The growing number of pregnant women interested in home births is due to the pandemic, a maternity expert has said. 

The most recent figures released by the HSE reveal that 432 women registered for home births in 2022 - up from 345 in 2020. 

On Moncrieff, Association for Improvements in Maternity Services in Ireland Chairperson Krysia Lynch said women began to explore their options during lockdown. 

“We started to see an increase in home birth choices by women during that COVID time when a lot of people understandably didn’t want to go into a hospital,” she explained. 

“Then we all saw that when people were going in that sometimes you weren’t able to have a partner with you. 

“For some women, that was really important to have a partner with them, so they opted for a home birth and that really started the upward trend I think.” 

Dr Lynch said home births “aren’t for everybody” and they have to be approved by the patient’s midwife before they can take place. 

“It’s not safe for everybody,” she said. 

“We have a safe home birth service in Ireland that requires people to jump through quite a lot of hoops. 

“So, the first thing they need to do is they need to be assessed - primarily by a midwife and then possibly by an obstetrician if required.

“They’re assessed in terms of their physical suitability, in terms of whether they’re too far away from a hospital and whether there’s a midwife in their area.” 

A pregnant woman. Picture by: Alamy.com

Dr Lynch said even if an expectant mother is approved for a home birth, the midwife can take reconsider their decision if the woman’s health changes. 

“You might have been suited on your first visit but on your subsequent visit, maybe you’ve developed a condition and that’s no longer considered a safe thing for you to have a home birth,” she said. 

Although there is a perception that a home birth means giving birth in a bed, Dr Lynch said that is only one of the options available. 

“I would think that’s probably the least likely place for anybody to have a baby,” she said. 

“A lot of people chose to have their baby in a pool, in a birthing pool, so water birth is an option at home. 

“Other people will just make a comfy space… Most mothers tend to give birth in their living rooms and maybe they have a yoga mat or something like that.” 

'The resources aren’t there'

Currently, only a tiny fraction of women chose to give birth at home but Dr Lynch said it would be higher if the State expanded access to homebirths. 

“We don’t have the resources, the resources aren’t there,” she said. 

“We need to actually put the money where the strategy says the money ought to go and put those resources and the people will come.”

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Main image: A newborn baby. Picture by: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa