Many women choose to deliver at the hospital not realizing that they may set up for a choking and dehumanizing experience. Others who are choosing home birth are often criticized. In this talk, Saraswathi explains the importance of a friendly, familiar and safe environment during childbirth which event is known to have a big influence on the future of the baby and society as a whole. She calls all countries to facilitates high quality and safe humanized care in all settings and let the women choose. She shares with us the studies and testimonies of numerous women who have told her their experiences and their real needs, so that their voices be heard.

Senior Advisor for the MANA Division of Research, Saraswathi Vedam RM FACNM MSN Sci D (h.c.) is Associate Professor at the Division of Midwifery in the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, and founder of the UBC Midwifery Faculty Practice, Birth & Beyond. Over the last 30 years, she has cared for families in the USA, the Netherlands, India, and Canada in a variety of private and public health care settings. She is also a prolific writer and a fierce proponent of a woman’s right to choose where to give birth. For Saraswathi, home birth is as safe as or even safer than hospital birth.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx