Childbirth Options: Hospital or Home?

Filed in archive Childbirth on December 28, 2007

I watched a re-run of Discovery Health's Birth Day episode which featured a Home birth and was again intrigued at the concept of giving birth at home. For my first child, I was presented with the option of giving birth in a home-like setting, but I didn't have the courage to go through with it. It was my first pregnancy, I didn't know what to expect, and though my pregnancy was low-risk and went perfectly normal, I wanted to be at the hospital in case something wrong does happen, to me or to the baby. On hindsight, it was the better choice as I had a complicated, intensively-medicated delivery.

For some women, however, home birth can offer a better childbirth experience. The advantages are clear: you give birth in a place that's familiar and comforting, and you can share the experience with the whole family, if you like. You get the sole attention of the midwife, whose role is to ease you throughout the birth process, not just physically, but emotionally, too. And of course, there is less medical intervention - no IV drips, no unnecessary fetal monitoring, no pain-relief drugs, and so on. Is home birth for you?

However you want to deliver your child, do your research and weigh your options wisely. Be informed, read up, get the opinion of your doctor, of a midwife, your friends and your partner.