A heated debate surrounds the practice of women choosing to give birth at home without the assistance of healthcare professionals. This discussion has intensified following a recent incident in the eastern part of the country were a doula and another individual were reported to the police after a baby’s death.

Eva Rose, a doula with over 20 years of experience, reports receiving frequent inquiries from women desperate to avoid hospitals and give birth without medical intervention. I feel that everyone deserves professional health care, Rose stated, highlighting her reluctance to support unassisted births.

The Appeal of Unassisted Births

Many women seeking unassisted home births cite traumatic hospital experiences as their primary motivation. They desire the comfort of home but lack access to midwives willing to assist in home births.

When women come to me and say that they want to give birth unassisted,I tell about all the risks. You don’t know if the baby is doing well during birth, Rose explained, emphasizing the potential dangers involved.

The Directorate of Health strongly advises against planned unassisted home births. According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, there were 21 such births last year.

A Mother’s Viewpoint

Kristina Folkestad, a mother of four, is considering an unassisted home birth, critical of what she perceives as the increasing medicalization of childbirth. I do not want to live in a society where the normal is to cut the children out of the body of the mothers and that complications are normal. There is an increasing trend all the way, Folkestad asserted.

Folkestad’s first hospital birth was negative, leading her to choose midwife-assisted home births for her next two children. Now residing in Hareid, Sunnmøre, where home birth midwives are unavailable, she faces the prospect of an unassisted birth in October.

Using fear is a tool for control. There is no risk-free birth, whether you are in a hospital, Folkestad stated, advocating for more research on unassisted births to assess potential risks accurately. She emphasizes her intention to seek hospital care if complications arise.

Doula’s Dilemma

Eva Rose recounted a past experience assisting in an unassisted home birth for a woman who had lost faith in hospitals. She acknowledges the possibility of providing support in similar situations, stating, then it is indeed better that I am there than the woman is there alone. I can actually persuade the woman to go to the hospital, if I see that something is not good.

Rose believes increasing the number of midwives in hospitals,establishing midwife-controlled units for low-risk births,and expanding home birth options are crucial steps to restore pregnant women’s confidence in the healthcare system.

No jump midwives from a nursing home to the nursery, without being able to give the time they want to remain birth, Rose added, highlighting the need for dedicated and attentive care.

Midwife Association’s concerns

Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup of the Midwife Association expresses concern that misinformation is influencing women’s decisions to pursue unassisted births. Women can be tricked into putting their own and the child’s life at stake when they are well away from vital health care in birth care, Schjelderup warned.

Schjelderup attributes the rise in unassisted births to maternity ward reductions and staffing shortages, which leave many women feeling unsupported in hospitals. She urges authorities to strengthen maternity care to prevent women from choosing unassisted births.

There will be cuts in vital women’s health care when the health enterprise is to save. Sadly, it goes beyond women’s health and birth care, Schjelderup lamented.

health Minister Jan Christian vestre has requested the Directorate of Health to conduct a survey on user experiences with public maternity care.