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Home birth
More and more women are opting for home births assisted by midwives. What are the advantages of having a home birth?
- Woman may feel more in control as she is in her own environment
- Privacy
- She will be assisted by the midwife of her choice
- It is cost-effective
- More relaxed and peaceful atmosphere
- No unnecessary intervention
- Use of natural ways of relieving pain
- She can have as many people present as she wishes to
- Never being separated from the baby
- Less distraction
- Avoiding episiotomy
- Birth is seen as a natural process rather than a “medical” event
- Older children don’t have to deal with the absence of their parents
Make sure that you are assisted by an experienced, qualified nurse/midwife or by a qualified physician. In case of a medical emergency, you should be within 20 minutes of the nearest hospital.
According to Dr Martin Puzey, gynaecologist, a woman should be cleared as being a low risk case for home birth by her gynaecologist. “People tend to forget that giving birth is a very dangerous process and is a time in a woman’s life when things can go seriously wrong,” he says. “Many years ago, the first thing a father asked of the delivering doctor after the birth was ‘how’s my wife … did she survive the birth?’. If a woman has a high risk pregnancy, she should examine her alternatives.”
Hospital birth
You may want to consider the following advantages of a hospital birth:
- Baby can be delivered by obstetrician
- Different pain relief options available
- Well equipped in case of emergency
- Breastfeeding clinics or lactation consultants are available in most hospitals
(Ilse Pauw, Health24)
