Teagan Hoper describes having a home birth as one of the best decisions she and her husband have made in their entire lives. or signup to continue reading It was so peaceful, so relaxed. I said afterwards, "I didn't know birth could be this good".

NSW Health's recently released Mothers and Babies Report shows home births are on the rise. There were 698 planned home births across NSW in 2022, compared to 581 in 2021. However, they still account for less than one per cent of births.

In the Western NSW Local Health District it's even lower. Only six home births were recorded in 2022. Ms Hoper has three children.

but after feeling like her decision-making power was taken away during the labour and birth she said she was traumatised by the experience. She was about 10 weeks pregnant with her second child . "At the time I hadn't planned on having a home birth, I was just going to engage her for antenatal and postnatal care.

I even said to her 'home birth isn't really for me'. But a lot of the things she was saying really aligned with my values," Ms Hoper said. But it was 2020, at the height of COVID, and l.

"The more I was going through the pregnancy and doing things like having the ultrasound and whatnot, the more I seemed to meet resistance from people in the medical system with the choices I was making," Ms Hoper said. At about 35 weeks pregnant, Ms Bassett put the possibility of a home birth forward. "When I came to the point where I was like, 'no, I actually think that this is.