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Unassisted childbirth – a preparatory checklist

Date: 2011.03.31 | Category: Unassisted Childbirth | Tags: checklist for freebirth,unassisted birth checklist,unassisted homebirth

Everyone who decides to have an unassisted homebirth prepared for their baby’s entrance into the world differently, and everyone’s situation is different. That is why a questionnaire for mothers planning a freebirth could be useful – the answers to the questions will be different for everyone, but it might help you either know you are fully prepared, or need to do some additional work. Here’s a list to help you track how your birth preparations are going.
- Do I feel I have sufficient information about the physiological process of childbirth – what happens during contractions, what the stages of childbirth are, and what happens during the birth? Do I know what will happen to the placenta after birth, and how to take care of the umbilical cord afterward?
- What are the possible complications of childbirth? Have I looked into how to deal with them? Do I know how to act in case of a complication with which I am not equipped to deal with at home?
- What is my back-up plan – are there possibilities to call a midwife if I feel I need to? What hospital should I transfer to if needed, will they receive me there, and how long does it take to get there?
- Do I know enough about basic newborn care (especially relevant for first time mothers)?
- Do I need to take a course in neonatal resuscitation?
- Do I feel confident about my birth environment? Are there any complicating factors there? (Think about neighbors knocking on the door during labor, or in-laws living with you, for instance…)
- Am I at peace with my decision to have a UC? Is my intuition telling me to move forward, or warning me against the decision?
- Do I have all the birth supplies I think I will need? Am I ready for my baby – clothes, diapers, etc?
Please feel free to share how you are preparing for your birth!

4 Responses to “Unassisted childbirth – a preparatory checklist”

TinkAe 11/04/01 19:39

Good list. I recall (back when I was new to your blog) a list of supplies & the uses of witch hazel. LOVED that. Probably got me hooked on your blog with that. :)
writenow 11/04/01 19:56

Thanks! I’m happy to have you as a regular reader/commenter! I started this blog because, when I was expecting my son and looking for resources, I found there was too little concrete, practical info around the web. Some information is there, but you have to dig a lot and it is ever so hard to find everything you want in one place. Most good information is (unsurprisingly) not geared towards UC moms (and dads!). The sites that are specifically related to UC are more about spiritual and emotional issues than practical advice. With this blog, I’m hoping to give families looking into UC some practical information they can actually apply. Still, everyone is so very different… so this list was born. Only the individual can assess whether they are properly prepared or not :).

In the coming time, I will write about cord prolapse, retained placenta, breech birth, twin birth, and waters breaking without labor. If there are other specific topics readers are interested in seeing covered, please do let me know so I can write about that, too.
Rara 11/04/02 04:57

I became very excited about UC when I happened upon your blog. So much so that I decided that I wanted to have a UC. I just found out yesterday that my insurance will cover midwives. I feel kind of bad for backing out of the UC plan after getting so hyped up about it. I have the full support of my immediate family in however I decided to have this baby. I will make sure that the midwife I hire will be open to how I want to do it, and I think it will help take the edge off for certain family members (DH included!) to have someone with experience there. I know that doesn’t sound like a very good reason, but I want a few people, including my parents, at the birth, and I don’t need them to be anymore frazzled than necessary. ;) I would still love to have a UC but, for now at least, I believe having a midwife present is what will be best for us and our family. :)
writenow 11/04/02 10:35

Hey Rara,

How are you feeling generally? UC is awesome and the right decision for some women and some pregnancies. My son’s UC was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. My daughter’s birth, at which a midwife who was less than skilled was present, was “fine”, but not wonderful. Yet, I am glad I made the decision to have a midwife at the birth of my first child; not so much because of labor and the birth itself, but because I did not know what a newborn was supposed to look like, and had not ever handled one.

I didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to midwives – we have only one in the whole country who will attend homebirths. Will you have opportunities to interview various midwives, and discuss your wishes? Some are willing to stay in another room while you do your thing, and just come when you call them. Others, not so much. Does your insurance cover CPMs or CNMs?

I do think, actually, that your husband’s opinion matters :D