Kerala recorded 14 home births in the month of January alone, including the death of three of the newborns.

Last month, nearly two months after she gave birth at home at Chavakkad, a 37-year-old woman died following sepsis and multi-organ failure at Thrissur Medical College. Her infant had died within a few days of the birth.

These home births have been happening under the radar of the Health department, mostly out of choice and without medical or midwife supervision and with total disregard for maternal lives or the possible long-term gynaecological morbidities that women might suffer.

K. Pratibha, a medical officer attached to the Thanur community health centre at Malappuram, has now approached the High Court yet again, with an interim petition that the Health department is not taking any effective steps to stop the home births, nor was it conducting any awareness programmes to enlighten the public on the unexpected complications that can occur during child birth, which can endanger the lives of mothers and newborns.

Dr. Pratibha has been engaged in a lone legal battle since the last four years to get the authorities to issue clear guidelines on the conduct of home births and also for the court to regulate home births through adequate legal provisions and penalties.

According to the information collected through RTI by Kulathoor Jaisingh, an advocate, Kerala has been reporting close to 600 home births since the last five or six years. In 2024-25, this came down to 428.

Last year, following a memorandum submitted by Dr. Pratibha to the Chief Secretary, the latter had issued a directive to the Department of Local Self Government to join hands with the Health department so that awareness can be created at the grassroots on the dangerous implications of home deliveries.

Thus in 2025 (January to December), the number of home births reported in the State had come down to 188. In Malappuram, which has been recording 200-250 home births since 2019, the number came down to 44 in 2025-26 (till December) . This year, in January, the district had 6 home births.

Home births are not illegal in the country and no Indian state has enacted a law banning them. A woman can legally choose to deliver at home, even without medical supervision. The authorities can discourage women from home births, citing the possible complications but cannot penalise families for opting for home birth because issues such as bodily autonomy and personal liberty are involved which have Constitutional protection

The States however can regulate homebirths through clear guidelines that ensure better safety for mothers and insist that medical care should not be denied in the event of complications, says Dr. Pratibha. She points out that the Home department should get involved for action to happen on ground.

“The authorities can at least bring in a provision that birth certificates will not be issued unless the health of mothers and babies are ensured. Through the Union Health Ministry’s RCH portal, every pregnant woman is tracked right through pregnancy and it is the health workers who get the blame when home births and maternal/neonatal deaths following home births are recorded. The question of child rights is also involved,” she added.