Birth Support for Home Birth

Informed Choice and the Postnatal Transition

Birth is a physical, emotional and spiritual rite of passage. For many healthy women and babies, it can unfold best in an environment where the mother feels safe, respected, well supported and able to make informed choices about her care.

Having worked for many years as an independent midwife, I now work as a birth supporter. I am deregistered and do not practice as a midwife, but I bring my years of maternity experience into a non-clinical support role, helping women and their families prepare for pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period with confidence, clarity and calm.

My work is rooted in respect for women’s autonomy, physiology and instinct. Whether you are planning a home birth with NHS or independent midwives, exploring your options after a previous caesarean, navigating a breech presentation, or making an informed decision about freebirth, I offer grounded, continuous and highly personalised support.

Birth planning

Home birth preparation

Emotional support

Advocacy support

Experienced Home Birth Support

I specialise in planned home birth support. Home birth can offer privacy, familiarity and continuity, allowing labour to unfold in a space that feels deeply personal.

My role is to help you prepare emotionally, practically and physically for the birth you are planning. This may include talking through your preferences, helping you understand your options, preparing your birth space, supporting your partner or family, and helping you feel more confident in your own decision-making.

Where you are planning to birth with midwives, I work alongside your maternity team in a supportive, non-clinical capacity. I do not replace your NHS or independent midwife. Instead, I offer continuity, reassurance, advocacy and practical support so that you feel less alone and more resourced throughout the process.

What is a birth supporter?

A birth supporter provides emotional, practical and advocacy-focused support during pregnancy, birth preparation, labour and the postnatal period. In my case, this support is informed by many years of previous independent midwifery experience, but I am now deregistered and do not practise as a midwife.

Do you provide midwifery care?

No. I am deregistered and work as a birth supporter, not as a registered midwife. I do not provide clinical midwifery care. Clients may choose to remain connected with NHS or independent midwives, doctors or maternity services as appropriate.

Can you support a planned home birth?

Yes. I specialise in supporting clients planning home births, whether with NHS midwives or independent midwives. My role is to provide continuity, preparation, practical support, emotional steadiness and advocacy.

Can you support HBAC or breech birth planning?

Yes. I have many years of experience with home birth after caesarean and breech birth. My support is non-clinical and focuses on preparation, informed decision-making, emotional support and advocacy.

Do you support freebirth?

I can support clients who are considering or making an informed decision to freebirth, within the boundaries of a non-clinical birth support role. This may include preparation, planning, emotional support, advocacy preparation and postnatal support. I do not practise as a midwife or replace midwifery or medical care.

What happens if I transfer to hospital?

If you request or require transfer to hospital, I can accompany you and continue to support you. My role is to help you feel calm, heard and supported, and to assist with communication and advocacy where needed.

Where do appointments take place?

All appointments take place in your home. This allows support to be tailored to your environment, family needs and planned birth setting.

How much does birth support cost?

Packages range from £6,000 to £9,000, depending on the package of care chosen and the distance I need to travel to your location.

Support for HBAC, Breech Birth and Birth Outside Standard Pathways

I have many years of experience working with women and families planning births that may sit outside standard pathways, including home birth after caesarean, often known as HBAC, and breech birth. I have also completed the advanced midwifery course at The Farm in Tennessee, USA, which has informed my understanding of physiological birth, respectful care and the importance of skilled, calm support.

When a pregnancy or birth plan is considered more complex, families often need more time, more information and more emotional steadiness. My role is to help you explore your choices, prepare questions for your maternity team, understand your own priorities, and create a plan that reflects your values.

NICE guidance states that women should be involved in discussions and make informed decisions about their care, and that preferences for labour and birth should be discussed as early as possible, recorded, and revisited if circumstances change. This is central to the way I work. I support informed choice, respectful communication and personalised planning.

Freebirth Support and Informed Decision-Making

Some clients come to me because they are considering or planning freebirth, also known as unassisted birth. Freebirth is a deeply personal decision and should be made with access to balanced information, careful reflection and awareness of the practical, emotional and legal considerations involved.

NHS guidance states that women can choose to have a home birth without a midwife present, and that NHS midwives remain available if a woman changes her mind during pregnancy. The Nursing and Midwifery Council also recognises that women can choose where they give birth, who is present with them and whether to access all, some or no maternity care.

Because I am deregistered, I do not practise as a midwife and do not provide midwifery care. My support around freebirth is therefore non-clinical and may include preparation, emotional support, birth planning, discussion of options, practical planning, advocacy preparation and postnatal support. Where any medical or midwifery care is wanted or needed, I encourage clear communication with appropriate maternity services.

Advocacy and Hospital Transfer Support

If you request or require transfer to hospital, I can accompany you and continue to support you in a calm, practical and advocacy-focused role. Transfer can feel emotionally disruptive, especially if you had hoped to remain at home, and continuity of support can make a significant difference to how safe and heard you feel.

Advocacy does not mean speaking over you. It means helping you stay connected to your own voice, preferences and questions. I can support communication with staff, help you ask for time and explanations where appropriate, remind you of your stated preferences, and support your partner or birth team so that everyone feels steadier.

Birthrights notes that women have the right to choose where they give birth, including at home, in a birth centre or in hospital, and that healthcare professionals should respect women’s views and choices. My work is aligned with this principle of respectful, informed, woman-centred support.

Holistic Birth Preparation and Comfort Measures

Alongside my birth support experience, I bring a range of additional skills to my work. I am a fully trained and practising homeopath and clinical hypnotherapist, and I am also trained in acupuncture for birth. Where appropriate, I may draw on additional techniques including reflexology, massage, rebozo and biomechanical support.

These approaches can be used to support relaxation, comfort, confidence and emotional steadiness. They are always tailored to your needs and preferences, and they sit alongside—not instead of—appropriate maternity or medical care.

Support Table

Support area	How it may help
Birth planning	Helps you clarify your preferences, questions, boundaries and priorities before labour begins.
Home birth preparation	Supports practical preparation of your birth space, family environment and transfer considerations.
Emotional support	Offers continuity, reassurance and calm presence through pregnancy, birth and postnatally.
Advocacy support	Helps you communicate preferences and ask questions, especially if plans change or transfer is needed.
Hypnotherapy-informed support	Can support relaxation, confidence and emotional preparation.
Homeopathy and acupuncture-informed care	May be incorporated as complementary support where appropriate.
Massage, reflexology, rebozo and biomechanics	Can offer comfort, relaxation and positional support during pregnancy and labour preparation.

Appointments In Your Own Home

All appointments take place in the client’s home. This allows me to understand your environment, your birth space, your family context and the practical details that matter when preparing for birth and the early postnatal period.

Home-based appointments also allow support to feel personal and grounded. We can talk through your plans in the space where you may labour, consider practical preparation, and involve your partner or family members where helpful.

MY SELF-HELP GUIDE BOOKS

Drawing on a wealth of experience, gained from over a decade of running a specialist clinic with co-author Anne Hope, my books cover two of the topics on which clients most often seek my help: fertility problems, and issues relating to the menopause

Ten Things About Fertility That Could Change Your Life

£9.99

Written by Anne Hope BSc (Hons) PGCE LCCH RSHom and Claire Chaubert BSc (Hons) LCCH RSHom RM

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Menopause – Survive and Thrive

£12.99