By Dana Williams
The celebration came after Dale Cook, a midwife from the Gaia Midwifery practice in Malverne, helped to deliver Zinedine in the couple¹s Malverne home. The home birth experience was one that both parents said words cannot adequately describe.
³I was a part of the home birth of my son, and it was truly an experience,² Mo said. ³It was beyond what words can describe because it¹s so amazing.²
Zinedine¹s birth kicked off the celebration of a number firsts for the Bousraou family. Not only is Zinedine Mo and Claudia¹s first son, his was also the first home birth in Malverne since the start of the new millennium, village officials said. While registering for his son¹s birth certificate at Village Hall, Mo said that he was told that Zinedine was a part of a select few children born at home in recent memory.
Home births, which happen outside a hospital or birthing center, have been on the decline for many years since, most women choose to give birth in a hospital. ³We do about three home births each month on Long Island,² said Susan Brockmann, who is also a midwife at Gaia Midwifery. ³Home births are still something that a small number of people choose, so it¹s obviously not mainstream, but people who choose to do home births are very passionate about it.²
The reasons for choosing a home birth vary, but the most common include mothers wanting to be comfortable and surrounded by their loved ones while they are giving birth, according to the American Pregnancy Association, a national health organization committed to promoting reproductive and pregnancy wellness.
³It¹s very relaxing to give birth at home because you don¹t have to worry about making it on time to the hospital, and being relaxed is very important to me,² explained Claudia, who is the manager of the Light Foods Cooperative Market in Malverne. ³The baby never leaves you when you do a home birth, and the baby is already at home, and it¹s just a fabulous thing.²
Mo and Claudia, who have two daughters, Zoe, 12, and Kira, 9, chose to have all of their children outside hospital settings. Zinedine, who was named after French soccer player Zinedine Zidane, was the couple¹s first home birth as residents of Malverne.
³My son is doing great, and we¹re very happy that he¹s here,² Mo added. ³I have a very beautiful family, and we¹re all doing just great.²
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
