Please do not take this list of advantages of a home birth to mean that I think every woman ought to give birth at home. Each woman should choose as she pleases and as is appropriate for her situation, and I know there are advantages to a birth center birth or a hospital birth (room service comes to mind!) These are just some advantages of a home birth that I appreciated.
1. Never having to get in the car during labor or soon after the birth.
2. Getting to (being encouraged to!) eat and drink during labor.
3. Being able to open the …read more

I am not even 20 weeks along in this pregnancy and already I am focused on the birth. After two unsatisfying hospital births, this time I am working with a midwife toward a home birth. I am curious about your thoughts on birth choices and whether or not they affect breastfeeding success rates. Do you think birth center and home births are more conducive to breastfeeding success? Do breastfeeding women tend to choose birth center or home births even if they gave birth at a hospital the first time? How successful do you think hospital lactation support is? Do the …read more