FAQ

How is Covid-19 affecting your midwifery practice?

I am double-vaccinated and boosted. I will remove my shoes and wash my hands thoroughly upon entry to your home. If either party is symptomatic or has a temperature, we use lateral flow tests to check Covid status, and reschedule our visit if either of us is Covid positive. I can also wear a mask and appropriate PPE throughout the visit if desired, and we can crack a window during the visit to ensure that the air is circulating.

How is Covid-19 affecting your lactation practice?

Currently I am following all of the same precautions listed above for my lactation visits as well as for my midwifery visits.

Why choose home birth?

For the vast majority of people, giving birth is a normal, physiologic process which your body is expertly designed to do, and not an emergency (or even a medical event). Giving birth at home allows for physiologic birth to occur in its most natural and undisturbed way, at your own pace and on your own turf, which provides a whole host of benefits, including fewer complications, a decreased chance of haemorrhage or perineal tearing, an improved respiratory transition for the baby, faster recovery after the birth and increased bonding and ease with breast/chestfeeding . Research has shown again and again that the environment can greatly impact the birth, and often giving birth in the comfort of your home—in a quiet, dark, familiar and private setting—is the perfect place for the delicate hormones of labour to unfold. Birth in the home setting can also be very personal and empowering, and is usually a whole-family affair, with partners often much more involved in the process, and even children and other relatives present if desired. And don’t overlook one of the best parts of giving birth at home: being tucked up in your own bed afterwards, with your baby in your arms and the peace and quiet of your own home around you instead of a busy postnatal ward, plus your favourite foods and teas available immediately and no need to travel anywhere.

Is home birth safe?

Midwifery care in the home setting is very adaptable, personalised and respectful of your needs, while also providing ongoing clinical monitoring and holistic assessment. I bring medical equipment and medications with me to the birth, including resuscitation equipment, haemorrhage medications, pain relief and suturing material, and monitor your labour in a very similar way to what occurs in a birthing centre. Fetal heart rate assessment is done intermittently rather than continuously, which allows me to be very discreet and work with you and your body in whatever position or setting you are labouring in. Part of my job as a midwife is to recognise normal from abnormal, to provide reassurance and encouragement when labour is proceeding normally, but also to recognise clinical changes which may indicate that additional medical help is needed. The continuity of care and trust that we develop through the antenatal period means that we tend to know each other very well by the time you give birth. This allows my care to be even safer, in a way, because I know what’s normal for YOU and YOUR baby and can therefore pick up on subtle clinical changes much sooner than I would with someone I didn’t know as well. In the vast majority of cases, birth proceeds normally at home without complications, but in rare situations where additional help is needed, I am able to provide immediate medical support, including initial management of postpartum haemorrhage, shoulder dystocia and neonatal resuscitation, and facilitate a transfer to the hospital in a timely manner.

The Lancet journal published a study on the safety of home birth in 2020. Overall, they found that people who intend to give birth at home are statistically less likely to receive interventions during labour and birth, regardless of whether they remain at home or transfer to the hospital. Specifically, this meta-analysis found that birthing people are 40% less likely to give birth by cesarean, 50% less likely to have an instrumental birth, 70% less likely to have an epidural, 40% less likely to have a third or fourth degree tear, 55% less likely to receive an episiotomy and 60% less likely to require augmentation with synthetic oxytocin during labour. In other words, simply planning to give birth at home significantly reduces your chances of medical intervention, even if a transfer becomes necessary during labour. (Reitsma et. al., 2020)

For a more detailed analysis of the safety statistics around home birth, a good resource is Why Homebirth Matters by Natalie Meddings.