Home Birth

Is home birth safe?
What if I don’t think my home/space is appropriate?
What supplies are necessary for a home birth?
Additional Home Birth Tips

Is home birth safe?

The most recent studies have shown that with healthy pregnancies free of complications, planned home births attended by trained midwives are as safe as hospital births.

There are some VERY important distinctions made in the above statement. Studies of home birth look at:

  1. Low Risk women
  2. Families who have planned ahead of time to have their birth at home and prepared for it. This does NOT include births that happened so fast that paramedics were called or mom delivered at home alone.
  3. Home births attended by trained professional midwives.

These studies make no claim as to the safety of unassisted home birth, precipitous home birth or home birth for women who do not meet the criteria for being low risk.

Please note the overall findings of a study on home birth reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, including some very important benefits of home birth:

“there were fewer interventions during labour, including electronic fetal monitoring, induction of labour, episiotomy and cesarean section; women were more likely to have an intact perineum and fewer maternal infections and were no more likely to have third-degree or fourth-degree tears or postpartum hemorrhage; and there were no significant differences in perinatal mortality, 5-minute Apgar scores and meconium aspiration syndrome, as compared with women intending to deliver in hospital who were assisted by physicians or midwives.”

– Régis Blais, Are home births safe? CMAJ 2002;166(3):335-6

There is a wealth of information available on this subject:

Check out our articles & research section.

What if I don’t think my home/space is appropriate?

Women have been having babies in all kinds of different spaces for a very long time. Women have given birth outside, in huts, on boats, on buses, even in trees. You can rest assurred that our modern houses, no matter how small, are more than likely adequate. You’ll probably want access to a bathroom and your space may dictate whether or not you can rent a birth pool but in most cases, you should find that your home will be just fine. Your midwives will usually do a home visit a few weeks before you are due (to make sure they know the way) and they will be able to go over any concerns you may have.

What supplies are necessary for a home birth?

The list of supplies varies. Your best bet is to check with your midwife to find out what they would like you to have on hand. A basic list would include:

  • a plastic sheet or two to protect the bed and floor
  • old linens (sheets and towels) that you don’t mind staining
  • old washcloths for making compresses to protect your perineum
  • a large glass bowl or yoghurt container for the placenta
  • a large ziploc bag to dispose of or store the placenta
  • two large garbage bags (one for garbage, one for laundry)
  • a small hand mirror to be able to see baby’s head (especially if you are in a position that doesn’t give your midwife a clear view)
  • cotton underpads for keeping the bed clean
  • flashlight with batteries so your midwife can see even if you have the lights low
  • receiving blankets for baby
  • thermometer
  • sanitary pads (maternity or overnight size)
  • snacks and lots of liquids (water, Labourade, Emergen-C etc.)

Some extras:

  • perineal bottle (spray bottle for rinsing perineum post-partum)
  • sitz bath and herbs
  • arnica for bruising and swelling post-partum
  • witch hazel
  • rubbing alcohol
  • acetaminophen or ibuprophen


Additional Home Birth Tips

Frozen Pads

Using a spray bottle, soak your maternity pads with a tablespoon of witchhazel and put them in the freezer. These frozen pads will help reduce swelling and soothe a sore bottom postpartum.

Groaning Cake

Try making a groaning cake. Mixing the cake will keep you occupied and pass time during early labour. The smell of baking cake is said to act like aromatherapy and you’ll have a delicious treat to enjoy together as a family after baby arrives. Get the recipe or make your favourite.

Warm Linens

Just before baby is born, throw a few towels and receiving blankets in the dryer to pre-warm them for baby.

Placenta

Save the placenta to plant under a tree later. The mineral and nutrient rich placenta will nourish the young plant and baby will have a tree that is the same age as he is as he grows up.