Photo credit: Jackie Dives
I came across a beautiful set of photographs this morning, in the UK Daily Mail and wanted to share them with all of you. Check out the full article and photo series here.
Taken by fellow doula, Jackie Dives, these pictures really capture the beauty of a home birth. There is a level of bliss that seems only attainable in birth when a woman is truly comfortable, cared for and respected. It’s a pretty hard thing to achieve in a hospital setting but I see it every single time at home.
Obviously, home birth is only right for those who really want it – in other words, if you’ve done your research and you feel you’d be more comfortable in a hospital, then that’s where you should be – but for those who prefer it and who work with their midwives and are deemed good candidates for home birth, let no one call their choice “wild or erratic” again.
To learn more about home birth and the studies that have been done to determine its safety, check out my post (Home)Birth. Is. Safe.
Empowered Birth 
These pictures are fantastic! Achieving peace in a space outside of your comfort zone, such as a hospital, seems difficult, but there are certainly ways to make it work! That’s why I wrote an entire book about natural hospital birth. Home births are wonderful, but not necessarily for everyone, so it’s great that, as doulas, we are able to guide them in whichever setting best suits their needs.
What a wonderful idea for a book! I agree that being a doula is an amazing way to help women achieve the goal of a natural, peaceful birth no matter where it takes place.
It is harder to have a peaceful, natural birth in a hospital, but it is possible. 😀 Due to serious medical reasons, it was important that I be at the hospital for my third child’s birth in case I needed a blood transfusion, and I only just made it in time (with 59 minutes to spare!) and the birth I had was completely all natural.
I love the above pic – so intimate.
Absolutely Valerie! It is definitely do-able and I myself have been present for several beautiful, peaceful and natural hospital births. I’m glad to hear that you were able to achieve the birth that you wanted and that everyone was safe. I love to hear stories like yours 🙂