Is home birth or hospital birth safer?

This is a topic that is passionately debated, and it’s usually framed as if there’s one correct answer: Is home birth safer, or is hospital birth safer?

If you look at the research, you'll see that the outcomes between planned home birth and hospital birth are actually very similar, which surprises a lot of people. It is important to note that in this research, the moms having a home birth are choosing it for themselves because that's where they feel safest.  

So then, we believe the more important question isn’t which location is safest on paper, but rather

where does your body feel safest?

Birth is not an inherently medical event. It’s a physiological process that is deeply influenced by the nervous system. The hormones that drive labor, especially oxytocin, thrive in environments that feel safe, private, and undisturbed. When the nervous system becomes more alert or guarded, stress hormones rise, and labor can slow down or pause. 

In our culture, the hospital is widely understood as the safe place to give birth. That belief is deeply ingrained. So even if someone consciously feels like they would like the comfort of giving birth in their own home, they may not feel completely safe to do so, because of the stories they’ve heard, the messaging they’ve absorbed, or the fear of going against what’s considered normal. The hospital genuinely does feel safest. (They may also have very limited options for at-home care, due to state laws around midwifery or a shortage of care providers in their area -- but that's a whole different conversation for another newsletter).

For others, they genuinely feel safest giving birth at home for similar reasons. They feel safest in their own space, they've either heard or experienced traumatic stories of hospital birth, and they have a deep trust in themselves and their body. For them, home birth likely is safest for them.

There is no universal answer to where it's safest to have a baby. We all bring different histories, beliefs, values, and nervous systems into birth.

You’ll hear people on both sides argue passionately that their way is better. But at the end of the day, your nervous system is driving the bus. And the environment that allows you to soften — rather than brace — is the one most likely to support your physiology.

Choosing where to give birth requires being honest with yourself. Listening to your body as much as your brain. And trusting yourself to choose the setting that feels safest for you.

Because if you and your nervous system feel safe, your body can do what it's designed to do. 

Always in your corner,
💛 Kayla & Leslie