Antenatal Care in Preparation for a Home Birth
Posted on: 7 November 2016
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For parents who want to have a home birth, it can feel tempting to limit the amount of antenatal appointments you attend. However, getting some appropriate antenatal care can be a great way to improve the chances of a successful home birth.
Here are four important parts of antenatal care that can be easily done by a nurse or health care clinic.
Blood pressure checks
Rising blood pressure can be an indication of some serious complications to a pregnancy including preeclampsia. These conditions can be diagnosed via some other tests such as checking the urine for protein levels. By discovering these issues early on, the birth plan can be modified, and this can limit the number of interventions that required in the birth as well as minimising the chance of serious complications for the mum and baby.
Weight checks
As the mother's and baby's size increases, it can be harder to give birth naturally. An important part of holistic antenatal care is controlling weight gain through diet and exercise. Antenatal care can help to monitor weight and size increases in a holistic and non-judgemental way which can allow the mother to make sensible lifestyle choices.
Stretching exercises and relaxation education
In order to give birth at home, it's important for the mother to be able to move into different positions and relax her body through methods such as breathing exercises. This can help the mother to manage her pain naturally and allow the birth to progress in a normal way. Antenatal care can help to direct the mother to resources such as local birthing classes and pregnancy yoga to help the mother learn ways to manage her body and minimise discomfort during labour.
Mood monitoring
Postnatal depression can seriously affect the mother's wellbeing as well as affect the bond between mother and baby. Antenatal care can help to monitor mood for signs that the mother may be under stress during pregnancy and can help her to put in place adequate support mechanisms for birth and the post-birth period. An important part of having a successful home birth is for the woman to feel confident in her own ability to birth and care for her child, as well as being surrounded by loving and supportive family.
If having a successful home birth is a goal of yours, it is a good idea to get some antenatal care from a health care clinic that supports your goal of home birth.