Homebirth vs Freebirth: Understanding the Difference and Why It Matters
In recent years, more Australian women have started exploring alternatives to hospital birth — seeking calmer, more personal experiences that align with their values and vision for birth.
Among the most talked-about options right now are homebirth and freebirth.
These two approaches are often mentioned together, but they are very different — both in what they involve and in the level of support, safety and professional oversight they provide.
At Dial a Midwife, we believe women deserve clear, evidence-based information to make informed choices about their care. In this post, we’ll explain the key differences between homebirth and freebirth, what each entails, and the implications for you and your baby’s wellbeing.
🌿 What Is Homebirth?
A homebirth is when a woman gives birth at home under the care of a qualified midwife who is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
This midwife is usually an endorsed midwife — meaning a midwife who has passed additional university qualifications to obtain an endorsement. The endorsement allows the midwife to prescribe medications, order tests and ultrasounds, refer directly to hospitals and doctors and provide pregnancy, birth and postnatal care.
Homebirth midwives are trained to:
Support normal, physiological birth, including homebirth and birth in hospitals / birth centres.
Provide comprehensive antenatal care, including health assessments of mother and baby, order blood tests and ultrasounds and interpret those results.
Monitor your - and your baby’s wellbeing throughout pregnancy and labour - doing things such as blood pressure checks, listening to baby’s heartbeat, assessing growth and position of your baby and performing vaginal examinations - all with consent.
Carry emergency equipment and medications for birth (such as oxygen, anti-haemorrhagic drugs such as syntocinon, and neonatal resuscitation gear).
Recognise early signs of complications and arrange hospital transfer or referral to an obstetrician or paediatrician if needed.
Homebirths can be privately arranged with a private midwife or, in some areas, through a publicly funded homebirth programs run by hospitals. Dial a Midwife does not offer birthing services, but we can help you to find a private midwife or a publicly-funded homebirth program, if available in your area.
In both cases, the woman receives professional, evidence-based care — and the midwife is accountable under the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and insured for their practice.
🏡 Why Women Choose Homebirth
Many women choose homebirth because they want:
Continuity of care with one trusted midwife or small team.
Familiar surroundings, comfort and privacy during labour.
To avoid a trip to the hospital during labour.
To involve siblings in the baby’s birth.
Freedom to move, eat and birth instinctively without hospital protocols.
Minimal intervention.
Immediate skin-to-skin contact and uninterrupted bonding time.
Because they have a belief in their body’s ability to birth naturally and spontaneously.
For healthy women with low-risk pregnancies, planned homebirth with a midwife is a safe, evidence-supported option. Research in Australia and globally shows that for low-risk women, homebirths attended by midwives are at least as safe as hospital birth, with fewer interventions and higher satisfaction.
🕊️ What Is Freebirth?
Freebirth — also known as unassisted childbirth — is when a woman gives birth without any registered health professional present.
In most cases, there is no midwifery or medical care during pregnancy, labour or after the birth. Often, women do not have any scans, blood tests or measurements (such as blood pressure, checking growth of baby) during their pregnancy. Some women may have informal support (such as a partner, friend or doula), but no clinical assessments or monitoring take place.
Freebirth is legal in Australia, as every woman has the right to decline midwifery and medical care and choose where and with whom she gives birth. However, it carries different levels of risk — particularly if complications arise or risk factors go undetected during pregnancy.
Why Some Women Choose Freebirth
Women who choose freebirth often express:
A desire for complete autonomy over their birth experience.
Distrust or dissatisfaction with the hospital system.
Fear of hospitals and care providers.
A previous traumatic birth experience or feelings of disempowerment in medical settings.
Difficulty accessing homebirth midwives (especially in rural or remote areas).
Philosophical or spiritual beliefs about birth as a private, instinctive process.
The cost of private midwives, and lack of publicly-funded homebirth models.
Being excluded from homebirth, perhaps due to risk factors.
These motivations are deeply personal and often come from a place of wanting control, respect and peace — values that midwives absolutely understand and share.
However, the key difference is that midwives work to balance those values with safety and preparedness — ensuring that, if something doesn’t go to plan, skilled help, referral pathways and equipment are immediately available.
