Homebirth Cesarean: Stories and Support for Families and Healthcare Providers

Homebirth Cesarean is an incredible collaboration between a homebirth cesarean (HBC) mother and her midwife. The voices of over 250 other mothers, partners, and midwifes are also presented in a beautifully written book that will give a voice to those who, until now, have not been heard. Expectant mothers, HBC mothers, partners, and birth professionals alike have so much to gain by reading this book.As a HBC mother, my feelings were validated and I no longer felt alone in my experience. I found myself highlighting nearly every inch of each page, because so much spoke directly to my own HBC. It was the first time since my HBC that I felt understood.Homebirth Cesarean is a must read for birth professionals. Whether you’ve attended a HBC or not, this book will provide valuable insight, suggestions, and even helpful worksheets that will help best support a HBC mother and ALL birth mothers. You will also gain valuable insight about how certain messages, verbiage, and mentalities within the natural birth community are particularly damaging to HBC mothers. It also addresses the unique experience of a midwife/support person and their own struggles in processing a HBC.The only thing I wish I could change is the date it was published. I wish I had it four years ago!

Thank you, Courtney Jarecki, for writing this - thank you, thank you, thank you. This is an amazing read. I've had two homebirth cesareans, and I SO wish this book existed after my first...at the time, I looked desperately for any book or article that would speak to my experience, but found nothing. The Homebirth Cesarean book fills a gap in childbirth literature, and will help so many women - both by speaking directly to those who've experienced a homebirth cesarean, and by offering incredibly sage advice to childbirth workers, who will know better what to do should they find themselves in the midst or aftermath of a homebirth cesarean with a patient. I found reading this to be healing. My first homebirth cesarean was 7 years ago, and at this point I've healed so much emotionally that I rarely ever think about it - I was surprised at how much reading this book dredged up hurt that I haven't felt in a long time, but it simultaneously reaffirmed how much I've healed. If you've been through this experience - you need to read this book. You'll find so many amazing stories, and some POWERFUL quotes! I found myself longing to have been the patient of some of the featured midwives. So much deep wisdom to be gleaned. And if you've been through this experience - HUGS TO YOU! Know this: you will heal. With each year, you will feel better. (And this will help.)

Cutting edge! Rad!! Revolutionary!! There is nothing like this out in the world. Why?!As a birth advocate and activist, this book hits a chord that the birthing world has, oddly enough, never heard before! After delving into this much needed work of art, I am curious how we ever survived without it."Homebirth Cesarean" is leading the birth revolution by exploring and sharing birth experiences that natural birth communities have kept in the dark. This book will heal generations of women who have experienced difficult or traumatic births.Midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, OB/GYNs, nurses, and anyone who works with pregnant or postpartum women MUST read the book. Doing so will enable birth professionals to offer comprehensive and compassionate care to women and families. Birth professionals will also learn how to care for themselves during and after a difficult birth.Buy this book. Share this book. Be moved by the incredible interviews and the stories. Let's help heal millions of women and families.

This amazing book is meant for the mamas who experience HBCs and for the birth professionals who support them. Since I fall into both categories, I would like to give my review from both perspectives.As a mama- Wow. My out-of-hospital birth turned cesarean happened 2 1/2 years ago. My heart and mind have been jumbled and stewing since that time, without release, without direction. This book, and Courtney's experience, have helped me name and feel and begin to absorb my experience in a way that I don't think I could have otherwise. My son means everything in the world to me and to have such painful, angry memories and feelings tied to his birth has been such a source of inner turmoil. The power of this book is in the sharing of common experiences and the validation of the trauma we have experienced. And I'll be honest, it was not an easy book to read. It took me about a month, because one evening spent in the material required days of processing and preparing myself for the next few pages. But healing is painful and healing takes work and this book facilitated that for me in indescribable ways. It has not erased my struggles, but it has given me a steady footing as I begin walking the path of recovery.And now, as a birth professional- Wow, again! It has been such a challenge for me, as I have begun my work as a childbirth educator, to balance the belief that a woman's body is made to give birth if we just get out of the way with the understanding that there are endless variations in the process, many necessitating support and/ or intervention from medical sources. My hope is to prepare women for their births, giving them positive expectations that are also realistic. This book, partially written by midwives, provides exactly the balance I hope to share with my students.I can not recommend this book enough for those of you in either position, and I recommend it DOUBLY for this of us occupying both roles.