Did you know Captain Von Trapp & Maria were some early advocates for home birth in America?

From her autobiography…

“Oh, time and time again, (people) told me that one had to have a doctor and one had to go to the hospital to have a baby. I was finally persuaded to make one concession: the doctor. But go to a hospital – that was ridiculous. Why? What for? I wasn’t sick. In Europe you went to a hospital when you were dangerously sick, and many people died there, but babies were born at home. Would they in the hospital allow my husband to sit at my bedside? Could I hold his hand, look into his eyes? Could my family be in the next room, singing and praying? The answer to all these questions was ‘no’.”

All right, that settled it. I tried to explain that a baby had to be born into a home, received by loving hands, not into a hospital, surrounded by ghostly-looking doctors and masked nursed, into the atmosphere of sterilizers and antiseptics. That’s why I would ask the doctor to come to our house.”

The Trapp family went on to give birth to their healthy baby boy at home, unassisted, while the doctor and nurse were prepping on the other side of the room.

I really enjoying reading their life story. Would recommend for anyone who’s a fan of The Sound of Music, or just a fan of a good life story!