What You Should Know: Unassisted Childbirth/Freebirth

The term has been floating around recently and many moms are confused. What is an unassisted childbirth? Why is it called freebirth? Is it dangerous? Why would someone elect to have a UC (as it's often called)? Do they get prenatal care? What happens if something goes wrong?

All these questions and more will be answered in this article.

Unassisted childbirth is the act of having your baby without the presence of a doctor or midwife. Typically it's in your own home but some women birth in secluded areas like their back yard or a field, the woods, or somewhere else quiet and private.

Why would someone choose to have a UC?

There are several philosophies that a woman wanting a UC typically has. One is that childbirth is much like conception, in that the only people that should be there are the people who made the baby in the first place. The second is that childbirth is a completely natural process that every woman is prepared to handle. She has confidence in herself, her body, and her baby, and she feels that intervention is risky. Another is the very real fear that her birth will be hampered or even ruined by attendants, no matter how understanding they are of her wishes. Some women view birth as a spiritual or empowering experience and the presence of strangers...even if it's someone you've screened and hired, can adversely affect your birth, in their opinion.

Why is it called freebirth?

Because the woman births free of restrictions placed on her by others who can't tap into her instincts or birth her baby.

Is it dangerous?

There are no statistics kept on unassisted childbirth, as many of the women who have one consider it a private event and therefore they report to no authority on how the birth went, if there were any complications, etc. However, there are many stories of women having safe and wonderful UC births all over the internet.

Do they get prenatal care?

Some women elect to get prenatal care, typically from a midwife as doctors can get really pushy or unnecessarily scare mothers, trying to force them into a hospital birth that they don't want. Some women elect to do their own prenatal care, renting a doppler or getting a fetoscope to listen to the baby, checking their blood sugar and blood pressure, and making sure that their instincts are telling them everything is alright. Some women elect to forgo prenatal care altogether, trusting that their body or their baby would tell them if something was wrong.

Women who choose not to have a practitioner throughout their pregnancy sometimes label it a UP/UC birth (unassisted pregnancy/ unassisted childbirth).

What happens if something goes wrong?

The philosophy with a homebirth midwife is that the midwife knows you better than a doctor would from spending time with you, so thanks to her trained eye and good relationship with you, she can spot problems and bring up the possibility of hospital transfer before a doctor would even notice the problems.

It isn't much different in an unassisted birth, except for the fact that you're the one who has to pay attention and follow your instincts. Some women don't feel comfortable because something comes up like meconium in the water or an irregular position or contraction pattern, so they transfer to a hospital. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen, and these women, in taking responsibility for themselves and their baby, feel the need to transfer to hospital care either before the birth or while in labor. They are making a responsible decision for their health and safety (and the health and safety of their baby). Other situations can arise, and many are easily handled at home. Breech babies, twins, even triplets have all been delivered at home and been fine. Women with health complications, like diabetes or an autoimmune disorder, have had unassisted births with great outcomes for both mom and baby. There are also situations where the baby is born at home, unassisted, and the mother feels that there is something wrong with her baby so she takes it to the pediatrician for testing. The baby fares no worse in many of these instances than they would if they were in a hospital and something was wrong but the pediatrician didn't spot it until a day after.

There are some instances where a woman has to transfer and she knows it, but as long as she is responsible about her care and the care of her baby, we can have faith that many of these women are doing what they feel is the right thing and there are no consequences for that.

Is it legal to have a UC in my state?

It is legal to have a UC in every state in the nation. If women could be prosecuted for not delivering in a hospital or a birth center, those women delivering in cabs or ambulances could be prosecuted.

It used to be thought that only extremely poor women or women who went into labor really fast had births at home. That they were by accident or because they couldn't afford proper medical care. More and more, women from all walks of life are choosing homebirth, and some are even choosing unassisted childbirth for their sake, and the sake of their babies. I think it's fabulous to see so many birthing options being taken back by women. Childbirth belongs to women, and that's where it should stay. Instinct is a powerful force, and if we learn to listen to it, we can make safe and responsible decisions that can make our lives much more fulfilling. UC is one way to do that. I hope it stays an option for women all over the country.

See also my articles_on_pregnancy, miscarriage, and child loss, my_well-known_homebirth_series (more articles hopefully next week), my articles on labor and delivery, and my series on induction, reasons, risks, and methods.

Liz Copeland is the mother of 9, a midwife-in-training, and a homebirth advocate.