birthinginstincts.com

WHY HAVE A HOME BIRTH

Benefits of Home Birth

Easier to relax in the comfort of your own home
Undivided attention by caregivers
Family members or friends may be present if desired
Laboring woman maintains control over everything impacting her labor and birth
The woman is not only allowed, but encouraged to eat, drink, walk, change positions, make noise, shower, bathe, etc.
You can labor and birth in whatever position is most comfortable to you
Caregivers come to her, no worries about when to go to hospital
Significantly reduced risk of cesarean section

WHY HAVE A HOME BIRTH

Home Birth Safety
The World Health Organization has said that there is no proof that hospital births are safer than home births in the developed world. Most of the research on home births in the developed world has found that infant and maternal mortality rates are the same, if not better, than hospital rates. There is also significantly reduced chance of a woman having a cesarean, induced labor, or of the need for forceps or a vacuum.

A study done in Denmark in 1997 found that women who gave birth at home delivered babies in better condition with fewer problems; the women themselves experienced less stress and there were fewer medical interventions needed in home births compared with hospital births.

WHY HAVE A HOME BIRTH
Benefits to Baby

Bonding is enhanced
Significantly higher rates of breastfeeding success
No risk of baby mix-up
Reduced chance of trauma due to vacuum or forceps delivery
Newborn exam occurs on mother and baby’s time, not at hospital’s convenience

3D (three dimensional) ultrasound is a miracle of modern technology and can allow you to view an image of your baby while still inside.

I am a practicing obstetrician who is a strong supporter of patient rights to informed consent and refusal.

Home Birth by an Obstetrician

It is important for you to recognize the inherent lack of guarantees in life and in birthing. Any birthing environment, whether at home, birth center or hospital presents a distinct set of risk factors. Nothing can guarantee a perfect birth outcome regardless of where it takes place. Despite all the best planning, preparation, good health and your strong desire for an out of hospital birth experience, not all births can occur safely there. Having said that, my staff and I want you to have a joyous outcome and are totally invested in helping you achieve a safe and nurturing birth.

Latest News

Home VBAC - Announcing the birth of Hannah Rose in water to loving family on 4/15/2012. The Birthing Instincts team is delighted to support the evidenced based option of VBAC. Having had a surprise c/section with her first baby who presented in labor as an undiagnosed breech (No option for Vaginal Birth was offered to her), mom and dad were determined to have a natural birth should the fates allow. Fortune and common sense prevailed and 11 days early out came little sister Hannah. This is especially meaningful to me as she now shares the birthday of my own mother who would have been 86. Regards, Dr F

Blog Update - Just a reminder that on occasion I get inspired to write down my thoughts at my blog site: Hit the blog button at www.supportdrfischbein.com Hope you find it interesting and comments are welcome. Dr. F

Breech Saga, a new chapter! - Being pretty much alone in offering the option of selected breech delivery has great rewards and the rare drawback. March 13, 2012 was a day with both. Two lovely Birthing Instinct families, one 11 days late and the other 5 days early, were in labor with breech babies. Only dilemma was they were 65 miles apart in typical Los Angeles traffic from Ventura to the Hollywood Hills! Normally, when simultaneous labors occur in any home midwifery practice there is always a colleague available and willing to help out. In the case of breech, however, none of my supporting midwives purposely deliver them any more. Fortunately, some still have the skill and while I left Ventura in early morning rush hour traffic to drive to a rather precipitous sounding labor in Hollywood I was blessed to be working with one of those saintly practitioners in Ventura willing to stand in "just in case" and honor the process. At 7:43 AM in the hills near the Hollywood sign, was born a baby boy, complete breech, and beautiful to delighted mom, dad and big sister. Once all was stable it was back into the Mini Cooper for the return drive to Ventura. Over the next 6 hours labor stalled out at 8 cm. All our tricks at trying to bring back contractions were unsuccessful. In a perfect world a transport to a birth friendly hospital for some rest and pitocin might have made a vaginal birth possible. However, since we do not live in that world and no one would deliver any breech vaginally in the local hospital a non-urgent c/section was our only option. At 5:05PM a daughter and sweet baby sister entered the world to the welcoming arms of mom and dad. Two different stories and a whole lot of miles made for some interesting memories. Lets not do that again soon! Wouldn't it be nice to have more practitioners trained and willing to offer the evidenced based selected breech option to families in our community? Thats one of my long term goals in my quest for common sense and individual choice to return to the birthing world. Dr. F

