Demand for home birth services at a record high in NT

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A growing number of people in the Northern Territory are casting aside traditional hospital births and having their babies at home through a publicly funded home birth program. Last year saw the largest number of territory home births on record since it launched 20 years ago. Demand is so high that the NT now has the highest rate of midwife-assisted home births in the country.

Transcript

00:00It's been almost 4 months since Thea and Caitlin gave birth to their first baby, Bodhi,

00:09in a pool in their kitchen, kilometres from Alice Springs Hospital.

00:13Thea, a midwife herself, considered a hospital birth at first, and Caitlin thought any other

00:19option was a risk.

00:21There was a lot of hesitation at the start when Thea was like, I want to have a home

00:25birth.

00:26I was like, oh, I don't know how I feel about that.

00:27But looking back, the pair know it was the right decision for them.

00:32Because it was important to me to have as natural a labour and birth as possible, and

00:38to feel that my partner and I were able to have a safe, comfortable environment.

00:44I'm really glad we did because it was the most beautiful experience, just being at home

00:49all day, just the two of us.

00:52Thea and Caitlin are among a growing number of people in the Northern Territory having

00:57babies at home through the NT's publicly funded Home Birth Program.

01:02It's so popular, the Territory now has the highest proportion of babies born at home

01:07with a midwife, more than double the national average of 0.5%.

01:12There is an increasing demand.

01:14Every year I've worked in home birth, it's got higher and higher and higher.

01:17These specialised midwives are ready to respond to birthing calls day and night.

01:22If any complications or concerns happen, then we're there to be able to help with that.

01:28But most women who birth at home catch their own babies.

01:32With one in three Australian women suffering from birth trauma, Vanessa envisions a future

01:37where home birth is a choice for everyone.

01:40Women who birth at home are less likely to have interventions.

01:45They even end up with lower rates of postnatal depression and higher rates of breastfeeding.

01:51Despite only being available for low-risk pregnancies in Darwin and Alice Springs,

01:56the NT is on track to break last year's home birth record of 48.

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