Before we get stated I want to make this very clear… it iscriticalthat you have a full understanding and are completely clear that you have a CHOICE about WHERE you are going to give birth… most people don’t know this.

Remember, this is your body and your baby — and you ALWAYS have a choice!

Make sure you write this down… you have3 options availableto you.

The FirstOption is the one that most people are simply conditioned to believe is theironlychoice… this a hospital birth.  Now before I give you my opinion about child birthing in a hospital let me give you some of the facts:

-31% of all hospital births end up being C-sections, and the majority of these women did not go into this situation expecting to have a major surgery that often times leads to severe injury and even death.

-It has been reported that currently somewhere between 20-40% of labors are induced in this country.  There are some reports that even put that number over 50%.  This percentage is up from just 9.5% in 1990.  Considering that there is significance evidence to suggest that inducing labor leads to increased chance of c-section, this is unacceptable.

-At least 80-90% of women have an epidural during the birth of their baby.  Women that have epidurals are then 3 times more likely to need Pitocin to augment or speed up their labors and are also 2-3 times more likely to have a c-section.

These statistics are simply outrageous!  I’d love to give you an earful about this right now but we’ll cover that in greater detail at the end of this article series.

Now, although we have been conditioned to believe that this is theonlysafe option for childbirth… this is completely untrue.  That being said, although it is more difficult, it is possible to have anatural birthin the hospital.  It just takes a lot of preparation and commitment.

When I was pregnant with our first daughter Isabelle, I knew that I wanted to have a natural childbirth but I also felt that I needed to do it in a hospital.  I personally did not feel comfortable giving birth to my first child outside of the hospital.  And it’s okay if you feel the same way!  But my experience of giving birth in the hospital has led me to choose an alternative option for natural child birth with my other 2 babies.

You have to do what you believe is best for you and your baby at the time and only you can make this choice.  Not me, not your doctor, not your husband not even your mother… this is YOUR choice.  It is my intention to simply show you that you have several options to choose from and I hope that  my story can support you in making the best choices.