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Calls to a home birth helpline: Empowerment in childbirth

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  • Shaw, Rebecca
  • Kitzinger, Celia

Abstract

In the UK a woman has the right to decide to give birth at home, irrespective of whether she is expecting her first or a subsequent child and of any perceived 'risk' factors. However, the rate of home births in the UK is very low (around 2%), varies widely across the country and many women do not know how to arrange midwifery cover. The Home Birth helpline is a UK-based voluntary organisation offering support and information for women planning a home birth. In order to gain direct access to the issues that are of concern to women when planning a home birth, 80 calls to the helpline were recorded. The aims of this paper are to document the problems that callers to this helpline report having when trying to arrange home births and to explore the strategies the call-taker uses in helping women to exercise their right to birth at home. The paper concludes that women are not easily able to exercise their right to choose the place of birth and suggests a number of recommendations for action.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaw, Rebecca & Kitzinger, Celia, 2005. "Calls to a home birth helpline: Empowerment in childbirth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(11), pages 2374-2383, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:61:y:2005:i:11:p:2374-2383
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Viisainen, Kirsi, 2001. "Negotiating control and meaning: home birth as a self-constructed choice in Finland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1109-1121, April.
    2. Davis-Floyd, Robbie, 2003. "Home-birth emergencies in the US and Mexico: the trouble with transport," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(9), pages 1911-1931, May.
    3. Simonds, Wendy, 2002. "Watching the clock: keeping time during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 559-570, August.
    4. Davis-Floyd, Robbie E., 1994. "The technocratic body: American childbirth as cultural expression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1125-1140, April.
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