How to Make Your Own Birth Journal

Creating a birth journal is personal and meaningful. More than a photo album, a birth journal will prepare you for and document one of the most important and personal events of your life. Here is how to make your own special journal.

1. Make it personal.

Choose a 3-ring binder with paper of your choice, a scrap book, photo album, or simply a notebook – whatever reflects your personality and feels comfortable to you.

2. Before your baby’s birth, write your dreams and aspirations in the birth journal.

Also include specific plans for the upcoming birth – when you are in labor, it is not easy to think straight and remember all those details that make up your ideal birth plan. Be specific, such as:

-Where you want the birth to take place. If it is a homebirth, note rooms or areas of the house. If you are going to the hospital, note at what point during the labor you plan to go there. Some women like to go to the hospital at the first contraction; others prefer to wait until labor has progressed.

-What medical interventions you do or do not want. Make sure others know this, too, so they can speak for you when you are busy in labor.

-Whom you want present at the birth.

-How you want your newborn to be treated. Be specific once again – do you want to hold the baby immediately? Are you comfortable with the hospital giving immunizations shortly after birth? Do you want the baby to be given artificial nipples such as pacifiers or bottles?

3. Ask your midwife, doula, hospital nurse, spouse, or whomever is close by you during labor and birth to write down how things progress.

Then put this piece of writing into your birth journal.

4. If there are pictures, put those in your birth journal, too.

5. Write your own impression and description of the labor and birth experience.

6. When you write your impressions, include your thoughts and dreams about your baby’s future.

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10 Benefits of Home Births

Home births are becoming popular for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at the benefits, as well as when a home birth is not the right choice.

1. With safety being one of the primary factors when making a decision between home birth and hospital birth, much of the research on home births has found that infant and mortality rates are a little bit better in a home birth. And they’ve found that home births have fewer incidences of of cesarean sections, induced labor or the use of forceps.

2. It’s also widely accepted that a home birth is significantly less stressful for the mother, which may be related to the fact that home births are slightly safer than hospital births.

3. A home birth means you can have whomever you want in the room with you.

4. A home birth means you can walk around, make a sandwich, listen to music, watch television or do whatever you feel like doing while you’re in labor. Hospital rooms are much more restrictive.

5. A home birth allows you to give birth in whatever position you feel most comfortable in. The old “on your back with your feet in the stirrups” isn’t the only position a woman can or should give birth in, really!

6. A home birth means you can eat and drink whatever you desire. Hospitals give you ice chips.

7. A home birth means no intervention without your permission. Hospitals often tell you what they’re doing about halfway through the procedure when it’s too late to tell them you don’t want pitocin and you don’t want that IV stuck into the back of your hand.

8. A home birth means you can bond with your baby immediately without them being whisked away to be sanitized and swaddled. You can do the sanitizing and swaddling as you see fit.

9. A home birth means you will likely use a midwife and that experience alone is enough for many women to choose home birth. Midwives tend to have a more personal approach to childbirth and their patients.

10. Finally, a home birth allows you to recover from childbirth in the comfort of your own home. If you’ve ever been in the hospital, even if it’s for a wonderful reason like childbirth, then you know first hand that it’s not a great place to be. Home is much better more comfortable.

Besides, you’re already immune to the bacteria in your own home. The same thing cannot be said of the microorganisms in a hospital.

Generally, if you’re having a healthy pregnancy with no complications and you don’t need to have a cesarean then a home birth is a safe option. However, midwives are also capable of performing c-sections should one become necessary. If you’re healthy, and are having a normal pregnancy then a home birth may be the right choice for you.

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