How to pick where to birth, be safe and informed.

Safe choices where to birth your baby.

Everyone assumes a hospital, right? You were probably born in one, I was born in one, my partner was born in one. It's just where you go right? What if something happens during labour and you need the doctor STAT, good thing you were in the hospital!

Seems to be a lot of feelings around fear.

Truth is, you do have safe options where to birth your baby. Yes, read that again. SAFE options. This is YOUR choice. My partner thought he had a say... and well, he's not going through this passage in me, he's beside me. Doesn't feel what I'm feeling, thinking, experiencing... so it is MY choice.

Let's define "home birth" and that's any place that's not in a hospital. So it could be a birthing centre, a home, hotel, or friends' house. Most family doctors, if not all, don't support home births. Primarily because they don't have the equipment needed to attend one. Midwives on the other hand, attend births in hospitals and at home.

Research shows that for those with uncomplicated pregnancies, home birth is a safe and responsible choice.

The main differences between hospital birth & home birth:
-Reduced rate of infection
-Reduced interventions like c-section up to 30%
-Reduced need for drugs to speed up labour by as much as 40%

Other factors to consider:
-Comfort of environment: dim lights, more casual, ease of movement and comfort measures
-More personal: no beeping or listening to other women birthing

First time parents often assume in the event of an emergency, birthing in a hospital, the obstetrician is just hanging around at the hospital at all hours, awaiting for an emergency... NOPE. They are called in and have up to 30 minutes to show up, which in some cases is no different, from labouring at home, and then transferring into the hospital waiting the same amount of time. In addition, an anesthesiologist is also called in just like the OB.

The last point I'd like to make is that midwives are trained for emergency situations, typically work as a team, and come with a whole kit for such situations. They wouldn't be covered by medical, or allowed to practice within this scope if it wasn't safe.

There you go, now hopefully you know a little more, and can ask the questions you need answered. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Click here to see the research regarding home birth safety.

Click here to see what's taken to a birth in Canada (may vary from province to province)

xx

Erika