Two lines. Automatically you’re filled with a bunch of feelings. What if I can’t do this? Will my baby be alright because I’m over 30?
Maybe, you were that person who had dreamed of giving birth since you were younger. You always hoped to have a family, and then time took over. You got a job doing something amazing (or maybe you started your own business), and it took a while to find a partner to start your family with.
Now you’re pregnant but you’re older than you wanted to be. You wanted that home birth, the twinkly lights, the support of a midwife, and you’re like… welp – now what.
All your dreams don’t have to be crushed. Midwives do support women over thirty with some stipulations.
Most government registered midwives only support home births with a mother over thirty if they are healthy enough. They normally coin this term… low risk. This would be that you’d have to be at a certain BMI range, no pregnancy complications (like gestational diabetes), and no fetal issues.
So you’re low risk then you’re golden you can get yourself a registered midwife in your area to assist your birth.
Now let’s hypothetically say you weren’t low risk and say you had GBS or gestational diabetes. Now the midwife might assign your care to the hospital. If this is the case you’ll have to determine if it’s worth finding a midwife that can support you, or going unassisted. (There is the option of hospital birth, and with a doula and a partner that is on your team and will help stand up for you… this might be a very viable option still).
There is the option of a traditional midwife – this is someone that can be tricky to find, since they won’t be working in their governments order you might have to do some searching, connect with doulas in the area who may know of someone. They have less rules, and go based on your overall health and belief that you are able to have a homebirth.
Or unassisted. Now freebirth can be considered a very taboo subject. Some doulas are trained and told not to attend an unassisted birth.
I’m a firm believer that you are entitled to your choice. As a doula I was trained to not be biased and support your choice of birth you want.
If freebirth is an option for you – the LARGEST part that might scare new parents such as yourself, is the what if’s. In freebirth planning, studying is a big part of your care now. There are courses such as this one (that I highly recommend) that will give you a lot of the information you need.
But don’t stop there, take a moment and continue your research by reading books, some midwifery books like this Heart and Hands, I find has an in-depth knowledge that you would know some of the in’s and out’s of labor.
With unassisted birth you’ll want to make sure both you and your partner have a plan in place, that there might be something you can’t handle and that you will need to transfer to hospital for a true emergency. Recognizing those signs with a detailed plan can be helpful for all present at your birth.
Regardless of how you choose to birth, support is the number one key. Even with a homebirth. If that means mom, and your sister can be there too, perfect. Labor can be long, and the more hands to hold you up can make it just a little bit easier.