News

 

Events and topics of interest

Planning a home birth

 

You plan to birth at home, knowing it will be an empowering experience and give your pēpe a great start to life. Explore our birthing information and resources to support your choice.

 

About us

 

Our organisation, our people, our whanau. Home Birth Aotearoa informs and celebrates the home birth choice and supports the home birth community.

Birthing techniques

Whakawhānau, labour and birthing. Options for natural childbirth you can practice in your home birth.

“It’s lovely having a baby at home. He was born at 11.44pm and we were in bed asleep by 1.30 am.”
~
Lucy Lawless
“I gave birth at home both times — natural — with a midwife, in water … with nothing”
~
Pamela Anderson
“We decided to have the baby at home because we wanted it to be a natural birth, and it turns out that it was 30 hours of natural.”
~
Evangeline Lilly

5 Reasons to choose home birth

1. Fewer unnecessary interventions

Calm, peaceful, in control of your own environment and who or what is in your labouring/birthing space, less likely chance of having or needing any interventions and a more likely chance of having a normal delivery ~ Nell

I felt it gave me the best chance of a VBAC with minimal unnecessary intervention & the chance to really trust in my body knowing what to do….and that’s exactly what happened ~ Jo

2. Peaceful Birth

Birthing a child in your own home gives you security, calm, and control. It’s a peaceful place to bring a baby into. ~ Huia

Being at home is relaxing – I felt way calmer for longer during labour and was able to curl up in my own bed afterwards. ~ Rose

3. Autonomy and empowerment

Empowerment to birth my baby my way. – Linda

In the transition to motherhood, home would be where my intuition could be most easily listened to and responded to. This continues to be true.~ Emily

It’s an adrenaline rush to birth in your own surroundings, 7 months on I still feel that buzz of pride, adrenaline and empowerment of having the privilege to birth my baby in my home. ~ Lucy

4. Everything at hand

I chose home birth because it’s quiet, relaxing, no need to pack anything, no fear that you’ll forget anything and you have all your own things around you. ~ Sandra

My number one was simply being at home, the warmth of the fire, no unwanted visitors and no time frames what more could I ask for. ~ Jami

5. Bonding - family and baby

To be able to stay together as a family unit and to be relaxed in my own environment while giving birth.~ Sharlene

To be able to bring my baby into the world in my own space, surrounded by the people I love (including baby’s sibling) to sleep in my own bed and eat my own food afterwards, I love that we don’t have to arrange childcare and be away from our eldest Son, not to have to get into a car in labour and drive 2+hours….Plus why go to a hospital you’re not ill! ~ Lauren

I felt I was able to bond instantly with my daughter, more than the others, breastfeeding came more easily too. ~ Toni

Voices of Tane

A father’s perspective

Home birth stories

from New Zealand families

(click on image to open story)

A deeper dive

into the world of home birth in
New Zealand; our magazine.

 

Photo credit and thanks:
Slider ~ Tree planting/ Planning a home birth: Nadia Kersal. Fan/News: Emily Searle. Baby in pool/Birthing techniques: Alice Trask
5 Reasons ~ Isalella Harrex
Voices of Tane ~ Dad supporting mum: Rachel & Ranui Herangi. Whole family: Jorinde Robbers

Birth isn’t something we suffer, but
something we actively do, and exalt in!

SHEILA KITZINGER

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