RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: to understand the exercise of professional autonomy by obstetric nurses in dealing with complications in planned home births. METHODS: this is a qualitative study, supported by the Discourse of the Collective Subject methodological framework, whose data collection took place from January to March 2021, through interviews guided by a semi-structured script, in which seven midwives who are members of a childbirth care collective in northeastern Brazil and who work in the home context participated. RESULTS: four central ideas emerged from the collective discourses related to the exercise of professional autonomy by obstetric nurses: shared decisions; theoretical-practical instrumentalization; professional expertise; and teamwork. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: obstetric nurses' autonomy in the face of complications reflects the safety of planned home births and is based on collective critical thinking, reinforcing this professional' leading role in obstetrics.