By Dr. Heather Margaret, MD

When I listen to stories about why we choose homebirth I hear repeated themes of comfort, control, and naturalness, then the question comes, "but don't you care about safety?" The reply is typically how safety is compensated for, the midwife brings oxygen, IV fluids, suction equipment, and on and on. We apologize for the deficit of safety by showing all the ways we make up for this weak spot in the homebirth theory, hoping that the questioner will be satisfied that these "safety measures" are good enough to justify our love of comfort and control. And Dr. VanEtten remains disgusted by how absolutely selfish a bunch of women we are.

People have told me, "we like the comfort of homebirth, but we are not sure if we should birth at home because we are concerned about safety." If you think it is safer to give birth at the hospital, please go to the hospital, get a good obstetrician, continuous monitoring and all the best hospital birth has to offer. Don't be selfish and put personal comfort above the safety and well being of your family.

Homebirth is only for those who have thoroughly considered all the evidence, from the beginning of the Bible to the most recent medical journal research. Only should you birth at home if you are completely certain it is the optimally safe environment, not that you may somehow compensate for the shortcomings of being away from the hospital, but that it is really and truly the best you can do for you and your baby.

If we want to get past the image of the selfish un-helmeted motorcyclist who places personal "freedom" and pleasure above safety and the societal burden created by their choices we need to quit apologizing for the lack of safety in homebirth, as if safety is some weak link in our otherwise pleasurable scheme. When they say, "but what about safety?" meet them head on with, "that is exactly why we choose homebirth, because we are concerned about safety." (If that statement is not true for you, then head for the hospital.)

Only choose homebirth if your are certain every available evidence supports that a woman who lives in obedience to how we were meant to live (eating real food, being physically active, getting adequate rest, choosing a husband that fulfills his instruction to love his wife as Christ loved the Church) including submission to the designs for reproduction, will give birth with great outcomes. Only choose homebirth if you are certain there is no mysterious "curse causeless" about birth. Only choose homebirth if you are without a doubt that the optimally physiologic birth is the optimally safe birth. Only choose homebirth if you have found the best evidence suggests the place for the optimally safe birth is home. Only choose homebirth if you believe the hospital environment violates the physiology of birth and the design for our physical existence, with the result being the consistently poor outcomes seen in the hospital born, such as high rates of interventions, morbidity and mortality, and poor performance on basic indices of mothering (like breastfeeding).

If you are like the majority of the country and do not have these type of beliefs and this level of certainty which flies in the face of the opinion of virtually every respected physician and organization, and the best you can convince yourself is that you can somehow compensate by bringing enough of the hospital home with you, then just forget about it, there is plenty of room at the hospital (and they just got new curtains and rocking chairs so it is comfy just like home anyway, right?)

I am stuck with giving birth at home. I have no other option, because I put the safety and well being of baby first, and mom's safety not far behind. I can't accept the risks of morbidity and mortality present in hospital birth even though it would offer me the chance to schedule the birth date, labor without any pain, spare my husband the demands of responsibility, and have someone else to do the laundry. After my evaluation of the evidence and the risks placed on my baby and myself in the hospital setting, I can not justify in my mind the comforts and conveniences. It is in every way easier and more socially acceptable to hand over the $20 co-pay and check in at Regional, but my conscience prevents it, and we stay home.

No apologies. No selfishness. Just obedience.

By the way, they are watching us now. I just filed for the birth certificate on baby #4, and had to make an extra trip because the forms had changed. One of the new questions on the new forms the state wants to know, "was this homebirth planned or unplanned?" Please everyone remember that the safety of homebirth is brought about by practices established well before conception. Hiring a midwife, even one with an ambu-bag, does not replace personal responsibility to be throughout life well educated, fed, exercised, rested, and otherwise in humble obedience to how we are meant to live.

Heather & her husband, Mike Schacht, live with their 4 children in Fort Meade, SD. Please check out Heather’s website (drhmargaret.com) to read this article in its entirety – http://drhmargaret.com/taxonomy/term/2