Home birth restrictions
Tell us your experiences accessing home birth services
Birthrights is deeply concerned at the increasing number of reports of restrictions to and suspension of homebirth services across the country. In September 2024, the largest proportion of enquiries to our advice service related to home birth service suspensions.
All women and birthing people must be able to access their fundamental rights, whatever their background is and wherever they live – this includes being able to access the full breadth of maternity services, choose how, where and with whom they birth, make decisions about their bodies and their care, and be treated with respect and dignity.
While we recognise that the rights of all women and birthing people are under threat, those experiencing multiple and overlapping oppressions, including women and birthing people from racially minoritised communities, those who are LGBTQ+, Deaf and disabled, have English as an additional language, do not have British citizenship, who are in prison or detention, face even more barriers to accessing basic maternity care.
It doesn’t have to be this way
We should all be able to freely access and realise the full breadth of our fundamental rights, regardless of who we are and where we are. Person-centred care should be the starting point of the maternity system and provisions must be made that recognise individual needs.
Birth justice exists when women and birthing people have the right to give birth with whom, where, when and however they choose and when laws, policies and practice enables all women and birthing people to access those rights.
What we are doing
We are writing to all trusts across the UK to establish the full extent of restrictions and suspensions to home birth services and their impact on women and birthing people’s access to home birth services.
Have you been impacted by home birth restrictions?
To help inform our campaign and challenge restrictions and suspensions to home birth services, we need to hear from you. If you have been told it’s not possible to have a home birth, or you can only have a home birth at certain times / on certain days or if you have experienced any suspensions of or restrictions to home birth services at all, we want to hear from you! Please get in touch with us by completing this short survey form.
Your body. Your birth. Your rights.
Resources
We are currently developing some resources for women and birthing people who are impacted by home birth restrictions, including an email template for you to challenge any restrictions in place, as well as some important information for healthcare professionals who are working to support women and birthing people with rights-respecting care that upholds human rights law.
Please watch this space and check back later, and if you’d like to receive campaign updates you can sign up to our newsletter below.
You can also learn more about how you can support Birthrights and help protect human rights in pregnancy and childbirth via the button below.