Homebirth... anyone catching babies at home?

[fertile_myrtle]

I am a L&D nurse in my local, rural, community hospital. We have no birth centers. I also assist a CNM that has her own homebirth practice. I went into nursing as a stepping stone to midwifery, and since the homebirth of my child(ren) I have always known that THAT is where I want to catch babies.

I can say that the hospital births I attend can be very draining on me. But all I need is one or two homebirths and my soul is renewed. I grin from ear to ear for hours and nearly everytime I come home from a homebirth I tell my husband, "This is what I am meant to be doing." It feels right. I've never had someting feel this right.

Even in the hospital setting... when the labor may be making some turns in a direction that is concerning... it feels like I am in the right place and for the right reasons.

[DoulaCBE]

No, but I hope to.

I just moved to a small town in TX and there are no CNM's and 1 home birth midwife. Her and I are supposed to be meeting soon (she's been busy) and I would love to help her down the road. Right now I am not even doing births as a doula because of childcare, but someday. :)

[OntheHorizon]

I am a doula, applying to midwifery school (finger crossed!). Most of the births I attend are in the hospital and I was starting to despair at the attitudes and interventions. But in December I attended my first homebirth and it was so amazing I was high on it for a month! Though it restored my love and faith in women and birth, my next hospital birth seemed all the more difficult.

[cookderosa]

I have "doulaed" several homebirths, and had 2 myself! But, I'm not yet a midwife. (Someday!) I'm in Illinois, so it's not really a homebirth-friendly state. My 2 hospital births were attended by CNMs, but not my homebirths. They were both attended a direct-entry group practice (non licensed). I don't know where I stand on this issue for myself as a clinician, but as a consumer, I'm pro-homebirth choice.

[squat]

I am, but that's because I'm a licensed CPM. Planning on CNM school though because I'm on-call ALL the time to earn about 1/4 of a salary. I plan on working at a birth center when I'm through. (I've done home birth and birth center--as a mom, I prefer to be at home... as a practitioner, the center is OH, SO nice.)

[CEG]

I'm in Illinois, so it's not really a homebirth-friendly state..

I would like to, but it isn't possible where I am as the law requires physician "supervision" and no physician will sign. I just wanted to say I used to live in IL and had my own homebirth there and constantly heard how bad it is for homebirth. Don't let that deter you from doing what you want to do because where I am living now is about a million times worse! Hopefully IL will soon get the DEMs licensed and at the present time there are several options for CNMs and MDs that are covered by insurance. The state I live in now is seriously.so.awful. when it comes to birth. I have been reduced to working PRN as an RN in the local maternity units and it kills me to attend those births.