In the Untied States approximately only 2.1% of births are happening at home. Why?

In the book Why choose Home Birth by Monika Stone, says “There are numerous quality studies confirming that home birth is a safe birthing option for mom and baby. The fact is home birth is very safe. The problem is not safety. The problem is Midwifery and home birth have an image problem.”

There are two models of care under which we can birth babies. The most common one people utilize is the medical model of care. The lesser-known one is midwifery model of care. You are likely not familiar with the midwifery model of care.

Now let’s look at the data and results we are talking about.

Among 16,924 women who planned home births at the onset of labor, 89.1% gave birth at home. The majority of intrapartum transfers were for failure to progress, and only 4.5% of the total sample required oxytocin augmentation and/or epidural analgesia. The rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, assisted vaginal birth, and cesarean were 93.6%, 1.2%, and 5.2%, respectively. Of the 1054 women who attempted a vaginal birth after cesarean, 87% were successful. Low Apgar scores (< 7) occurred in 1.5% of newborns. Postpartum maternal (1.5%) and neonatal (0.9%) transfers were infrequent. The majority (86%) of newborns were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age. Excluding lethal anomalies, the intrapartum, early neonatal, and late neonatal mortality rates were 1.30, 0.41, and 0.35 per 1000, respectively.

I know that is a lot of information to digest but let’s break it down together. Two key takeaways:

• Out of 17,000 woman who planned a home birth 89% of them gave birth at home.

• The rates of spontaneous vaginal birth was 93.6%, assisted vaginal birth was 1.2% and the cesarean rate was 5.2%.

And, of course, you might be wondering: what is the rate of vaginal birth and cesarean in the hospital setting?

In the United States has a 32.1% cesarean rate as of 2021.

Home birth mothers have much lower rates of interventions in labor. While some interventions are necessary for the safety and health of the mother or baby, many are overused, are lacking scientific evidence of benefit, and even carry their own risks.

Most importantly, their babies were born healthy and safe. Ninety-seven percent of babies were carried to full-term, they weighed an average of eight pounds at birth, and nearly 98% were being breastfed at the six-week postpartum visit with their midwife.

This study is critically important at a time when many deeply-flawed and misleading studies about home birth have been receiving media attention.

As a result, this study provides a much-needed look at the outcomes of women who intended to give birth at home (regardless of whether they ultimately transferred to hospital care).

This study adds to the large and growing body of research that has found that planned home birth with a midwife is not only safe for babies and mothers, but results in health and cost benefits that reach far beyond one pregnancy.

Resources: Why Choose Homebirth, Monika Stone, Changes in Primary and Secondary Cesarean, Vital Statistics