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Having a baby is the one of the most precious moments for a woman.  The experience of delivering a new life is like no other.Although it has an enormous amount of pain, most women agree that it is well worth it. 

As a San Diego midwife I would like to share with you a method that you might not be aware of.  It is called waterbirth.

Waterbirth has been called probably of all the methods of delivery the gentlest.  It requires the use of a heatedwater bath or a pool.A few woman will just use the water for the pain of the labor part.They will do it because heated water is actually a good pain reliever.  It is soothing to the tissues.

Other women also use it to deliver the baby.They don’t leave the water till the delivery is all the way through.  Even all the way through delivering the placenta.

The entire procedure is usually administered by someone that is referred to as a midwife.  If you are in San Diego there are plenty of midwives San Diego.  You will want to find an experienced one. 

Why is there some woman who prefer this method of delivery rather than the hospital procedure? As mentioned previously, it is very painful the labor and delivery part.  Most women use drugs to cope with the pain.But for a few women, the last thing they want to do is have drugs harm the new baby.Using waterbirth for delivery helps ease some of the pain.  Because of the
heated water it soothes the tissues and helps with the pain.

Most women will go through this procedure naturally.  They will not use any drugs to cope with the pain.Often what this does is cause the labor and delivery to happen a lot faster.  Because the use of drugs usually slows down the labor. 

It is actually a very safe alternative of delivery.For some women who are wanting to have their baby naturally this might be a choice to go with.  I have seen many happy deliveries as a San Diego licensed midwife.All it will require of a woman is to do a little research and see for themselves
how safe it is.

melkay Current Events delivery, homebirth, midwife, midwives, pregnancy, waterbirth

Pregnancy, what a wonderful time for a woman.  Well, I guess aside from the sickness.But beyond that, the new baby coming is an exciting expectation.

Usually, for most women, how to have the baby isn’t a big question.  Because most women will go the standard route of a medical procedure involving hospitals, drugs, and doctors.

But for some women, there is an alternative.That alternative is finding a midwife to help you have a baby the natural way.  And it is that alternative I am going to share from my experience as a San Diego midwife.

For people that don’t know, midwives are women who help natural deliveries without drugs.This usually means no doctors.

Often times midwives in San Diego perform these services at homes.  Although, maybe all this is foreign to most people, it is a safe and regulated alternative way to deliver a baby.

The midwives in this service industry are fully regulated.They can be licensed midwives or certified midwives that have a regulatory board that oversees them. 

Sometimes they can be nurse midwives, but that is not a requirement. 

This form of delivery is an option a lot of women choose and includes waterbirth in San Diego. Most of the time this choice is made by women who prefer not to have any drugs during delivery so that they can keep the new baby away from drugs.Also it is going to be for some women who don’t want invasive procedures.

Well when you are making decisions as big as how you are going to deliver, you obviously want them to be the right choices.With most things, you want to pick the right person.

Like I mentioned before, this is a highly regulated industry. With that being the case, finding a good licensed or certified midwife is easy. 

All you have to do is find your state regulatory board that  oversees midwives and do a background check to see if there have been any complaints or issues with your prospective midwife.

With this step, you can find out if it is a quality midwife and someone you can trust.  Obviously once you find that there are no complaints or reports against the midwife, you also want to check references. 

You are going to want to find a midwife whose clients speak highly of them.With something as private and personal as a delivery, going through these steps will help you pick the right midwife for your delivery.

melkay Current Events delivery, homebirth, midwife, midwifery, midwives, pregnancy, waterbirth

Labor and delivery; it brings joy but also pain for the woman.Obviously there is joy because of the newborn baby, but any woman will tell you, it was a source of unspeakable pain.

Well it is because of that pain that there are two schools of thought on how pregnancy and delivery should be carried about.  I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.

There is the medical model for delivery which is associated with drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes cesarean to complete the delivery.

While there is another model, which though not widely accepted, for those who believe in it and have experience it consider it much safer and natural for the woman.

That model is the midwifery model as it is called.That is in obvious contrast with the usual medical model way of doing things.  Where the medical model relies heavily on medicine, hence “medical”, midwifery relies on the natural.Midwifery philosphy believes that pregnancy, labor, and delivery should happen as naturally as possible because it is a natural process.

This model is performed by a group called midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.This midwife would help the woman try to deliver the baby as naturally as possible without the use of drugs.

Contrary to most people’s opinion, when medicine is not used during labor, it allows the labor to proceed much faster without the use of drugs to slow the labor down.

The midwife is a professional with a regulatory board that certifies and licenses the individual. 

Although usually not a nurse or doctor, a midwife can be a nurse as well.

Even though they are not a doctor or nurse, they do carry with them some medical equipment, such as resuscitation devices and suturing equipment.

So in regards to pregnancy and delivery this is what a midwife is and generally what midwifery is about.

Their goals are to let the labor and delivery happen as naturally possible.This reduced the need and use of a c-section.Does not subject you to hospital procedures that are invasive such as episiotomys.  Less medical management like breaking the water or using drugs to slow or speed up the pregnancy.And for the woman the best part of all is that labor and delivery usually happen quicker naturally.

Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.  At the very least, hopefully it gives you more options to explore.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.

melkay Current Events homebirth, midwife, midwifery, midwives, waterbirth

Having your child in the home? Who does such things?  Didn’t that only happen back in the early days of our country when doctor’s had to go out to the prairie and deliver babies?

Not quite.  There are a growing number of women who have discovered the benefits of having your baby at home, or a homebirth as it is commonly called.

It is called midwifery the practice of having your baby at home.  Although they are usually not doctors or nurses, people who are in this profession are professionally regulated.  I myself have seen the steady rise of homebirths through my practice as a San Diego certified midwife.

The people, generally women, who perform this line of work are called homebirth midwives.  Midwives is the term most people are familiar with and means a person who helps during childbirth by providing support of the labor and delivery.

Now a midwife is usually not a nurse or doctor because in general a midwife generally believes that pregnancy and births are natural events and should be allowed to proceed naturally without drugs.  This is in stark contrast with the medical model which relies on medicine to assist and improve the pregnancy and delivery.

That out of the way, lets take a look at why women are having their babies at home.  What are the benefits that are causing women to have homebirths?

First, with the midwife’s continued presence, the labor time can actually be reduced.  Most women aren’t told that pain medications actually slows down the labor, even though it helps with the pain.  This in reality causes the pain and the labor to last much longer.

Second, the techniques of midwifery actually reduces the likelihood of the need for forceps or other operative devices during delivery.  The process of allowing the birth and delivery to happen naturally is what reduces the need for those devices.

Third, cesarean delivery possbilities are reduced.  Most c-sections happen when during labor, it was thought that a natural birth process was not possible.  Either because of the safety of the baby was in mind or the safety of the mother.  Well in all actuality that complication was caused because the natural process was not allowed to happen.

These are 3 benefits when you have a natural homebirth.  There are a lot more benefits, but I am positive most women who are pregnant would say these are 3 huge benefits. 

So although, most might consider it strange to want to have a child at home, studies have shown that allowing the natural birth process to happen is safer for the mother and the baby.  With over 300 births attended as a homebirth midwife in San Diego, this has proven to be the case time and time again.

melkay Current Events homebirth, midwife, midwives, pregnancy