'I had my baby at home'

Tori Matthews and husband Paul live in Leicester with their children Conor, four, Finnlay, two, and baby Keavie:

Tori gave birth to a healthy 10lb, 2oz girl. It was a three and a half hour labour, and the only pain relief was a tens machine. She immediately fed her new daughter and her husband Paul cut the cord.

Then they relaxed on the sofa while the midwives tidied up the living room and they waited for Tori's parents to bring their other two children, Conor and Finnlay, to meet their new sister, Keavie. 

For Tori and Paul, being in their own environment made it a much more rewarding experience than the hospital delivery.

"At home, it felt secure and comfortable," says Tori. "Paul was a lot more confident and an active role. He was much more involved. At hospital, he felt unimportant and like an extra. We had greater control this time."

Keavie was born on February 26, and despite her large size, arrived without causing any perineum damage. "We put a big sheet over the living room floor and although I was in a lot of pain at the end, I didn't need any painkillers - the tens machine was enough," says Tori. "An hour after she was born we were all sitting on the sofa together. And we even managed to get some sleep that night. It was a wonderful experience."

Yet when a midwife first mentioned a home birth to Tori, she immediately refused on the grounds that it could be dangerous. Tori explains: "My initial reaction was 'definitely not', but I really didn't know anything about it. A month or two later the midwife mentioned it again and by then I was beginning to think it would be nice to be in my own environment, and I didn't like the idea of leaving the children for a night. The midwife went through the statistics and talked about how safe it was as long as the pregnancy was normal, and by then I was coming around to the idea, so she came and talked it through with Paul, and we decided to go for it."

Tori continues: "A lot of people who are not aware of the facts have strong opinions about home birth and think you are being irresponsible and putting your baby at risk. I would advise anyone thinking about it to research the facts and talk it through with their midwives. For me, it was quicker and less painful than hospital and it was so nice to go to sleep in my own bed afterwards. But it's important to have the right support."

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