Giving Birth At Home

With interest in alternative forms of health care growing, more people are exploring options other than the maternity ward for childbirth. Some families are opting to deliver their babies, not in a hospital or birthing center, but as their great-grandmothers probably did -- in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

CBS News Health Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay visited one such family in February, who allowed CBS This Morning to follow the mother's progress three weeks before their baby was due and during the actual birth.

At 6:25 p.m. on a Monday evening, certified nurse midwife Louise Aucott was at the side of the expecting mother in her care, Dawn Louro. A certified nurse midwife is someone who has gone through nursing school and has had specific medical training in both prenatal care and in labor and delivery.

Dawn, in active labor, hadn't packed a suitcase, and her husband, Jeff, wasn't waiting in the running car, because the couple had decided to have their second baby just as they did their first: at home.

Dawn decided on home birth after a visit to the hospital, where she felt uncomfortable.

"I felt like something should be wrong for me to be here, and I knew nothing was wrong - I was going to have a baby," Dawn said. "It was going to be a beautiful experience, and that's when I decided I wanted to be at home."

Jeff became interested in the idea after he saw the experience his brothers and their wives had having their babies at home.

"Every experience I've ever seen has been absolutely beautiful," Jeff explained.

Aucott believes that being in a familiar surrounding empowers the birthing mother.

"Everything in your home is there, because you put it there," Aucott said. "It reflects who you are, your personality, so you're in a place of true power and control."

At 7:20 p.m, Aucott and her partner, midwife Pam Rosser,
transformed the couple's bedroom into a delivery room.

"It's different in your bed, the bed where likely the baby was conceived, the bed that's your family place, and there's a lot of beauty in that," Aucott said.

As Dawn's contractions increased to about a minute apart, the pain became intense. In a traditional hospital, Dawn would probably be hooked up to an I.V. at this stage. Instead, Aucott had her soak in a hot tub.

"You're doing such a great job," Aucott told Dawn.

At 8:35 p.m., Dawn's parents arrived to await the birth of their grandchild.

Upstairs, Dawn and her husband passed the time by playing a card game. But Dawn's attention was increasingly drawn to the process developing within her.

For Aucott, being a midwife means caring for the mother, and extending that care to the whole family by keeping everyone informed of what's going on.

By the time Dawn moved to her bed, she was deep in labor, the contractions taking on a frenzied intensity. Finally, it was time for Dawn to push her baby int the world.

"Your baby's right at the doorstep," Aucott told Dawn, coaching her toward one last push.

Suddenly, nine months of anticipation was over in seconds. At 11:38 p.m., after six hours of labor, Trevor Jeffery Louro, a healthy eight-pound baby boy, was born in his parents' bed. Moments later, he met his grandparents.

For Aucott, the commitment to helping women give birth at home began when her first child was born in the hospital.

"I would not be sitting here today if my healthy newborn baby girl wasn't taken away from me instantly after the birth," she said. "And then my husband, who had been my support and had been at my side, was magically transformed into a visitor and visiting hours were over, so he had to leave, too."

Twenty-three years and some 500 births later, Aucott has a thriving practice in New Jersey, specializing in home birth. She provides families with the more intimate birth experience and a closer relationship with the person who will bring their babies into the world.

It's a very different mindset than that of an obstetrician.

"Obstetricians spend years and years learning how to deal with complicated births, and that's their expertise," Aucott said. "I have spent my life learning how to foster healthy, uncomplicated births, and that's my expertise."

In case of an emergency, Aucott and the Louros were prepared to go to the hospital.

"I can call ahead and say...get the neonatologist, get the O.R. team, get the anasthesiologist, get the doctor, and the wall just opens up and we're in," Aucott said.

Of course, no one who opts for a home birth relishes the idea of an emergency trip to the hospital. But several recent studies have shown home birth to be as safe as hospital births for low-risk pregnancies. The reason is that certified nurse midwives have such a good track record deciding both who is a good candidate for home birth and when it's time to go to the hospital.

Those interested in having a home birth can call 1-800-MIDWIFE for the American College of Nurse Midwives. They can help expecting parents find a midwife in their area.

Reported By Dr. Emily Senay