Low risk women who plan to give birth

at home have a higher likelihood of a

normal birth with less intervention and

both the Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists support home birth for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Our community midwifery team are committed to providing a reliable and robust service for women who choose to birth at home and we have recently introduced a new way of working for community midwives that helps us ensure we can achieve this aim.

 

Unlike many units where midwives are ‘on-call’ to attend homebirths we have a dedicated team of community midwives who work across the 24 hour day and are ready to attend you at home when you need our support. Our midwives have access to cars that carry all of the equipment we might need for your birth including entonox for pain relief.

 

Your midwife will ask about your preferences for your birth during the antenatal period and if you are considering (or already know) that you might want to birth at home we will arrange to come and see you in the comfort of your own home to discuss your birth wishes. We also run some ‘my homebirth matters’ drop in groups in various community locations and these give you the opportunity to speak with members of the midwifery team as well as other parents who are also considering homebirth. We often have a family who have had a homebirth who are keen to come and share their experience giving you the opportunity to ask the questions that are important to you. We know that choice of where to have your baby is something that you will want to consider carefully and suggest you speak with your community midwife in early pregnancy to ensure you can access all of the relevant information to make the choice that is right for you.

 

 

Why would I choose to have my baby at home?

Giving birth at home has many benefits and is generally safe. This is particularly the case when you have given birth before and experienced no problems with either baby or yourself. You are encouraged to consider the homebirth option if you are healthy and enjoy a normal pregnancy, free of complications.

Evidence suggests that midwifery led care provided at a homebirth encourages the natural   process of labour. Having your baby at home also reduces the risk of having a caesarean section and increases your chances of birth without intervention.