Birthing "Field Trip"

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I attended a home birth yesterday. At first, I was a bit worried over whether this would be a good idea considering my own impending first go round at birthing in December. Two outcomes were possible: 1) my decision that Bubbles would just remain forever in utero, or 2) a beautiful experience that would teach me to be very specific about what medical interventions I may or may not want and take control of my own childbirth experience. I can say, hands down, that the outcome was the second. I honestly feel like a new person after seeing baby Laila come into the world in such a warm, loving environment. Everyone was so engrossed with the arrival and presence of this beautiful baby that no one even asked the sex for a half hour. We were all so enthralled. I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to see such a thing before giving birth to our first child. All first-timers should be so lucky to have such generous friends willing to share the experience with them. I can only hope that Bubbles was paying attention to the way his/her future friend Laila made her way into the world yesterday. She definitely set the bar high! Though I am not planning a home birth (but am planning for a natural birth), I can say that I feel very sorry for those mothers living in states where they don't have the option to birth at home. Perhaps this will eventually change.