Rising home birth trend in India sparks maternal health concerns
While some women advocate for natural childbirth, the lack of skilled care and potential for complications during home deliveries poses significant risks
Venkateshwari Manish, a woman from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was supposed to travel to the neighbouring state of Kerala for her delivery in 2019. However, those plans were disrupted when she experienced labour pains early one morning while still at home.
Her water broke and, as her husband checked on her in the bathroom of their small home, he discovered she was bleeding. Minutes later, their firstborn son had arrived.
Manish, 33, enjoys telling this story, believing it exemplifies how the stars aligned to fulfil her wish to avoid a hospital delivery. She is now a firm advocate for women giving birth in natural environments rather than hospitals.
“Pregnancy is not a disease,” she said as her two sons, aged five and two, played noisily in the background of their semirural town of Theni. Despite resistance from her family and husband, she delivered both her children at home.
“Knowing my preference for avoiding hospitals, my husband had arranged for our child to be delivered in a homelike environment equipped with medical facilities in Kerala. I didn’t even like that. So, I delayed telling him about the pain until the last moment when the baby was about to arrive,” she recalled.
Manish is part of a growing group of Indian women voluntarily choosing home births. Many cite rising healthcare costs and an increasing number of forced caesarean sections (C-sections) in hospitals as reasons for their decision.
This trend, however, has been accompanied by disturbing incidents of maternal deaths and medical negligence, raising alarm among policymakers.
