These benefits include but are not limited to the power of the human touch
and presence, of being surrounded by supportive people of a family's own choosing, security in birthing in a familiar
and comfortable environment of home, feeling less inhibited in expressing unique responses to
labor (such as making sounds, moving freely, adopting positions of comfort, being intimate with her partner, nursing a toddler, eating
and drinking as needed
and desired, expressing or practicing individual cultural, value
and faith based rituals that enhance coping)-- all of which can lead to easier
labors and births, not having to make a decision about when to go to the hospital
during labor (going too early can slow progress
and increase use of the cascade of risky interventions, while going too late can be intensely
uncomfortable or even lead to a risky unplanned
birth en route), being able to choose how
and when to include children (who are making their own adjustments
and are less challenged by a lengthy absence of their parents
and excessive interruptions of family routines), enabling uninterrupted family boding
and breastfeeding, huge cost savings for insurance companies
and those without insurance,
and increasing the likelihood of having a deeply empowering
and profoundly positive, life changing pregnancy
and birth experience.