FAQs and answers were culminated from various sources on the web. Source notation will be listed as appropriate.

What is homebirth?
Homebirth is choosing to give birth to your child in your home. In North America many women deliver their babies in a hospital setting. In many other cultures around the world, a large percentage of women give birth in non-hospital settings.
For women in these cultures giving birth at home is seen as a normal natural way to bring a new life into this world. (Canadian Women's Health Network)

I thought homebirth was illegal?
No, the act of giving birth at home is not illegal. Women accidently give birth at home, in cars, in elevators, etc. It is the practice of midwifery however that is a legality issue. Some states in the US require MWs to be licensed in order to legally attend homebirths. Nebraska law prohibits anyone (except in an emergency situation) to attend a homebirth (this includes licensed CNMs as well). In Canada, the laws vary by province. Bottom line, check your local laws to make sure what the guidelines are for midwives.

Why should I consider homebirth?
Where to have your baby is one of the most important decisions you will make. Giving birth in your home allows you to be in a familiar place and to be surrounded by family and friends. In this way, you can shape your birthing experience to meet your own unique needs.

If you have younger children, with proper planning you can keep them home for the birth. They will be able to see their mother and their new sibling either during the labour and delivery or seconds afterwards. Your child may show less signs of anxiety or feelings of neglect by being part of the birthing process. (Canadian Women's Health Network)

What are the benefits of a homebirth?
A successful home birth is one that results in a healthy and happy mother and baby.

A well-planned home birth can offer you and your baby special bonding time. Right after the birth your baby remains with you in the home you will share.

Being in a familiar surrounding may have a calming effect on you and reduce stress during labour.

Some studies show there is less chance for you and your baby to develop infections. This is because you have become immune to the everyday germs in your home and you pass this immunity on to your baby.

A very important benefit of home birth is that it allows you and your family and friends to see pregnancy, labour and delivery as a normal, natural, healthy life process. (Canadian Women's Health Network)

Who cleans up after the birth?
Usually your midwife (and the midwife assistant, if she/he has one) will clean up aftwerwards. Ask your midwife to make sure but most of them do. If you have a doula, your doula may assist in the clean up as well.

Will my insurance cover a homebirth?
Some insurance companies do cover homebirth. You should check with your insurace rep to make sure what their policy is.

My family is nervous (or doesn't understand) about homebirth. What should I tell them to help ease their fears?
Here are some suggestions:

• They can attend childbirth classes with you to inform them about what happens during a birth.
• Have them meet your midwife and ask questions.
• Show them the research. There are lots of studies out there on the web as well as thousands of homebirth stories.
• Find a Homebirth group in your area and have them go with you to a meeting.

May I have pain medicine or an epidural if I have a homebirth?
In the home environment, many natural remedies and tools of the trade are utilized in place of narcotic and pharmacological analgesic relief.  Some of these remedies include, movement, massage, warm water, ice, birth balls, rocking, hypnosis, meditation, TENS, etc).

Most women who birth at home have communicated in their post partum birth stories that they felt powerful and "high" and didn't need narcotic relief from the pain.  Without the temptation of an epidural being offered at every staff visit to check the monitor and without the availability of these procedures and drugs in the home setting, many women find their focus sharper and more determined to surrender to labor and allow things to occur naturally and in their own time - thus reducing the length of labor & the pain associated with fear.

What if *something* happens?
Following are the most common variations from normal that occur with labor and deliveries.  Please note that these occurrences are not exclusive to homebirths - they have the possibility of occurring in any labor and being in a hospital setting does not *guarantee* that you will have any better immediate outcome with your labor, your wellbeing or the wellbeing of your baby.

• Nuchal Cord (also known as 'cord wrapped around the baby's neck/armpit/leg/body) - The same careful and quick care is provided to a baby being born at home as is to a baby being born in the hospital.  The person 'receiving' or 'catching' the baby reaches down and unloops the cord from around the neck. 99.9% of the time, the rest of the baby's body follows. This happens no matter where the birth setting takes place.
  
• Baby is blue and not breathing when it’s born. - Unfortunately, not many birthing women are educated in how a newborn baby looks immediately upon exiting his/her mother's womb.  It is not uncommon for a baby to be slightly blue until he gets a little stimulation going and begins to take in oxygen from the outside air and lessens his dependence on the placenta and oxygen coming from the umbilical cord.  Most all babies will 'pinken up' within a few seconds when placed on their mother's chest/breast and gently rubbed.  
  
  Homebirth babies don't have drugs in their systems to suppress their pulmonary or respiratory systems. Babies who are pulled from a birthing canal, rubbed vigorously with sterilized hospital sheets and then poked and prodded in the name of 'screening test and procedures' often experience periods of restlessness, shallow breathing, hysteria and inability to control their body temperatures. 
  
  In the event that a baby truly is not breathing and needs help.  The caregivers are trained in the same procedures that a nurse or pediatric/neonatology specialist is - infant CPR and resuscitation.  Most infants pink up within a few seconds and if the baby does not, then she is stabilized and transported to a medical facility in the same way that a paramedic would do.
  
• Hemorrhaging - Women who labor and birth at home are not given pitocin to stimulate their labors.  They are not given narcotics to cloud their bloodstreams.  The cords are allowed to stop pulsing and there is a great respect for the efficacy of the mother's body to release the placenta when ready.  The caregiver doesn't "pull" on the cord and placenta in attempts to speed up the next stage of labor.  When the timeline is left to work at its own pace and when baby is placed on mom's breast where latching on takes place - the mother's body releases hormones that aid on the release of the placenta and the clamping down of the uterus so bleeding is reduced. 
  
  In the event that bleeding is too heavy, your caregiver may administer homeopathic remedies (tinctures) or will administer methergine (orally or IM) or pitocin (IM) which is the same drug that you are given in a hospital.
  
• Blood pressure problems during labor or after birth - Homebirthing women are monitored very closely for deviations of the norm, including fetal heart tones (what the monitor at the hospital keeps track of).  Blood pressure issues are the most common complication of epidurals and those are not available in a homebirth setting. Dehydration is another cause of blood pressure issues and can often result when the mother has been forbidden from eating or drinking during labor. In this case, prevention is the best treatment.
  
• Shoulder Dystocia - This happens when the head is born but the baby's body doesn't rotate all the way for the shoulders and the rest of the body to be born.  The baby is "stuck" and time is of the essence.  In a homebirth setting, the mother is quickly moved to change positions in a move called the "Gaskin Maneuver" and in most cases the shoulders will free themselves and the rest of the body will come out.
  
• Vaginal or perineal tear - While this is not a complication, many women wonder how a tear will be treated in a homebirth setting.  Most caregivers carry sutures to repair tears.  Should a woman experience a 4th degree tear (where the perineal tissue tears into the rectal tissue) and the homebirth caregiver feels it is necessary for medical treatment - the mother will transport for medical attention to repair the perineal area. Most often second degree tears or smaller can be left to heal on their own without stitches.

Do I need a doula if I am having a homebirth?
When you birth at home, one of the many advantages is that you get to design your "guest list" and if you want a doula, then you can have one.

To learn more about doulas, their services or how to find one in your area, visit Doula of North America (DONA), Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA) or IVillage's Doula Board.