Esali Birth believes every individual has the right to birth in the location of their choice and stress the importance of feeling confident and comfortable with thier planned birth location.  We highly suggest considering all options for birthing with home births at the top of the list.  We believe in the necessity of hospitals and surgeons (obstetricians) for high risk situations, and understand that home births are as safe, and often times safer, than hospital births. 

I was your typical "I'm going to have a baby in a hospital because that's what we do in America" expectant parent!  That was until I continued researching birth in America and my own beliefs on my birth experience.  It was then that I realized the hospital and an OB/GYN was the last thing I wanted to encounter on my special day!  I would probably have honestly chosen a birth center for the birth of my daughter; however, this was not an option where I was located, so, home birth was my choice.  Now, I couldn't imagine having a child in any other place.  I did choose to birth at my midwife's house, though, because I was living in a tiny apartment at the time with paper-thin walls, and I did not feel comfortable in that scenario (which I knew was vital for a smooth birth).

For hundreds of years, women were giving birth out of the hospital.  Family beds were the norm, and women-centered-care was basically the only option.  In almost all other countries, even today, women are still giving birth out-of-hospital, except America.  Just as we have industrialized every factor in our life, we have also managed to transform the most natural human event into a mechanicalized and intervention-ridden horror show.  From Hollywood persona, to the horror stories from so many women who chose "unatural" birth, there is no doubt why so many women fear natural childbirth, especially in a home birth scenario.

What is so great about home birth?
To give birth naturally, you must be comfortable with the people surrounding you, your care provider, and your setting.  For almost all women, home is the most comfortable place they will choose.  There are so many women who are scared of hospitals.  Why do we go to hospitals?  We go because we are sick, and because we need medical assistance.  Childbirth is the only time you will be a "patient" in a hospital without being sick, or really needing medical assistance.   This is why you will see many labors slow or stop when parents make the transfer to the hospital. 

Most Dr.'s are trained to see "sick," to be needed to provide assistance and help - and most Dr.'s will rarely see a totally natural birth.  OB/GYN's are trained surgeons.  They are wonderful individuals who are educated for "in case this goes wrong" situations.  Natural birth has nothing wrong with it, so there is no need to fix it or alter it.  The most important thing is to educate parents on what to expect and how to handle each situation naturally.  If childbirth education were a normal part of pregnancy for each parent, we would see much healthier babies, many more natural births, and many more wonderful and empowering birth stories instead of horrific "just another birth" portrayals.

So, back to "why home birth?"  Home birth provides parents with a safe environment.  An environment that is catered to low-risk pregnancies that don't need trained surgeons.  An environment that is comfortable and free of interventions that have the potential of making a healthy birth, high-risk, but also with all the options to keep the mother and baby safe and healthy.  An environment of individuals that have the family's best interests in mind and understand natural birth - who know when transport is necessary and provide loving support through the entire length of the labor and birth.  Home birth gives the option for the mother and father to be "in control" in their own territory, without making them sign consent forms or influence their opinions for their ideal birth.  Home birth gives the mother the time they need to labor and birth without unecessary and often harmful time-limits for labor and pushing.  Because the baby receives anti-bodies in the womb, the baby is already immune to the environment in your home, and you lessen the risk of the baby catching diseases from the sick patients in the hospital.  Home birth is often the safest way possible to have a healthy birth, healthy mother, and a healthy baby.