Traditional Home Birth Supplies

Home birth is an ancient tradition and the most sacred place to birth.  Birth takes place in tents, igloos, huts, apartments, cars, cabins, mansions, water, and outdoor spaces. Preparing for a home birth should be simple and inexpensive. The role of traditional home birth supplies is to create a sacred and hygienic environment

Shopping for and collecting home birth supplies can be one of the most enjoyable activities outside of purchasing baby clothes.  Many of the supplies are common household products that can be used for birth, labor and the postpartum period.

Traditional home birth supplies like white vinegar, lemon water, Florida Water, or tea tree oil are used as cleaners to create positive and protective vibrations, in the birth room and home.  Some of the other supplies are gathered to create an altar, create comfort, protect furniture from bodily fluids, and help with cleaning after the birth.

Categories for Traditional Home Birth Supplies

1. Ritual cleansing of the home
2. Supplies to create an altar
3. Supplies for comfort
4. Supplies for nourishment
5. Supplies to protect from bodily fluids
6. Supplies for cleaning after the birth

Traditional Home Birth Supply List

• Small metal plant spray with essential oils, Florida Water, for face and body
• Hot water bottle/ Rice sock
• Coconut oil, olive oil, comfrey & ginger root, honey, raspberry leaves
• Arnica oil, Rescue Remedy
• 6 yards of African cotton cloth
• Fresh flowers, potted plants, small drum
• African straw fan or fabric fan,
• 3 yards of cotton cloth
• 3-4 large unscented candles & matches
• Rolling pin, covered in cotton cloth
• Epsom salt
• White vinegar, lemon, limes
• Sea salt, rosemary, eucalyptus, sandalwood, frankincense
• 3 large towels
• 3 face cloths
• Hospital size sanity napkins
• Labor, birthing ,& postpartum gown/clothes
• Several pairs of underwear
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70%)
• Plastic mattress cover or shower curtain
• Disposable bed pads/chucks
• 4 large trash bags
• Scissors
• Large and medium size bowls
• One quart and one-gallon pot
• Electric tea pot
• White socks
• One glass pitcher
• One plastic pitcher
• Soups, protein, fruit, and fresh vegetables, snacks
• Postpartum gown & baby clothes

Resources

A Black Women’s Guide to Home Birth, For Women & Families of Color and Birth Workers Who Serve Them, by Brittany “Tru” Kellman

the big book of SOUL, by Stephanie Rose Bird

Carnival of the Spirit, Seasonal Celebrations and Rites of Passage, by Luisah Teish, author of Jambalaya

Homebirth, The Essential Guide to Giving Birth Outside the Hospital, Shelia Kitzinger

My Bag Was Always Packed, The Life of a Virginia Midwife, by Claudine Curry Smith and Mildred H. B. Roberson