7 Reasons to Choose Homebirth

“What made you decide to give birth at home?” people often ask.

The question makes me chuckle because I always wonder the opposite. Why do people choose to leave their homes and go to an unfamiliar environment for one of the most vulnerable and impactful moments of their lives? I’m so thankful I got to give birth at home and for my positive homebirth stories.

The question surprises me now, but just a few years ago, I would have been the one asking it. When my husband and I were first married, he said to me, “If we ever have kids, you should totally do a home birth!” And I was horrified and disgusted because I believed if I ever had babies, I needed to go to a hospital and have someone deliver me from the pain.

I'm thankful I changed so drastically in the four years, between when we got married and when we decided to have biological kids.

I became much more open, strong, resilient, and more interested in taking my health into my own hands and pursuing natural options instead of looking for a quick fix or a magic pill to solve my problems.

I began learning birth can be peaceful, natural, and positive, which made me want to experience it. Before that, I believed we likely wouldn't have biological kids. I resisted the assumption that every married couple has to have children, and I wanted to foster and potentially adopt.

When I learned birth can happen peacefully in the comfort of home, when I began to view it as an opportunity to see what my body can do, I wanted to experience it. For so many women, it's the desire to have a baby that encourages them to become a mom. But for me, it was the desire to have a positive birth. I knew the rest would follow.

The decision to birth at home was less about looking for a reason to stay home, and more about not having a reason to leave. There are many benefits to giving birth at home, but here are seven that sealed the deal for me.

1. Give birth in a comfortable environment

Has anything positive ever happened in a hospital? I met one of my nieces at the hospital, and of course, it was a great experience! But other than that, ALL my associations were negative. I tend to feel very stressed out and uneasy in a hospital setting. I knew that wasn’t the environment I wanted to be in when I met my baby.

The more I learned about birth, the more I learned our bodies will naturally release our babies when we feel comfortable and safe. I’m a homebody in general. I love being alone, having time to myself and creating a comfortable environment. I knew my body would perform more naturally in this environment and medical interventions would be much less likely.

2. Control your birth experience

I wanted to be the one making decisions and have the freedom to prioritize the birth practices I wanted. For this reason, I chose a midwife instead of an OB. But I knew even with a midwife other medical professionals would be more likely to intervene in a hospital setting. Interventions would be more routine and readily available, and when focused on my labour, I would be less likely to have the strength to decline unnecessary interventions.

My first labour ended up being several days long, and I know if I had been in the hospital, I would have been quickly offered Pitocin to augment labour. Have you heard of the cascade of interventions? Agreeing to Pitocin greatly increases the likelihood of choosing an epidural which increases the likelihood of other interventions and even csections.

Maybe if I had been in the hospital, I would have requested an epidural. Since I was in the comfort of my home and able to birth in water, it didn’t cross my mind to seek pain medication.

photos by Erin Caitlin

3. Choose who is present at the birth

My midwives frequently warned me that it's natural for labour to slow each time a new person is introduced. When my husband phoned my midwife to tell her I was in labour, she requested to talk to me through a few contractions. Even the pressure of waiting for one to come caused them to slow down and nearly stop.

Sure enough, each time someone arrived during the birth, I had to regain focus and labour was slowed. My midwives had a shift change while I was in labour, a secondary midwife arrived, and our photographer arrived. Each time, my labour slowed.

A home birth allowed me to be in control of the people arriving on the scene. Instead of in a hospital setting where nurses may be coming in and out and changing shifts frequently, I knew I could expect minimal transitions. Instead of potentially welcoming people I had never met, I was very comfortable with my midwife and photographer.

4. No need to travel while in labour

I’ve never experienced contractions in the car, but I hear it is the very worst place to labour! In the same way a new person entering the room can slow labour transferring locations can also impact how things progress.

I've talked to women who travelled to the hospital three or four times before being admitted. I was not interested in multiple car trips. Instead, my midwife came to me in my home to check on me and decided when she was ready to stay with me.

5. Sleep in your own bed

One of the best sleeps of my life happened right after I gave birth to my daughter. Days of labour left me exhausted, and I was so excited to sleep in my own comfortable bed. I knew the midwives would be back within a day to check on us, but we were able to rest uninterrupted and in our own home.

I was thankful to wait as long as I wanted before putting my brand-new baby in a car seat and travelling with her. I found putting her in the car for the first time very nerve-wracking! I was thankful I didn’t need to travel home within the first few hours of her life.

6. Follow-up appointments in your own home

I recently learned some women don’t receive follow-up appointments until six weeks after the baby is born.

Thankfully, working with midwives and giving birth at home allowed me to have a follow-up appointment the very next day in the comfort of my home. I had three home visits over the first few weeks which allowed the midwife check on me and the baby and help us establish breastfeeding. I didn't have to pack up and leave my home in those early days, and I didn't have to wait until six weeks to find out if my baby was feeding well.

We were able to ask any questions we needed to. This was especially important to me for breastfeeding, because often if problems are not caught early on, often they can worsen to the point of no return or put the baby at risk. I knew I wanted to establish good feeding habits and make sure my milk came in strong.

7. No additional homebirth cost

Where I live in Ontario, hospital births and homebirths are all covered by OHIP. The cost doesn’t change. There is no additional cost to give birth at home, but there is also no need to pay additional hospital fees for a private or semi-private room.

I’m not sure how it works in other countries, but I believe homebirths can be difficult to have covered by insurance. When paying out of pocket, homebirths are often significantly cheaper than hospital births. Since homebirths typically require fewer interventions, the costs are less likely to add up.

Conclusion

I’m so thankful I’ve been able to birth my babies at home. We were incredibly blessed by the comfortable environment, smooth transition into life with a new baby and in-home care. I highly recommend chatting with your midwife to find out if a homebirth is the best option for you and your baby!

I don’t believe birth is something to fear. It is something I truly look forward to each time.