If you’re here, you may be wondering, “What’s the difference between home and hospital birth? Why would I want to give birth at home? Isn’t that risky?”
We hope this article answers those questions for you!
First, let’s address risk. As midwives, we’re trained to handle complications that may arise during the birth process. We also partner with local hospitals if complications arise that are out of our scope. If risk is your biggest concern, trust that you are in good hands! (You can read more here about contraindications to home birth).
To help address the “why home birth?” question, we asked a few of our clients why they chose to give birth at home after experiencing hospital birth:
- “I gave birth to my first child at a hospital. I was too young to know the difference and felt like I was just passed down the assembly line. There was no emotional support from staff members. With Heidi and Maureen, I went through labor without medication when my body was ready. They were just as excited, maybe more, about the arrival of our baby than some family members. And they were just a phone call away for any support we needed postpartum!”
- “There’s nothing like midwifery! I had an ovarian cyst, and no other provider could see me for weeks. Heidi answered her cell phone while she was at the hospital and told me to come into her office right away and she’d meet me there. Then, when my home birth ended up happening at the hospital, Heidi and Maureen came along for the entire labor and visited for postpartum care, all the while educating OBs and L&D nurses about natural birth.”
- “I have done hospital birth with epidural, natural hospital birth, and now home birth. My hospital births went as expected -bright lights, a bunch of people I didn’t know coming in and out, being hooked up to equipment, feeling pressured to deliver within a time frame, and a doctor I didn’t know rushing in at the last minute. A home birth with Heartspace Midwifery was amazingly different. I was comfortable in my own home and all the comforts it has. When Heidi and Mary arrived, they came in quietly and set up quietly, were warm and kind, and helped me into different positions. My husband noticed how nice and calm everything was and loved how when Mary and Heidi spoke it was in calm whispers, which was very different from the hospital.”
Probably the biggest difference we see between hospital and home births is the level of care. Your midwife is providing care during pregnancy and also during the birth. Delivery happens on your time – not on our schedule. We’re there to support you every step of the way.
If you’re not a candidate for home birth, you can still have the support of a midwife during a hospital birth during your delivery, so you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out entirely!