Your Birth is Sacred!

Home Birth in and around the Denver area

People choose to have homebirths Denver for many different reasons. For most people, their home is the most sacred, peaceful place to be. Being in a place that feels like a sanctuary for you automatically lowers stress hormones, allows you to labor more naturally, and allows the entire birth team to feel more at ease. You get to eat, drink and move as you choose, wake up in your own bed, your other children can be there if you choose, and you are surrounded by sights, sounds, and smells that are comforting to you (even your own germs!) and that you have control over. You can even light candles, burn incense, sing, drum, dance, birth in the water, or in your backyard... anything you want! Plus you don't have to drive during labor! You get to choose which people will be at your birth, there will be no strangers. You will have a real relationship with your care team. This provides more intimacy and trust, and you will get truly informed choices about decisions made during your care. Your baby will be born into a peaceful and loving space and will never leave your side. Postnatal care is done in your home. People who choose homebirth report feeling empowered, heard, and more in control. One small randomized trial has been done about birth satisfaction at home vs hospital: In ten low risk women who were randomly assigned to birth at home or hospital, 100% of the women who had home births were satisfied. (Only 33% of those who had hospital births were satisfied.) Home birth Denver service provided by Geneva.

Intervention rates are also lower at home. Among 16,924 women who planned home births at the onset of labor:

89.1% gave birth at home
5.2% gave birth by Cesarean
87% of attempted VBACs were successful
4.5% required oxytocin augmentation and/or epidural analgesia
1.5% of newborns had low Apgar scores (<7)
2.4% of mothers and babies required transport postpartum
86% of newborns were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age

Home births in general are also less expensive than hospitals or midwife birth centers. (Remember we work on a sliding scale at Sacred Birth, so if you are committed to a homebirth, we will work with you financially.) “Planned home births saved an average of $1756 compared to hospital births with a midwife.” And this is just the birth! It doesn’t even take into account that the price of a homebirth includes all your prenatal and postpartum care!

• Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States: The homebirth midwives near me Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009, Cheyney, Bovbjerg, Everson, Gordon, Hannibal, Vedam, January 2014

• Planned hospital birth versus planned home birth, Clausen and Olsen, September 2012

• Costs of Planned Home vs. Hospital Birth in British Columbia… Janssen, Mitton, Aghajanian, July, 2015

It is true that homebirth is not for everyone! Only low risk, healthy people should consider giving birth at home. (Please contact us for a list of conditions which rule you out as a candidate for homebirth.) For those who are unable to birth at home, a doula or monitrice can help you maintain a sacred birth experience. You are also still invited to join any of our pregnancy support circles and ceremonies.

Homebirth midwives are trained extensively in out of hospital emergencies. We carry anti-hemorrhagic drugs, oxygen, IV fluids and more in case they are needed. However, in most cases emergencies don't happen without warning signs and if there are warning signs prenatally or in labor, we will act appropriately and consult with a physician or go to the hospital to try to prevent having an emergency at home. We stay with you and hold that sacred space for you and your baby no matter what.

In a review of 28,000 low-risk births, outcomes were essentially comparable between planned home births assisted by midwives or physicians, and hospital births. The slight differences in outcome were not in hospitals’ favor, either: babies born in hospitals were slightly more likely to require resuscitation, oxygen therapy or hospitalization after birth. True emergencies like cord prolapse and abruptio placenta each occurs in about 1 in 10,000 home births. ‘From a low-risk woman’s once-in-a-lifetime perspective, the risk of encountering such a complication is less than the risk of an average person being killed in a traffic accident during one year.’ Other complications, like shoulder dystocia, are more common, but could be handled at home by a suitably trained midwife.

• Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician, Janssen, Lee, Liston, Saxell, Klein, Lee, Page September 2009

In all cultures worldwide, birth has traditionally been one of the most important occasions in a person's life. It is seen as the entry of a new soul, a crossing over, a new beginning. As such, pregnancy and birth have been honored throughout time as sacred. Our goal is to return to this idea, give people time and space during their busy lives to focus on the miracle that is happening as a new person grows inside another person's body, and give them resources to connect with this new person, and to nourish everyone involved mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. In our ceremonies we take time to give gratitude to God, your own personal guides, or the universe itself. We learn about pregnancy and birth and babies. We explore our artistic sides through art, music, dance. We bless new parents through massage, affirmations, breathing. We talk. We get to know each other and support each other. We focus on why we are together and on the importance and magic of what is happening during pregnancy and postpartum. Partners, children, friends, people of all ages, genders, etc can all take part. So relax! Join us! In all cultures worldwide, birth has traditionally been one of the most important occasions in a person's life. It is seen as the entry of a new soul, a crossing over, a new beginning. As such, pregnancy and birth have been honored throughout time as sacred. Our goal is to return to this idea, give people time and space during their busy lives to focus on the miracle that is happening as a new person grows inside another person's body, and give them resources to connect with this new person, and to nourish everyone involved mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. In our ceremonies we take time to give gratitude to God, your own personal guides, or the universe itself. We learn about pregnancy and birth and babies. We explore our artistic sides through art, music, dance. We bless new parents through massage, affirmations, breathing. We talk. We get to know each other and support each other. We focus on why we are together and on the importance and magic of what is happening during pregnancy and postpartum. Partners, children, friends, people of all ages, genders, etc can all take part. So relax! Join us!