It’s one of the most natural events in life, and some mothers-to-be are shunning hospital labour wards to keep it that way.

Having a water-birth at home is a healthy and – relatively – relaxing way to give birth with less effort and surrounded by familiar comforts.

“Both Asia and Miya came out underwater, and neither of them tried to breath until they hit air,” says Maureen, who recently had her second experience of a home water-birth in Singapore. “They just popped out. It was so easy!”

As a hard-working 35-year-old executive with an oil company, Maureen refused to be stressed while going through some of the most important moments in her life. “In Russia, where I grew up, and in the UK, where I lived for 10 years, expectant mums can choose to have their children naturally at home or in a hospital. So I chose to have both of mine at home, where I’m most relaxed.”

In addition to that, Maureen found that having a baby in a birthing pool – a water birth – is the best way to be physically well-supported while having a baby. “Gravity ends up being your best friend,” she says. “I never liked the idea of being on my back and having to push. Floating about was such a relief.”

Her husband was the other important factor. “He actually delivered our first daughter, Miya, because my labour was so quick that the doctor and doula did not get there in time. So, he’s been much more involved in the births than most fathers are. He says there is nothing more rewarding.”

Organisation is the key, Maureen says. “We arrived in Singapore from London in late June 2006, and I was due in early August. I found an OBGYN (obstetrics and gynaecology doctor) when I started investigating home water-births on the internet. But most Singaporean OBGYNs refuse to deal with home births, so you have to look hard for one who is supportive. It’s worth shopping around, as the popularity of home-births has made some of the associated costs skyrocket. The first time around we rented a birthing pool, but the second time we bought one of our own.”

The final detail was to figure out which room to have the birth in, says Maureen. You need to decide if you want it light or dark, fan-cooled or air-conditioned. Having a relaxed atmosphere and dim lighting – and being near a bathroom, of course – were Maureen’s priorities. And having an oxygen cylinder at hand is not just recommended but insisted on by home-birth practitioners.

Home births are not a fringe practice. Vogue magazine devoted several pages to home birthing in a recent issue, and many A-list celebrities have endorsed it: Nelly Furtado, Thandie Newton, Charlotte Church, Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson, Lisa Bonet and Demi Moore, to name a few. The Business of Being Born, last year’s documentary film about the home-birthing experience of actress and former talk-show host Ricki Lake, also gave the practice mainstream exposure.

Many believe that intervention should not be the norm. Home births are “easy, short, relaxed and comfortable”, according to doula Ginny Phang from Four Trimesters, Singapore’s only home-birth and hypno-birthing specialist.

“I always tell my clients to have the birth that they want,” Ginny says. “Eighty percent of the work is prenatal and the rest is applying what they’ve learned during labour and birth. Hence, my focus is on prenatal education.”

Hypnobirthing – mental exercises that focus your actions while you give birth – was introduced to Ginny by a client who wanted to give it a go in Singapore, but could not find an active practitioner.

“Birthing in water and at home is relatively common in North America, Europe and Australia, but not here. When expats get pregnant, they want the same options that are available in their home countries. As demand for these services increased, we found a sympathetic doctor and went ahead.”

International studies have shown that home births are often safer than hospital births. But one curious fact stands out from the Chamberlain study that reported on the practice in the UK: “Women planning home births tend to be more educated and more affluent.”

Society, and the medical profession in particular, sometimes views labour and birth as pathological – as an illness that needs curing. But midwifery services remind us that humans throughout history have been able to give birth without medical intervention.

Maureen has a birthing-pool set for hire. Email her at pilyak@mac.com or call +65 9336 7246.
For more information about Four Trimesters, visit www.fourtrimesters.com.