Home Childbirth: Yes or No?

For most pregnant women, home childbirth is not even an option under consideration. But home childbirths are gaining in popularity, a trend which has been sustained for several years now, with women giving up epidurals and obstetricians for midwives and natural pain relief methods, avoiding the c-sections and inductions that have become so much more common in recent years in hospital deliveries – some say unnecessarily.

In the 1970’s, Ina May Gaskin’s natural childbirth advocacy inspired a new generation of women to opt for home delivery, and not since then has it been such a hotly debated topic. Although home deliveries count for less than 1% of births, the rate is growing and more midwives are being licensed to attend home births, and the American Medical Association (AMA) is trying to curb this trend due to safety concerns.  Many doctors fear that with the rise in home births, mortality rates will go up, but there data is not black and white. A study published in 2005 in the British Medical Journal found that home births had a similar mortality rate to that of hospital delivery, while others have suggested that it increases the incidence of neonatal death by two to three times.

Most (planned) home births are attended by a midwife, although some favor so-called free birthing, with no attendant, which naturally carries a much higher risk. Home-birth midwives say they accept only low-risk patients, excluding women with high blood pressure, diabetes, twins or triplets or other significant risk factors. Midwives carry basic emergency medical equipment and are ready to take women to the hospital in the event of a serious complication.

However, obstetricians argue that the time lost in these cases in getting women to the hospital can significantly increase the danger. Advocates argue that women should be given the choice and that hospital births are treated too much like an inconvenience to be dealt with instead of the natural process that it should be. Aside from the philosophical and moral arguments, there are many people that want to know the answers to practical questions. See Home Birth: Practical Questions and Answers for more.