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While many in the medical community continue to scramble to disprove the safety of homebirth, the end result is always the same: for healthy, low-risk women, a homebirth is as safe - and many times SAFER - than a hospital birth. In fact, in 2000, there were 27 other countries that enjoy better infant mortality rates than the U.S. One thing the countries at the top of this list
have in common is the use of homebirth midwifery as part of their standard of care.
Read about the many Benefits of Homebirth
Great article from Henci Goer refuting a recent ACOG "study" about homebirth
"It behooves us to examine this study with a critical eye. When we do so, it reveals itself to be, at best, a piece of work done by obstetricians who have an axe to grind. At worst, its many omissions and misstatements may have been intentional."
Should I have my first baby at home?
A fabulous, honest look at some of the reasons why women are told that they *have* to birth in the hospital, and the evidence behind these statements. Thought provoking views on first-time mothers and what sort of prenantal, birth and postpartum care best serves them.
Homebirth 101: Is Homebirth Safe? - Henci Goer
"Homebirth studies have not only failed to show more than the expected number of stillbirths and newborn deaths, but they have not found excesses of other, more common adverse outcomes, such as low Apgar scores, the need for resuscitation, or admission to newborn intensive care units."
Homebirth: What are the Issues? - Article by Author Sara Wickham
"There is no shortage of evidence to support the fact that homebirth is safe, satisfying and empowering for women and their families. It is also a much-neglected option for childbearing women in Western society today, often because women and their partners are unaware of the issues or choices which are available to them. This article seeks to discuss modern-day attitudes to birth and present the arguments for midwifery care and home birth in an accessible format."
Some current homebirth studies and articles
The State of California acknowledges that homebirth is a safe choice!: "The midwifery model of care is an important option within comprehensive health care for women and their families and should be a choice made available to all women who are appropriate for and interested in home birth"
Why Have a Homebirth, Anyway? One woman's story
"My husband and I - especially me - had very deep connections with our midwives. We had a keen mutual respect with them that we feel we never could have achieved with a doctor and certainly could not have achieved with some strange nurse whom we'd never met before. You spend more time with a perfect stranger - the L&D nurse - in a hospital birth than you ever do with your doctor."
More medical studies and articles demonstrating the safety of homebirth
But is it safe? From a midwife's website
"Many women, when presented with the possiblity of delivering their baby at home, experience two strong feelings. First, the longing for the comforts of home and the warm, personal care that a midwife provides. Second, the concern that although this sounds wonderful, homebirth may not really be safe."
Homebirth: As Safe as Birth Gets
Many studies have been done in an attempt to prove that hospitals are the safest place to birth. Some of the earlier ones included all births which took place out of the hospital - regardless of gestational age or planned place of delivery. Those studies included miscarriages which took place at home as well as precipitous births and births that were unattended. To be valid, a study must compare equals and change only one item.
Are you a Good Candidate for Homebirth?
Some popular beliefs debunked
The reasons below are sometimes given to suggest that a woman should not plan homebirth. Follow the links to assess the evidence for yourself, and to decide if homebirth is right for you.
The benefits of natural childbirth for mother and baby
"So, in summary, it seems that not only is the mother's pain (which can, as mentioned, be managed effectively in the majority of cases wit proper prenatal education, training and support during labor) instrumental in lowering the pain for the baby, it may actually set the stage for bonding and nurturing, due to the levels of hormones involved, hormones which are certainly reduced and may be absent when drugs are routinely introduced into labor. At the time of birth, an unmedicated woman's level of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, are thirty times higher than those in non-pregnant women. Endorphins create feelings of pleasure and joy, and of euphoria. Since endorphins are secreted in response to pain, it seems likely that by eliminating pain, epidurals also lower the endorphin release, and in fact, recent studies (cited above) have shown this to be true."
Is Homebirth Appropriate for a VBAC
(Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)?
"There is a misperception that simply being at the hospital can eliminate risks associated with unusual birth circumstances, such as VBAC. (Actually, given the scandalous cesarean rate in the US, VBAC is one of the most unusual birth circumstances!) The only advantage that is available in the hospital that is not available in your home is surgery; if you are having surgery, the hospital is the place to be. Otherwise, you have to weigh the added risks of being at the hospital against the added benefits, and the hospital usually comes up short."
Homebirth After Cesarean (HBAC) - Questions and Answers from a mother
"Being in the hospital is the main reason why I had a cesarean last time. If I go back to the hospital, my risk of cesarean is even higher this time because OBs insist on managing VBAC as a high risk situation. In most cases the cesarean is actually more risky for both me and our baby. The only increased risk in a VBAC is an unlikely uterine rupture. Because rupture is so rare, less common than both prolapsed cord and placenta previa, there is no reason for my labor to be considered more high risk than anyone else's. If you believe VBAC is too risky, then it follows that every woman should have a cesarean before labor starts."
Information on Waterbirth - a great advantage with homebirth
Is Homebirth for You? 6 Myths about Childbirth Exposed
"Science has not been able to improve upon the way the human body and the way it was designed to work. In 20 other countries, more babies survive their first months of life than in the U.S."
Dr. Jay Gordon's Incredible Site on Birth
The Safety of Homebirth by Jock Doubleday
"Hospital birth philosophy says that there is a good chance that nature will fail. Indeed, to avoid malpractice suits, doctors must assume that something will go wrong and make ready preparation for crisis. If the mother is not progressing "fast enough" by the obstetrician's standards, it is not uncommon that a cesarean section will be performed."
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