Last night, August 4, 2008, ICAN of Louisville had our meeting on Homebirth. We had a good turn-out, including several dads (and dads-to-be). Local midwife, Jennifer Woodmansee, was our guest speaker. She spoke on the safety of homebirth and left ample time for questions, of which there were many. 
Some of the information referred to last night are listed below:
Responses to “Why Homebirth?”
Homebirth midwives are expects in “normal birth.” Only CPMs (Certified Professional Midwives) are required to have training in normal, out of hospital births.
In a homebirth setting, you are in charge of your body. You choose who will be there, what you eat and drink, and you have freedom of movement.
You are the only patient, versus 4-6 other laboring mothers that a hospital nurse attends to.
You and your baby are not separated.
Homebirth is as safe, or safer, than hospital birth. Several stastics and studies were shared on the safety of homebirth.
Jennifer answered several questions from the meeting attendees. Discussion included:
*how a homebirth midwife monitors the laboring mother and baby
*how much a homebirth typically costs, including supplies
* prenatal care and visits
Other organizations to check out:
Hi Erin,
Sounds like a good meeting
We’re building an online homebirth community over at Indie Birth.
You are invited to come take a look anytime. Please help us spread the word!
http://indiebirth.com
Thank you…