A northwest Auckland midwife based in Parakai is hoping a video she has just released about homebirths will convince many doubting, expectant fathers that having a baby at home is a safe option for most couples.
Born At Home premiered at a special function at Te Pou Theatre in New Lynn on Sunday 21 August. The film’s director, midwife Sharon Robinson, created Born At Home, as a way for expectant fathers to hear from other fathers whose partners have birthed at home. About 60 people, including many of the couples who feature in the film, were at the event.
Parakai based midwife Sharon Robinson
Sharon says, “Homebirths provide powerful benefits for new families, and statistics support home as a safe place of birth. Health outcomes for low-risk women are not any better in a hospital. In fact, medical interventions for low risk women birthing in hospital are much more frequent. Women and their families who birth at home feel much better about their birthing experiences. However many husbands or partners are hesitant about home-birthing. Perhaps they feel it is their role to be the protector, and they do not feel confident that they will be able to keep their partners and babies safe at home.”
Sharon is a self-employed midwife who also helps women birth in primary units, like the Helensville Birthing Centre, or in hospital, and she is fast gaining a reputation for herself as a homebirth specialist. She says that close to 50% of the couples she cares for plan a homebirth compared to a national rate of approximately 3-5%.
The 27-minute film is free for anyone to view via the link: https://vimeo.com/sharonrobinsonmidwife
Suggested Viewing Points:@ 11:00 mins hear from Eli, who saw his younger brother being born; @ 12:59 mins Amanaki Palavi talks about why he’s happy for his daughter Vasiti to birth at home; @ 15:25 Ged Wiren, Vasiti’s husband, talks about why a hospital is not conducive to a ‘normal’ birth; @ 21:40 an expectant father talks about how homebirths aren’t the ‘norm’ for the Asian culture; @ 22:11 an expectant father talks about how people react to their plans for a homebirth by saying “What if?”
For more information, call Sharon Robinson, 027 251 5373 or email: sharonrobinson.midwife@gmail.com