statistic help

[lavendermama]

My insurance company is refusing to pay for my homebirth and I intend on writing a letter to every newspaper, my insurance company, and all hospitals in my area. Can you all please help me gather statistics on homebirth? I obviously need credible resources and I know they are most definitely out there-I just need some help finding them! Thanks!

[2+twins]

Here are some pages I have bookmarked regarding homebirth. Hopefully something in here should help:

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/homebirthcontents.htm

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/homebirth3.htm#bmj

http://www.parentsplace.com/print/0,...ival_freqCap=2

http://tuberose.com/Childbirth.html

http://www.motherfriendly.org/MFCI/references/2/#Abs1

http://www.gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homesafe.html

http://members.ispwest.com/paden/ess...statistics.htm

http://www.ub2b.com/AtHome/HomeBirth.html

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-B/...or_rat&id=OECD

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/.../2091rank.html

[georgia]

homebirth statistics and studies

Here are some significant homebirth/hospital evidence-based research studies :

*Wiegers, T. A., M J N C Keirse, J. van der Zee, and G. A H. Berghs. 1996. "Outcome of Planned Home and Planned Hospital Births in Low Risk Pregnancies: Prospective Study in Midwifery Practices in the Netherlands." British Medical Journal 313:1309-1313.

* Ackermann-Liebrich, Ursula, Thomas Voegeli, Kathrin Gunter-Witt, Isabelle Kunz, Maja Zullig, Christian Schindler, and Margrit Maurer. 1996. "Home versus Hospital Deliveries: Follow-up Study of Matched Pairs for Procedures and Outcome." British Medical Journal 313:1313-1318.

* Schlenzka, Peter F., "Safety of Alternative Approaches to Childbirth", Stanford University, 1999, available on the web at http://www.vbfree.org/docs/meadsum.html



Obstet Gynecol 1998 Sep;92(3):461-470, Murphy PA, Fullerton J.

CONCLUSION: Home birth can be accomplished with good outcomes under the care of qualified practitioners and within a system that facilitates transfer to hospital care when necessary. Intrapartal mortality during intended home birth is concentrated in postdates pregnancies with evidence of meconium passage.


Meta-analysis of the safety of home birth:

Birth 1997 Mar;24(1):4-13; discussion 14-6, Olsen, O

What is the relative safety of homebirth compared with hospital birth? Ole Olsen, a researcher from the University of Copenhagen, recently examined several studies of planned homebirth backed up by a modern hospital system compared with planned hospital birth. A total of nearly 25,000 births from five different countries were studied.

The results: There was no difference in survival rates between the babies born at home and those born in the hospital. However, there were several significant differences between the two groups. Fewer medical interventions occurred in the homebirth group. Fewer home-born babies were born in poor condition. The homebirth mothers were less likely to have suffered lacerations during birth. They were less likely to have had their labors induced or augmented by medications or to have had cesarean sections, forceps or vacuum extractor deliveries. As for maternal deaths, there were none in either group.

From the British Medical Journal:

*Perinatal loss in planned and unplanned home birth. The Northern Region's Perinatal Mortality Survey Coordinating Group. BMJ 1996;313:1306-9.
*Home versus hospital deliveries: a prospective study on matched pairs. Ackermann-Liebrich U, Voegli T, Guenther-Witt K, Kunz I, Zullig M, Schindler C, et al. BMJ 1996;313:1313-8.
*Outcome of planned home and planned hospital births in low risk pregnancies in the Netherlands. Wiegers T A, Keirse M J N C, van der Zee J, Berghs G A H. BMJ 1996;313:1309-13.
*Prospective regional study of planned home birth. Davies J, Hey E, Reid W, Young G. BMJ 1996;313:1302-5.

and more......

1. Abel S, Kearns, RA, 1991 "Birth Places: A Geographical Perspective on Planned Home Birth in New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 33, No. 7, 825-34.

