Saturday, October 14, 2006

Home Birth in Louisiana

Kristin gives a heads-up to her Louisiana readers. The state board is set to put even more restrictions on home births in a state that already has a lot of restrictions.

I've never had a home birth, but my sister has had two. State restrictions are one factor that forced her to choose an unassisted home birth (it's illegal for a midwife to deliver at home in SD, where she lives). Due to their remote location and limited hospital access, in addition to their desire for a home birth, their options were limited. I'm strongly in favor of home birth, and especially because of my sister's experience this is close to my heart. Women should have the option to safely deliver their babies at home if they so choose.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't know hospitals made house calls.

Charity Grace said...

haha, very funny.

Rayne said...

I have had three home births, all in Austin, TX. They went beautifully. My husband works in the film industry, and we moved to Shreveport, LA because of some movies being made here. The living expenses are very low, so we signed a year lease at a great house, and I unexpectedly became pregnant with our fourth child. Now I am 6 months pregnant, and there are NO midwives. The nearest is in Tyler, TX, an hour and a half from here. I WILL NOT go to a hospital for my birth because of my personal beliefs, but am a bit stressed out about the lack of home-birthing options in the area. My husband has no issues about having an unassisted childbirth experience, but I would feel most comfortable if I had a midwife in my house during the labor. This is a strange area of the U.S.

Charity Grace said...

Rayne, I no longer live in Shreveport, but I have heard that there's a midwife in Arkansas who will deliver there. At least this was the case several years ago. I have no idea as to the legality of this, just telling you what I heard.

Thalia Hufton's group in Tyler is a phenomonal bunch of women. My sister has used Thalia for 2 of her births. (Well, baby came too fast both times, but Thalia did all her pre and postnatal care.) You might try calling their office. Perhaps they know of options in the Shreveport area. Hope all goes well for you!!!

Charity Grace said...

Also, if you ultimately change your mind and choose a hospital birth, I can highly recommend Highland Schumpert, which is small and very personal. I had a birth plan and they highly respected all my desires for natural birth. Dr. John Waterfallen is a phenomenal physician and was also very supportive of my wishes. Just FYI.