Sioux Center Magazine

during the home birth it gives moms the
options to walk around her home or eat if
she wants. We foster that because we know
it is part of birth and you’re going to do so
much better if you do what you need to do
the way you want to do it.”
Both Hulstein and Lassen think home
births emphasize birth in a more positive
way than American culture portrays.
“Birth is a healthy activity that women
were designed to do, and the birth experience
you have lays a foundation for mothering
and parenting, and the well-being of
the woman,” Lassen said. “It is not simply
a medical procedure you have done to get
a baby out of you.”
Lassen and Hulstein believe the only
negative to home births is the attitudes
surrounding the idea.
“So often when people think about
home birth, they automatically wonder if
it’s safe, is it legal?” Hulstein said. “Those
kinds of negatives people have are because
they’ve never explored it as an option. It’s
our feeling that if you’re eligible for a home
birth, people should know they have the
option.”
Home birth is for healthy moms who do
not have medical problems.
A woman is not eligible if they have
diabetes, chronic hypertension, a seizure
disorder or any chronic medical condition;
develop a pregnancy complication such as
preeclampsia; or the baby doesn’t settle
into a position that allows for a headfirst
delivery.
“We screen for adverse conditions at
each prenatal visit,” Lassen said. “If something
develops, and does not resolve, then
they will have a hospital birth.”
Women also need to be at least 37 weeks
and not over 42 weeks to have a baby at
home.
“There are excellent and very recent
studies that demonstrate the safety of an
out of hospital birth,” Lassen added. “But,
because birth has become medicalized to
the max in this country, people will still feel
it is unsafe to have a baby at home. Home
birth moms are well educated and know
the real risks and hopefully will choose
their midwives carefully.”
Hulstein believes, too, that home birth
is about empowerment.
“You empower someone by providing
options and choices and allowing them
to make decisions,” she said. “Not only is
that giving them the home birth option,
Just being at home and not in a hospital
was a benefit for Armstrong.
“I’m not comfortable in a hospital,” she
said. “It’s just not a calm environment to
me, not a place I feel I could be comfortable
in and where I’d want to welcome our baby
into the world. With a birth at home, there
was zero rushing and total comfort.”
Home birth is a true “welcoming home”
for a child, according to Armstrong.
“The hospital was nearby, but with a
home birth I could still have the nonmedicated,
water birth I was seeking,” she
said. “Plus, I know how clean our home is.
I’m comfortable in our bed. I know this is
the place I’m going to be bringing our kid
home anyway and birth isn’t super messy,
especially when you have a water birth.”
Too often people let fear get in the way.
“That’s the case because you hear more
about the bad than the good, but I also
think we’re good at creating problems for
ourselves too,” she said. “Home birth is
not for everyone, but for healthy low-risk
moms I think it’s something to ask questions
about, watch home births, seek out
other moms who made the choice or talk
to the local midwives — doing research and
deciding for yourself what is right. I think
more women might be surprised at how
wonderful of an option it can be.”
WINTER 2017 | SC 9