2. Abernathy, Thomas J., Donna M. Lentjes, 1989 "Planned and Unplanned Home Births and Hospital Births in Calgary, Alberta, 1984-87", Public Health Reports, Vol. 104, No. 4, 373-77.

3. Acheson, Louise A., Stanley E. Harris and Stephen J. Zyzanski, 1980 "Patient Selection and Outcomes for Out-of-Hospital Births in One Family Practice", The Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 31, No. 2, 128-136.

4. Albers, Leah L., and Vern L. Katz, "Birth Setting for Low-Risk Pregnancies, an Analysis of the Current Literature", Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, Vol. 36, No. 4, July/August 1991, p. 215-220.

5. Anderson, Rondi and Deborah Greener, 1991 "A Descriptive Analysis of Home Births Attended by CNMs in Two Nurse-Midwifery Services", Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, Vol 36, No. 2, 95-103.

6. Anderson, Rondi and Patricia Murphy, 1995 "Outcomes of 11,788 Planned Home Births Attended by Certified Nurse-Midwives: A Retrospective Descriptive Study," Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, Vol. 40, No. 6, 483-492.

7. Bortin, S, Alzuguray M, Dowd J, and Kalman J, 1994 "A Feminist Perspective on the Study of Home Birth: Application of a Midwifery Care Framework," Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, Vol. 39, No. 3, 142-9.

8. Boyer, Ernest L., 1990 "Midwifery in America: A Profession Reaffirmed", Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, Vol 35, No. 4, 214-19.

9. Burnett, Claude A., James A. Jones, Judith Rooks, et al, 1980 "Home Delivery and Neonatal Mortality in North Carolina", JAMA, Vol. 244, No. 24, 2741-45.

10. Cameron, J. C. et al, 1979 "Home Birth in Salt Lake County, Utah, American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 69, 716-717.

11. Campbell, & Rona, MacFarlane, 1987 Where to Be Born? The Debate and The Evidence. National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England.

12. Campbell, Rona, & MacFarlane, Alison, 1986 "Place of Delivery: A Review," British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 83, 675-83.

13. Campbell, Rona et al, 1984 "Home births in England and Wales: Perinatal Mortality According to Intended Place of Delivery," British Medical Journal, Vol. 289: 721-24.

14. Chamberlain, M et al., 1991 "Consumer Interest in Alternatives to Physician-Centred Hospital Birth in Ottawa," Midwifery, Vol. 7, No. 2, 74-81.

15. Crotty, Maria, Andrew T. Ramsay, Rosemary Smart, and Annabelle Chan, "Planned Homebirths in South Australia 1976-1987", 1990 Medical Journal of Australia, Vol. 153, p. 664-71.

16. Cunningham JD, "Experiences of Australian Mothers Who Gave Birth Either at Home, at a Birth Centre, or in Hospital Labour Wards," 1993 Social Sciences & Medicine, Vol. 36, No. 4, 475-83.

17. Damstra-Wijmenga, "Home Confinement: the Positive Results in Holland," 1984 Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol. 34, 425 -30 .

18. Buitendijk, S. 1994 "How Safe are Dutch Home Births? In: Abrahams E (ED) Successful Home Birth and Midwifery: the Dutch Model. Bergin, Garvey and Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut.

19. Declerq, Eugene, "Out-of-Hospital Births, US, 1978: Birthweight and Apgar Scores as Measures of Outcome," 1984 Public Health Rep Vol. 99, No. 1, 63-73.

20. Declerq, Eugene, 1993 "Where Babies Are Born and Who Attends Their Births: Findings from the Revised 1989 United States Standard Certificate of Live Birth," Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 81, No. 6, 997-1004.

21. Devitt, Neal, 1977 "The Transition from Home to Hospital Birth, U.S.," Birth & Family Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 47-58.

22. Durand, A. Mark, "The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study," American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 82, No. 3, 450-3 1992.

23. Eskes, TK, 1992 "Home Deliveries in the Netherlands -- Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity. International Journal of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Vol. 38, No. 3, 161-9.

