How I Prepare for an Unassisted Birth

(And Why It's the Right Choice for Me)

Moments after Ori’s birth

When I share that I’ve chosen to give birth without medical professionals present, I often feel the need to follow it up with a hundred disclaimers. So let me start here:

This post is not advice. I am not recommending that anyone choose an unassisted birth. I am simply sharing my experience and how I’ve prepared—because I believe in the power of storytelling, and I know that for some of us, the traditional models of birth care don’t always feel right.

I believe every birthing person should be able to choose the setting, support, and care that makes them feel safest—whether that’s in a hospital, a birth center, at home with a midwife, or alone with the moon and the trees. We birth best when we feel safe and sovereign.

Why Unassisted Birth Feels Right For Me

My journey with unassisted birth started over a decade ago, back in 2012, when I was pregnant with our first baby.

At the time, we were planning to give birth at a local birth center. It felt like the best compromise—somewhere between a hospital and home. But the deeper I got into pregnancy, the more I realized that the birth center still felt clinical, like a softened version of the hospital system. My nervous system stayed on edge every time we visited. It didn’t feel like birth to me—it felt like something being managed.

One day, my husband gently asked, “What if we just did it at home… just us?” We didn’t know anyone else who had done that. We didn’t even have the language for it—we had never heard the terms freebirth or unassisted birth. But as soon as he spoke the words, I felt my whole body exhale. It was like my intuition had been waiting for someone to say it out loud.