You could watch one episode of ‘Call the midwife’ and you might wonder why everyone doesn’t want to have their baby at home.
After all you are in your own house, you can get into your own bed and why would you want to go to hospital unless you have to. In reality a small number of women choosing to have their baby at home and mainly depending on whether there is a long journey to the hospital, if it’s a first baby, the type of support that the midwives can provide and many other reasons.
Most women seem to prefer being in a hospital ‘just in case something was to go wrong’.
It’s a family event
I have been to many beautiful homebirths, seeing birthing pools set up in the lounge, excited children peering over the edge of the pool, Bob Marley playing in the background, singing, dancing and generally feeling very relaxed.
I have sat in a kitchen watching a woman in early labour finish off icing a cake that she had baked earlier that day, just thinking what a privileged job midwives have to be invited into someone’s home to help them birth their babies, very much like ‘Call the midwife’ but without the frilly hat!