As an antenatal teacher and mother of three in South West London, I was dismayed to read the negative correspondence on about the increased risks of women giving birth to their first baby at home or at an AMU.
Birth (as with most other processes in life) does involve some risks, but those risks should be balanced with other factors in the birth process that have huge implications for women and their partners. What about the risks of being in hospital?
The BirthPlace Study clearly shows that the levels of intervention such as assisted delivery, episiotomy and caesareans, increase once a woman goes into hospital - whether for their first or subsequent baby. For some women the realities of this type of birth, mean that they are keen to have another option - which is birth in an AMU or at home.
Only for first time mothers is there a small increase in risk, for everyone else, there is no increase.
For some women expecting their first baby, this is a risk they are willing to take because they understand the benefits and importance of a positive and empowering birth experience and they would like to increase the chances of this being the case.
Women and their partners are likely to feel better supported and cared for in the more relaxed environment of a home or AMU birth, rather than in the busy and sometimes stressful hospital delivery suite. Unfortunately, because of the rising birth rate, lack of midwives and many hospital protocols, this is often the reality of hospital birth.
In my 11 years of teaching antenatal classes, I have not yet come across anyone having a home birth who was not pleased with their decision, even if they did end up transferring in to hospital (most of the transfers into hospital are not for emergencies, but are much more likely to be because the woman wants to have an epidural or because progress is slow).
It is so important to have choices in life - especially when those choices can have significant effects on the long-term health of families.
Josie Wood; via email
- What do you think? Send your letter to: letters@epsomguardian.co.uk.
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