I was a home birth. I chose to have my children in a hospital. That was my choice.
There is a lot of attention going to freebirthing at the moment. But the reality is that women have been freebirthing since they started birthing. That’s a damn long time.
There is no 100 per cent guaranteed way to go through a pregnancy and give birth to a child that does not run the risk of danger, and potential death, to both foetus and mother. Not in a hospital, with the best medical attention, or at home without any medical interference. Birthing is a risky business.
Historically, one to two per cent of mothers, and up to ten per cent of babies, died during or shortly after birth. There have been some pretty horrifying medical interventions to try to save either the mother or the child. There are still practices that could be improved, there is human error, there is misinformation, there are not always medical answers, and there is always risk. It is the calculation of that risk that every potential parent, nurse, midwife, doula, and doctor must consider when making a decision that impacts the outcome of a birth and everyone involved.
The Northern Rivers has been a place that has made space for home birthing. We had amazing midwives like Pam Sonia and Jude Holland (aka MeMa) who worked with Dr David Miller to give families a chance to birth in a way that they felt was the best outcome for them. Thanks to their work we saw the old Mullumbimby Hospital have one of the best birthing suites in the region.
They did have training, they had doctors on hand, after Jude had waded through the floods to a birthing mother, they had Dr Miller flown in by helicopter and then the birthing mother taken by firetruck through floodwaters to get to medical services. They knew when to ask for assistance, they sought medical intervention when it was needed.
One of the key reasons often cited for freebirthing is a former negative hospital birthing experience, or feeling coerced into medical intervention. When you are in the middle of birthing, let alone a contraction, decision-making is challenging.
Demonising freebirthing doesn’t get the best outcomes for the mother and child, nor does demonising medical intervention.
People should be allowed to make their decisions on how they want to bring their children into the world. But we also need to make informed decisions and beating up on freebirthing is not going to allow people to make more informed decisions. It is more likely to drive freebirthing underground with increased risk and more negative outcomes for babies, mothers, and families.
Understanding the risks is key to making informed decisions, understanding people’s reasons for not wanting high levels of medical intervention is key to engaging with people from all walks of life and ensuring the best outcomes for everyone involved. Engaging from both sides of the debate will give us the best outcomes for everyone involved.
Aslan Shand, editor
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