Safety of Home Birth FAQs
Is home birth safe?
Home birth is safest for clients who are healthy and low-risk for pregnancy or newborn complications. This is about 85% of the pregnant population when starting prenatal care.
Home birth has more risks for women who have a breech positioned baby, twins, women who’ve had a previous cesarean birth, placenta previa, and women who have a medical history of autoimmune disease, hypertension, blood clotting disorders, or diabetes.
What does it mean to be low-risk?
A low-risk pregnancy means that you are essentially healthy–- no medical conditions prior to pregnancy, or pregnancy complications. Women who have a known medical history including blood clotting disorders, high blood pressure, heart defects, diabetes, or obesity (BMI over 40), are unfortunately not eligible for care.
Medical conditions that are well-controlled prior to pregnancy and under the care of a healthcare provider, such as pre-existing thyroid disorders, asthma, PCOS, anxiety and depression, are all eligible for care. Schedule a free phone call consult or virtual visit to discuss your eligibility and any questions you may have.
Is it more risky to give birth at home vs. the hospital?
Planned home birth is just as safe as hospital birth when the midwife is licensed and integrated into the healthcare system. Even with 1-2% of moms or babies needing an urgent or emergent transfer in labor, outcomes for those moms and babies are the same as hospital births, meaning the chance of death is extremely low and comparable to hospital maternal and infant mortality outcomes.
Are there risks of giving birth in the hospital?
Research has shown that across the U.S. that 1 in 3 pregnant women receive a cesarean and a majority of these are first time mothers. There is a phenomenon that happens in the hospital known as the cascade of medical interventions in labor. This cascade of interventions is highly linked to the many policies and protocols hospitals are built upon- related to liability protection for the hospital and its providers, as well as the need for efficiency of the labor and delivery unit/hospital system.
These are things like induction of labor, Pitocin, epidural use, continuous fetal monitoring, episiotomies, and vacuum assisted delivery. These interventions increase the risks of fetal distress, cesarean birth, infection, and newborns needing oxygen therapy post birth. There is also an increased risk of having a traumatic birth in the hospital environment due to many choices out of your control because of policies, protocols, and liability protections for the hospital and staff.
Isn't birth messy?
Every home birth includes Heather or Kelly and a birth assistant. The birth assistant helps to anticipate where to set things up, put down pads on the floor or bed, etc. It’s actually not as messy as you’d think! We don’t leave your house until everything is cleaned up and put back the way we found it, including starting a load of laundry.
What are the benefits of home birthing?
Low cesarean birth (<10%)
High breastfeeding rates
High satisfaction with the birth experience
Freedom of movement
Control of your environment and healthcare choices
The comforts of home
Decreased medical interventions
More time to bond with baby
Reduction in perineal tearing
Having a personal midwife that is trustworthy, known and relational vs. transactional.
Where/how would I give birth in my house?
You are free to choose wherever you want in the house to have your baby! Some women plan ahead of time and envision their ideal place, while others just see where they feel the most comfortable when the baby is ready to come.
There is a range of positions to give birth in, from standing, to squatting, to hands and knees, or leaning on a table/counter or couch. The point is we work around you and your needs, not the other way around!
Why do women choose home birth over hospital birth?
Women choose home birth for a variety of reasons but the most common reason is to have a birth that they are in control of. Whether it’s because they want control of the environment and who is present at the birth, or the freedom to be unrestricted by common medical interventions used in the hospital such as induction, they are determined to have their birth on their own terms.
Other reasons women choose home birth is due to a history of fast labors, a desire to have a personal midwife, a previous traumatic hospital birth, or a strong belief in normal, undisturbed physiologic birth.
What happens if there is an emergency?
Life and death emergencies are rare in home birth. 1-2% of home births result in an urgent or emergent transfer to the hospital. However, most transfers from home to hospital are for exhaustion and desire for pain medication and are non-emergent. Heather and Kelly come prepared with all the critical resources and training needed in such an event.
They bring a mini labor and delivery unit minus an operating room to every birth. This means they have everything needed to resuscitate a baby, oxygen provision, sutures for lacerations, and medication treatment for postpartum hemorrhage.
They also work closely with each of their client’s EMS departments to prepare for a transfer in the unlikely event it is needed. It’s important to keep in mind that many of the stories of emergency c-sections happening with hospital births usually happen from either a complication from a high-risk pregnancy or in relation to medical interventions that caused stress to the baby during labor such as Pitocin use and/or epidural placements.
Do you offer pain medication?
The only tool that is used as a means of direct pain relief is the birth pool or various forms of water therapy in the home. Water therapy has long been termed as the “midwife’s epidural” because of how it helps tremendously in managing labor discomfort. IV pain medicine is not given due to potential effects it could have on the baby (respiratory depression). Other ways to manage labor discomfort is through hip squeezes, counter pressure, frequent position changes, and recommending hiring a doula for first time moms.