Having your baby at home can be a wonderful, empowering choice if it is where you feel the most supported and comfortable. At home, you can choose to have family members or friends present at the birth, or choose to have a private birth experience shared with your birth partner. Since 1994, when midwifery was regulated in Ontario, midwives have attended over 25,000 home births, and continue to attend about 3,000 home births annually.
Midwifery clients planning a home birth:
If you decide in labour that you would prefer to go to hospital, that is always an option. Likewise, some women planning hospital births decide to remain at home for delivery.
Research shows that home birth is as safe as hospital birth when attended by a skilled health care provider. Your primary midwife will monitor both you and your baby during your labour. A second midwife will arrive close to the end of your labour to take care of your baby once she or he is born. The range of pain relief options available to you will include massage, shower/bathing, and sterile water injections. The equipment that a midwife brings to a home birth is similar to the equipment in a community hospital. If it becomes medically necessary to go to the hospital during your labour, safe transport is arranged depending on the urgency of the situation. In order to facilitate emergency transport, all planned homebirths are registered through emergency medical services.
A home birth is not appropriate for all women. Your health during pregnancy and labour and your personal circumstances are considerations to discuss with your midwife when making this decision. Hospital birth, as a back-up for home births, is part of what makes home birth safe.
Please complete our online ‘Request A Midwife’ form or call us directly at (807)-622-BABY.