06/06/2026
One thing I stress to my clients is that there is not a single choice we make in life that is entirely risk-free. My job is not to remove every ounce of risk (that would be impossible!!) but my job IS to give you the information that is needed to make truly informed decisions along the way.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EnWTLoRCg/?mibextid=wwXIfr
As homebirth and birth center families, I think we need to be honest about something:
Choosing this path comes with a certain level of radical responsibility.
And I say that as someone who deeply loves homebirth. I have had several myself. I believe in it. I support it. I have seen how beautiful, safe, peaceful, and empowering birth can be when a mother is respected, informed, and trusted.
But being pro-homebirth does not mean pretending there is no risk.
There is risk in homebirth.
There is risk in birth center birth.
There is risk in hospital birth.
Every option comes with pros, cons, benefits, and possible outcomes.
One of the beautiful things about choosing out-of-hospital birth is that you often have more autonomy. You may have more room to make decisions about testing, ultrasounds, interventions, monitoring, prenatal care, and how involved you want your provider to be.
But autonomy is not just freedom.
Autonomy is also responsibility.
If you choose testing, that is your choice.
If you decline testing, that is your choice.
If you choose ultrasounds, that is your choice.
If you decline ultrasounds, that is your choice.
If you choose a midwife, that is your choice.
If you choose a more hands-off pregnancy, that is your choice.
And you deserve the right to make those choices.
But you also have to be willing to take responsibility for what those choices may mean.
I had what many people would call a “wild” pregnancy with my youngest baby. Some people would call that reckless. Some would call it empowering. But at the end of the day, it was my choice. I also chose to have a midwife present for my birth because that aligned with what I wanted and what I felt was right for me.
Those were my decisions. And I had to own them.
That is the part we do not talk about enough.
Being informed is your responsibility.
Asking questions is your responsibility.
Understanding what you are accepting or declining is your responsibility.
Knowing that every choice has possible outcomes is your responsibility.
This is not about blaming mothers when providers fail them.
This is not about pretending negligence does not happen.
This is not saying that freak accidents don't occur despite everyone's best efforts.
This is not about saying people are always properly informed, because we know they are not.
But it is about being honest that no one is coming to hold your hand and make every decision for you.
This is your body.
Your baby.
Your birth.
Your responsibility.
That is not meant to be scary.
It is meant to be empowering.
Because when you truly understand that your choices are yours, you can stop outsourcing your intuition, your research, your questions, and your responsibility to everyone else.
Homebirth is not about blindly rejecting everything.
It is not about proving how hands-off you can be.
It is not about ignoring risk.
It is about informed choice.
And informed choice means being brave enough to look at the whole picture, not just the parts that feel good.
I am deeply, wildly, unapologetically pro-homebirth.
But I am also pro-radical responsibility.
Because you cannot have true autonomy without it. 🤎
