People planning a freebirth tend to fall into one of two camps. The first camp includes those who are planning a freebirth and don’t feel like they need to do much in the way of preparation. They know their body will do it, and they are confident that they would know if they needed help – other than that, there isn’t anything to “know”. The other camp includes people that feel they need to learn everything they can about birth and birth complications, and need to, in essence, “become their own midwife”. One is not better than the other, they are just different. So this post is for those in the second group, who want to know everything they can know about birth and how to handle any issues that may come up. We often get asked “how do I prepare for an unassisted birth?” so here is my list of favorite resources:

1. A shameless plug for our “pay what you can” 13 Moons: Epic Education for the Birthing Year. Maryn and I designed this 50+ hour online experience (you can choose which parts you want to explore, or do it all!) for women wanting to take full responsibility for their births. This class is a comprehensive foundation in what you need to know about creating a healthy pregnancy and learning the nitty gritty details about the birth process. We pull together all of our favorite resources as well as our custom made Indie Birth videos, classes, podcasts and articles in one place.

2. Our 200+ free podcasts are another amazing resource. There are podcasts about all aspects of pregnancy, birth, the postpartum, midwifery politics, women’s spirituality, and so much more. It is an actual treasure trove, and a serious gift to the universe :)!!!

3. Watch lots of physiological, undisturbed birth videos. We have MANY in our 13 Moons: Epic Education for the Birthing Year online course, many of which are from births we have actually attended. Here are a few other of my favorites.

• The Unassisted Home Birth of Felix Alexander Part 2: Emergence
• unassisted birth / Alleingeburt 2
• Birth in the Squatting Position
• Homebirth conducted by Parents

4. Don’t neglect the emotional and spiritual work in favor of the “brain” work. This can look a lot of different ways, but might include journaling, meeting with a pregnancy support group, doing prenatal yoga, making art, doing spiritual work or asking for spiritual support, reading books geared towards this such as Birthing From Within, or talking about your fears and excitements often with a trusted friend.

5.Gregory White’s book “Emergency Childbirth” – This is a great basic resource for those wanting to know “what to do” in case issues come up. Generally, the advice is good, though some of the recommendations are not perfect (ex. no need to wait to give the mom the baby after birth) I do NOT think it is an end point, but rather an introduction to the ideas that can then serve as a springboard for further learning and investigation.

6. A common question is how to get father’s on board with the unassisted birth choice. The ebook “A Dad’s Journey Into Homebirth” is written by a veteran 6 time homebirthing father and is a great free resource for all the dads out there! Jason (Maryn’s husband who has been with her through 10 births!) also made an incredible class for dads that is a part of our 13 Moons course.

7. If you’re looking for individualized support, we offer virtual midwifery sessions and many of the women we work with in this way are planning freebirths. You can read more about that experience and what we offer here.

8. Last but not least, we have a whole series of videos for do-it-yourself pregnancy, birth and postpartum topics. Here are a few we have made so far.

– Learning to Feel/Palpate Your Own Baby
– Listening to Your Baby’s Heartbeat (Fetoscope Skills)
– Do-It-Yourself Placenta Preparation; video includes placenta exam and raw method of prep

I hope this is helpful, and we would love to see you over in 13 Moons which also includes live online circles which are really lovely!