24. Ford, Christine, Illife & Franklin, 1991 "Outcome of Planned Home Births in an Inner City Practice," British Medical Journal, Vol. 303, 1517-19.

25. Hafner-Eaton, C and Pearce, LK, 1995 "Birth Choices, the Law and Medicine: Balancing the Individual Freedoms and Protection of the Public’s Health," Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Vol. 19, No. 4, 813-35.

26. Hinds, M. Ward, Gershon H. Bergeisen and David T. Allen, 1985 "Neonatal Outcome in Planned Versus Unplanned Out-of-Hospital Births in Kentucky", JAMA, Vol. 253, No. 11, 1578-82.

27. Howe, K., 1988 "Home Births in South-west Australia," Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.149, 296-302.

28. Huygen, F. J., 1984 "Home Deliveries in Holland," Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol. 34, 244-8.

29. Janssen, Patricia A., et al, 1994 "Licensed Midwife-Attended, Out-of-Hospital Births in Washington State: Are They Safe?" Birth, Vol. 21, No. 3, 141-8.

30. Klein, M. E., et al, 1983 "A Comparison of Low-Risk Pregnant Women Booked for Delivery in Two Systems of Care," British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vol. 90, 118-128.

31. Kenny P et al, 1993 "Satisfaction with Postnatal Care -- The Choice of Home or Hospital, Midwifery, Vol. 9, No. 3, 146-53.

32. Kleiverda, Gunilla, et al, 1990 "Place of Delivery in The Netherlands: Maternal Motives & Background Variables Related to Preferences for Home or Hospital Confinement," European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, Vol. 36, 1-9.

33. Kleiverda, Gunilla, et al, 1991 "Place of Delivery in The Netherlands: Actual Location of Confinement," European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, Vol. 39, 139-46.

34. Kloosterman, G. J., 1984 "The Dutch Experience of Domiciliary Confinements." In: Zander, L, Chamberlain, G. (eds). Pregnancy Care for the 1980s. The Royal Society of Medicine. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. 115-125.

35. Korte, Diana, "Infant Mortality: Lessons from Japan", Mothering, Winter 1992, 83 - 88.

36. Koehler, M. S. et al, 1984 "Outcomes of a Rural Sonoma County Home Birth Practice: 1976-1982. Birth, Vol. 11, No. 3, 165-169.

37. Lievaart, M. and DeJong, P., 1982 "Neonatal Morbidity in Deliveries Conducted by Midwives and Gynecologists: A Study of the System of Obstetric Care Prevailing in The Netherlands," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 144, 376-386. For critique of this "flawed" study, see "Obstetricians' Flawed Study," P.E. Treffers MD, D. van Alten MD, The Practicing Midwife, Vol. 1, No. 19, 1983. See also Reference 61.

38. MacVicar J et al. 1993 "Simulated Home Delivery in Hospital: A Randomised Controlled Trial," British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vol. 100, No. 4, 316-23.

39. Mallison, Mary B., "Gate Crashers", American Journal of Nursing, February 1990, p. 7.

40. McClain, C, 1981 "Women's Choice of Home or Hospital Birth," Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 12, 1033-38.

41. McQuarrie, H., 1980 "Home Delivery Controversy," Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 243, No. 17, p. 1747.

42. Mehl, Lewis E., Gail H. Peterson, Michael Whitt and Warren E. Hawes, 1977 Outcomes of Elective Home Births: A Series of 1,146 Cases", The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 5, 281-290.

43. Murphy, J.F., Marjorie Dauncey, O.P. Gray, and I. Chalmers, 1984 "Planned and Unplanned Deliveries at Home: Implications of a Changing Ratio", British Medical Journal, Vol. 288, 1429-32.

44. Myers, S, et al, 1990 "Unlicensed Midwifery Practice in Washington state," American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 80, 726-8.

