A rising number of Kiwi women post-pandemic are choosing to give birth at home, with one mum who has home-birthed three times urging others to do the same.

The differences between Christchurch mother Eva Jones’ birthing experiences in hospital and home were stark.

Her firstborn was high-risk, meaning a hospital was necessary.

They came into the world after what Jones described as a traumatic experience.

The lights were too bright, there were too many people, she lost her dignity, and said she felt like a piece of meat.

Jones said she wanted more children but never wanted to experience that again.

She opted to birth her second child at a private hospital, then decided to home-birth her final three.

She said it was a major contrast, and being home was incredible.

“I really appreciated being able to have the process be unrushed... to be in an environment where there’s no pressure made a huge difference,” Jones said.

“I remember after my first home birth being able to get into my own bed, having a shower at my own house and sleeping at home at night just felt surreal.”

Eva Jones says she was put off by the hospital experience. Photo / George Heard

She said her upbringing and connection with te ao Māori was also hugely relevant to her decision to bring birth back home.

“Coming from a huge family on both sides, with 10-14 children birthed naturally at home, it feels like a spiritual experience and definitely connected me to my ancestors.”

Jones is one of a growing number of people choosing to home birth.

Rates have been gradually increasing for 10 years - in 2021 there were 740 more home births compared with 2012.

The rise is also largely down to a significant spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, with rates increasing by 619 between 2019 and 2020.

Health New Zealand’s interim national chief midwife Deborah Pittam said there are multiple reasons for the growing popularity of the practice, but has named people’s experience during the pandemic as a significant factor.

“It probably gave them more confidence, and people heard about others birthing at home. That’s always part of the story, if people feel more confident if they know someone else who’s done it and it’s been fine,” Pittam said.

Christchurch home-birth midwife Violet Clapham said despite the surge during the pandemic having settled, the figures are still higher than before Covid – with almost one-third more people choosing this option.

“We’re probably going to continue to see a gradual increase in the home birth rates as people share their stories more, and become more aware of the benefits of birthing at home,” Clapham said.

She confirmed expectant mothers are becoming more aware of those benefits.

Amongst them, she said people have an increased likelihood of a straightforward birth without intervention, and a higher chance of exclusive breastfeeding.

Both Clapham and Pittam agree if the popularity continues at this trajectory, it could alleviate pressure in hospitals.

“Clearly it keeps mums out of a really busy and high-tech kind of environment, and makes some space in those big hospitals for people who need to be there,” Pittam said.

She added as long as everyone is safe, and the choice is being made for the right reasons, the rise is a good thing.

Clapham said hospital births are more resource-intensive.

“Generally speaking, when whanau choose to have their babies at home, it actually takes pressure off the health system... so if anything, it’s going to be supportive of the workforce pressures if we see home births continuing to increase.”

However, accessibility is an issue for many.

After sharing her journey with home birthing online, Eva Jones said she’s had many discussions with followers around accessibility to the practice.

“There’s definitely been interesting conversations which framed how I see home birth as a privilege. I’ve had lots of women reach out and say, ‘You make it look so easy’ or ‘I wish that for me but it’s not possible’ and so that’s been an incredible experience.”

Jones said she knows people who are keen to see a retreat-style set-up to give more people the option as it becomes more normalised.

“I do feel we’re heading in that direction with facilities like that... and more women I guess trying to create that environment themselves at home.”

Jones said she hopes to see more people who have the ability to home birth consider it as an option.

“Even if there is a little seed of curiosity about home birthing... nurture that because if you have a healthy pregnancy you won’t regret.”