We often forget that all birth used to take place at home until it moved into hospital in the mid-20th century, as the medical-model of birth took over and it became more obstetric-led. But what might surprise you is that hospitals are not the safest place for all births and simply planning a hospital birth gives you an increased likelihood of unnecessary intervention. So what are your options for place of birth and how safe are each of them?
Broadly speaking, there are 3 places where most people give birth:
The idea of giving birth in water is really popular – the majority of my clients say they would love to. But what is it that attracts us to birthing in water? And why do people rave about it so much?
Here are my top 5 benefits of giving birth in water...
Do you feel anxious at the thought of giving birth at home? Or do you think 'That sounds great...but I don't know how safe I'd feel...'
We only started giving birth in hospitals in the last century. Prior to that everybody gave birth at home. So let's look at what the evidence says about the safety of home birth!