Key Differences Between Homebirth and Freebirth
Here’s a summary of how the two approaches differ in practice:
Homebirth with a midwife
Care provider: midwife
Antenatal care: comprehensive pregnancy care, monitoring and screening
Intrapartum care: health of mother and baby are montiored unobtrusively
Emergency management: midwife carries emergency medications and equipment; can initiate life-saving measures
Transfer to hospital: organised by the midwife if complications arise
Legal status: legal, regulated and insured
Safety outcomes: at least as safe as hospital birth for low-risk women
Freebirth (without a midwife)
Care provider: no registered healthcare professional present
Antenatal care: often self-managed; no midwifery / medical monitoring
Intrapartum care: no professional monitoring or equipment
Emergency management: no access to professional emergency intervention unless via 000
Transfer to hospital: often delayed or reactive, increasing potential risks
Legal status: legal but unregulated and uninsured
Safety outcomes: data are limited; higher risk if complications occur
Understanding the Role of the Homebirth Midwife
A homebirth midwife provides continuity of care from early pregnancy through to postnatal recovery. Their role includes:
Health screening for mother and baby (blood pressure, fetal growth, ordering and interpreting tests and scans).
Education and birth preparation, including discussing your preferences and creating a birth plan.
Risk assessment — ensuring homebirth remains appropriate and safe for your situation; formulating plans for care that are uniquely tailored to your pregnancy, your wishes and your care needs.
Labour and birth attendance, with monitoring of maternal and fetal wellbeing and progress.
Immediate newborn care, including assessment, APGAR scoring, transition to neonatal life and breastfeeding support.
Postnatal visits, monitoring postnatal recovery, newborn adaptation, breastfeeding and supporting emotional adjustment.
Midwives are trained to notice subtle signs of complications and act swiftly — for example managing postpartum bleeding, recognising fetal distress, supporting neonatal resuscitation if required and monitoring labour progress.
This vigilance and experience provide a layer of safety and reassurance that cannot be replicated in an unassisted birth.
🩺 The Risks of Freebirth
While many freebirths proceed without incident, it’s important to understand the potential risks.
Some complications in labour can arise unpredictably, even in healthy pregnancies. For example:
Postpartum haemorrhage (heavy bleeding after birth)
Shoulder dystocia (when the baby’s shoulders get stuck after the birth of the baby’s head)
Infection in mother or baby - perhaps from prolonged ruptred membranes
Fetal distress or lack of oxygen
Retained placenta or infection
In a midwife-attended homebirth, these situations can be identified and managed promptly. In a freebirth, without trained professionals or emergency medication, precious minutes may be lost.
Another key concern is undetected risk factors during pregnancy. Without antenatal screening (blood tests, blood pressure monitoring, ultrasounds, palpation, discussion), conditions such as pre-eclampsia, twins, breech, anaemia, growth restriction or structural abnormality in the ba may go unnoticed — increasing the chance of complications during birth.
💬 Why Some Women Consider Freebirth — and How Midwives Can Help
Many women who explore freebirth aren’t rejecting care — they’re rejecting feeling disempowered.
They may have felt unheard, rushed or dismissed in previous pregnancies or with previus experiences in health care settings. They may have been pressured into interventions or policies that didn’t align with their values or felt misled.
Through our online midwifery consultations, women can access:
Non-judgmental education about all birth options, including homebirth.
Guidance on how to find a private homebirth midwife in their area.
Help preparing birth plans and understanding medical advice.
Support in processing previous birth trauma and rebuilding trust in maternity care.
We also support women through continuity — where women continue with their hospital, obstetrician or GP for care, but meet regularly with a Dial a Midwife midwife for deeper, more personal support and education.
This approach helps women feel in control, informed and emotionally safe — the very things many seek in freebirth — while maintaining access to professional care.
🌸 Building Trust and Continuity
Continuity of care is at the heart of safe, positive birth experiences.
Through Dial a Midwife, women can book regular online appointments with the same midwife — building trust, understanding and preparation across pregnancy.
Our midwives provide:
Birth education tailored to your values and birth preferences.
Support for decision-making, so you understand your options in any care setting.
Preparation for homebirth
Help with breech birth options, VBAC, high blood pressure, twins and gestational diabetes
This kind of care gives women the confidence and calm they desire — the very foundation of an empowering birth experience.
🤍 In Summary
Both homebirth and freebirth reflect women’s growing desire for autonomy, connection and respect in birth. As a society, womens’s needs are evolving - and the challenge for health services is to evolve services and care to reflect ths. But while freebirth removes all professional involvement, homebirth with a midwife offers the best of both worlds — freedom and safety, intuition and expertise.
At Dial a Midwife, we believe every woman deserves information, choice, and compassionate care — whatever her birth journey looks like.
We support women to prepare confidently, understand their options and feel truly heard — while staying connected to professional, evidence-based guidance.
Dial a Midwife
Australia’s trusted online midwifery service
🩺 Bulk-billed with Medicare
📞 Available 7 days a week, until 9 pm
🌏 Accessible across Australia
Because informed choices lead to empowered births — and every woman deserves both. 💗