Why it isn't brave to have a homebirth
So many people say 'oh you are brave' when a woman or a couple divulge that they are planning or considering a homebirth for their baby. But that 'oh you are brave' comment (and I've too been guilty of saying it in the past) implies that there is some heightened risk of having a baby at home and that only the strongest of women (of body and mind) can possibly achieve it. Somewhere along the way we have forgotten that the majority of people in the world are born out of hospital, most likely at 'home'. The majority of UK births happened at home before the 1970s. Hospital births were a rare thing.
This is a really good read for anyone thinking of a homebirth or who knows someone planning a homebirth. Sometimes we get so misled by modern society and cultural norms that our perception of normal distorts dramatically. Homebirth is the norm if you switch your perspective to looking at the human race in today's world and if you look at the thousands of years of evolution. Brave is normal!
