Is homebirth selfish?

As I have explored the option of home birth, I have had to shift through different opinions.  As human beings, we can be susceptible to the words of others  until be develop our own strong opinions based on knowledge and experience.  One prominent opinion of others that intially bothered me and made me continue to question what the right decision for me was the accusation that women who choose home birth are "selfish" for putting their baby at risk in any way by not having emergency sources readily available.  Of course as a mom, I only want the best for my baby, and so this one set heavy for a bit. Part of the process of choosing home birth is figuring out what fears or reservations you might have and then researching until you are able to resolve these fears, one way or another.  This is an important thing to do because if you go into childbirth with unresolved fears, they can hinder the natural process. I found these two articles that really resonated with me when addressing my personal question of "Is it selfish of me to choose homebirth?"


As the article says, is it selfish to want to feel trust and respect during sexual intimacy?  We look upon rape as obviously wrong but society doesn't dare accuse any doctor of "birth rape"?  Have a read here: Birth Isn't Just About a Healthy Baby

This is another great article about how much birth matters for moms and babies:  Selfish Women and Their Silly Birth Experiences 

 In the end, I determined that what is really selfish is not taking the time as a mom to research the best options for us and have the courage to choose those options, even if it isn't the popular thing to do. 

How many of your beliefs about childbirth come from what you just taught growing up or because its just the way everyone does it?  I challenge you to evaluate your own beliefs and determine if they are based on societal beliefs or what you discovered for yourself to be true.