Home Births - Is it safe? questions you should ask yourself

Giving birth is an important moment of a mothers life and where to give birth is just as important. It is important that wherever a mother decides to give birth she feels safe, relaxed and comfortable.

For some mothers a home provides this safe place which conventional Birthing Centers do not provide nor have. Many maternity units do encourage mothers to consider home births especially if they are healthy and have had a relatively straightforward pregnancy.

If you do want a home birth it is important to note that you are entitled to the same level of care by midwives throughout your pregnancy, labour and early parenthood. A Doula like myself will be able to guide you through the process using my expertise, care, emotional and physical support for a homebirth. As a Doula my role in your homebirth will be to listen to exactly what you want during birth, walk alongside you to help you (and your birthing partner) have a positive birth experience as well as helping you understand what’s going so you remain calm and feel empowered.

Here are a few things to consider when deciding on a homebirth;

• What are your needs and does a home birth fulfil this need?

• Where you live. In some areas home births are not supported by midwives however if you do want a homebirth a Doula is a non-medical trained person who can support you during birth.

• Access to the right tools and equipment. You will need a birthing pool, which a Doula like myself can loan to you. A Doula will most likely have non-medical tools to support you during labour such as a TENS machine, medicine ball, comb, mirror etc.

• Are you considered low risk or high risk? The risk level should be considered if you are deciding a homebirth. Do you research, again a qualified Doula should be able to provide you with non-biased information for you to decide what is right for you and the baby.

• Even though homebirths are safe you need to be comfortable and understand what safe looks like for you and put this into consideration when deciding on a home birh on. My role as your Doula at the birth will be to support you as part of your birthing team .

Many woman give birth at home safely without a glitch however you need to decide what you need to feel most comfortable and consider what will contribute to your definition of a positive birth experience.

One question I often get asked is "what if something goes wrong?". I often point out that this is rarely the case and if your labour is not progressing as it should, your midwife will arrange for you to go into hospital.

Homebirth can be a great option for mothers, if you are considering a homebirth do speak to your midwife and contact me, I will be more than happy to be part of your birthing team.