Forty-three years ago, on the 17th, we were blessed with our first child, a son. It was a Sunday. Just two or three days before some of my colleagues at work told me that their children had all been born at home. I told them that we were booked to go to the Maternity Wing of the Blue Sisters Hospital in a month’s time.

They were speechless when on Monday I told them what happened over the weekend and that first I thank, and always will, God Almighty and then our alert GP. I would have lost both my wife and our son had it not been for the fact that they were in a hospital and not at home. As it is, we were

further blessed with a daughter and another son, plus eight grandchildren so far.

We know of women who are now unfortunately dead because they and of course their husbands opted to have their children at home.

This is not the case of high or low risk women at all. You can never tell what might turn up unexpectedly and the facilities in a hospital can never be found in a home. When needed it will then be too late.

I am very surprised, to put it very mildly, that doctors and entities in this field state that “home births are as safe as hospital”. Very dangerous nonsense from those who should know better.

Vincent Chetcuti

SLIEMA