Homebirth in the Hospital

Written by a physician, this book embraces the power and possibility of integrative childbirth, in which the compassionate tradition of midwives is combined with the technical expertise of western medicine.

The book presents fifteen powerful testimonies of women who have had an integrative childbirth in a hospital setting, with commentary by the physician who enabled these emotionally satisfying births. These stories show that women can prepare for birth in ways that minimize fear and put technology where it belongs.

Dr. Kerr provides clear guidelines for planning an integrative birth, focusing on the "Five C's": Choice, Communication, Continuity, Confidence, and Control of Protocols. Prospective parents will learn what questions to ask when searching for a provider and how to make their hospital birth the personal and fulfilling experience they desire.

Excerpts from Homebirth in the Hospital:

"Normal birth is not a medical procedure. Normal birth is a miraculous and sometimes stressful time for families, but it usually does not require medical intervention. In reality, we find that the more we intervene in an uncomplicated birth, the more we end up taking over for Mother Nature, and all too often when we start down that slippery slope, we end up with Cesarean sections."

Speaks to Expectant Moms:

"Every woman has a unique birth story. With the right planning, your experience can include the compassionate providers and a personal empowerment usually associated with a homebirth, even if you are birthing in a hospital."

Speaks to Providers:

"Just as a woman in labor may believe that she is unable to give birth without medical intervention, so too may physicians believe they are unable to assist the birthing process without technology. Many physicians have never seen a natural childbirth, having trained in tertiary-care facilities that medically manage every birth with fetal monitors, Pitocin, and strict hospital protocols.

Without faith in the natural birthing process, it is almost impossible to support integrative childbirth. I encourage all physicians who assist women in having babies to get as much experience as they can with natural birth. Observe and learn from midwives...."