It's Time For Compassion and Female Empowerment!

Home births are illegal in Peru. With the pandemic many mothers in Cusco, Peru are electing to have home births over hospital births. Health officials in Cusco are aware of this new trend and that many are offering to assist women with home births at this time. No arrests have been made yet, but health authorities are greatly discouraging women from giving birth at home saying that it is not safe. They are trying to ensure that every protocol has been made to ensure their safety at this time with the virus and that they should refuse help at home and have their births in hospitals.

This is so sad! Home births should not be illegal. Home births are not more dangerous than hospital births. Women should have the choice where they want to deliver their babies. If they feel safer at home, they should be allowed to give birth with assistance in the comfort of their homes. In Peru people are still in lockdown. They are not allowed to go out unless it is necessary. Requiring pregnant women to leave their homes when they don’t feel safe is not right. This causes unnecessary stress and potential trauma to mothers and their babies. They are scared for their health and their babies health during this pandemic. Why would they want to go to a place where there are people sick with the virus? Women should have the choice. Women should not fear being arrested nor should the people who are assisting them to have a healthy birth.

These are scary times. We must have compassion for everyone, not try to control them.

In the U.S., home births have been illegal in many of the States over the years. I interviewed many American women who gave birth at home even though it was illegal in their States. All of them delivered healthy babies.

It is so ironic that home births have been illegal in the U.S. and many countries in the world when all of our ancestors for every country around the world began with home births. It wasn’t until doctors became prestigious that the push became for hospital births and outlawing home births, even though, for centuries it was women helping women at home to give birth. Mothers, friends, and midwives assisted births and having babies at home was natural.

In the Netherlands, home births are very common and they have a much lower mortality rate than the US which has mostly hospital births.

Women should be given a choice as to what is the best way and the environment for them to give birth. Women should not be controlled. Especially at this time with the pandemic women around the world should be given the option to have home births. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity for doctors and midwives to do more home births and see if it could become the new normal? Shouldn’t women be supported emotionally right now? And for their feelings to be honored? Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to limit people going to the hospital who are not sick and to concentrate on high-risk pregnancies at hospitals and those who are not high-risk at home?

These are difficult times. We must have more compassion for everyone. I have one American friend who just had a home birth during the pandemic and wouldn’t have changed her mind for the world. My cousin is about to have a home birth next month for her first child and she is looking forward to it.

I think it is important for everyone to know what is going on. I am a big supporter of female empowerment. It is our body, it should be our choice.

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