How to have an Unassisted Birth

Published Aug 2019, updated 22nd Nov 2020

Please note this information is NOT an in depth guide. It is not medical advice. It is intended only to get you started. 

Please do your own research via our exterior resources links and other websites. 

The books and websites featured will benefit you greatly. You may wish to also watch YouTube videos of women giving birth, and of other things like cutting the cord. You may also wish to invest in other training such as neonatal resuscitation or a birthing class.

Research as much as YOU need to feel prepared, as no-one else can do that for you.

​

There are three givens about labor: it’s hard work; it hurts a lot; and you can do it! That’s the bottom line. All the rest you learn about it is icing on the cake. —Suzanne Stalls

​

HOW TO HAVE AN UNASSISTED BIRTH

1. Commit

• Unassisted Birth is accepting that your body knows what it is doing and that you know how to listen to it.

• You take full responsibility for your decisions and you and your baby's life. This can be freeing or scary. It is not for everyone.

• No doctors, no midwives to defer to. You are your own authority. 

• Commit to the birth you want - and also relax knowing that if you need to transfer, that is your decision on what is best for your and your baby.

• (Unassisted birth does not mean an unassisted pregnancy. You choose the assistance  you want, at the stages you want. You continue to receive as much prenatal/postpartum care and as many or as few ultrasounds as you wish, and then simply stay home in labour)

• (Unassisted birth does not mean unsupported birth. You can have a doula, friends, family,  partner and children there. its all up to how you feel, and who YOU want present)

​

2. ​Research

• Research potential complications AND normal physiological birth until you are confident

• Postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, breech, cord care, and neonatal resuscitation/infant CPR  are good places to start

​

3. Collect supplies

• You need something for the mess

• Something for the placenta

• Something for the baby

• Some things for labour comfort

• Some things for postpartum comfort

• Emergency supplies

• Ambulance insurance

• Someone to care for your other children, if applicable

• Doula/support person/partner, if preferred

• Birth photographer/camera, as preferred

  
  

• (Please see our page on suggested supplies for more specific details )

​

4. Prepare your space 

• Clean your bathroom, bedroom, or other room/s that you plan to use. They don't need to be spotless, just tidy, free of bad smells, and clear of tripping hazards.

​

• Lay down waterproofing and towels on carpets, couches or your bed that you wish protected.

​

• Set up your birth pool, if planning a water birth

​

• Collect food and drinks close to where you plan to labour

  
  

• Set up any comfort items such as birth affirmations, exercise ball, heating pads etc

  
  

• Organise your people. Let your support people know to come. Arrange your children to be cared for. Get your partner to organise his time off work. Put up a sign on the front door "Homebirth in Progress-Do NOT disturb" 

  
  

• Turn your phone off or send anyone away that will disturb your peace.

  
  

​

5. Labour in comfort

• Move around how you feel most comfortable. Get your partner to assist you with movement, especially counter pressure or techniques from websites such as Spinning Babies or The Bradley Method. Use your preferred pain relief methods, if you are uncomfortable or the contractions hurt.

  
  

• Move from room to room as well. Lay on the bed. Sit on the toilet. etc

  
  

• Eat and drink when you need it, and try to stay hydrated.

  
  

• No unnecessary checks. No one needs to be doing cervical checks, unless you want to feel for yourself.

  
  

• Do check in with your feelings. They can be a clue to how your labour is progressing especially close to and during transition, and can also be an indicator if something is not right.

  
  

​

6. Birth your baby!

• Find the best positioning for you, and the most comfortable, whether it is squatting, side laying, or on hands and knees.

  
  

• Wait until YOU feel like you need to push. No one needs to coach you into pushing. The Fetal Ejection Reflex will help you push baby out.

  
  

• Breathe through the contractions and work with your body. Birthing is as natural as breathing! You can do it!

  
  

• Position your partner to catch the baby, or prepare a soft nest of blankets for baby to drop onto. You may wish to catch the baby yourself.

  
  

• Avoid touching the baby as it comes out as much as possible. You may put pressure on your vulva or perineum while crowning, or support/cradle the baby's head, but do not grab or pull the baby. Unwrap the cord if necessary.

