"I really want to have a home birth, but my partner isn't comfortable with it so we're planning a hospital birth instead" ← We hear this all the time.
At Bright Earth Doulas, we fundamentally believe in bodily autonomy. Bodily autonomy is the right to governance over one’s own body. This means giving people the power to make choices about their own bodies, without facing coercion, violence, or other consequences.
In birth, we believe people should be given education and support to make informed decisions, and those decisions should be respected. If someone wants to schedule a C-section without medical reason, they should be allowed to make that choice. If someone wants to induce labor at 39 weeks just because, they should be allowed to make that choice. And if someone wants to birth at home.... they should be allowed to make that choice too. Nobody should tell them they can't make a decision for themselves, including medical professionals and partners. If someone tells a pregnant person that they can't birth at home, they're disrespecting the bodily autonomy of the pregnant person.
Now... obviously the situation is more nuanced than that, right? A person desiring home birth might have medical complications that make midwives risk them out of care. Does this mean they can't plan a home birth? Of course not. It means that a midwife won't attend your birth, and you'll be birthing alone (also known as "free birth"). Some people might make that choice, while others feel it's risky and choose to birth in the hospital. Both are valid choices.