“People look at me like I am crazy when I tell them I had a home birth. I can point out the very spot in my living room where my daughter was born, in the birth pool. It was calm, private, and empowering. I had my family with me, my daughter got to watch her little sister being born. My husband felt useful, filling the pool and making cups of tea for the midwives. The two midwives didn’t deliver my baby; they helped me to do it for myself. It wasn’t a crazy thing to do at all.”
“At 8 weeks my husband and I went to my GP surgery and met my midwife. I felt from the start that I would like to find out about home birth and what my options were as giving birth at home felt like the most natural thing to want to do. This was my first pregnancy and I was not certain if having my baby at home would be something that would be encouraged.”
“I felt so lucky to find out that, in the Dudley borough, home birth is an option. My midwife took the time to listen to me and discuss all of the possible places where I could give birth at length. She explained to me that there are times when mothers do not get so many choices, especially if either mom or baby have health complications throughout the pregnancy, and that this could alter my options as time went on”.
