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An expert has said the growing trend of women 'freebirthing' at home is ‘risking their health, taking medical advancement back to the Middle Ages’.
This warning has resurfaced following the death of an Australian newborn after her mother welcomed her in a birthing pool she'd purchased online in 2022.
Last year, there were a whopping 594,677 live births in England and Wales - the first increase since 2021. People who are pregnant are traditionally rushed to the hospital when it’s time for their little one to be born - whether that’s when their water breaks or it’s time to be induced by a midwife.
But more people are opting to subvert norms, opting instead to welcome their babies at home in a trend known as ‘free birthing’.
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Free birth, also known as unassisted childbirth (UC), is the practice of choosing to give birth at home or somewhere else you feel safe without the help of medical staff, such as midwives and doctors.
Giving birth without medical professionals present is a legal choice in England.
However, in the absence of a midwife, a partner, friend or family member cannot assume their role or assume responsibility for the birth under law.
If you opt for a free birth, then rest assured that the NHS will continue to offer you antenatal and postnatal care throughout your pregnancy journey.
You can also choose or decline any and all appointments, as well as feel free to change plans at any point.
According to Browne Jacobson, no official figures are being collected on the number of free births across the UK. However, it’s understood that the method is on the rise, with some women opting to employ a doula over a midwife to help them give birth.
A doula’s job is to ‘provide practical, emotional and nurturing support to the whole family during pregnancy, labour and after the birth of a baby’, as per Doula UK. Their director, Trudi Dawson, told the BBC that they do not perform medical tasks and are only there for 'advocacy and support'.
However, a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist, who didn't want to be named, also told the publication that she is ‘terrified’ that more women than ever are opting to swap midwives and hospital expertise for home births.
"I just feel like freebirthing and allowing women to take that sort of risk with themselves, their bodies and their baby, is risking their baby dying and them potentially dying in that very unsupervised environment,” she claimed. "I think it's reversing back to the Middle Ages.”
Speaking about the potential dangers of home birthing and employing Doulas, the medical professional said: "I have had to care for women who had to come into hospital as an emergency after home, unsupervised home birth, either with a severe tear or sometimes haemorrhaging.
"I have seen with a colleague, for example, that a woman was persuaded [by her doula] not to have a fourth-degree repair in hospital.
"And this woman ended up with a colostomy. So there's some limited evidence that doulas are working outside the bounds of what they should be doing."
Meanwhile, two other senior midwives claimed they'd heard stories of doulas allegedly keeping midwives out of home births, while one of them said a midwife found 'equipment for Entonox [pain-relieving gas] and for an episiotomy for a doula'.
"This is where you really are crossing boundaries." they said.
If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the ****Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
