Homebirth and information about having your baby at home in Fife, Scotland,

Women in Fife have the choice to birth at home, in an alongside midwife led unit or at a consultant led unit in the hospital.

At your first midwife/booking appointment, the midwife will ask you about your medical and any previous pregnancy history. The midwife will discuss your choices and any recommendations for place of birth with you.

If you would like to birth at home, please ask your community midwife to send a referral to the birth at home team. The team will contact you to arrange a birth at home discussion which will happen at 16 weeks if you know from booking that you wish to have a homebirth.

You can choose to birth at home at any stage in your pregnancy, however, an early referral would give you more time to get to know the team.

Dedicated birth at home team

Our dedicated birth at home team support women in Fife who plan to give birth at home.

The team are supported by NHS Fife's community midwifery teams who are on call for homebirths.

Women who are planning a homebirth will be allocated a named midwife from the birth at home team and a buddy midwife as per the Best Start Initiative. The named midwife will provide continuity of carer throughout pregnancy and will be on call for the birth alongside the rest of the team.

You will have opportunities to meet the homebirth team of 5 midwives throughout your pregnancy. When you go into labour, whoever is on call will attend your labour and birth at home. You will receive postnatal care by your named midwife or buddy midwife.

If you would like more information about Homebirth, you can contact Michaela Harmes Birth at Home Team Leader by email at fife.birthathome@nhs.scot

Homebirth facts, safety and benefits

Homebirth is safe for low-risk pregnancies confirmed by research.

Studies show that well women and babies have better outcomes when choosing to birth at home with a trusted care provider.

Enjoy the comforts of your own home

Normal comfortable environment equals feeling safe
Minimal interruption and interference
Peaceful
Own home comforts, Comfortable bed, yummy snacks, children can attend if you wish

Benefits

Low risk women have:
Higher chance of vaginal birth
Reduced chance of intervention: instrumental birth and caesarean section
less likely to have severe perineal trauma or haemorrhage
less need for pain relief
improved breastfeeding and bonding
improved microbiome (our gut health)

Support

Continuity from named birth at home midwife throughout your pregnancy and after birth,

You will meet all the birth at home team who will share the on call for your birth at home with community midwives

What if there is an emergency?

The birth at home team and community midwives are trained to deal with emergencies in the home setting. They have the equipment and skills to managed and respond to an emergency promptly to ensure the safety of the mother and baby.

Emma and Arwen's experience

Emma was the first woman to give birth at home in 2026 with NHS Fife and she is keen to share her positive experience to encourage others who may be considering this as an option for their birth.

We had a home birth for our first baby and it was the best decision for us. I read through the booklet given to me at one of my first appointments on birth place decisions and decided a home birth would be best as we hoped for the least amount of interventions as possible.

We were referred to Michaela, who came to the house to see us instead of doctors and hospital visits and she was amazing. You can tell Michaela believes in the benefits of home birth and she was so supportive. We also met others on the home birth team, including Robyn, who was really supportive of me the days after birth.

On the day Arwen was born, my birth plan was followed. We had hired a birthing pool, had mood lighting and Hozier playing. Michaela and Madison were there for me and Arwen and supported us through birth and after. They gave us space as new parents to bond with our girl and there was no rush at any point of the night. I loved every moment of my birth and if I'm lucky enough to ever have another pregnancy, I would choose home birth again.

If I'm lucky enough to ever have another pregnancy, I would choose home birth again.

Emma , Homebirth experienced mother

You can read more home birth experiences on our homebirth stories page where families share their experiences.

Contact the team

For more information and a chat with the team, please email fife.birthathome@nhs.scot

Birth at home

Dedicated birth at home team

Homebirth facts, safety and benefits

Enjoy the comforts of your own home

Benefits

Support

What if there is an emergency?

Emma and Arwen's experience

Contact the team

Other pages in Labour and birth

Midwife-led unit

Consultant led unit

Labour Hopscotch

Induction of labour

NHS Fife

Contact

Social

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