Frequently Asked Questions

The terms freebirth and unassisted birth are both synonym of each other. The term free in freebirth stands for freedom from assistance, restrictions and free from any unwanted intervention unless it is needed for the health and safety of mom and baby. The term unassisted means that there is no licensed medical professional that is attending your birth.

The free birth community has always been present. However, there has been an increase in recent years of women not being satisfied with the institutionalized care they had been receiving, which also shed light on how poorly treated women felt after an institutionalized birth. There was also the increase in post postpartum depression and the fact that the maternal death rate in North America is the equivalent of the maternal death rate in developing countries, and that most of these deaths could have been prevented.

No birthing unassisted is not illegal. As a matter of fact it is YOUR right to be free to choose how much or how little intervention you want and need during your pregnancy, labor and delivery. Many providers will advise you against it and some may go as far as attempting to coerce you or threaten you with child protection services. This practice is highly unethical and goes against your human rights as a free individual.

Of course! It is completely up to you to have as much or as little intervention/monitoring as you would like during your pregnancy! Just remember, you are not obligated to go through with anything (ultrasound, glucose test, cervical check) if you do not feel comfortable with it and feel that it may harm you or your baby.

That is completely up to you. Some parents want to share this experience with the whole family, others feel that it may be better without the children present. Everyone has a different level of comfort and it is completely up to you to have the children present or not.

Everything has a certain level of danger associated to it. If you decide to have your child unassisted, it is imperative that you know the warning signs and when you should go to the hospital. As disclaimer we do not encourage anyone to birth unassisted or without the help of a medical practitioner when it may put mother and baby in danger. We encourage you to seek emergency help if need be.

The opinions on this subject vary greatly from one person to another. Some feel that a home birth is perfectly adequate, some feel that a birth centre or hospital setting birth is better. It all  depends on the way you picture your birth going. Of course a home birth will give you more freedom to move around, it may be less stressful for some and also allows for a less traumatic entrance into the world for baby. The best way to answer that question is to weigh all options and choose the one that feels best for you.

There are no major costs associated with an un-assisted birth other then what you feel will make you the most comfortable. For example if you decide you want a water birth but do not want to labor in your tub, you would have to either rent a birthing tub or buy a new one.