Theme |
Description |
Safety, better outcomes |
Respondents stated their belief that home birth is safer than hospital birth, or has better health outcomes. |
Intervention-free |
Respondents stated a desire to avoid medical interventions, routine procedures, and interferences that were common in hospitals. |
Negative previous hospital experience |
Respondents described negative previous hospital experiences either during their own hospitalization for a birth or an illness, or when they witnessed the negative experience of someone else in a hospital. |
Control |
Respondents stated a desire for autonomy or control over childbirth decisions and choices, or desired avoidance of restrictions and rules. |
Comfortable environment |
Respondents stated a desire to give birth in a comfortable, familiar, peaceful, relaxing, calm, or loving environment. |
Do not like hospitals, doctors |
Respondents stated a dislike or distrust of doctors, hospitals, or the concept of managed birth. |
Privacy |
Respondents stated a desire for privacy, to be left alone, to be in an uninhibited place, to avoid strangers, or to avoid staff interruptions. |
Trust in birth |
Respondents stated a belief in the natural process of childbearing, that labor will progress better at home, or a belief that at home, birth is treated like a normal event, not an illness. |
Better for baby |
Respondents stated a desire to do what is best for baby: no separation from mother, no medical interventions, better breastfeeding initiation, or quiet home environment. |
Preferred caregiver |
Respondents stated that they had a specific caregiver that they trusted and therefore preferred, or they stated a preference for home birth caregivers or midwives. |
Options |
Respondents stated a desire for specific options including delayed cord cutting, water birth, freedom to move around and choose positions, or freedom to eat and drink during labor. |
Drug-free |
Respondents stated a desire for a drug-free birth. |
Family involvement |
Respondents stated a desire for family participation in the birth and bonding between the various family members. |
Natural |
Respondents stated a desire for a natural experience: not necessarily drug-free per se, but an overall natural quality to the birth. |
Psychological benefits |
Respondents discussed psychological issues, spirituality, or feelings such as empowerment, joy, or satisfaction. |
Peaceful experience |
Respondents stated a desire for a birth experience that was calm, low stress, gentle, peaceful, positive, etc. |
Rights vs. fights |
Responses discussed birthing rights, feminist issues, violence against women, or desires to avoid fighting for their rights or for the birthing experience they desired. |
Avoid cesarean |
Respondents stated a desire to avoid a primary or repeat cesarean section. |
No car ride |
Respondents stated a desire to avoid a car ride in labor or in recovery. |
Time limit |
Respondents stated a desire to avoid time limits in labor and delivery. |
Family history |
Respondents reported a family history of home birth or that home birth was the norm in their community. |
Miscellaneous |
These responses were vague or did not answer the question. |
Cost |
Respondents stated that home birth cost less or that they did not have insurance. |
Infection |
Respondents stated a desire to avoid hospital-acquired infections. |
Fear |
Respondents stated various fears related to hospitals, staff, child abduction, or children switched in the hospital. |
History of fast labor |
Respondents reported a history of precipitous birth, or increasingly faster labors with each birth. |
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