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More Mothers Choosing To Give Birth At Home

Katie Chiang gave birth to her son at home in St John

Jersey has seen a big increase in the number of babies born at home.

25 home births have taken place so far this year, and if the trend continues, the island could see an overall rate of 6% home births by the end of 2021.

That would be 4% higher than the UK average.

The government says while the rise is partly due to the pandemic, it's mainly down to an increasing desire to use a pool for labour.

Journalist Katie Chiang chose to give birth to her son Harrison at her home in St John nearly six weeks ago.

She says she and her husband Toby thought it seemed like a good option for them.

"Because I'd had a relatively 'easy' pregnancy with no complications or anything like that, there wasn't anything for us to be cautious or worry about especially so it was something we thought would be nice to do if we could."

Katie with Harrison now

Katie told Channel 103 the familiarity of being at home was an important factor.

"I hadn't quite anticipated how much I would appreciate it until after our baby had arrived.

"We had the pool set up in our conservatory and about 20 minutes after he was born, I was lying on the sofa, the midwife was tidying everything up and after the midwife had gone, we were able to relax - tucked up in our own bed.

"I'd say if you can, do consider it. There is so much information out there from the community team that they can put any queries and worries you have to rest.

"It was the best thing that we could ever have done. My first birth, I didn't know what to expect, but it went as well as it could have been and to be able to have our little boy at home was so wonderful - to start our family life together in the place which is our family home, to relax as a family immediately afterwards - it was truly wonderful."

There were just 8 home births last year, compared to 20 in both 2018 and 2019.

Catherine Houlder manages Jersey's community midwifery service. She says she would 'fully recommend' a home-birth for anyone who isn't expecting complications with their pregnancy.

"All our community midwives work incredibly hard 24/7. We all really enjoy this aspect of midwifery as it is a special experience to support a woman birthing her baby in her own environment and then tuck a new family up in bed.

"Women opting for home-birth are less likely to have an instrumental delivery, a caesarean section, an episiotomy, a haemorrhage or severe tear. We carry enough equipment that we can manage a problem until we reach a hospital and we also receive excellent support from the ambulance service who can offer an eight mininute emergency response if needed."

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