Stay at home birth
By Jen Beasley
Published:
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 1:39 AM CDT
A time-tested method of childbirth is again gaining popularity
At the Frome residence west of Smithfield, there are four small children who know exactly where babies come from.
Babies come from the living room. Via their mother, Beate.
Beate Frome has given birth to all of her children in her own house with the help of a midwife and without the help of drugs. All of her children ages 3 to 8 have experienced the birth of their siblings save the youngest, who will get the chance any day now, as Frome’s fifth child is currently due any time.
Frome reads a book to her children nightly about home birth to help prepare them for the experience, and said participating in the birth of their siblings has helped her adjust to new arrivals.
“They’ve never been jealous,” Frome said. “I believe it’s because it’s not like I’m going to a department store and bringing a baby back. You know, they don’t know where the baby comes from when you go to the hospital. This way they can see it’s a lot of work to bring the baby here.”
Frome is just one of a number of Cache Valley women who have chosen to do the work of labor and childbirth at home. At a recent home birth workshop held by the Association for Wise Childbearing, an organization that encourages choice and education about a wide range of pregnancy and childbirth topics, women who had previously birthed a baby at home or wanted to, as well as some fathers, gathered to learn more and share their stories.
Chris Miller, Frome’s midwife, said it is common for families that choose home birth to do so after attending such workshops, because as they become educated they discover that home birth is as safe or safer than hospital birth in low-risk pregnancies.
A study of planned home births in North America published in 2000 in the British Medical Journal concluded that planned home births with certified professional midwives in the United States had “similar rates of intrapartum and neonatal mortality to those of low risk hospital births,” and rates of medical intervention, such as epidural, episiotomy, forceps, vacuum extraction and Caesarian sections for planned home births were lower than for low risk hospital births.
Frome said she has always felt safe in her at-home labors, and has benefited from the more personal relationship she has with Miller than she would have with a doctor, who would not have as much time to spend on pre-natal care.
“We’ve gotten to know each other, and I think she can sense if there’s something wrong,” Frome said.
Frome said when Miller comes to a birth, she brings so much equipment — oxygen, emergency kits, etc. — “it looks like she’s moving in.” But all of her home births have gone smoothly, and the emergency equipment has gone unused in the Frome house.
Miller said it’s no surprise that Frome’s, or any other home births have gone smoothly. With 35 years of experience, Miller said she can still count on her fingers the number of times something has gone wrong in a birth. In such cases, a woman can be transferred to the hospital, but Miller said it is rare.
“It’s a work that a woman was made to do, and usually she does it beautifully,” Miller said.
Frome is from Germany, and said in Europe home birth is considered normal and often covered by insurance. Miller said in America only some insurance companies cover the cost of a midwife for home birth, but said paying out-of-pocket for a midwife is still relatively inexpensive, about $2,000 for everything from pre-natal care visits to the birth itself, as well as all equipment and post-partum care. Miller said many midwives will allow payment plans, and often clients choose home birth because they don’t have insurance.
For Kim Borchert, it was doctors’ insurance, and not her own, that led her into the realm of home birth. Borchert had her first child by Caesarian section, which effectively meant that she would be forced to have all the rest the same way, as malpractice rates have discouraged most doctors from performing VBAC, or vaginal birth after Caesarian. Borchert said she had looked into having her second child at a birth center in Salt Lake City, but when they wouldn’t do VBAC either, “I was either a Caesarian section or home birth.”
Borchert said her sister had a baby at home, and that’s what she decided to do as well.
“It was the most amazing experience ever. And I had a 9 pound, 3 ounce baby,” Borchert said. “I think that a lot of people think it’s really dangerous, and I think that a lot of people think that hippies do it without a lot of thought for their children. There’s a lot of misconceptions about home birth.”
Borchert said one of the best benefits of home birth is the birth high that comes afterwards when adrenaline and endorphins take over, instead of the grog of anesthesia. Borchert has birthed naturally as well as under anesthesia when she had her Caesarian section, and said natural is the way to go.
“You’re just going a mile a minute and you’re so excited and you’re wide awake and it doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night. It’s just a rush,” Borchert said.
As for the pain, Frome said it’s all about attitude.
“I picture it as surfing, you’re sitting on top of the waves. And as soon as you start to complain you start to go under.”
Frome’s husband Kurt said because he’s never seen his wife give birth any other way, he’s relatively comfortable with home birth and has gained added respect for his wife in the process.
“I think it’s amazing to watch what she does. I can see her inner strength when she does it, and that’s the amazing thing,” he said.
Kurt Frome has also had the opportunity to catch the babies when they’re born, an experience he calls a “highlight.”
“That’s one of the things I love about home birth,” Beate Frome said. “He’s totally involved from the beginning to the end.”
Borchert said she would recommend home birth to anybody.
“You have to trust your body and trust your midwife and know that you can do it,” Borchert said. She said she also recommends that women explore all the alternatives and seek out information about options for childbirth.
“Become educated about all your options, because there’s a lot of different options out there for childbirth that I don’t think most women know about.”
————
The next meeting of the Association for Wise Childbearing will be held Nov. 6 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Whittier Community Center, 290 N. 400 E. The AWC seeks to support and educate parents through a wide range of pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum and baby nurturing workshops. For more information, email wisechildbearing@yahoo.com or call Director Jennetta Billhimer at (435)563-8484.
