Giving birth at the hospital may still be the norm for many expectant parents, but it’s not everyone’s desire to deliver in a traditional hospital setting. That’s where home birth plans can come into play. Often overseen by midwives and doulas, home births represent a small amount of overall deliveries in the Unites States, according to the CDC, but the home birth rate has been on the rise in recent years.
If you’re interested in exploring a home birth as a delivery option, here’s everything you need to know to be prepared.
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How Common Are Home Births?
Emergency Home Births
Not everybody who gives birth at home may have planned to do that. According to People magazine, in 2019, Bachelor in Paradise star Jade Roper Tolbert had an emergency delivery in her closet when her labor progressed too quickly to get to the hospital. Comedian Seth Meyers also opened up about how his wife gave birth in the lobby of their building.
Anyone who is pregnant may want to have an emergency kit on hand in case they find themselves giving birth some place unexpected. Marketlab sells OB Emergency Delivery Kits for $15. They include supplies like sterile gloves, towels, umbilical cord clamps, and more.
What Is Unassisted Home Birth?
Many home births are overseen by midwives or doulas, but some people don’t want anybody aside from their partner or maybe their loved ones at the birth. According to NBC News, this is known as “freebirth” or “unassisted birth.” Although we know the rates of home births in general, unassisted births are still too rare to have been studied to determine any kind of statistics about them, per the University of Iowa. Doctors do not recommend unassisted home births because labor and delivery can be unpredictable and may require medical intervention.
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Benefits of Home Birth
For those who wish to explore home birth, one of the major considerations is comfort level. Labor is hard, and it can be scary. Being in a familiar place can make it less stressful. Dr. Robyn Lamar, an OB-GYN, told NPR that someone may be more likely to dilate and handle difficult contractions in a comfortable space. That can potentially lead to a safer and faster delivery. “When you’re on your home turf, and you’re there with your family, it really does change the dynamic,” Lamar said.
Benefits of Hospital Birth
On the flip side, Lamar told NPR that “some feel more at ease in the hospital because they know the experts are there. It gives them a lot of security and assurance.” Knowing that in case of emergency, there’s immediate help can be reassuring — especially for anxious first-time moms.
Who Should Have a Home Birth?
Per Oregon State University, a good candidate for home birth is someone with a low-risk pregnancy. This means that they’re only having one baby, it’s being carried to full term, it’s in a head-down position, and the mother doesn’t have health complications like pre-eclampsia or diabetes. For people who want to have a home birth, living within 15 minutes of a hospital should an emergency occur is best practice.
Who Should Not Have a Home Birth?
In addition to having health issues like diabetes or pre-eclampsia, having a breech baby, having multiples (like twins), or having had a C-section in the past are considered higher risks, and parents shouldn’t necessarily explore a home birth in these instances.
