How to Prepare for an Unassisted Childbirth

An unassisted childbirth is when a woman chooses to trust her body and give birth without any attending medical professionals. This is sometimes also called freebirthing. Women who choose to give birth unassisted generally feel that birth is a natural event, not a medical condition that requires medical intervention.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Write down your reasons for wanting an unassisted childbirth. This will help you when you are faced with opposition or when fear starts to take over.

2. Get the support of your birth partner. If you two are not on the same page then having an unassisted birth will probably be stressful to you. If your husband is resistant, share your reasons with him as well as your research.

3. Read positive stories of unassisted births. Positive stories can be found on various websites and message boards like Birth Junkie and Purebirth Australia. Also, watch documentaries about natural births and avoid tv shows that are likely to present a terrifying image of labor.

4. Educate yourself as much as possible on how birth works. Don’t just focus on the mainstream pregnancy books; obtain as much knowledge as possible. Some women who UC are also doulas or childbirth educators, many have midwife training, and some are self educated spending hundreds of hours reading labor and birth materials, attending seminars, and watching videos.

5. Filter out the fear and focus on evidence. Do not entertain listening to birth horror stories or manipulation. Do not look for support from people who are not knowledgeable on the subject. You’ll only end up frustrated or afraid.

6. Remember that birth is a natural event and your body was made for it. You do not need anyone to tell you how to give birth.

Tips & Warnings

• Even if you do not believe in unassisted births, as a woman you should still know how to deliver a baby because you never know if you will make it to the hospital on time, or if your midwife will come in time.
• You may be excited about your plans, but a lot people do not support unassisted birthing so unless you can take the heat, it may be best to keep your plans to yourself.
• Only consider UC if you have a low risk pregnancy.
• Sometimes bad outcomes happen with UC's, but that is to be expected as bad things happen in hospital births too, people just don't make a big deal out of it.

Resources

• Unassisted Birth Forum
• Purebirth
• Empowered Birth
• How to Have a Painless Childbirth