What You Need to Prepare For a Blissful Home Birth

Welcome and thanks for being here! After two births—one starting at home and ending in a hospital transfer, and the other a completely unintended unassisted home birth (midwife didn't make it in time)—I’ve been around the block enough to know what you really need for a home birth and what you don’t. And since I'm currently 40 weeks pregnant, I thought I'd share this list while it's fresh in my mind.

Top 10 Essentials for Your Home Birth

1. Birth Pool

This was hugely helpful for my first birth, which lated over 30 hours at home and then transferred to the hospital. The pool greatly reduced pain during contractions and helped put me into a meditative state. Many midwives or doulas can rent a birth pool to you; in hindsight though, I probably should have just bought one my first time around as I would have made that investment once instead of 3x for 3 kids! The second time around, the labor was so fast we didn't even have time to fill the pool up before I gave birth. This time, I have purchased a beautiful lower-tox birth pool and am excited to use it! Make sure to get a birth pool that is ideally phthalate-free and the one we found is also made of an eco-PVC which is preferable. I also let it off-gas for about a week before setting it up, just to release any potential trapped chemicals. I chose the Ultra size as I wanted my husband to be able to get in with me too! 

2. Laborade

This is my go-to drink for during pregnancy to keep me hydrated, but also perfect for when you're in labor! During pregnancy, I typically water it down with about 3 parts water to 1 part Laborade but I won't water it down for labor. I keep this stocked in my fridge in the weeks leading up to birth to make sure I'm always prepared. I double the recipe to make a half gallon each batch.

3. Bedside salt lamps

These are great to create nice warm mood lighting during labor, but also perfect for middle of the night feedings! The rosy color doesn't interfere with the production of melatonin so it's supporting proper circadian rhythm for the first night on. That helps tremendously for both mama and baby to sync up sleep and to both fall asleep much faster in between nighttime feeds. I love that they have a dimmer right on the cord so you can make them as dim or bright as you'd like.

4. Follow your midwife’s instructions!

My midwife had a whole list of supplies we needed to purchase for our 'birth box" and then also items around the house to collect like 2 extra set of sheets, extra towels that can get dirty, a shower curtain liner to go under the top set of sheets and anything else based on how your particular midwife assists with births. Ideally you should have all of this ready by week 36, just in case, as that's typically the soonest they will deliver in a home birth situation! Earlier than that, they would typically send you to the hospital if you go into labor pre-36 weeks just based on the fact that baby may need some extra help after birth. Make sure to also go through the items and supplies with your husband or support person so that while you're laboring, he knows confidently where everything is and what to do while waiting for the midwife to arrive.

5. Postpartum pads and supplies

Here are the cotton pads and postpartum undies I purchased: Rael overnight pads, Organyc "hospital" pads, and Rael organic disposable underwear.

6. Postpartum Food

This is so so so helpful! If you have friends or family who want to do something supportive and helpful for you, ask them to cook you food from the book The First 40 Days. If you do not have that support system or people willing to cook super nourishing food, then I highly recommend ordering at least one meal box from Restorative Roots. Use code MODERNNURSERY for an extra discount. Restorative Roots is a company specifically focused on regenerative, organic, high-quality postpartum food. The food arrives frozen and you can just defrost and heat it up on demand. The food is specifically formulated to give you exactly what you need in order to not only recover from delivery, but to support baby and mom on a strong breastfeeding journey.

7. Handy Snacks

Don't forget there are going to be plenty of times, especially during the first 2 weeks but beyond when you are recovering in bed and hungry as a monster! It's super important to have some ready to grab snacks to munch on while breastfeeding or just in the middle of the night when you wake up hungry. If breastfeeding, your body is burning more calories than pregnancy and you will need to nourish your body! I personally love the Nut Trail Mix and Granola Bars from Miller’s Organic Farm. Protein is great to help stabilize your blood sugar and to provide the energy you need!

8. Homeopathics

Arnica was a lifesaver for my recovery after giving birth and I personally never needed to take Advil or anything else during recovery. Note- don't be super rough on yourself. You may need to take Advil depending on how you are recovering from delivery and general pain. no judgement! But I always try the natural stuff first and I found Arnica to be sufficient for me, personally!

9. Giant Water Bottle With a Straw

Make sure you have a giant water bottle with a straw, which is super handy not only for labor but also for postpartum. Brumate makes my favorite 40 oz tumbler which fits in the car cup holder, is spill proof, and has a stainless steel straw. There are some great glass options out there with a silicone sleeve that are even larger capacity if you like something that you have to fill up less often.

10. Support System

Make sure you have a strong support system set up for home, especially if you already have kiddos at home. Someone will need to be available to care for them during your birth and also make sure you have a backup plan for childcare just in case you have to transfer to the hospital.

I hope this post helps you to properly prepare for an absolutely blissful home birth, whether it’s your first or tenth kiddo! If you haven’t checked out our Non-toxic Registry Guide, definitely do—it highlights all the items you’ll need to prepare for baby and to put on your registry!

Wishing you all the best!