?
- Find other homebirth families among your friend group or online and really dig into the pros and cons of birthing in an out-of-hospital setting. Ask around as to why people choose this option. What did they love most about it? What challenged them about it? And don’t forget to explore those who ended up transferring into hospital-based care. When you sign onto care with Mandala Midwifery Care or any homebirth provider, you aren’t signing up for a guaranteed home delivery. We help you birth your baby in the safest place possible and, sometimes, the low-risk status of you and/or your baby changes, in which case we facilitate (as gently as possible) a transfer of care to one of our skilled hospital-based colleagues.
- Take a look at this video we did a few years ago that addresses why people (not during coronavirus times) make the decision to birth at home. Does anything here resonate with you? Homebirth can be an amazing and wild ride with highs and lows and we want all of our clients to welcome and be prepared for both the challenge and the joy that can come with a birth under your own power and your own roof.
- Schedule a consultation with Janine to get all your homebirth with Mandala Midwifery Care questions answered and to be assessed for whether you meet our low-risk criteria. We love helping people find the best place to welcome their babies safely and with love. For those in the Twin Cities and surrounding communities, you can call 612-616-5509 to schedule an online consultation or click here to schedule.
A few resources:
Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jmwh.12431
and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jmwh.12172
Citizens for Midwifery http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/MANAHBData04-09FactSheet.pdf