Having had two very different, but both very beautiful births, I feel quite equipped to be able to talk about my experience with the differences between a natural hospital birth and a homebirth. If you are pregnant and debating between having a natural birth in a hospital or a homebirth, I hope this article can help bring you some clarity on the biggest differences!

For a little context, I had my first child in a hospital and it was overall a really great experience. I went into the birth very educated, my husband was very educated (thanks to Bradley Birth Classes, which you can read our birth story here), and we had a clear birth plan as well as a provider who was supportive of our requests. My provider was a mixed group of OB’s and Midwives (CNM’s).

Not everyone has such a positive experience in a hospital as we did. I highly recommend reading my article How to Have a Natural Hospital Birth for my biggest tips on how to have a positive hospital experience.

With my second child, I knew that I wanted a homebirth. We contacted some homebirth CNM’s in our area that were highly recommended and I established care with them. I went on to have a beautiful birth in my own home supported by my loving team. You can read my homebirth story here.

So with that context, let’s dive into the biggest differences between a natural hospital birth and a homebirth

Prenatal Care

There are several big differences I noticed between the prenatal care at my OB office and my homebirth midwife’s office.

You can Interview different homebirth midwives to find the best fit for you

Starting at the very beginning when you first find out you’re pregnant, you can contact the midwives who service your area and set up a first meeting with them. It may be a phone interview, or it may be in person. During this interview you can ask any questions you might have, as well as get a feel for the midwife and notice if she feels like a good fit for you and your desires.

The appointments are allotted more time with a homebirth midwife

I’m sure there can be some variance here, but my appointments with my homebirth midwife were usually between 30-60 minutes long, versus the appointments at my OB office were usually allotted 10-15 minutes. The extra time gave us lots of time to ask questions, my midwife was always very caring and considerate to me and my desires, and she was never rushed to see me. It truly made me feel like I wasn’t just another number,

The office space is cozy and more relaxing at my midwife’s office

My OB office was a typical medical facility with tiny rooms and a sterile bench/bed with white paper to sit on during the appointments.

My midwife’s office was cozy and had a couch where I sat for my appointments. It helped me feel comfortable and relaxed during appointments.

With a Homebirth Midwife you get to know the same provider and birth assistant the whole time

I know there are some smaller hospital practices where you can get to know the same providers for your whole pregnancy. But generally speaking and in my experience with my OBGYN office, I regularly saw a different provider and I really doubt that the providers ever remembered me and my desires from appointment to appointment.

My midwife’s office has 2 midwives and 1 birth assistant, so they all got to see me regularly and we built a lovely relationship together. It was really nice to get to know them and to feel like I was more than just a number.

You can bring your other children with you to your midwife’s appointments

This probably varies per office policies, but in my experience, I was able to bring my toddler with me to all of my appointments which made a huge difference for me because I didn’t have to find childcare every time I had an appointment. Midwives tend to view birth as a whole family experience and so they are great about trying to involve children in the pregnancy as well.

Homebirth Midwives tend to be more holistic minded

During my prenatal care, I really appreciated that my midwives offered me natural solutions and herbs to any issue I was having. They encouraged me to drink teas and eat healthy in order to nourish myself and prepare to deliver in the most ideal way possible. My midwife was also very knowledgeable about herbs and could tell me if one was safe in pregnancy or not.

Homebirth Midwives were supportive of all my choices

When creating a birth plan, my midwives presented me with all of the data they had – the pro’s and con’s, risks and benefits – for every procedure they offered. They were happy to be completely hands off or as hands on as I wanted and they always followed my lead.

With my first pregnancy, I had to defend my reasoning for every choice that I wanted on my birth plan that went against the “mainstream” typical way of doing things. Everyone listened to my requests, but I wouldn’t say my requests were supported necessarily. I got some pushback and I had to make it clear how I wanted things to go.

Labor

In my own space when birthing at home

This one is a given, but it makes such a world of difference to your nervous system when you’re in labor. Being able to lay in your own bed, be in your own shower, and walk around your own space just makes such a huge difference. It’s familiar, it’s safe, it’s where you’re comfortable.

Able to move around and eat at both the hospital and home

Not everyone has this experience at the hospital, but I made it very clear that I wanted to be able to move around and eat during labor, and so this one was actually the same for me at my hospital birth and my homebirth.

Both places I could sip on water and eat whatever food I wanted, as well as move around and change positions often. This part of my labor was a really good experience in both the hospital and home.

Dim Lighting and able to relax at both the hospital and home

I definitely think I was able to relax MORE at home, however I had all the lights turned off in my hospital room and was able to relax as much as I could there. I was insistent that I wanted to keep my space peaceful and quiet and generally everyone was respectful of that at the hospital.

Everyone was respectful of my space at home

To the hospital’s credit, they really did leave me alone to labor as much as they could. However once I began pushing, everyone rushed in and bright lights were brought out and it really was not an ideal environment for a woman to feel safe in while delivering her baby.

At home, my midwives were respectful of my space even once I started pushing and my baby was brought into the world peacefully and calmly!

No cervical checks at home

I made it pretty clear that I did not want to be checked at the hospital, however it was “hospital policy” to do a cervical check upon admittance and also before pushing (which was silly because I had no coached pushing the baby was COMING whether or not anyone liked it!)

At my homebirth, I didn’t have a single cervical check my entire pregnancy or birth. It was marvelous and I never want to do it another way again!

Birth

I was able to give birth in the water at home

In the hospital I was relaxing in the bath when my water broke and I got the “undeniable urge” to push (also called the Fetal Ejection Reflex). Everyone made me get out of the bath because “water births aren’t allowed at the hospital”. I was still able to push in whatever position I wanted, but it was annoying to have to get out of the water.

At my homebirth, the water was exactly what I needed to be able to relax and allow my baby to come out. I loved giving birth in the water – it helped take all the pressure off and made the contractions way less intense!

I left the placenta attached as long as I wanted with my homebirth

At the hospital, they left my baby’s cord attached until it had stopped pulsating which was probably 5-10 minutes. I wanted it left longer but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and I was just happy that my baby was finally born.

With my homebirth, I knew I wanted to leave the cord attached for much longer to make sure that my baby could get all of his blood and nutrients from the placenta. We were able to leave it attached for 2 hours and I was so grateful!

Snuggled on couch after birth

One of the best parts of having a homebirth was being able to snuggle on our own couch as a family immediately after giving birth! No sterile hospital beds or plastic box to set my baby in. It was heaven.

Post Partum Care

Post-Partum was really where I saw a HUGE difference in the quality of care from my homebirth. I felt so taken care of by my midwives and like they genuinely were so happy for me and this time with our new baby.

Way more appointments and check-ins during the first 6 weeks with my midwives.

My midwife or the midwife assistant came to my house and checked on baby and me at day 1, day 3 and 1 week after birth.

I went to their office for a check-in at 2 weeks and again at 6 weeks post partum.

This was so different from just the typical 6 week checkup that is standard in hospital care.

I could text my midwife with questions anytime

This was so different from my OB office, but also so special and personable. I had my midwife’s personal cell number and anytime during the first 6 weeks after birth that I had questions about my bleeding, breastfeeding, or about the baby, she was just a quick text away. This helped me feel so safe and reassured!

Overall, there were lots of differences between my natural hospital birth and my homebirth, but I think the biggest difference is that my care with the midwives made me feel like I was an individual with my own preferences and desires and not just another number that walked through the door. I felt that my care was personalized and that genuine connections were made with my care providers.

I hope this was helpful to allow you to think about some of the differences that you may experience when choosing between care with an OB in a hospital, versus a midwife at home.