Bread and Babies

Many ambitions of a new life in "paradise" are discouraged by the requirements for residency in Costa Rica. Without qualifying with a minimum income, an easy way in is to be related to a Costa Rican citizen, so it's no wonder that so many couples choose to have a baby here. Even though we had already planned on having another child, discovering we could establish ourselves so easily was a big "A-HA!" moment for us and as soon as we arrived, we started to meet others with the same plan.

Of the countless young couples choosing to start or add on to their families, many are seeking to get back to the basics, live off the land and of course make everything from scratch. The more natural lifestyle, I quickly learned, went far beyond baking bread (something way too mysterious for me before we moved to Costa Rica.) This more natural lifestyle also includes skipping out on the rush to the hospital, and having a baby right in one's own home (something I not only considered mysterious before we moved to Costa Rica, but also unnecessarily risky.)

However, after we moved to Costa Rica, I quickly realized that I did not care much for the bread, and that perhaps childbirth was not as risky and mysterious as I had thought. After a very successful natural delivery of my oldest daughter, I knew that my body was cooperative enough, and so all at once, I opened my mind to baking my own, and talking with a midwife.

I realize that I am making light of it all, but as a society I believe that we are loosing the capacity to look after ourselves, and if we only had the time, we would quickly realize that many things in life are not as complicated as we perceive them, including bread, and babies.

We had some good friends who had a great birth experience in a home environment, and after meeting with their midwife, we opted to do the same. Four years ago, we settled into the beautiful home of some new friends who live closer to the hospital than we do, we had a good emergency back up plan, and this incredible, well experienced woman to assist me through the beauty of bringing a little baby into the world. Everything went smoothly. Our darling baby girl, had a very gentle introduction. She was born in the water, and placed directly into my arms.

Even before I had children, I always guessed that childbirth was given an unfair rap. Little girls heads are inundated with the horrors of the pain, stress and agony of something that our bodies are obviously created to do. I was lucky that during the delivery of my oldest daughter, I had a nurse who was supportive of my choice to have a drug free delivery. People have the misconception that there is more control in a hospital, but in comparison of the births of both of my daughters, I had much more control outside of the hospital. I was able to relax, and everyone around me was on my time. I respect the place of a hospital and applaud the technology that insures positive outcomes when either the mother or baby are at risk, but certainly it is not always necessary.

I strongly encourage anyone who is curious about going this more natural route to take the time and talk with a midwife. I imagine that, like me, you will be surprised to learn that there is possibly more safety in staying right at home, and quite impressed to know what these incredible ladies carry around to be sure that all safety bases are well covered.