The Case for Home Births
You will find supporting studies for both sides. For those who advocate for at-home birthing, a study was done in the Netherlands which supports the idea of mothers giving birth at home. In this country, most births occur at home.
The study included data from August 2004 to August 2006, which provided a total of 146,752 births. Almost twice as many births occurred at home as in a hospital. Data showed that women with low risk of issues had lower rates of some of the most common problems in birthing.
According to this study, the following results were compiled about women giving birth in a hospital:
- 2 times more likely to have eclampsia
- 1.8 times more likely to suffer death
- 1.47 times more likely to need more than one blood transfusion
- 1.37 times more likely to have hemorrhaging postpartum
If you base your research on this study alone, you may be convinced that having a baby at home is the best option.
The Case for Hospital Delivery
Of course, the other side also has data to support the conclusion that hospital births are safer than being at home. The results of one research project was published in The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Researchers looked at two key pieces of information. First, they reviewed the number of babies who died within seven days of birth as well as those who died within 28 days of being born. According to researchers, babies born at home were four times as likely to die as those born in the hospital. The risk was greatest if it was the first baby for the mother.
Babies born in freestanding birthing centers as opposed to a hospital still had double the risk for fatalities as in a hospital even if midwives attended both births. According to this study, about 25,000 babies are born at home each year in the US.
There are two types of midwives, and the one the mother chooses can have a direct impact on the health and survival of her baby.
- Certified nurse midwives (CNM) – these midwives are trained and educated on birthing and certified
- Certified professional midwives (CPM) – these women are certified, but they lack the training of the CNM, often taking a correspondence course to achieve their certification
Mortality rates are higher with the CPM than with the CNM.
Pregnant mothers who are undecided about which option they prefer should do their research and make their own decision about how to create a safe place for the birth of their baby. It is important to know the facts about both in-home and hospital births and the risks to watch out for.
