As a christian, I believe strongly that we are in the end times before Jesus Christ returns to the earth, and as a mother, I wanted to know that should I be pregnant while experiencing one of the woe's predicted by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, we wanted to be absolutely certain that we had the skills needed to give birth without any professional help.
The author chose to instead focus on the other sides to the Free Birthing movement, and that is fine, but in sharing this article with fellow freepers, I just wanted to clarify up front that we walked down this path 18 years ago in order to master the skills of self sufficiency and provident living.
With the successful birth of our fifth child almost five years ago, a great peacefullness entered our hearts that "come what may" we would know what to do in an emergency situation, even if living through terrorism, natural disaster, or plagues.
Jenny Hatch
A Mother Thinks about Nuclear Survival
To my way of thinking any mothering who is not thinking preparedness is todays climate of terror and natural disasters is not clued in to reality.
Interview on Provident Living and Family Preparedness
As I said above, having these skills comforts my heart. I know without a doubt that should anything happen while I am pregnant, and for whatever reason, cannot get to the hospital or even get a midwife to my home, that the baby and I will be just fine during a home birthing situation.
Jenny Hatch
Thank you for sharing that. I ended up having a c-section with my first after being induced. I fought it the 1st two times they suggested it, only several hours into labor. I knew about the rising rate of c-sections and doctors eagerness to do them (thank you John Edwards), so I was going to be stubborn. But when the baby’s heartbeat dropped suddenly and 2 doctors and 2 nurses came rushing to my side, it didn’t take much convincing (but a lot of tears).
Even while I was still in recovery I vowed to myself that at a minimum I would be switching to a midwife for the next baby and praying to be able to do a VBAC. Since then (1 year ago), I’ve thrown around the idea of a homebirth for the next. But it will take a lot of convincing for Mr. elc.
I love to read stories like this. They give me up that I’m not
You could also lose your life or your baby’s while you were preparing for the end times. Why not learn to give birth unassisted with a hands-off midwife standing by? How much midwifery did you and your husband study beforehand?
Mrs VS
I’m a strong supporter of natural childbirth. But unassisted? I’ve no problem with birthing at home; but someone should be there other than the husband in case something goes wrong.
Interesting reads.
It drives me nuts when people like a doc here cite a stat like 10-20%. In other words, he doesn’t know. He could be off by 100%.
Ok as a BA Christian I am just not getting the connection between birthing and end times.
My wife so hates hospitals that we had our first in a stand-alone birthing center (in California). We went in at 2:30 am. The baby was born at 3:30. We cleaned up, had breakfast, and went home at 7:30.
Texas didn’t have birth centers, so our second was at home, assisted by a midwife and my wife’s mother. Great experience, although we almost missed out on the midwife. She had three moms due around about the same time and, naturally, all three happened the same night.
I respect a womans choice on this issue but if it were me I would take all the drugs I could get. I’m a real chicken and respect the trial of childbirth that a woman goes through.
Sorry, Jenny, but it stopped being "your body" once you had kids. They, too, depend on your physical well-being, and any decisions about "your body" must account for that fact.
I won't get into the subject of "free birth." My objection is to your rationale, as stated above.
I’m sorry.
Having given birth 7 times, I cannot identify with placing the child’s life at risk unnecessarily like this.
I have no sympathy whatsoever towards this frame of mind, and I don’t think Jesus or the so-called “end times” has anything to do with it.
Bragging: My wife gave birth to both our daughters without ANY drugs or interventions. Completely natural. I’m very proud of her.
BTW, both kids are way above average in health and development.
FYI
Ya think? I'm not against home births, but if a woman is delivering naturally, after having had a section, it is STOOPID not to have someone assisting at the birth! There is just too much that can go wrong, even among women who have delivered at home, uneventfully, before.
Sure, women have given birth at home since the beginning of time, but, except for women giving birth on the prairie or out on the frontier somewhere, there was almost always an older woman in attendance. Those unassisted births contributed to the high infant and mother mortality rate of those frontier families.
We have the knowledge God has given us; why not use it to it's fullest, even for home births?
you are an inspiration.