At-home births no longer have stigma; on rise in Montana

Mothers-to-be may ask: “What’s best for me and baby?” Understanding the options available, locally, could help women answer this question.

Home-attended and unattended births were the only options throughout the centuries. However, in the 20th Century, an influx of hospitals and medical-care facilities available to pregnant women surged, decreasing the numbers of births at home.

According to a study released in 2011 by the National Center for Health Statistics, between 2004 and 2008, home births in the U.S. increased by 20 percent. Montana, Vermont and Oregon had the most home births — approximately 1-in-50 births occurred at home compared to 1-in-147 births in many of the other states.

Libby area licensed midwife Sherry Bushnell, LM, CPM, expressed her desire for pregnant mothers to consider all the options.

“The role of a care-giver (physician or midwife) should be to help a woman grow in confidence during her pregnancy,” Bushnell said. “In a low-risk pregnancy, a physician/midwife should be geared toward the normality of growing a healthy baby, helping a woman see how she can labor and give birth, and making her experience positive as she becomes a mother.”

“During pregnancy and birth, how a woman is treated affects her perceptions and confidence in herself as a woman, and how she feels about being a mother,” she said.

According to Bushnell, whether a mother-to-be feels in control before-and-after her birth is determined by the decisions she makes before. The more a woman feels unable to manage what is being done to her, how she can move and react during labor, the less responsible she feels about her birth experience.

“Positive birth experiences are had by both women — those in the hospital who have opted for pain medication and by those who choose out-of-hospital settings and giving birth naturally,” Bushnell said.

“Her attitude and how she perceives this incredible experience can be colored by her personality, outlook, her perception of pain, her ability to make choices, and if she felt loved and respected.”

“Perhaps, this concept is even more important, as women now days are choosing to have only one or two children. If they have a devastating or damaging birth experience, it will affect them for life.”

The Center for Disease Control researchers did find home births involving medical risks became less common from 2004 to 2008. Infants born at home prematurely decreased by 16 percent, and by 2008 only 6 percent of all home births involved preterm births — less than half the percentage in hospitals.

According to Bushnell, both the pregnant mother and her partner feel the stresses and fears related to pregnancy and birth.

Bushnell’s birthing and mothering center, Lavender & Roses, is located at 516 Louisiana Ave., in Libby, just minutes from St. John’s Lutheran Hospital (SJLH). For mothers desiring a home birth, yet the father-to-be prefers the hospital for safety, the birthing center provides the parents-to-be an option meeting both their needs.

“Giving birth can be an ecstatic and miraculous experience or it can be a nightmare. So much depends on the care-giver, who can make a sometimes long and “never-ending” labor more pleasant by her encouragement and caring.”

Bushnell understands the needs of mothers-to-be. She has had nine children by natural childbirth. Beside her personal experiences as a mother, she has attended more than 200 births. Bushnell spent time in the Philippines, working with a variety of women giving birth.

She is licensed in Idaho and Montana, and currently is certified in pharmacology, intravenous-shock therapy, neonatal resuscitation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and suturing.

Bushnell spent time working with obstetricians/gynecologists at SJLH and learned to appreciate the differences between home and hospital births. However, she believes there are fundamental differences, which women should know to be truly informed for their pregnancy and birth:

• A major difference is the use of water during labor. The birthing tub has been touted as the “midwife’s epidural.” Warm water can ease contractions and help a woman relax and work with her body and baby, by facilitating freedom of movement;

• Helping a woman labor naturally, as she moves deeper inside herself as labor intensifies, is to make sure the room is dimly lit and remains peaceful and quiet; limited disturbances; no strangers walking into the room; no one interrupting to ask questions, and no one “popping by” to see how things are going;

• When labor moves toward challenging transition, and the contractions are close together and the sensations very intense, it helps to have someone who is experienced supporting mom. One-on-one verbal encouragement, with each contraction, is vital, as she reaches her goal of finally getting ready to push her baby out;

• Some women find gentle massage, firm pressure on her back, or other physical touch essential emotionally in getting through something as dramatic as giving birth;

• Ability to move away from any pain — this might mean walking, being on all fours, and laying on her side, lunging or moving a leg away from where it hurts. Women, who have the ability to be able to control how their body moves, can manage to find more comfortable positions,

• Keeping up with nourishment according to her body’s needs. Light food or something easy to swallow and digest can keep the energy up and help her body have the strength to labor and birth.

“Whether a low-risk pregnancy mother chooses to give birth in a hospital, at home or in a birth-center environment, she needs to feel confident and comfortable with the decision she makes for her and her baby,” Bushnell said.

For more information about birth options, call Sherry Bushnell at 293-6262 or visit Bushnell’s Website at lavenderandroses.org/