Eva Mousa had always planned to give birth in hospital.

But after the 19-year-old housewife's husband Mohammad ended up being admitted himself following a motorbike accident, the pair were left financially depleted and indebted. The young, previously middle-class family — newly impoverished, like many in the financially struggling country of Lebanon — have been forced to think of alternative options for childbirth.

With only five months to go until the arrival of their daughter, the young mother said the prospect of incurring further debt influenced their decision to have the pregnancy attended to by a midwife rather than an obstetrician.