35 Reasons to Choose a Home Birth

Derek Markham, Eco Child’s Play

Why do I think a home birth is so much better than a hospital birth?

I’ve experienced a planned hospital birth, a planned home birth that ended with an induced hospital birth (and a month-early preemie) because of pre-eclampsia, and two home births. I am a big proponent of giving birth at home because of these experiences. The hospital births did not end up being horrible, and the nurses and doctors were (mostly) good people, yet after the home birth, I can’t imagine doing it any other way.

One major reason is that while a male OB/GYN may be technically proficient in his field, the fact that he hasn’t given birth, and can’t ever give birth, gives the midwife and doula a huge advantage in terms of actually relating to and understanding birth from a woman’s perspective.

35 Reasons to Give Birth at Home (in no particular order):

1. Home birth is safer – Your house is a lot less likely to be a source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and it’s not full of sick people.
2. Your chances are getting a C-section are reduced with a home birth.
3. It’s cheaper – A midwife’s fee is much less costly than a hospital stay.
4. You don’t have to go anywhere.
5. The food is way better at home. Organic food? Vegan? No problem.
6. You don’t have to have strangers at your birth (unless you want to).
7. Your home is always more comfortable than any hospital room.
8. Everything you need is there.
9. You can be as green as you want. Hospitals aren’t known for natural soaps, cleaners, or recycled-content anything.
10. You control the environment at home. If you want to dim all the lights or open a window, you just do it.
11. Birth is a sacred experience. What better setting could there be?
12. It’s so much quieter at home. There are no cabinets full of blinky lights, fans, and humming devices. Well, maybe some of you have that… But probably not in your bedroom. And you can power them down if you want.
13. Home birth is just more fun!
14. Your older kids can be a part of the birth.
15. Your pets can attend. Seriously. Pets are family, too.
16. Giving birth at home is an exceptionally empowering experience. We can take back birth from The Man.
17. No silly hospital gown is necessary at home. Wear whatever you want, or wear nothing.
18. You don’t need an ID bracelet for the mother or the baby when you birth at home.
19. You can choose the room for your birth, or change rooms in the middle. Not an option at the hospital.
20. Giving birth outside is an option with a home birth. Our first home birth was in our front yard, in a birthing tub, and our second in a tipi in our yard. It’s probably not an possibility for most city dwellers, but our second home birth was just on the other side of the fence from a public school (and recess ended just as active labor came on…)
21. No paperwork is necessary at your home birth.
22. You can cut the umbilical cord when you are good and ready. The speed at which they want to snip our newborn’s lifeline is unbelievable.
23. No gadgetry on the mother: A home birth midwife doesn’t require you to wear a monitor or get an IV started “just in case”.
24. You don’t have to sign out when you leave your house.
25. Your family doesn’t have to negotiate a giant parking lot and endless hallways to visit you.
26. A heating pad does not cost $50 to use.
27. You can have as much sage, incense, candles, whatever, as you like.
28. There is no pressure to circumcise, vaccinate, or apply for a Social Security number for your baby right after a home birth.
29. You don’t end up with a “gift bag” (marketing samples) from big corporate America, full of disposable diapers, formula, baby wipes, shampoo, soaps, and brand propaganda.
30. Your baby’s placenta does not become a biohazard. We left our placenta at the hospital, but we planned to bury it, so I drove back, all bleary-eyed, and asked for it. They weren’t going to give it to me, even though we had our name on it in the fridge (just like lunch…) We had to call the OB and have her sign off on the release, and then I had to sign about four different forms, and then they finally gave it to me in a bag with “Biohazard” all over it. Sheesh.
31. The dad has a bed at home. Sleeping on a foldout cot next to the hospital bed sucks.
32. Nobody comes in, wakes you up, and checks your vitals every half hour at home.
33. You can stream the live video of the birth to all your friends (Pay-per-view home births?) OK, I’m kidding.
34. Having a home birth is different. Different is cool.
35. The hospital is open 24 hours, so if you need it, it will be there.

I know that it isn’t for everyone, but if you feel at all drawn to home birth, I say, “Go for it – it’s not as mysterious as it sounds.” It’s the way women have always given birth. Only recently has birth become the domain of the doctor and hospital, the insurance company and the pharmacy.

I’ve listed 35 of the reasons that we choose home birth, but I’d love to be able to change the title to read “75 Reasons…” or “100 Reasons…”, so help me out here by leaving a comment.

