Push for more home births in the UK

Home births are in the news in the UK this week, after new guidelines have recommended that more women should be encouraged to labour at home.(cheap canvas prints canvas print)

The guidelines have come from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and have been largely met with support. They suggest that all women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be encouraged to give birth in midwife-led units instead of hospital labour wards, and that women who are pregnant with their second or subsequent children should be encouraged to give birth at home, as long as they aren't considered medium or high risk.

It's easy, in my view, to see why the guidelines have had such a positive response. There's a continued argument about the over-medicalisation of pregnancy and birth, and intervention rates are consistently high. So if we're changing direction towards a framework that empowers women and returns confidence in their bodies, surely that is a good thing? Reducing medical intervention rates is surely beneficial, too.

Sadly, however, it feels like much of the debate around home births comes back to the central issue of funding. There simply isn't enough money. Many areas lack midwife-led units. Other areas have seen those units closed due to financial constraints. These are the issues that are resulting in more women being on labour wards.

There is also a desperate need for more independent midwives. Without them, there cannot be more home births.

In addition, it is an inescapable fact that birth is unpredictable. Women considered to be low risk and women who have had straightforward pregnancies can still experience complications during birth. There needs to be adequate funding to ensure these women can immediately access the medical help they need if that happens. That means the creation of more birthing units, because currently, many women can't have home births because they are too far from help if they need it.

Aside from funding, the guidelines have seen many mothers repeat a call for choice and information. On talkback radio, on internet forums, on comment sections, women have been discussing their own birth stories, and the common theme is that women must be able to make their own decisions.

It is brilliant that women will be encouraged to have home births - but only if they want them. Pregnant women should be given the information they need to make well-researched choices. Just as there should be no pressure for them to birth at hospitals if it isn't necessary, there should be no pressure on them to have home births if they don't feel that option is right for them.

I've heard many women say in response to the new guidelines that they wouldn't be "brave enough" to have a home birth. If encouraging women to have a home birth means some feel this way, then the movement has gone too far. No woman should feel that giving birth is about being "brave enough". Similarly, no woman should feel that giving birth is about surrendering their body to a medical system that is beyond her control or comprehension.

Every woman is different, and every woman will have a different experience of pregnancy and birth. Hopefully the new guidelines will go some way to helping women give birth in the way that is right for them.