Hilary Duff gave birth to a baby girl, named Banks Violet Bair, on October 25th, and a new interview hints at some of the details about her birth experience. Prior to giving birth, Duff was a guest on the podcast Informed Pregnancy, People reports. In the interview, she explained that she decided to have a home birth, completely drug-free.
On the podcast, Duff explained that when she gave birth to her son Luca six years ago, she labored at home for as long as possible, but "never thought about absolute natural childbirth," referring to giving birth without drugs. This time around, she started to think about how it could be different: "I'm older now," she said. "I love motherhood more than anything. I never thought it would be this way. I never thought I could be so happy and so fulfilled."
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Duff said that she was initially drawn to the idea of a home birth because she had seen a documentary about it, called Business of Being Born, and it "got me good." Her husband, Matthew Koma, did a lot of research and was supportive of the process. So, she decided that she would go for a planned home birth with her second child, to "fully get the full experience of what it is to bring a baby into the world, and how incredible our bodies are," she said.
While tens of thousands of people opt to have home births each year, they are seen as somewhat controversial, because they can be dangerous. The American Congress on Obstetrics and Gynecology has a firm stance that "hospitals and accredited birth centers are the safest settings for birth," and the organization suggests that anyone who has a home birth should have a certified nurse midwife present and access to a hospital nearby.
Duff said she and her husband had their apprehensions as well, so they met with certified nurse midwives to learn more. "We were a little scared by being too into this," she said about pursuing a home birth. "I don't want to offend anyone, [but] it seems all very hippy dippy, right?" Ultimately, she clicked with her midwife, and said it was a lot more comforting than seeing an Ob/Gyn.
The plan was for Duff to give birth in the bathtub, so she watched some videos on YouTube to prepare. "Some of [the videos] scare me, there's some where the women look so calm and they're just handling what's in front of them," she said. While we don't know what went down when Duff ultimately gave birth, in her Instagram caption announcing Banks, she wrote: "She joined our world at home on Thursday afternoon and is absolute magic." So, we can assume that all went according to her plan.