  
  

• Once baby is out, cuddle the baby to your chest and welcome the baby! Nurse the baby, if it wants to nurse (not all babies do straight away). This will stimulate the baby's responses, and also your uterus to contract.

  
  

• Keep yourself and baby warm, and start to assess vital signs in you both, specifically baby's breathing as per the NRP you've learned.

​

7. After birth care 

• To birth the placenta, you can wait until you feel more contractions, or pressure in your pelvis/vagina. Squat and gently push out the placenta with the contraction/s.
  If it takes some time to detach, that's okay. Relax and enjoy baby, and try again later. You may need to sit on the toilet and cough into your fist. (stretch a towel over the toilet to catch the placenta) Collect the placenta in a bowl, and inspect it to make sure it is intact.

  
  

• Some membranes may be retained inside you and should come out with further contractions, as well as some blood clots. This may happen over a few days as you change positions and the uterus contracts further.

  
  

•  You can cut the cord when it is white and has ceased pulsing, ideally 5-60 minutes, although you may wait as long or as little as you like (there are many benefits to allowing the baby to get the extra blood). Tie it off strongly or clamp it a few inches from baby. (It will shrink as it dries.) Then cut with clean scissors. Some blood or fluids may weep initially, but the Whartons Jelly inside the cord will react with the air and form its own physiological clamp. If you don't want to cut the cord, lotus birth might be an option for you.

  
  

• Take mental or written note of baby's vitals, length, and weight. (if these measurements are important to you). You can look up the AGPAR Score. 

  
  

• Keep an eye on your blood loss. Some bleeding after birth is perfectly normal but more than 500ml is considered a minor postpartum hemorrhage. See if you feel dizzy or faint or nauseous. Some tiredness is normal after such a strenuous activity.

​

• If concerned about you or baby, please go get checked out. Or reach out to someone you trust.

  
  

• Eat, drink, pee often, and get cleaned up (maybe a shower) and then sleep. Keep up your strength up with nourishing foods, and make sure to nurse baby regularly. If co-sleeping with baby, make sure to follow safe sleeping guidelines. You may wish to have someone hold baby while you shower and nap, or have someone assist you in the shower in case you feel faint.

  
  

8.  Postpartum care

• At some point in the first 24hrs, check yourself or have your partner inspect you for tears. Generally, a tear will sting when you pee, but a visual inspection with a torch and hand held mirror are helpful. You may wish to wait until some of the swelling has gone down. If you have torn badly, and you wish stitches, you want them done asap. Otherwise, for minor tears, apply Manuka honey, seaweed as a bandaid, and keep your legs together and rest.

  
  

• Peeing/pooping - do try to do some movements soon after birth as keeping your bladder empty will help your uterus contract. You may wish to use a water from a peri  bottle or in the shower as you pee to minimise stinging from any tears.

  
  

• Breastfeeding baby is important to do often to ensure your milk comes in, that baby gets energy from colostrum, and that baby passes its first meconium poop. 

  
  

• If you feel like you need to get checked out, you can call an ambulance or drive to the hospital. You do not need to let baby out of your sight for any reason. You may even be able to keep baby on your chest for most of transport and treatment. If it is just you that requires assistance, say stitches, you could leave baby in the arms of someone you trust and at the hospital very clearly state that you are not admitting baby as a patient, only you yourself require treatment. You do not have to take baby with you, but if you turn up at the hospital without a baby, there is a the likelyhood that they will rightly be concerned about baby's welfare and may even open a child services case or send an officer to your home to check on you and them.

  
  

​

9. Paperwork 

• To register your baby's birth, see our page on it and find your state's requirements.
  (Australia) Contact your state's Births Deaths and Marriages office to register the birth and acquire birth certificate.

  
  

• If you present to a hospital within 24hrs of the birth, or you had a midwife during your pregnancy, you may be able to acquire the paperwork from them.

​

10. Celebrate!
You have done an amazing thing, bringing a baby into the world. Announce the birth, and enjoy your 4th trimester bliss however you like.