Caroline Bailey chose to give birth to 11-month-old Darcy at home. 87246 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By LAURA WAKELY
IF THERE’S one topic sure to fire up parenting groups it is home birthing.
But while the subject remains controversial, its popularity is increasing in the West.
More than 100 homebirths have been performed through the Sunshine Hospital-based program since it began in January 2010.
Clinical midwife consultant and program mentor Patrice Hickey said the program was low-risk, with strict criteria for homebirth suitability and a midwife involved every step of the way.
“That’s what women want, a high quality of care,” Ms Hickey said.
“They don’t want to be dumped in the system.”
And it’s not just a “hippy” philosophy that has made the program popular – some mothers don’t have the support to have someone care for their other children while they are in hospital.
Caroline Bailey said her choice to give birth to now 11-month-old Darcy at home was well-researched and not without the acknowledgement of risks.
Caroline wanted to have the best chance of a natural birth.
“You need to have as little of the fight-flight hormones as possible,” she said.
“It was just a calm environment that felt very safe to me.”
She said people in support of homebirths were not necessarily “about home births for everyone”.
Veronica Zeinstra has been a midwife for 17 years and said more women were considering homebirths as an option.
“It’s quieter, they feel more in control and less interrupted,” she said.
“It’s everyone’s choice.”
Ms Zeinstra said the Sunshine Hospital program had provisions in place for complications during the birth, for example, all women in the program must have ambulance cover, but said midwives would stay with the mother whether or not they gave birth at home or hospital.
She said anyone considering a homebirth should come to an information session at Sunshine Hospital and speak with the midwives and women who had been involved in the program.
For more information visit www.wh.org.au