Upcoming Events - Sunday, March 4th at 4PM I will be sharing a conversation with the West LA ICAN group at : The SPOT CAFE & LOUNGE
4455 Overland Ave (south of Culver)
Culver City, CA 90230
Topics include: ?What are some true indications for cesareans according to ACOG?
?How much does hospital policy influence birth choices?
?Who is concerned about VBAC?
?How does insurance influence primary cesareans and VBACs?
?What does the medical evidence show? April 1st I will be in San Diego at the Natural Baby Fair at 9AM lecturing on options of VBAC, Breech and Twin deliveries. May 5th I will be in LA speaking on handling home emergencies for the California Association of Midwives (CAM) in a Video-conference. And on May 11th I am schedule to go to Miami for their 3rd annual VBAC summit.

The tale of two twins! - Twin deliveries, different stories. 2 sets of twins delivered in my practice in the past 36 hours. Early this morning, on her bedroom floor, Monikka gave birth to her babies at 39 1/2 weeks. Twin girl A came head first and weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces and her brother came 10 minutes later, footling breech weighing in at 7 pounds 4 ounces. Almost 16 pounds of babies! A beautiful tale of trust and persistence and a delighted extended family with a of of patience. Congratulations to Monikka and David. One day earlier, a woman who was transferred from my care 2 weeks ago gave birth to her twins by c/section at CMH. Although both these women had delivered over 9 pound babies in the past, Ellene's twins were breech/vertex which convention says should not be delivered vaginally. This is what I was taught and is the practice at almost all hospitals in the U.S. Because she had delivered so easily in the past I did a search of the literature and found, like much of conventional practice, that a c/section for term twins in this position was not evidence based. However, the world we live in and the world we are striving to create in childbirth are still far apart. After respectful discussion of the situation we all agreed that the good of the many outweigh the good of the one and the only best option was to transfer care. In an ideal world with an ideal facility and supportive environment I have little doubt that Ellene and Jason could have birthed their twins in a natural way. Reason number 237 why I am committed to creating a free standing facility where trusting birth and choice can be respected without fear. A place where evidenced based medicine and true informed consent allow women another birthing option.

Testimonials

" The Beauty of the Midwifery Model:
"I accidentally stumbled upon 'the Sanctuary' through Dr Fischbein who
agreed upon taking me under his pre-natal care after becoming pregnant
again.
After meeting the midwives and despite our insurance not covering their care, my husband and I decided it was worth every saved penny we had, to 'invest'in the hope for a natural birth or the so
called VBAC ( vaginal birth after c section).
Much credit is usually given to the mom when she accomplishes the birth of her baby and rightly so; but what about the persons who make it possible?

From the very first prenatal care at The Sanctuary, I was given wings.
Dr. Fischbein reassured me from the very beginning that the risks of a
homebirth are no different than those of a hospital one. My chances were
in fact the same, but he always urged me to choose the environment that
would make me feel the safest. Through the words and encouragement of my midwives Aleks, Molly, Heather, Sheila, Katie and Marina I started to
envision the birth I desired and every time a doubt or a fear came
knocking at my door, they gave me the tools to defeat them.
From childbirth classes to siblings' preparation to the most amazing
spiritual healing chiropractor, Maura. These women read my mind and my
soul; they took my hand and guided me to the final battle against my
deepest fears. They are so deeply involved and passionate about their
mission that they made my success their personal victory.

These wonderful women understand and love the human body so much to trust that it can birth another human body. I mean, that's what they do everyday. They witness the miracle of life. The awesomeness of a body creating another body. A tiny little person who asks and needs just the right amount of time to be perfect and complete to come out.
Lately, I find myself fantasizing to be pregnant again just so that I can keep on seeing my midwives every week. I miss them and I fell in love with each
of them. As soon as Mathis was born, Heather Ann told me that this is
the hardest and most empowering experience I will ever have and that I
won't ever have to repeat it if I don't want to. Well, I would. Every
single moment of it. I would not change a contraction or a breath, I would not change a stitch. I would not change a thing, as long as my loving midwives were there with me."
All my love and blessings,
Diana

