The Phone Call That Changed My Mind About Homebirth

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5

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After feeling both frustrated and concerned with my current care provider and plan for hospital birth, I expressed these concerns to my doula. She suggested I have a chat with a local, Christian, homebirth midwife.

I gladly blurted out to her that there would be no way — no way — I would ever have a homebirth. But given the bad taste left in my mouth by my previous providers, I was willing to at least get on the phone with this lady.

This wonderful woman, Ranelle Williams, gladly talked with me for quite a while. She was honest and transparent, and she answered every single one of my questions with joy, patience, and education. Dear Ranelle had a lot to teach little old me. I had certainly already learned a lot about how to naturally support my body toward pregnancy — but there was so much more for me to learn about the misconceptions I was carrying around homebirth versus hospital birth.

Hanging up the phone, I felt a swell of joy fill up my chest, my head spinning.

Is all that she said really true?

Could it be that medical emergencies in birth are incredibly rare, and that midwives are equipped and medically trained to handle the majority of them — and even trained to know when to transfer care if something risks out? Could this actually be as safe — dare I say it — even safer — than birthing in a hospital?

I walked out of my bedroom toward my husband, who had just finished putting our boys to bed. I said a quick prayer in my heart, then shared with him:

“You know, this Ranelle lady had a lot of answers I did not expect. Would you be willing to talk with her on the phone sometime too?”

My husband grew up in a home that dearly honored conventional medicine. I knew it would take an act of God Himself to soften his heart toward such a non-conventional birthing option. But I was willing to place my husband’s heart — and the location of our dear daughter’s birth — into the Lord’s hands.

More to come in next month’s post!

Be sure to check out all of the exciting ways I’m serving pregnant mamas and daddies this month, both locally and globally — including an in-person advocacy class!

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