What is Home Birth

Home birth can be a safe option for many women to deliver their baby. However, certain medical conditions and other factors may increase the risk of serious problems for you and your baby.

Talk with your health care provider about the benefits and risks of home birth to decide whether this is a good option for you.

How does this affect me?

If you choose to have a home birth, you may:

• Have lower medical costs.
• Be able to bond faster and more closely with your baby.
• Be able to start breastfeeding sooner.
• Have more freedom to move around during labor.
• Be able to eat and drink as you wish throughout labor.
• Not be exposed to hospital infections.
• Not need an IV for fluids.
• Be at lower risk of:
  • Medical interventions.
  • C-section (Cesarean delivery).
• Feel more:
  • Confidence in caring for your baby.
  • At ease in a familiar setting.
  • Comfortable and relaxed. This may help labor and delivery to progress more quickly and with fewer problems.

How does this affect my baby?

If your baby is delivered at home, he or she may:

• Be able to bond immediately with you.
• Have less chance of being separated from you after birth.
• Start breastfeeding sooner.
• Be less likely to have side effects from certain medicines given during labor.

What can I do to lower my risk?

There are risks associated with delivering your baby at home. To lower your chance of any risks:

• Hire a trained midwife to assist you with your home birth.
• Create a birth plan that outlines your wishes.
• Make sure you have access to a doctor who specializes in pregnancy, labor, and delivery (obstetrician).
• Make sure you have a clearly defined emergency transfer plan to the hospital.

Follow these instructions at home:

• Make sure that your medical insurance covers a home birth.
• Make sure that you have a well-trained and experienced birthing team. This may include a midwife, a midwife’s assistant, and a doula. Your birthing team should:
  • Be able to recognize any complications that occur.
  • Bring all instruments and medicines that are available to them according to the state law where you live. These should be used to treat you or your baby in the event of an emergency.
  • Have a clearly defined plan of action, including transfer to a hospital, in the event of a complication that requires emergency care.
• Make an appointment for your baby to be examined by a child specialist (pediatrician) within 24 hours of being born.
• Be prepared for the possibility of having to go to the hospital to deliver your baby. Discuss all potential complications with your birthing team.

When is a home birth not recommended?

Your health care provider may not recommend a home birth if:

• You have a high-risk pregnancy.
• You have certain medical problems.
• Your water broke earlier than expected (premature rupture of membranes), and more than 24 hours have passed before your baby is born.
• There are problems with the fetus during pregnancy.
• Your labor begins before 36 weeks or after 41 weeks.
• You and your support person are not in agreement about whether to have a home birth.
• You do not have a trained and experienced birthing team who can care for you at home during labor and delivery.
• You live very far away from the nearest hospital.
• You experienced certain complications during a previous labor and delivery.

Questions to ask your health care provider

• Am I a good candidate for home birth?
• How many home births have you participated in?
• What is your emergency plan if I need to be transferred to a hospital?

Contact a health care provider if you:

• Become very tired in labor.
• Want pain medicine for your labor.
• Develop a fever during labor.
• Have labor that fails to progress.
• Have contractions that get weaker or that stop and do not return.

These signs may indicate the need to be transferred to a hospital to deliver your baby.

Get help right away if you:

• Have certain complications with the labor or delivery progress, or with you or your baby. These may include:
  • High blood pressure.
  • Bleeding.
  • The baby moving into a position that is not favorable for vaginal delivery.
  • The umbilical cord entering the birth canal before the baby (umbilical cord prolapse).
  • The baby’s shoulders getting stuck on the mother’s pubic bone after the head is delivered during labor (shoulder dystocia).

These signs indicate that you should be transferred to a hospital to deliver your baby immediately.

Summary

• A home birth may be an option if both you and your baby are healthy, and you have a low risk pregnancy.
• Seek the help of an experienced birthing team to assist you with your home birth.
• Create a birth plan that outlines your wishes during your home birth.
• Have an emergency plan to transfer to the hospital in case things do not go well.