A Hampshire woman who almost died during childbirth at home alongside her baby said she has no regrets - and would still advocate for non-hospital births.

Mum-of-three Geo James, 32, decided to birth her children at home, after reading about how other mums found them calm and relaxing.

After two smooth home births with boys now four and two, using a birthing pool in her living room, surrounded by fairy lights and diffusers, and accompanied by an NHS midwife, she felt confident in her third pregnancy.

But soon after her husband got the pool from the loft, Geo’s placenta abrupted, and she was rushed to the hospital to have an emergency caesarean.

Both Geo and her newborn son, now four months old, almost didn’t make it. The haemorrhage starved the baby of oxygen and she lost half her blood.

But despite this, she said she would still recommend home births for low risk mothers.

However, Geo warned that there is a stark difference between giving birth at home, and free births which take place with no medical staff present.

Geo said: “I’d always known I wanted kids but felt scared by the idea of giving birth - it seemed really medical and dangerous.

“But after hearing lots of positive stories from mums who’d had home births and said it was calm, and safe, and relaxing, it started to really appeal to me.

“Some family members disapproved, as they saw it as the ‘hippy’ option, and I got a few messages on Instagram saying it was irresponsible, but I felt confident that it was the right choice for me.

“My first two births went great, out of all the people I know, I would say I’m the only person who would describe my birth as not traumatic.

“With the home birth, I felt like I was in control and I was surrounded by fairy lights, it was so relaxing.

“It was so cosy, and after the birth I went straight into my own bed and had a cup of tea in my favourite mug.

“I wanted to have a home birth for my third child as well, but at 38 weeks I noticed a pool of blood, whilst I was in bed.

“I was haemorrhaging, I knew straight away that this baby was not going to be born at home.

“I called the ambulance, and had to have an emergency caesarean.

“My placenta abrupted, it was starving the baby of oxygen, I lost half my blood volume.

“There was definitely a point where all of the team thought that me and the baby would die, it was very scary.

“Despite my experience, my position still stands, if somebody is low risk and feels most comfortable at home, then I still think that home births are the safest choice for many women.

“My experience hasn’t scared me off the idea of not being in a hospital for childbirth.”

Geo first became interested in the idea of home births after listening to podcasts such as Happy Mum, Happy Baby, where women shared positive experiences of the practice.

Despite criticism from those around her, who thought the practice was unsafe, Geo stuck with her decision, and her first two births went extremely smoothly.

Instead of being in a hospital bed, she gave birth in a birthing pool, surrounded by fairy lights and diffusers.

Due to the positive experience, she had had with her first two births, choosing home birth for her third baby felt like a no-brainer for Geo.

However, after visiting a consultant, she was told that since her first two babies were quite large when they were born, there could be a risk if her third baby was large as well.

“The consultant did try to talk us out of it, but then I met with a different consultant who presented some research she had done which showed that a large baby wasn't a risk factor in itself, and would only be a risk if it came with other risks, like gestational diabetes, or preeclampsia.”

Reassured by this, Geo decided to go ahead with the home birth, and brought the birthing pool down from the loft.

However, at 38 weeks, she felt as though her waters were breaking while she was in bed.

Geo looked down and realised that it was actually a pool of blood.

She quickly called an ambulance, and after arriving a hospital, doctors realised she had lost a large amount of blood, and rushed her in to the operating theatre to have an emergency caesarean.

Thankfully, both Geo and the baby survived, but she will have to have further surgery, as the speed in which doctors acted during the birth meant that they weren’t very careful, and her scar tissue is not aligned properly.

“It’s been such a long recovery, whereas with my home births I was back on my feet and able to do most things the next day”, she said.

She added that due to the damage the traumatic birth did to her body, she will be unlikely to be able to have any more children.

Despite her experience, Geo said that she would still recommend home births to low-risk women.

However, Geo warned that there is a stark difference between giving birth at home, and free births (births which take place with no medical staff present).

“I think free births are really dangerous, because you need somebody there who is trained and is monitoring the situation," she said.