Message from Birthrights - UK

establishing a national picture of home birth services

'I’m Elif, and I joined Birthrights in January as the Policy and Campaigns Manager. I believe in the power of collective action and am deeply passionate about championing the autonomy and rights of women and birthing people to make decisions about their bodies and births—free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.

'There are many reasons why someone might decide a home birth is best for them, including previous birth trauma, distrust due to systemic racism and discrimination, inability to secure childcare during a hospital birth, or simply because it's what feels right and safe for you. We should all be able to freely access our fundamental rights, regardless of who we are and where we are. However, these rights are currently under threat.

'In September and October 2024, the largest proportion of enquiries to our advice service related to home birth service suspensions. We are taking action to tackle this with our new campaign. To inform our work, we are conducting a short survey to better understand the impact of restrictions and suspensions on women and birthing people. We have also written to all trusts across the UK to establish a national picture of home birth services. Find out more below and please spread the word about our campaign - your stories will help us drive change in maternity care.

'Your body. Your birth. Your rights.' 

Campaign information: https://birthrights.org.uk/campaigns-research/home-birth-restrictions/