45. Philipps, E., 1984 "Planned and Unplanned Deliveries at Home," British Medical Journal, Vol. 1, 1996-7.

46. Rooks, Judith P., Norman L. Weatherby, et al, 1989 "Outcomes of Care in Birth Centers", New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 321, p. 1804-11.

47. Rooks, Judith, "Low-Intervention Maternity Care," Journal of Family Practice, Vol. 31, No. 2, 125-7.

48. Sakala C, 1993 "Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Settings: How Do They Reduce Unnecessary Cesarean Section Births?" Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 37, No. 10, 1233-50.

49. Schrader, Catharina. The Memoirs (1693-1740) of the Frisian Midwife Catharina Schrader. 1987 Translated and annotated by Hilary Marland, with introductory essays by M.J. van Lieburg and G. J. Kloosterman. Rodopi, Amsterdam (available from Mrs. L. J. Brooke, 4595 Club Dr., NE, Atlanta, GA 30319

50. Schramm, Wayne F., Diane E. Barnes and Janice M. Bakewell, 1987 "Neonatal Mortality in Missouri Homebirths, 1978-84", AJPH, Vol. 77, No. 8, 930-35.

51. Shearer, J.M.L., 1985 "Five Year Prospective Risk of Booking for a Home Birth in Essex", British Medical Journal, Vol. 291, 1478-80.

52. Shy, KK, et al, 1980 "Out-of-Hospital Delivery in Washington State, 1975 to 1977, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 137, 547-52.

53. Soderstrom, Bobbi, Paula J. Stewart, Christabel Kaitell, and Marie Chamberlain, 1990 "Interest in Alternative Birthplaces Among Women in Ottawa-Carleton", Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol. 142, No. 9, 963-9.

54. Sullivan, Deborah A. and Ruth Beeman, 1983 "Four Years' Experience with Home Birth by Licensed Midwives in Arizona", AJPH, Vol. 73, No. 6, 641-5.

55. Tew, Marjorie, 1986 "Do Obstetric Intranatal Interventions Make Births Safer?", British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 93, 659-74.

56. Tew, Marjorie, 1985 "Place of Birth and Perinatal Mortality," Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol. 35, 390-4.

57. Tew, Marjorie, 1978 "The Case against Hospital Deliveries: the Statistical Evidence." In Kitzinger, S, Davies, JA (eds). The Place of Birth. Oxford University Press: pp. 55-65.

58. Tew, Marjorie, 1986 "Do Obstetric Intranatal Interventions Make Birth Safer?" British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vol. 93, No. 7, 659-74.

59. Treffers, Pieter E., Martine Eskes, Gunilla Kleiverda and Dik Van Alten, 1990 "Letter From Amsterdam: Home Births and Minimal Medical Interventions", JAMA, Vol. 264, No. 17, 2203-08.

60. Treffers, P. and Laan, R., 1986 "Perinatal Mortality and Hospitalization at Delivery in The Netherlands," British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vol. 93, 690-3.

61. Treffers, P, et al, 1983 "Condemnation of the Obstetric Care in The Netherlands?" American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 146, 871-2.

62. Tyson, Holliday, 1991 "Outcomes of 1001 Midwife-Attended Home Births in Toronto, 1983-1988, Birth, Vol. 18, No. 1, 14-9.

63. Van Alten, D., M. Eskes and P.E. Treffers, 1989 "Midwifery in the Netherlands. The Wormerveer Study; Selection Mode of Delivery, Perinatal Mortality and Infant Morbidity", British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 96, 656-62.

64. Wagner, Marsden. Pursuing the Birth Machine: The Search for Appropriate Birth Technology. ACE Graphics, Sydney, 1994.

65. Wood, LAC. 1981 "Obstetric Retrospect," J R Coll Gen Pract, Vol. 31, 80-90.

66. Woodcock, Hazel C., Anne W. Read, Diane J. Moore, Fiona J. Stanley and Carol Bower, 1990 "Planned Homebirths in Western Australia 1981-1987: A Descriptive Study", The Medical Journal of Australia, