Jerm and Dr Stu discuss home birth, hypnobirthing, and the medicalisation of childbirth. They explore the fears surrounding labour, the cultural narratives shaping women’s experiences, and the vital role of midwives in care. Dr Stu emphasises the importance of informed decision-making and challenges the assumption that hospital births are always safer than home births. He highlights the need to trust the natural birth process and how protocols and fear influence women’s choices. The conversation also covers conflicts within obstetrics, the impact of medical algorithms on doctors and patients, and the stresses faced by obstetricians. They examine how hospital protocols can interfere with natural birth, consider long-term health outcomes of different birth methods, and debate the future of natural birth in a medicalised world. Dr Stu advocates for a return to nature’s design for childbirth and critiques medical practices that prioritise hospital convenience over the well-being of mothers and babies.