"
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Diana H

" When my husband and I became pregnant we planned to have a natural birth at home with midwives in Orange County, and my pregnancy proceeded normally and healthfully. However, at a routine appointment at 37 weeks, my midwife discovered that my baby's head was no longer down?he was frank breech! We were referred to a doctor for a manual version, but after assessing the baby's position, he concluded that I was a poor candidate and my only option was to have a c-section the following week (due to the fact I was a first time mom). My husband and I were devastated. We had been working so hard to have our baby naturally and we were so close. After the meeting with the doctor, we met with our midwife who gave us hope. That's when we heard about Dr. Fischbein. My husband contacted Dr. Fischbein, who personally returned his call and provided the confidence we needed to explore a natural breech delivery. We were also comforted by the genuine compassion he had for our situation, even though he had never met us. At 38 weeks, we met with Dr. Fischbein to discuss our options. He was so patient in answering our many questions and didn't make us feel rushed at all. After a thorough assessment, he concluded that I was a great candidate for a breech vaginal birth at home! Our time with Dr. Fischbein was so encouraging, and after considering his vast experience with breech deliveries, we concluded that having him as our doctor for a natural breech delivery was the safest option available to us.

Dr. Fischbein has 7 criteria he looks at when determining if someone is a good candidate for a breech delivery, and one of those criteria is making sure the couple is mentally and emotionally confident to face the trials of natural breech childbirth. Dr. Fischbein knew that my husband and I were confident, but he also knew that it was important to us for our parents to be fully supportive and confident in our decision as well. Knowing this, Dr. Fischbein suggested to meet with both of our parents over Skype, so that he could introduce himself and answer any of their questions. He talked with them for over an hour and a half! We had never heard of such a caring and passionate doctor. We were so impressed, as were our parents. After that conversation, I felt fully confident and ready to have our baby. By the next morning, one week after we met Dr. Fischbein, my labor began!

Our birth team consisted of Dr. Fischbein, midwife Beth, midwifery student Jaqueline, and doula Robin. Everything progressed very well. The team worked together so well, and I never felt nervous or afraid. Dr. Fischbein was very calm and sweet throughout everything. He gave me the confidence I needed in order to have my breech baby naturally!. In fact, throughout the labor I kept thinking how grateful I was that my baby turned breech so that I could have Dr. Fischbein as my doctor. After about 7 hours of labor, my little one came out, bottom first! His name is Michael Leo, and he is beautiful and healthy. I am so thankful to Dr. Fischbein for giving me the option to have my baby naturally, the way he was meant to come. Dr. Fischbein is a treasure, and we would whole-heartedly refer anyone to him!
"
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Hallie & Michael

" I am honored to spread the word about the incredible prenatal care and birthing experience my family and I had with Dr. Fischbein, midwife Aleks, midwife Molly and their lovely birth assistants.
When I found out I was pregnant with my second child I started researching my birthing options, as I knew they would be limited because I had a c-section with my first child, which resulted in an unusual incision. I became consumed by this research; the more I learned the more determined I became to find a birth team that was respectful of my right to informed consent and competent to scaffold the risk I brought to my birthing. I needed a team that believed in birth and could join me in my belief that I could birth my baby naturally. My research quickly led me to Dr. Fischbein. He was my beacon of hope when I was in the darkest days of searching for the birth experience I knew my baby and I deserved. From the moment I emailed him to introduce myself and share my story, he was candid and kind. After too many experiences that left me feeling hopeless, he was respectful and listened deeply to my individual story. He shared his professional opinion and time without question. After he thoroughly reviewed of my medical records, he took my request for care to the team of midwives at The Sanctuary.
Before making our final decision, my family and I traveled from Central Oregon (where we live) to visit Dr. Fischbein and The Sanctuary team in Southern California. We were instantly welcomed, nurtured and felt at home with the team and in the birth suite. We remained in contact via email and phone for the last trimester of my pregnancy and made our way down to LA again at 37 weeks.
I peacefully birthed my sweet baby boy, Myles James, vaginally after 13 hours of natural labor. Together as an incredibly cohesive, collaborative team, Dr. Fischbein, Aleks and Jacqueline supported me through the dance of labor. They were our dream team! They worked seamlessly, each member present at the most perfect time for my baby and I. At crucial crossroads in my labor, they problem solved together as providers, respecting each other's expertise and experience. I felt completely safe wrapped in their leadership. With their skill and guidance I surrendered, I allowed, and I finally opened up to the sweet vulnerability of birth. With their support I was able to rewrite my relationship with birth. My weak spots faced their strong counterparts, and became one. I walked away from Myles' birth wiser, empowered, more in love with my husband and with myself. Birth, for me, wasn't about proving that I had the physical strength or stamina. Birth, for me, was about being real with myself in a way that didn't lie. It was about finding the courage to witness my most authentic self and cherish it for all that it is. I will be forever grateful for our birth team and The Sanctuary. "
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Anna H

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