Shantel Silbernagel - How to Prepare for Home Birth: The Joy of Having Babies at Home for Health and Well-Being

In each of these beautiful birth stories there is a common thread of courage, strength, and trust in the magnificence of the work that is childbirth. We are not broken, we are strong, we are powerful, and we can move mountains when we get to birth on our terms.

Tracy Donegan, midwife and founder of GentleBirth

Reading this so-needed collection of very real but inspiring and deeply positive home birth stories was like reading about the births I have attended over the decades in my midwifery practice. I could picture each one as if I was there. There was love, laughter, tears, and such joy and gratitudeand my heart smiled. What a wonderful way to spread awareness, dispel myths, and alleviate common fears about home birth with well-trained and experienced midwives! There are stories for just about everyone: first timers; experienced moms opting for a better experience than previous ones in hospital; moms who had prior cesarean births; single, same sex, young, and older moms; moms with a variety of complications or variations of normal; moms with hard births; moms with easy gentle births; and a variety of dads. But there are common threads that can reassure, encourage, and even excite home birth families; words like calm, peaceful, beautiful, magical, ecstatic, empowering, transformative, exhilarating; as well as phrases like It was the most spectacular moment of my life and I would do it again without hesitation. Women felt incredibly safe, confident in the process, and supported like goddesses. They found their inner warrior strength and capabilities, and loved their experiences despite the challenges. What a powerful resource for those who are considering or planning home birth!

Anne Margolis, certified nurse midwife, founder of HomeSweetHomebirth.com

For those who never tire of reading a good birth story, this book is for you. It also is for women who are considering a home birth and want to hear about what to expect and how the experience has the potential to transform their lives.

Cheryl K. Smith, managing editor of Midwifery Today

How to Prepare for Home Birth is in a class all its own. Families who choose home birth do so for a myriad of reasons. This book tells the tales while being honest, candid, and sometimes hilarious. Labor is always different, no two people are alike, and birth communities vary from place to place. This book will help bring understanding to anyone looking to find out just how different home birth families can be, from maverick to medical. I give this book two thumbs up!

Jessica Thompson, president and cofounder of SaferBirthinBama.org

A wonderful compilation of home birth stories from the United States and Europe. The stories discuss why women choose home birth, their struggles to find a midwife, and even their fears. It is a realistic collection of stories that will inspire you to see home birth as normal.

W. Yvonne Silbernagel, certified professional midwife

Copyright 2017, 2020 by Shantel Silbernagel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Daniel Brount

Cover photos by Ryan Silbernagel, Pip Bacon of Purple Raspberry Photography, Patricia Madden, Justin Acharya, Shalome Stone, Rekita Bradley, Bobbie Grove, Samyra P., Chastidy Berg, Becky Clissmann, Karyn Loftesness Photography, Lyn Estall, Neil Dunne, Jessica, Karen Thurston, Stunt Double Creative, Karen Wulf, Laura Nichols LM CPM, Rebekah Lehman of Kindred Photo & Design, Jen Marlow LM CPM, Vania Stoyanova, Vania Photo Studio, Milli Hill, Tracy Lyons, Bronwen Howley Photography, Dembinska-Lemus, Laura Armstrong Photography, and Christy-Joy Ras

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5143-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-5145-3

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to nature and all it has to teach us. Also, to my parents, my husband, and our children; your support is everything.

My dream of assembling and publishing a collection of positive home birth stories began six years ago, when my husband and I decided to have a home birth with our first child and my parents first grandchild. Im not sure which produced more fear: our impending birth, or telling my mom about our choice to have a home birth. Interestingly, many of the women I interviewed for this book recounted a similar moment of fear when deciding to tell their mothers about choosing home birth. Not surprisingly, most mothers responded with admiration for their daughters, and the choice of having a home birth opened a dialogue about birth that hadnt existed before. That is truly the beauty of this project. Although the main goal of this collection is to showcase the many women around the world choosing home birth and to provide positive home birth stories for those embarking or considering to embark on a home birth, it has also grown into a grassroots movement that engages women in honest and open discussions about home birth and its transformative power.

This book will not present statistics or other scientific measures regarding the benefits of birthing at home. There are several books, studies, and articles that can provide that important information. This book will provide you with what is lacking in the home birth community: a collection of positive home birth stories to inspire, encourage, and support you and your choice to have a home birth regardless of location, race, socioeconomic status, religion, or marital status. My greatest hope is that you read each home birth story, laugh, cry, feel inspired, keep it on your nightstand to re-read until you welcome your new baby into your home, and then promptly share the book with the first pregnant lady you see walking down the street!

I mentioned that my husband and I decided to have our first baby at home. I was twenty-five years old at the time. It was my first year as a high school English teacher, and we were in the middle of remodeling our little home. In addition to our busy life, our daughter came four weeks early. She was delivered without complications or fear. After telling my mom about our choice to have a home birth, my fear of the actual birth disappeared. We were secure in our choice, had complete confidence in our experienced midwives, and felt in control of the birth. My only wish is that I could have read positive home birth stories that were contemporary and reflective of a wide range of women and situations. As an avid reader and lover of literature, I know the power of a good story. Many read to educate themselves, to vicariously explore foreign ideas, and to be inspired. Even after my own three beautiful home births, and reading hundreds of home birth stories, I continue to be inspired and moved when a mom recounts her journey through labor and birth. Each story is unique, yet strong themes run through them all: a deep understanding that their bodies were made to birth their babies, that experienced and educated midwives bring peace with their mere presence, and that home birth is transformative.