“My germs, my space, my stuff, my smells”

In this chapter, the authors consider the geography of birthing at home by asking in what way place informs the meaning of homebirth for mothers. Specifically, they argue that women describe birthing at home as enabling them to: normalise birth, support their mobility and bodily autonomy during birth, permit them increased control over space during birth and re-spatialise the experience of birth. The authors argue that giving birth at home allows women to resist the norms associated with medicalised birth and institutional control in unique ways, and that the space of the home is central to this. They describe four ways that the space of the home plays a role in medicalised process: by normalising birth, supporting women's mobility and bodily autonomy during birth, permitting women increased control over space during birth and re-spatialising the experience of birth.