Baby James is making history by simply being born.
He is the 100th baby to be birthed in their own home, through Westmead Hospital’s Publicly Funded Homebirth Service.
Westmead remains one of a handful of hospitals in New South Wales to offer the publicly subsidised practice.
“It’s amazing that Westmead has the ability to offer it publicly funded, because it’s a service that women really want and it’s definitely in demand,” Lucy said.
Lucy Donnellan is a Caseload Midwife who provides home birth services and says it’s a joy to be able to support mothers in the environment they’re most comfortable in.
The Publicly Funded Homebirth Service (PFHS) has been available to local mothers with low-risk pregnancies since June 2020.
It’s an extension of the caseload midwifery model, where an expectant mother is paired with one midwife for the duration of the pregnancy, birth and aftercare.
“My main desire is to support women where they feel the most comfortable and they feel the most safe, and for a lot of women that place is home,” Lucy said.
Hospital is a familiar environment for those who work there, but for homebirths the tables are turned where the birthing mother is in a space they are in every day.
“It’s really lovely to be able to be invited into their space, where they feel safe and secure, surrounded by their creature comforts,” Lucy said.
Mona Barakat Sahyoun, mother to baby James, is thrilled that she’s been able to use the homebirth service.
Of her four births, Mona delivered her first two children at Westmead Hospital, and her subsequent two births were at home using the PFHS.
“The fact that I could do this has literally changed the perception of how I view birth,” Mona said.
“This program has allowed me to experience a homebirth not once but twice, and shaped my perception of birth where I felt empowered and incredibly safe,” Mona said.
Mona said that her experience with James’ birth also impacted her postpartum journey.
“I know that homebirth is not for everyone, but I credit my smooth healing journey in my last two postpartum periods because of my choice to birth in the comfort and familiarity of my home,” Mona said.
While homebirths are accessible in a variety of ways, only a small number of hospitals across the state offer publicly funded home births.
Not having to pay for a private midwife or private healthcare made a huge impact for Mona.
“If this free program wasn’t available to me, it would be difficult to find the money for it,” Mona says.
“As this program is publicly funded, I didn’t need to stress about having to invest in private midwifery care,” Mona says.
“The fact that the hospital provides this service is phenomenal, it allows for more women to have more choices in how they wish to birth,” Mona said.