Who wants a home birth?

Emma’s labour was long and slow and with hindsight she’s sure she would have ended up having a Caesarean if she’d been in hospital. ‘But with the midwives at home, we just made more sandwiches and tea (you can eat and move around at home) and carried on waiting.’

Doing it your way

For a woman, choosing a home birth is often a way of acknowledging your need for privacy, security, comfort, safety, control, freedom and respect for the emotional and spiritual aspects of birth.

Perhaps you had a bad experience in hospital and don’t want a repeat performance. You may want to avoid unnecessary interventions, or see the birth as a family event to be shared by your nearest and dearest.

Annica Odina had her second baby at home in a relaxed atmosphere

‘In early labour I cooked dinner and washed the dishes while my contractions increased in intensity. Then my husband and I went for a walk in the cool night air. When we got home I thought a hot bath would move things along so my husband ran the water, lit candles, and put on some soft music.’

Instead of speeding things up, Annica’s contractions stopped while she was in the bath. ‘When this happens in hospital,’ says Beverly Beech, ‘there’s a tendency to panic and use drugs to keep labour moving along at a steady pace.
At home, midwives refer to these little breaks as the ‘rest and be thankful phase’. Once the body is rested, contractions usually start up again.’

In fact, Annica did use the time to rest and half an hour later her contractions began again, longer and stronger than before. Annica’s husband continued to give support and he was there to cut the umbilical cord as their daughter, Amanda was born to the strains of
Nat King Cole.