Free birthing and understanding risk | Childbirth

After listening to the Guardian’s podcast series, The Birth Keepers, I feel compelled to share my own story. I believe it is important to share examples of a middle path between free birth and obstetric violence. Personally, I chose the middle path.

My child was born at home. At the time, we were living off-grid in a remote village in France. We knew many women who had chosen to give birth at home in our village accompanied by the only certified independent midwife in the region who accepted the risk of accompanying home births in this particularly isolated location.

We were also friends with a physiotherapist – mother of three children born at home – who agreed to accompany me throughout my pregnancy and who promised to be with us the day our child was born.

The day my child was born, guided by our friend, I remained in conscious movement all day throughout the contractions. Our midwife arrived late in the day, a few hours before the actual birth.

I was able to maintain control of my body with the father of my child and two very experienced professional women by my side to keep me and my baby safe.

We need informed comparative research on maternal and infant mortality in unassisted and hospitalized births. Without clear numbers, women are left in a state of confusion and fear, making informed choice difficult.
Olympia Bowman
Die, France

It is absolutely absurd to say that the risks associated with childbirth without medical assistance “are not well understood” (editorial of December 15). We know the risks associated with thousands of years of history, in which many women died in childbirth and many babies were stillborn, and mothers and babies were often seriously harmed if they survived; and from other parts of the world, we now know exactly what these risks are.
Helene Style
Richmond, London