I’m not against birthing in the hospital— and for some, it’s necessary and even lifesaving. But this doesn’t mean we get to brush all the harmful practices and violations, and disregard for physiological birth under the rug. The hospital system, and its services, do not support physiological birth. Anything that isn’t set up to support physiology— endangers it.
Let’s get into 15 reasons why it doesn’t make sense to birth in a hospital.
- Hospitals are a business. Hospitals profit from interventions so interventions happen all the time. It’s brilliant, really. Birth, when disturbed, requires intervention, and birth is always disturbed in the hospital.
Physiological birth requires undisturbed space, trust in the process, and time. It unfolds best in an environment that honors a woman’s autonomy rather than profits from her compliance. In a setting free from pressure, routine interventions, and unnecessary oversight, birth is less likely to require interventions, because the body already knows what to do when it’s allowed to lead.
2. There are only medical professionals employed in the hospital, whom are completely irrelevant to physiological birth.
Physiological birth requires caregivers who deeply understand and support the natural processes of birth. Midwives, doulas, and birthkeepers trained in physiological birth provide nurturing, informed care that honors a woman’s body, intuition, and rhythms—offering presence and guidance rather than unnecessary medicalization. Their role is to create a safe, calm space where birth can unfold without interference.
3. The hospital has time constraints. You often run out of time to labor. There are many laboring women, with limited staff and space, so your labor process usually needs to be sped up. Labor is also sped up when it doesn’t adhere to the hospital’s rigid, arbitrary timeline.
Physiological birth requires patience, plenty of time, and freedom from arbitrary timelines. It unfolds in its own unique rhythm, guided by the body’s natural cues— not the clock. When a woman is allowed the time and space she needs, with uninterrupted support, labor progresses steadily and powerfully without being rushed or forced to fit a schedule.
4. Your main care provider is a surgeon, who is skilled in doing c-sections, but typically untrained in variations of vaginal births.
Physiological birth requires a care provider experienced and skilled in supporting vaginal birth in all it’s unique forms. Midwives and birth attendants trained in physiological birth honor the natural variations of labor and birth, guiding women through each phase with knowledge, respect, and confidence— trusting the power and wisdom of the body rather than defaulting to invasive solutions when unnecessary.
5. The hospital runs on a technocratic model. Thus everyone is always looking for a problem to fix. You are in danger, and never proven otherwise. To be proven otherwise would mean for you to be free from all requirements, restrictions, observations, timelines, etc.
Physiological birth requires a holistic model that honors the body as a whole unit. It assumes that birth is a natural, healthy process— not a problem to be fixed— and allows a woman freedom from unnecessary restrictions, constant monitoring, and imposed timelines. In this space, she is seen as capable and whole, supported to move through birth with confidence and ease.
6. The hospital environment is unsupportive of physiological birth. Birth is a normal, physiological process designed to function well in a safe, undisturbed, unobserved, familiar, comfortable, trustful environment, typically your home. This environment isn’t possible in the hospital for many reasons. Birth is driven by hormones like oxytocin and endorphins, which flow freely in a calm, dimly lit, safe, familiar, and private space. Hospital settings, with bright lights and frequent interruptions, can interfere with this natural process. The brain can associate hospitals with illness and emergencies, which can increase fear and stress, leading to stalled labor and more pain. Leaving your home to go to a place that is the opposite of your home endangers the physiological process, guarantees more interventions, and increases the likelihood of complications.
Physiological birth requires a calm, familiar, and trusting environment where hormones like oxytocin and endorphins can flow freely. Birth thrives in a safe, private space— often the comfort of home— where lighting is soft, interruptions are minimal, and the brain feels secure rather than alarmed. This kind of environment supports the natural cascade of birth hormones, reduces fear and stress, and helps labor progress smoothly without unnecessary interventions or complications.
7. Hospitals have many outdated practices. It can take 20 years for practices to catch up with recent studies, so you’re likely paying for outdated and harmful care. Some current examples are denied nourishment in labor, premature cord clamping, continuous fetal monitoring, hourly cervical exams, separating baby and mom, and many more.
Physiological birth requires care rooted in current evidence that honors the body’s natural wisdom and supports gentle, respectful practices that are instinctual and have withstood the test of time. This includes allowing nourishment during labor, delaying cord clamping, minimizing unnecessary exams and monitoring, and keeping mother and baby together to promote bonding and breastfeeding— practices that nurture health and wellbeing, rather than cause harm or disruption.
8. Hospitals are full of harmful, resistant pathogens that are not present in your home. This endangers your vulnerable baby, due to their underdeveloped immune system, and also increases your risk for infection.
Physiological birth thrives in the safety of a home environment, rich with your family’s natural microbiome. This familiar, clean space supports the baby’s developing immune system and lowers the risk of exposure to harmful hospital pathogens— creating a protective, nurturing setting where both mother and baby can begin life together with greater health and resilience.
9. Your (life-affecting) birth is just another birth and another shift for the staff. If someone wants to be home for the holidays, has a flight they re going on, or has a dinner date, decisions may be made not in your best interest, but in theirs.
