Home Birth: Understanding the Reasons for This Choice

Abstract

This qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study aimed to understand the reasons that underlie the choice of homebirth. The information was captured through semi-structured interviews, applied between February and March 2014, recorded and transcribed. The sample obtained by saturation of data was composed of 14 women who had at least one experience of home birth, planned and attended in the previous year in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil, and region. The discussions were analyzed according to the method of Bardin's content analysis. The results gave rise to two categories: to gain information so as to be able to make an informed choice, and to be against the model of hospital care. The reasons listed show that the acquisition of knowledge is a basic condition to support the decision to give birth at home, in addition to revealing these women's great dissatisfaction with the current institutionalized model of care during childbirth.

Exploring social and health care representations about home birth: An Integrative Literature Review

“…These networks are essential to understand home birth from a social perspective (Lessa, Tyrell, Alves, & Rodrigues, 2014). Women understand that information must be acquired before and during their pregnancy since lack of information is the main obstacle to making the decision to give birth at home (Sanfelice & Shimo 2015a). Information networks are also described as a validation mechanism of information received elsewhere, through self‐directed learning and sharing of experiences among women (Feeley & Thomson, 2016).…”

Being born at home is natural: care rituals for home birth

“…The knowledge acquisition of the families was established, in our study, as a tool to support decision-making, since this strategy is the most appropriate way for claiming and achieving a safer and more respectful delivery method within the Brazilian reality (7,12) . Other factors, such as education, socioeconomic conditions, life story, childbirth reports shared between generations (or childbirths experienced with family and friends), knowledge and stories about the conditions of childbirth assistance and access to information (13) , in addition to previous experiences, medical power and that of the own family's, lack of dialogue in prenatal care, interest, curiosity, and the cultural basis influence the choice of vaginal birth (14) .…”

“…Thus, the option for assisted home birth is not due to lack of information, rebellion, or a passing fad, but because these families know, analyze, and question the Brazilian obstetric care model in all aspects, procedures, and routines. Therefore, when faced with obstacles and setbacks involved in childbirth assistance in institutionalized contexts, they state with consistency, clarity, and knowledge the choice for home birth (7,12) .…”

“…When preparing for this moment, the families seek health professionals and services that can ensure this experience, while respecting and valuing their expectations and desires. When having this information, women reveal the need to be assisted by health professionals who believe in their ability to give birth naturally (7) , seeking for spaces to socialize their experiences and, at the same time, to identify skilled professionals willing to stimulate and promote their autonomy during the labor process.…”

“…In addition to vaginal birth, we observe that women are increasingly opting for the experience of home birth, even though this is a new trend (7) . Propagation of information, mainly via the internet, actions from the public policies that advocate the humanization of labor and childbirth, and dissemination of studies based on scientific evidence on the obstetric filed have favored the choice of home birth (3) .…”