Home Birth in Surrey and West Sussex: What to Expect with the SASH Home Birth Team
"The comfort of your own surroundings, familiar smells, enriching post birth food, your own bed. These things aren't small luxuries, they are the very things that help your birthing hormones flow."
Chantal · Peaceful Beginnings
When most people picture giving birth, they imagine a hospital. A bag packed by the door, an uncomfortable and stressful drive with each contraction, bright lights and not knowing who you are going to meet when you arrive. And of course, for many families, hospital birth is absolutely the right choice for them, where they feel safest.
But what if I told you that, for many women, there is another option? One that is evidence-based, NHS supported, and available right here in Surrey and West Sussex. One where you stay where you feel most yourself, at home with your comforts around you.
Why women are choosing home birth
Home birth is not an unusual choice or a brave risk. It is a genuine, informed option backed by robust research. The landmark Birthplace in England study the largest of its kind followed over 64,000 births and found that for low-risk women, particularly those who have given birth before, outcomes at home are comparable to those in hospital, while the chance of interventions is significantly reduced.
The evidence tells us something that many birthing people feel intuitively place matters. When you feel safe, private and at ease, your body releases the hormones that help labour progress. Oxytocin, the hormone that drives contractions is sensitive to environment. The familiar smell of your own home, your own lighting, your own music, the freedom to move, eat, and breathe without an audience, these are not indulgences, they are physiology.
Labour in your own rhythm
No car journey while you work through contractions. No unfamiliar corridors. You stay where your body already feels safe and that matters hormonally.
No interventions
Research consistently shows lower rates of augmentation, epidurals, instrumental delivery and caesarean for women birthing outside of the hospital.
Into your own shower and bed
After your baby arrives, you are already home. No postnatal ward, no disrupted nights, just your own space, with your family.
Your other children & pets can be near
No childcare scramble in the small hours. Siblings can be as close or quietly tucked up in bed and pets can be close for that extra Oxytocin boost.
One-to-one midwife care
2 home birth midwives are with you and only you throughout active labour, familiar faces providing undivided support.
Higher breastfeeding initiation
Studies show home birth is associated with more frequent and hands off breastfeeding support in the early hours. A calm, unhurried start makes all the difference.
Meet the SASH Home Birth Team
If you are under the care of East Surrey Hospital Trust (SASH), you have access to a dedicated, specialist home birth team and it is one I am genuinely proud to work alongside.
The SASH Home Birth Team provides true caseload continuity of carer to women and birthing people in Surrey and West Sussex who are planning a home birth. This means that from the moment you decide you would like to birth at home, these midwives become your midwives.
The team consists of a team of experienced midwives all with additional training in community-based birth care, who will get to know you well before your baby arrives. You will meet them during your pregnancy, build a relationship with them, and when labour begins, familiar faces will come to you.
Two midwives attend every home birth: one for you, one for your baby, and mutual support for each other
Continuity from antenatal through to postnatal: the same team cares for you throughout
Fully equipped: midwives bring all necessary clinical equipment including emergency drugs and resuscitation equipment
Transfer support if needed: if a transfer to hospital becomes the right decision, your home birth midwife travels with you and maintains your care
The team monitors you and your baby closely throughout active labour. If any early signs suggest that a change of setting would be safer, your midwives act promptly and calmly. The overwhelming majority of home births go smoothly, and your midwives are trained to manage emergencies should the very rare need arise. SASH team will support you to make an informed decision based on your individual situation.
What does the space actually look like?
One of the most common questions I hear is: "Won't it be messy? What do I need to prepare?" The answer is, less than you think and your midwives will guide you through everything at your antenatal appointments.
Many home birthing families choose to hire or buy a birth pool, which can offer wonderful pain relief and a sense of warmth and containment. Hypnobirthing, a TENS machine or Wave Comb are popular options in the early stages of labour.
In practical terms, the SASH team would ask that you have some old towels and water proof sheets to protect your floors and furniture, soft lighting, your favourite music, and the comforts that help you feel at ease. They bring all clinical equipment, you simply prepare your sanctuary.
Where I come in and why it makes such a difference
Your SASH home birth midwives are brilliant at what they do. My role as your birth doula is different, and complementary. I am with you throughout your pregnancy to help you explore what kind of birth experience you are hoping for, work through any fears or concerns, and arrive at your birth feeling genuinely prepared and excited rather than just informed.
At the birth itself, I offer continuous emotional and physical support, the kind that does not change at shift handover. We have spent time together and importantly feel comfortable in each others company. I know your birth preferences, your sensitivities and what helps you feel grounded. I hold the space, so your partner can be fully present without feeling the weight of responsibility, and your midwives can focus on their clinical role.
I provide you with a birth pool to borrow along with many towels, floor and furniture coverings. I set it all up for you, taking that pressure off your birth partner and then I clear it all away, returning your room back to how it was before your birth.
A word on safety and on trust
Home birth is not the absence of safety. It is a different kind of safety one rooted in familiarity, in continuity of care, in the presence of experienced professionals who know you.
The SASH Home Birth Team midwives carry full emergency equipment. They monitor you and your baby carefully throughout labour. They are trained to identify early warning signs and to respond swiftly. East Surrey Hospital is close by should a transfer be needed and crucially, you are never left alone.
The Birthplace in England research confirms that home birth is as safe as hospital birth for the baby and associated with fewer interventions for the mother. That is not a small thing, that is decades of careful research, reflected in NHS guidance and practice right here in our area.
Melanie The Midwife, who presents the podcast "The Great Birth Rebellion" has done an episode titled Waterbirth Risks and Safety. Being fully informed when choosing your place of birth, is important.
Let's Talk
Curious about home birth? Would like to know how this can be arranged?
Let's explore it together.
A free connection call is the gentlest place to start. No commitment, no pressure, just a conversation about what you're hoping for and whether we might be a good fit.
Would like to find out how a Birth Doula could enhance your birth team?
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