The mention of home birth evokes contrasting opinions from experts worldwide.
Reasons vary among parents too but truthfully, delivering your little one in the comfort and solace of your home does sound like a one in a million experience.
For one thing, home births are more cost-effective than hospital births.
But picture this; the lights are dimmed to your utmost liking and the smell of home is strong in the air; your loved ones surround you and one of the most important moments of your life unfolds with intimate care.
And of course, under the care of a certified professional.
Modern medicine enables hospitals today to provide top-notch maternal care but home births actually remain a common option not just in Malaysia, but countries around the world.
Some experts believe intended home deliveries can be a safe experience. Take the Netherlands, for example.
Did you know the Dutch actually has the highest percentage of home births in the Western world?
Along with hospital care and delivery, the Dutch government also provides alternatives for mothers with low-risk pregnancies to deliver at home.
On that note, however, the risks for planned (let alone unplanned) home births are not worth the gamble to some experts especially in the face of high-risk pregnancies.
Even for healthy pregnancies, the risks multiply by two to threefold, leaving the newborn easily susceptible to complications best handled by certified professionals.
This goes to show if you are contemplating a home birth experience, it’s important for you to gather crucial facts about what makes a safe home birth experience.
And you’re definitely at the right place!
Home Births in Malaysia
In Malaysia, home births actually remain a common option among mothers today.
It is legal to deliver your baby at home in Malaysia but only under circumstances that meet the government’s regulations.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), a safe delivery means, ‘births attended and conducted by skilled health personnel, and it must be handled in a proper, suitable, safe and clean home environment’.
The mother is permitted to be accompanied by her husband, relatives or any individuals during the delivery at home.
However, those untrained in midwifery or unregistered under the MOH are in no way allowed to conduct the delivery.
Every stage of the labour experience requires vigilant monitoring, observation and proper handling by certified health personnel.
Some deliveries require emergency aids in the event of unprecedented complications.
Using instruments like vacuums, forceps, let alone performing the caesarian section, therefore, entails expertise that needs to be certified and accounted for.
So, what does being certified mean?
Your accompanying health personnel must be registered with the Midwifery Board Malaysia under the MOH. These personnel include community health nurses and trained staff nurses.
Water Birth Is Still A No-Go
Delivering your child through the water birth technique entails submerging yourself into a tub or pool of warm water during the first stage of labour.
You remain in the water throughout the pushing and your baby’s birth which helps with a smoother delivery experience.
Water births became increasingly popularised over the decades and even to this date, countless mothers – celebrities and everyday mums alike – tend to share glowing accounts of their experiences.
Experts, however, still persist that the safety aspect when birthing in water is largely inconclusive and the Malaysian Health Ministry has yet to provide a revisioned National Guidelines on water births.
There were very few centres in Malaysia with water birth facilities in the early 2000s. Come 2016, the Director-General banned water births in all Malaysian healthcare facilities.
Despite its growing popularity, water births remain banned in our country to this date.
Potential Risks and Complications of Home Birth
There are risks of complications for every pregnancy and the truth is, the hospital has the best amenities and equipment in the face of these dire emergencies.
In Malaysia, a concern that often plagues experts lies in the occurrences of unassisted home births. Planned home births see through regular antenatal care and check-ups by certified professionals.
But the MOH contends that unplanned or unassisted home births, whether it’s about hiring an uncertified doula or delivering at home in a poorly equipped, brings about a set of risks mothers should not take for granted.
To mothers, they risk:
- Hypertension or hypotension can occur during a delivery process. This may be fatal without the right intervention.
- Prolonged labour pain may lead to a caesarian section which a home setting is not equipped to accommodate.
- Obstructed labour can cause uterine rupture which may lead to persistent bleeding and fatal.
- Retained placenta may cause postpartum haemorrhage requiring immediate treatment.
- Extensive vaginal tears may cause persistent bleeding and infection if not treated.
- Infection can occur when using poorly sterilised equipment.
On the other hand, babies may experience:
- Foetal distress due to abnormal lie/presentation such as breech, oblique or transverse.
- Meconium stained liquor may be aspirated into the baby’s respiratory tract causing airway obstruction and lung infection.
- Infection may occur when using poorly sterilised or unsterilised equipment to cut the umbilical cord.
- Low body temperature (hypothermia) can reduce oxygen absorption which can lead to hypoxia and death without proper treatment.
- Congenital malformation and medical problems may not be identified early because no thorough physical examination was performed on the baby.
Home or Hospital, the Choice Is Yours
The modern image of home birth today may have been popularised as water births but we know now it’s much more than that.
As the matter of fact, a large bonus to home births is being able to experience labour on your terms.
This translates to going into birth or labour wherever you find comfortable in your home, be it the couch, bed, bathtub, or wherever else your health personnel deems safe!
With condition that you are carrying a low-risk pregnancy and the exemption of water births, the choice between home or hospital births is ultimately yours to make.
What awaits you now is a consultation with your doctor, followed by a medically-informed decision.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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