Does the NHS Guarantee Homebirth Support in Kent?

You have the right to plan a homebirth, however we hate to break it to you but…if you’re pregnant and planning a homebirth in Kent, the only way to guarantee support for this is to hire an independent midwife. To be honest, that stands wherever you are in the country.

Dedicated Homebirth Teams vs. On-Call Community Midwives

Some NHS Trusts have dedicated homebirth teams, others rely on community midwives to be on call for any potential homebirths, and some have suspended their homebirth service entirely. Now, if you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there is a dedicated homebirth team – that’s great. Usually, you’ll be seen by that team throughout your pregnancy and then two midwives from the team will attend your birth at home. The benefit of being cared for by a dedicated homebirth team is that these midwives have generally applied to be part of this team, so they have an interest, a passion and a belief in supporting homebirth. This is incredibly important – you need to be supported by midwives who aren’t afraid of homebirth and who have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to support you safely.

If you live in an area where there isn’t a dedicated homebirth team, homebirth care is provided by on call community midwives. Now, not all these midwives are going to want to be supporting homebirth, but it may be part of their contract that they have to be on call for homebirths a set number of days every month. What this means is that your birth could be attended by midwives who perhaps don’t have such a strong interest or belief in homebirth, who don’thave much homebirth experience and who might fear home birth. You really don’t want someone else’s fear in your birth space. You’ll feel it – even if subconsciously and that can affect your labour and birth.

Why NHS Homebirth Services Can Let You Down at the Last Minute

Unfortunately – and this stands for both Trusts that do have a homebirth team and those that don’t – if any on-call midwife is off sick and there’s no replacement for them, the service can’t run as there has to be two midwives available to support birth at home. This means that it can really be potluck as to whether there’ll be a midwife available to support you when you call in labour. And if your heart is set on homebirth…do you want to leave it to chance?

In our experience when there aren’t midwives available to attend a homebirth, women have been told to call an ambulance and attend hospital. Some are told that the midwife-led unit is open and they could birth there. But for some, the midwife-led unit isn’t open so their only option would be to give birth on a labour ward. You’re exposed to more interventions if you’re on a labour ward to give birth. We have also heard of women who decline coming in, being told that they can freebirth instead. Now, freebirth is a valid and legal choice for women and birthing people to make. However, if your plan was to give birth at home with the support of midwives – freebirth is not necessarily the choice you want to make or feel comfortable making. So, it’s inappropriate that this is being suggested if you’re asking for a midwife to come to your home.

What Happens If No Midwife Is Available for Your Homebirth?

Of course, the other side to this is that the NHS is severely short staffed and maternity is no exception. There are literally sometimes no midwives to be sent out to you if you do call. So, the only way you can guarantee access and support for your home birth is to book an independent midwife (sometimes called a private midwife).

What to Look for in a Homebirth Midwife

What you need for a homebirth is midwives who understand the physiology of birth, who know when to sit on their hands whilst you do your thing, but also know when you might need more support. You also need midwives who can promptly recognise an emergency scenario and understand how to manage this at home and liaise with the local hospital for transfer if necessary. This is the bread and butter of independent midwives. We do everything in our power to ensure you have a safe, respectful and positive birth experience.

We take a physiology first approach that deeply respects you and indeed the birth process. Through a holistic lens we can provide care and support that isn’t defined by restrictive policies or timeframes. The relationship we build with you throughout your pregnancy lays the foundations for deep trust and loving care.

The Only Way to Guarantee Your Homebirth: Private Independent Midwives

So, if you’re serious about planning a homebirth in Kent – you need to seriously think about hiring an independent midwife! You only get to give birth to your baby once. Your experience matters and can indeed alter (for better or worse) how you step into parenthood. We believe in supporting women, birthing people, babies and their families to thrive, not just survive.

Your Right To A Homebirth

The law supports your right to a homebirth (you can read more about that from Birthrights here.), however the reality is that maternity units around the country have taken the decision to withdraw homebirth services and prioritise the medical model of care. Birthrights say, "If you are told you cannot give birth at home because of staff shortages, remind the hospital that it must make sure there are enough staff to provide the services it has promised. They should have plans for situations such as staff shortages. This could include providing an independent midwife.".

Zest Midwives have created a template letter for you to use in the scenario that your Trust cannot guarantee an NHS homebirth service for you. Zest have been collaborating with NHS trusts to provide NHS funded Zest registered midwives to provide homebirth care to women and birthing people.

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