How will I know if I need help?

Most problems that happen with home births are not sudden dangerous situations. Instead, everyone involved decides things seem to need more help than the midwife can give at home and the group moves to the hospital. The two most common problems in labor are a baby that doesn't breathe right away or a mother that doesn't stop bleeding right away. If you hired a midwife, she will be fully trained to handle either situation with the equipment she brought.

You should be aware of birth emergencies that occur rarely, but are still a possibility. If you experience an emergency you will need to follow your back up plan right away. Familiarize yourself with birth emergencies, birth challenges and normal variations of labor so you can make wise decisions during your labor.

If you are not experiencing an emergency, you will just need to decide how you want to handle the challenges you are facing. If you decide you need something you cannot do at home, then you will move to where you can get help.

You May Also Be Interested In: The Coach's Notebook of positions, techniques and tools for labor Homebirth Books for more information. Midwife Directory to find homebirth midwives and midwife organizations. Virtual Labor to practice your laboring skills. Labor Progress Guide to help you understand the process of labor. Birth Challenges to help you learn to navigate through a challenging labor. This is the story of how I ended up at home for Jaron's Birth.

© Copyright 2000-2008 Jennifer VanderLaan and Birthing Naturally

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