A Growing Number of Women Are Opting to Give Birth
in the Comforts of Their Own Home

You have tried making your own table centerpiece, refurnishing your old furniture and maybe even doing your own home repairs. What about do-it-yourself childbirth?

Known as “unassisted childbirth” (UC) or “freebirth,” giving birth without the help of a doctor or midwife is beginning to gain attention in the United States and abroad. Though there is no information on how many women give birth unassisted by choice, in 2004 more than 7,000 babies were born at home without a midwife or physician present, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The majority of freebirthers choose to give birth at home because they consider it to be a natural (and deeply personal) physiological process – not a medical emergency. According to freebirthers, the interventions of a doctor are at best unhelpful and unwanted, and at worst dangerous to a mother who needs to be able to listen to her own body.

“Whatever intelligence that knows how to grow an egg and a sperm knows how to complete the process,” says Laura Shanley of Boulder, Colorado, who gave birth unassisted to five children, one of whom died shortly after birth due to a heart defect. Shanley is considered the American spokesperson for the movement, and her website, Bornfree, receives around 40,000 visitors per month.

“I don’t actually do anything to promote it,” says Shanley. “I put up the site and write about my life, and the movement has grown on its own.” Media interest has increased significantly this year, especially in the UK.

Shanley’s website showcases the birth stories of women from all walks of life who chose to go it alone. These stories are intriguing because they differ so widely from the long and excruciatingly painful process normally associated with birth. Instead of delivering while lying on their backs in a hospital bed, following instructions given by strangers, these women give birth in a warm tub in their living room, lovingly assisted by family.

One of these moms is Jennifer Padrta, a Capistrano Beach resident who has done two UCs and is planning another for her baby due next March. Why would she choose a UC?

“Because for me that was the most comfortable way to give birth,” says Padrta, who believes the central role her husband was able to play in both births has strengthened their marriage significantly. She also credits the wonderful relationship between her two sons in part to the fact that Michael, 4, witnessed the home birth of his brother Nicholas, 1.

Padrta says she did not want unnecessary interventions or resistance to her decision to not have routine testing or treatments performed on her newborn. Though she is not “anti-doctor,” Padrta has never taken a prescription drug or felt a need to see a doctor.

While many women who choose UC share Padrta’s avoidance of doctors and medicine, Jennifer Manon of Upland opted for one despite a good relationship with her OB/GYN.
“We simply did not feel that birth was a medical condition that needed fixing,” says Manon, who gave birth to her third and fourth children at home.

Manon’s first two children were born by cesarean section, and when she first heard of UC she admits she thought it was “the stupidest thing” she had ever heard. But after reading the birth stories on Shanley’s website, Manon began to crave the natural and peaceful births that these women had.

“There was just something in [the story] that pulled at me,” says Manon, who considers herself an average Southern California mother. “I just wanted that peace. I wanted that naturalness of birth.”

Though birth is a natural event that has occurred for centuries without the help of medical professionals, Dr. David Lagrew has seen firsthand the importance of prompt medical intervention during his work as the medical director of The Women’s Hospital at Saddleback Memorial Center.

“What you have to understand is that there is always a risk out there that something will occur that requires intervention in a few minutes,” says Lagrew. “I have seen a lot of critical situations, and I know that had we not had emergency response available that the baby or the mother would have been harmed.”

Lagrew says that women who are at low-risk for complications will not likely experience a poor outcome from an unassisted birth. But, he believes that the couple should completely understand the risks before making their decision.

“Do I think these people are absolutely out of their minds? No, but I do think they are taking a risk that they don’t need to take,” says Lagrew. “If you’re asking my medical opinion about it, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

The risks are definitely real. In one story appearing on the Bornfree website, a mom gave birth unexpectedly to twins, and the second baby was not breathing. She was able to revive the baby, but not after quite some time had passed.

Freebirthers know of these risks and prepare for possible complications. Both Padrta and Manon educated themselves and took responsibility for their labor, including mapping the way to local hospitals in case of emergency. During her unassisted births, Padrta successfully dealt with both hemorrhaging and compound presentation (her second son came out with his hand on his cheek).

Shanley says she rarely hears of a complication or death.

“I don’t claim that no one is ever going to make a mistake,” says Shanley. “There are going to be mistakes made at home, just like in the hospital. Maybe they could have been saved, maybe not.”

But Shanley knows that most women are not prepared to take responsibility for these risks.
“This just worked best for me,” says Shanley. “If women take comfort from [medical professionals] being there, then I don’t try to dissuade.” —Mary Beth Koontz