Green Options Media is a network of environmentally-focused blogs providing users with the information needed to make sustainable choices. Written by experienced professionals, Green Options Media’s blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. We invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance.

Read more: Babies, Family, Health, Pregnancy, Babies, birth, homebirth, hospital, newborns, pegnancy

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Matilda H.

11:35AM PDT on Sep 8, 2011

Worth considering in the future, thanks!

send a green star

Bob S.

5:58PM PDT on Jul 17, 2011

We had all five of our kids at home. And we both participated in the births. Hospitals are cesspools for death and disease. And at home, you don't have the automatic cutting and the drugs (too potent for the tiny baby's body), all for the convenience of the doctors. Plus, you get to keep your baby with you from day one. Natural home birth -- it's been a proven method for thousands of years.

Vanessa B.

10:00PM PDT on Mar 14, 2011

I had a hospital birth with our first child. With our second, we're having her at home. So excited!!

Amber T.

11:04PM PST on Feb 7, 2011

for my fourth child i definetely want a home birth. I had three babies in hospitals and while it was a satisfactory experience, i'd much prefer the intimacy and comforts of home :)

Bon L.

2:34AM PST on Nov 26, 2010

Thanks for the info.

Tara P.

9:23AM PDT on Jun 29, 2010

You don't have to labor in a car in the way to the hospital. If anybody has never done this, let me tell you it sucks. No traffic jams or bad weather to worry about. Also, if you have quick births like me, you don't have to chance delivering in your car!!

Amanda M.

12:19PM PDT on Jun 5, 2010

However, since it was the only option available for us, we were pretty much stuck. I wasn't too thrilled with the hospital (no birthing tub, you can't wear your own clothes, and the helipad is right outside the birthing center, to name a few reasons why), but if we'd tried for another one with better options, we might have ended up delivering our second kid on the side of a major highway or something! The birth went okay and the midwives respected our wishes and our religious traditions (such as not giving our children their names right away but waiting for their naming days before anybody says the name out loud), but I did make sure to put a couple of suggestions on the survey we got after we went home. First suggestion, letting moms wear their own "jammies" instead of hospital gowns. Second suggestion (and one I wish I'd had because I had back labor with my second), PUT JACUZZI TUBS IN THE BIRTHING ROOMS IN THE NEW HOSPITAL! And yes, I wrote that in capital letters!

I can't complain too loud about our hospital experiences, all told, but I still wish that we women had ALL birthing options available to us. Too many people are still under the assumption that hospitals are the safest places to be, and for a normal healthy woman in a low-risk pregnancy, that simply is not the case. The stats for midwives delivering babies, and for midwife-assisted home births, bear that out. The risk of interference in the hospital is actually HIGHER, as Tina said!

12:13PM PDT on Jun 5, 2010

I wish I could've had a home birth with either one of my children, but that didn't happen.

My first daughter was supposed to be born at the freestanding birthing center that our midwife ran just over the state line in Pennsylvania (we live in Maryland), but she was on vacation at the time I went into labor and the on-call midwife was from West Virginia and wasn't licensed for PA! So at the last second (when we called her to let her know I was in labor), we found out we had to go to the hospital, and the county hospital in our area has limited facilities for those who want a home-style birth free of interference! It was a chaotic experience where I had to fight tooth and nail for every little thing I wanted and was not at all what I had hoped for with the amenities of the birthing center I'd chosen.

Four years later when we found out we were expecting again, our options were even more limited. The midwife we'd gone to had closed her practice down due to skyrocketing malpractice rates (sadly, that's a reason a lot of the midwifery practices end up closing their doors these days), so we had to look for another one. We lucked out in one respect; we found another practice in our county that had midwives, but they only do hospital births. Because of our prior experience with the hospital and my history of fast labor with my firstborn (less than two hours), I was leery about going back there because of their limited options like I said before.

Tina P.

2:18PM PDT on Jun 4, 2010

Research shows that home birth is statistically as safe as hospital birth for low risk pregnancies. Some argue that - in particular some OBs, however, taking an upper level statistics course would show that the differences in the statistics are considered to be due to chance, vs anything intrinsic to home vs hospital birth. Some studies show that home birth is actually safer, and has fewer interventions than comparable hospital births.

Teresa W.

1:40PM PDT on Jun 4, 2010

I suppose C-sections are overused. All my friends who have already given birth had C-sections, except one who is a doctor. I suppose the given her profession, no surgeon even tried to convince her that the only appropriate way of giving birth was a C-section, while they probably do convince others...