Physiological birth requires care from providers who prioritize your unique experience and needs above all else. In a supportive environment, your birth is honored as a sacred, life-changing event— not just another shift or task— and decisions are made with your best interest at heart, allowing you to feel truly seen, respected, and cared for throughout your journey.
10. Hospitals have high rates of c-sections, a major abdominal surgery that comes with serious risks and side effects. Once an intervention begins (usually unnecessarily), it often leads to more interventions until someone’s life is in danger, typically the baby’, resulting in a c-section.
Physiological birth supports the body’s natural ability to give birth vaginally, minimizing the need for unnecessary interventions. When birth is allowed to progress without interruption or pressure, the cascade of interventions that often lead to cesarean sections can be avoided— helping protect both mother and baby from the risks and recovery challenges associated with major surgery.
11. There are trained birth experts that can come to your home to provide better, safer care than what you’ll get at the hospital if you don’t have a legitimate medical reason. You can always go to the hospital in the rare case an emergency comes up that you and your team can’t resolve at home.
Physiological birth flourishes with the support of trained birth experts who honor and protect the natural process in the comfort of your home. Midwives, doulas, and birthkeepers provide personalized, skilled care tailored to your unique needs— ready to collaborate and transfer to a hospital only if a true emergency arises that cannot be managed at home, ensuring safety without unnecessary interventions.
12. Hospital births tend to be significantly more expensive than home births. Even after insurance, they may be more expensive than hiring at home birth support.
Physiological birth supported at home can offer more affordable, personalized care without sacrificing safety or quality. With skilled midwives and birthkeepers by your side, you receive dedicated attention in a comfortable environment, often at a lower cost than hospital births, even after insurance, making empowered birth choices accessible and sustainable.
13. In hospitals, there is a higher chance of unnecessary separation of the newborn from their mother for procedures, which disrupts bonding and breastfeeding, which is essential for baby’s lifelong health, breastfeeding success, and mom’s postpartum healing and mental health.
Physiological birth supports immediate and uninterrupted bonding between mother and baby, promoting successful breastfeeding and postpartum healing. Keeping mother and newborn together right after birth nurtures emotional connection, supports the baby’s health, and aids the mother’s mental and physical recovery— honoring the natural needs of both without unnecessary separation.
14. Hospitals often have protocols that lead to interventions like continuous fetal monitoring, IV fluids, induction, or augmentation of labor, which can increase the likelihood of complications.
Physiological birth thrives with minimal intervention, allowing labor to progress naturally and gently. Avoiding routine protocols like continuous monitoring, unnecessary IVs, or induction supports the body’s own rhythm, reducing stress and lowering the risk of complications— creating space for a smoother, safer birth experience.
15. In a hospital, medical staff often dictate procedures, timelines, and policies that may not align with the woman’s preferences. At home, there is more freedom to move, eat, and birth in the preferred position.
Physiological birth requires freedom and autonomy, allowing a woman to move, eat, and choose positions that feel best for her body. In the comfort of home, she is supported to follow her instincts and preferences without rigid schedules or policies—creating a birth experience that is truly hers.
Birthing in the hospital makes sense if you have medical reasons, where the medical staff and medical interventions can be useful… where the medical professionals can do what they are naturally best at— observing, scrutinizing, and treating the problem. After all, this is the education, training, skills and philosophy they hold.
Often, the hospital staff are good people with good intentions, but if you’ve hired them to do their job and you’re not letting them do their job because it feels so wrong to you (and it will, if you believe birth is a physiological process), things can get frustrating and hostile on both sides.
Please understand that this is the environment you are going into. You may have a healthy pregnancy. You may know exactly what you want. You may have the perfect birth plan. But you are going into an environment that not only is irrelevant to your current natural, healthy state of physiological pregnancy and birth, but you will also be observed, scrutinized, and treated, even if everything will be perfectly well with you. You have hired people who are not knowledgeable, nor trained, in your current natural, healthy state of physiological pregnancy and birth.
You will have to fight for the very experience that your body knows and naturally longs for. Every moment will be an intervention, a disturbance, and a hindrance to your body’s innate design.
This is why I am a huge advocate for birthing at home. There are several ways to do that— birthing unassisted or hiring a licensed or unlicensed attendant to attend your birth. If medical support is needed, hire a good doula to support you in the hospital— and do your research. Don’t blindly go into just any hospital if there are more than one option available to you. Ask local birth workers and in local (naturally minded preferably) facebook mom groups for their insight and experiences. You have choices and that is your power.
Here is a powerful visual of side by side comparison of hospital birth and homebirth from my instagram post.
Ready to step outside the system and reclaim birth on your terms?
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to walk alongside you. I offer holistic childbirth education and coaching for women choosing home birth or free birth—support that honors your intuition, your design, and the powerful process of physiological birth. Whether you’re looking for clarity, preparation, or encouragement, I’m here to help you feel deeply rooted and confident in your choices.
Learn more about my coaching and childbirth education offerings here.