• Unassisted homebirth – catching your own baby

    Date: 2010.12.02 | Category: Unassisted Childbirth | Tags: ,,

    Being able to catch your own baby, and being the first person to touch, hold, and kiss her is one of the greatest thrills that can come with unassisted homebirth. Of course, not every woman feels the need to catch her own baby, and many prefer their partners to accept the baby as he or she is born. But for those who feel called to do this, or just end up being the one to catch, the experience is unparalleled.

    Catching my son as he entered the world was a wonderful experience, and the natural climax of labor. I gave birth while squatting, and as his head came out, and subsequently his body was born, I reached down and – as they call it in the country we live in – accepted him. He did not cry, and instead looked it me with his piercing, alert eyes. Catching my baby was a natural culmination and not one that I thought of as a special privilege at the time. After all, I gave birth completely solo, so I was the only person available.

    But anyone who has ever read a midwife’s blog will have heard about the “thrill of the catch”, and there is nothing like catching your own baby. He or she grew inside your body for nine months, and there is a lot to be said for familiar hands welcoming him into the world. Talk to any woman who has caught her own baby, and it will soon become clear that it is one of her most defining moments.

    Some birthing positions are better for catching your own baby than others, and squatting or kneeling are the easiest. Water births are also great for those who would like to be the first ones to hold their own babies. I have seen one amazing video of a mother who delivered her baby while standing upright, so that is also a possibility. But those who want to catch their own babies as they are born are not likely to have to give their positions much thought, as they will naturally opt for those that make catching possible.