Is this really a frugal tip? You better believe it.
And I’ll be upfront - I’ve only had one homebirth. Mostly because I have a very nice birthing center close by and I really like it there (after all, I’ve been there often enough).
But I loved my homebirth too - and would certainly do it again. In fact, I would encourage all mothers and mothers to be to look into homebirthing - especially the movie The Business of Being Born.
Here are 5 reasons to consider having a homebirth:
1. It’s cheaper. No, really. An average hospital birth costs between $3,500 and $15,000. An average homebirth? $1,500.
2. You’re in control (well, until the pushing starts). You can control what goes on in your home. No matter what they tell you during the hospital tour, you feel like a guest there - a patient, no less - and if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to be accommodating. I have a natural tendency to be the “good” patient. The one that doesn’t yell, doesn’t demand too much. But this is not to your benefit. Stay home and you’ll feel comfortable enough to demand what you want! And you’ll get it too (sorry partners…)
3. Reduced chance of infection. Because hospitals are known for spreading staph and other infections, you and your baby will be bundled up safely with the germs you already know!
4. You will avoid unnecessary medical interventions. According to Mothering Magazine (a magazine I highly recommend for all moms and dads!): “A carefully conducted study compared the cesarean section rates between patients who used midwifery services for their homebirths from The Farm, a well-respected birth center in Tennessee, to physician-attended hospital births. The hospital c-section rates were 16.46 percent of all the births. The Farm had a c-section rate of only 1.46 percent! Many other studies have confirmed the markedly lower c-section rates in homebirths.”
5. You’ll recover quicker. Because you won’t have had any drugs or other interventions (it took me two weeks to recover from the immediate pain of an episiotomy - and I still haven’t recovered mentally from it - the experience will remain burned in my mind forever), you’ll feel better sooner. In all of my subsequent births (all natural), I always feel energetic and in good spirits after the birth. And I’m usually out of the house and going places within a day or two.