BELGRAVE mother Michelle Kemp was living in the UK when she fell pregnant with her first child, Grace, now 4.
After waiting hours for antenatal appointments in the overcrowded hospital system, she switched to a publicly funded home-birth program.
Mrs Kemp said home births were more common in the UK and covered by the National Health Service. She was able to have all the antenatal tests and scans at hospital.
"I think it's important you are allowed to give birth where you feel safe," she said.
After moving back to Australia, Mrs Kemp fell pregnant again, but was disappointed to find that her GP was "very anti-home birth". Home births are not covered by Medicare.
"No mother wants to hear they're going to put their baby at risk, but I don't feel that I was doing that."
Mrs Kemp engaged private midwives for her antenatal care and delivery and gave birth to Gilbert, now about 13 months, at home.
She welcomed news of a State Government trial that will pilot a public home-birth program through which midwives at two hospitals would be covered by the hospitals' insurance.
But Olinda's Heidi Hibberd said the program would probably still exclude people like her, considered to have higher-risk pregnancies due to breech babies or having had a previous caesarean delivery.
Mrs Hibberd's son Sol, now nearly 4, was a breech baby and delivered by caesarean. Examinations later revealed that the shape of her uterus meant it was likely all pregnancies would result in a breech baby.
When pregnant with Jarrah, now 12 months, she was able to engage private practitioners to turn and deliver her baby without complications.
She said any future births would also take place at home.
Iznaya Kennedy, of Upwey, is also set on a home birth when she delivers her second child in about six weeks' time.
She gave birth to her son Oscar at the Angliss Hospital birth centre in 2006. She was happy with that experience and the services offered, such as hypnotherapy and water births, but was nonetheless adamant the next one would be born at home in the presence of her husband, friend and son.
"I'm particularly committed to him [Oscar] being there. I feel it's important to integrate him into the experience so that he feels part of the process and the family."
The women are members of Homebirth in the Hills, whose members are from Maroondah, the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley.
Several members of the group are going to Canberra on Monday to protest against proposed legislation that would mean independent midwives, long denied medical indemnity insurance, would be fined $30,000 if they practised without it.
"I'm absolutely dumb-founded and can't believe that a so-called modern society is heading down this road when most of Europe realise home births can be a safe option if well supported," Mrs Kemp said. "It's a complete removal of women's rights."
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