A Dad's birth perspective part 2

Written by Lyle Johnson B. Comm husband to Dr. Joelle Johnson at Family First Chiropractic and wellness located at 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer 403-347-3261 www.family1stchiro.ca

Home Births Part 2 - In 2002, we learned that we were going to have a baby.  Emotions of a typical father ran though me – Pride, Excitement, Happiness and Fear to name a few. My wife, Dr. Joelle Johnson, D.C.  and I had several discussions concerning a home birth versus a hospital birth. Being first time parents, this was a very important and somewhat unsettling decision for me because I thought that parent s don’t use a midwife and nobody is born at home anymore. This was done when hospitals were far away and transportation was difficult or impossible. What about the safety of my wife and child? My reaction was very typical of any parent facing such a decision. After several discussions, research and reassurances from my wife, we decided to hire Blessing Way Midwifery to assist us with a home birth. Even though, my wife is a chiropractor and I was familiar with many aspects of natural health, I must admit that I was still nervous on our first visit to the midwives.

Midwifery was more than the delivery of our babies; it included pre-natal care which was a critical element to ensuring a safe delivery of our children. Regular visits to monitor the size of our growing baby and his heart rate as well as my wife’s health were key components to ensuring that our baby was delivered safely and healthy. I was impressed by the level of knowledge and training of our midwives. They had not taken a six month course from a technical school and put up a sign saying that they were now taking patients. They had gone through years of schooling as a nurse, years of work as a nurse and then years of courses in midwifery as well as assisting dozens and dozens of births in various settings. I thought “Hey, these ladies have as much or more experience than most doctors”. My nervousness about midwives eased.