Midwives are reporting a spike in home and free births with many pregnant women too scared of testing positive to COVID-19 in hospital.

Some Queensland hospitals won’t allow women who test positive to COVID-19 to have a partner or support person with them during labour.

It’s caused many to turn to alternative options, including giving birth with no medical assistance.

“It’s pretty traumatic for women to have to birth alone,” Maternity Consumer Network Director Alecia Staines told Neil Breen.

“That’s basically the situation that women are presented with: do I take this risk and have to birth alone, or do we stay together as a unit and birth together at home, alone.

“Neither is ideal but this is a health system that’s not supporting women at all.”

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