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A mother-of-three has shared her home birth experience after the Committee for Health and Social Care announced it will no longer provide a midwife-supported home birth service.
Gemma Griffin had one of her three children at home, while the other two were born in hospital.
“After my home birth experience, I have actively encouraged others to consider home birth as an option over a hospital delivery,” she said.
“It was with great dismay that I read about the decision not to reinstate the midwife-supported home birth service.”
Pictured: Ms Griffin said the decision of where to give birth is a personal one.
“For me personally, my health and wellbeing was greatly affected with both of my hospital births,” said Ms Griffin.
“I was filled with anxiety about being in unfamiliar surroundings with unknown faces, at the mercy of hospital policy and procedures.
“In the final trimester especially, a time when I should have been relaxing and preparing a space for our new baby, I would be in fight mode, frantically writing birth notes and packing bags, afraid that if I missed something vital it would mean I wouldn’t have the birth experience I wanted.”
Pictured: Gemma Griffith gave birth to her daughter Ida (back) at home.
Ms Griffin has three children, Jake (10), Ida (7) and Kaya (3).
“I had Ida at home and the experience was indescribable," she said. "I had nothing to think about, except wondering which would be the most comfortable room to birth in and whether or not we should hire a birthing pool.
“There were no bags to pack, no worrying over childcare, no anxiety about being left alone with a newborn on the very first night of their arrival.”
Pictured: Ms Griffin said a home birth avoids the stress of packing a hospital bag.
“Being at home meant that no one was questioning any of the decisions we had made about the birth experience we wanted,” said Ms Griffin, who argued that a home birth allows for more independence.
“There were no time schedules and waiting for beds and no disappointment at having to birth in a windowless, fluorescent lit room, as was my first birth experience.
“I was surrounded by my things, my comforts, helping to make me more relaxed than I had ever been with previous births.
“The birth required no pain relief and no interventions, and I put this down to my state of mind for the most part.”
Ms Griffin said that a home birth is not the right choice for everyone but the choice should be available.
Pictured: Ms Griffin said some women feel more comfortable giving birth in hospital.
Ms Griffin continued: “Some people will feel more relaxed and confident in hospital setting and many will also have no birth complications in hospital.
“For those women who, for whatever reason, feel very strongly that a home birth is the only option, the decision to remove this choice by not investing anymore resources into the home birth service, will greatly impact their birth experience,” she said.
“The removal of this service has the potential to lead to long term issues surrounding trauma and bonding between a parent and child and possibly even effect the decision to have a child in the first place.
“Home birth is not for everyone, but it is difficult to understand why, in a time when we are being told that resources are stretched and funding is low, that Guernsey wouldn’t want to prioritise more women giving birth at home.”
HSC is "very sorry" to drop support for homebirths
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