The safety of home births is a subject of frequent debate, and the vast majority of mothers-to-be err on the side of caution with a hospital birth. Yet the numerous studies that have investigated birth safety have not drawn up any conclusive evidence that having a hospital birth is safer for low risk pregnancies. On the contrary, a British Medical Journal study in 2005 showed that home birth is as safe as hospital birth for healthy women with a low risk pregnancy.

The Department of Health is currently “carefully considering” a report published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists which calls for a third of women to have babies at home or in midwife clinics. The number of women going into labour is 20% higher than just ten years ago, and they feel that by restricting hospital births to only those women who are at risk from complications, vital resources would be freed up for those requiring emergency and specialist care.

For Home Births...

At home, the same midwife will usually stay with a woman in established labour until the baby is born, and a second midwife will also be present for the birth. This makes the experience much more personal and reassuring for the woman and also means the midwife is more likely to notice any potential problems before they become an emergency.

Not only do most women feel more comfortable in their own home, but at home you have everything you might need to drink, eat, wear, or to distract yourself between contractions - and there are no strangers to break your concentration. After the birth you can have a shower in your own bathroom, have tea and some biscuits, and snuggle up in your own bed with your new baby.

In hospital women are often given “just in case” interventions, or time limit interventions to speed up the process. One intervention unfortunately often leads to another. Research has shown that women who have home births are less likely to have medical interventions, and one study showed that planning a home birth halved the incidence of both assisted delivery and Caesarean birth.

Syntocinon is often used to induce or speed up labour, which increases the risk of various complications for mother and child - e.g. it increases the risk of the baby going into distress, and of the mother finding labour too painful and needing an epidural.

Women who give birth in hospital often have to stay overnight either during labour or after the birth, and their partner usually has to go home. With a home birth your partner can stay with you the whole time and when the midwives leave a few hours after the birth, both parents are left alone to bond with their new baby together.

Far from being a sterile environment, hospitals are full of bacteria and ill people. Mother and baby are not exposed to any unfamiliar pathogens at home. The rate of postpartum infection in women who give birth in hospital is about 25%, compared to about 4% in home birth mothers. There is also less risk of infection to the baby.

Keeping mobile during labour helps women to manage labour without needing heavy-duty drugs or interventions. It’s easier to remain active in your own home, and this can make the pain more manageable. It is also more likely that a woman will give birth in a physiologically advantageous position, rather than lying on her back.

Transferring to hospital interrupts the woman’s labouring and also the production of labour hormones, which make labour quicker and easier. Many women find labour slows down once they find themselves in the unfamiliar hospital environment.

Many women describe feeling out of control during a hospital birth, with things being done to them, drugs administered, and not really understanding or being able to influence what happens. In their own home, women naturally feel much more in control of the whole situation and tend to report a much more positive birth experience.