Ex wife insisted on this. It was weird and never looked at the living room the same again.

....she also insisted on "hypnobirthing" which is the idea of hypnotizing yourself into a peaceful and relaxing labor. Might have worked with someone who wasn't a complete psycho, but didn't help her at all.

(September 24, 2020, 6:22 pm)rogueangel007 ....she also insisted on "hypnobirthing" which is the idea of hypnotizing yourself into a peaceful and relaxing labor. Might have worked with someone who wasn't a complete psycho, but didn't help her at all.

Sorry, this made me giggle.

(September 22, 2020, 7:45 pm)doubleintegral

(September 19, 2020, 10:16 am)Murble You could compromise and choose a birth center.

They're significantly more comfortable than a hospital room (though I am speaking as someone who vehemently hates hospitals), tend to allow you to flex a lot of autonomy in the way that you want to give birth and have the environment set up, and usually have a medical staff or are located in a hospital.

From my own research, they seem to be all the benefits of a home birth with the security of being in a medical facility. Probably checks off most of the boxes you've listed here.

This is good advice, but calling a birthing center a "medical facility" can be misleading.  Many provide only very basic medical care, and if you need anything beyond a nurse's or midwife's purview (IV, oxygen, monitoring vitals) you're probably headed off to the hospital.  Apparently 1 out of 6 women that start labor at a birth center deliver at a hospital.

Also, many hospitals, especially new or newly renovated ones, are now beginning to accommodate water births.  Of course, you'll pay a lot more at a hospital.

To be fair, I said "being in a medical facility." As in, the ones inside hospitals. I was referring to the aforementioned hospital water birth centers you pointed to.

I absolutely could have made that more clear, though. DI is correct.

Thanks everyone for the input

My second baby was a waterbirth