A time-tested method of childbirth is again gaining popularity
At the Frome residence west of Smithfield, there are four small children who know exactly where babies come from.
Babies come from the living room. Via their mother, Beate.
Beate Frome has given birth to all of her children in her own house with the help of a midwife and without the help of drugs. All of her children ages 3 to 8 have experienced the birth of their siblings save the youngest, who will get the chance any day now, as Frome’s fifth child is currently due any time.
Frome reads a book to her children nightly about home birth to help prepare them for the experience, and said participating in the birth of their siblings has helped her adjust to new arrivals.
“They’ve never been jealous,” Frome said. “I believe it’s because it’s not like I’m going to a department store and bringing a baby back. You know, they don’t know where the baby comes from when you go to the hospital. This way they can see it’s a lot of work to bring the baby here.”
Frome is just one of a number of Cache Valley women who have chosen to do the work of labor and childbirth at home. At a recent home birth workshop held by the Association for Wise Childbearing, an organization that encourages choice and education about a wide range of pregnancy and childbirth topics, women who had previously birthed a baby at home or wanted to, as well as some fathers, gathered to learn more and share their stories.
Chris Miller, Frome’s midwife, said it is common for families that choose home birth to do so after attending such workshops, because as they become educated they discover that home birth is as safe or safer than hospital birth in low-risk pregnancies.
A study of planned home births in North America published in 2000 in the British Medical Journal concluded that planned home births with certified professional midwives in the United States had “similar rates of intrapartum and neonatal mortality to those of low risk hospital births,” and rates of medical intervention, such as epidural, episiotomy, forceps, vacuum extraction and Caesarian sections for planned home births were lower than for low risk hospital births.
Frome said she has always felt safe in her at-home labors, and has benefited from the more personal relationship she has with Miller than she would have with a doctor, who would not have as much time to spend on pre-natal care.
“We’ve gotten to know each other, and I think she can sense if there’s something wrong,” Frome said.
Frome said when Miller comes to a birth, she brings so much equipment — oxygen, emergency kits, etc. — “it looks like she’s moving in.” But all of her home births have gone smoothly, and the emergency equipment has gone unused in the Frome house.
Miller said it’s no surprise that Frome’s, or any other home births have gone smoothly. With 35 years of experience, Miller said she can still count on her fingers the number of times something has gone wrong in a birth. In such cases, a woman can be transferred to the hospital, but Miller said it is rare.
“It’s a work that a woman was made to do, and usually she does it beautifully,” Miller said.
Frome is from Germany, and said in Europe home birth is considered normal and often covered by insurance. Miller said in America only some insurance companies cover the cost of a midwife for home birth, but said paying out-of-pocket for a midwife is still relatively inexpensive, about $2,000 for everything from pre-natal care visits to the birth itself, as well as all equipment and post-partum care. Miller said many midwives will allow payment plans, and often clients choose home birth because they don’t have insurance.
For Kim Borchert, it was doctors’ insurance, and not her own, that led her into the realm of home birth. Borchert had her first child by Caesarian section, which effectively meant that she would be forced to have all the rest the same way, as malpractice rates have discouraged most doctors from performing VBAC, or vaginal birth after Caesarian. Borchert said she had looked into having her second child at a birth center in Salt Lake City, but when they wouldn’t do VBAC either, “I was either a Caesarian section or home birth.”
Borchert said her sister had a baby at home, and that’s what she decided to do as well.
“It was the most amazing experience ever. And I had a 9 pound, 3 ounce baby,” Borchert said. “I think that a lot of people think it’s really dangerous, and I think that a lot of people think that hippies do it without a lot of thought for their children. There’s a lot of misconceptions about home birth.”
Borchert said one of the best benefits of home birth is the birth high that comes afterwards when adrenaline and endorphins take over, instead of the grog of anesthesia. Borchert has birthed naturally as well as under anesthesia when she had her Caesarian section, and said natural is the way to go.
“You’re just going a mile a minute and you’re so excited and you’re wide awake and it doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night. It’s just a rush,” Borchert said.
As for the pain, Frome said it’s all about attitude.
“I picture it as surfing, you’re sitting on top of the waves. And as soon as you start to complain you start to go under.”
Frome’s husband Kurt said because he’s never seen his wife give birth any other way, he’s relatively comfortable with home birth and has gained added respect for his wife in the process.
“I think it’s amazing to watch what she does. I can see her inner strength when she does it, and that’s the amazing thing,” he said.
Kurt Frome has also had the opportunity to catch the babies when they’re born, an experience he calls a “highlight.”
“That’s one of the things I love about home birth,” Beate Frome said. “He’s totally involved from the beginning to the end.”
Borchert said she would recommend home birth to anybody.
“You have to trust your body and trust your midwife and know that you can do it,” Borchert said. She said she also recommends that women explore all the alternatives and seek out information about options for childbirth.
“Become educated about all your options, because there’s a lot of different options out there for childbirth that I don’t think most women know about.”
————
The next meeting of the Association for Wise Childbearing will be held Nov. 6 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Whittier Community Center, 290 N. 400 E. The AWC seeks to support and educate parents through a wide range of pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum and baby nurturing workshops. For more information, email wisechildbearing@yahoo.com or call Director Jennetta Billhimer at (435)563-8484.
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