041Baby columnist Odette Parfitt looks into the rise in popularity of home births.
Not too long ago, giving birth in your own home was reserved for babies that came quickly and unexpectedly, before the mother could get to the hospital. Now, however, many mothers are opting to stay in for the big occasion.
041Baby spoke to Naomi Mitchell, a local doula (or a birth partner), to understand why home births performed by doulas and midwives are becoming more prevalent.
“Generally there are two kinds of mothers who choose home births,” she explains. “One is the kind who cannot afford private hospitals or doesn’t have medical aid, and she doesn’t want to go to a government hospital. The other kind of family is the kind who really love the idea of being in their own home; they are usually more naturally-minded and don’t like interventions or medication, or all the medicalisation surrounding a hospital birth.”
Mitchell says there are a myriad of benefits to choosing home birth over hospital birth. “For me the most important benefit is that the labouring mother is not interfered with; she is not made to lie down or be on a drip if she does not want to be. She is allowed to labour in any position she wants, she can sleep if she wants, and she can eat if she wants. In a hospital you give birth on your back; on the other hand, I have attended over 100 home births and not at one of those has the mother birthed on her back – we don’t even encourage it. Being allowed to birth in the way your body tells you to birth makes the risk for intervention lower.
“The other advantage is that you’re not on a clock the same way as in a hospital, where if you don’t progress at the speed the medical team expects, you will be given something to speed up labour or be given a C-section.”
For Carey Boshoff, 28, the idea of a hospital birth was a fear-inducing one as she found out she was pregnant at the start of hard lockdown in the early days of Covid-19. “As I edged closer to the time to give birth, I saw more and more horrendous birth stories of what women were being put through in the name of Covid-19 restrictions at hospital,” she says. “The one thing I intrinsically knew was that fear is the enemy of a birth, so I started to look for a way to embrace the experience instead of being afraid of it. I decided to try my best to have a natural birth and wanted to give myself the best shot at succeeding – so I figured that a midwife at home would be my best option. I was more than happy to get any medical intervention needed if things didn’t go well.”
She was so happy with the home birth experience that she opted to do the same with her second pregnancy.
“The experience was intimate, natural, safe, empowering and loving. Women are made to birth. I think that hospital settings and interventions have really messed with this. We can do it!”
Another mother who opted for home births for both her sons, Sabeeha Makda, 33, says this was the right choice for her and her body. “The first time around 12 years ago, it appealed to me as it was away from hospitals and medical places. I wanted to be in a comfortable and safe environment where I felt safe and had privacy. The second time it was the same route for me; I was very happy with it and wanted to do the same,” says Makda.
Though she wanted to know something light was available for pain management, Makda says she was not worried about safety during her home births. “If you choose the right midwife they will always guide you to make the correct decision for you and baby. Your body knows what to do; trust it and the process. Most midwives are very qualified and will make sure you have a backup plan in place.”
Safety remains top priority during a home birth, stresses Mitchell. “We only do home births for low-risk mothers and babies. The mother will have her 20-week scan to make sure the baby is 100% healthy and normal, and have her normal checks throughout the pregnancy and see the backup gynaecologist. At 37 weeks the gynaecologist makes a decision regarding whether the mother can have a home birth or not. A high-risk mother or a mother that develops a complication during the pregnancy will not have a home birth because it is not considered safe.”
Mitchell advises that any mother considering home birth will need to “follow the rules” that come with it. “Make sure your midwife is registered, knows what she is doing, has a good reputation for home birth, has good follow-up care, and is in good standing with the midwives around her. You need to find a midwife with proper backup in the form of a gynaecologist. Once you’ve met with your midwife you can ask her all the questions you have. There will be questions asked of the mother as well – to make sure she and baby are healthy – and rules to follow to make sure we can have a beautiful, safe home birth.
Odette Parfitt is a former journalist and current communications professional (which really just means she makes a living off stringing sentences together). She is a perpetual survivor of writer’s block and a newly-minted boy mom, keen to share any knowledge she has on parenthood and babies pretty much right after gaining that knowledge. At the moment, her hobbies include power naps and drinking cold coffee – but she’s hoping to expand her interests soon.
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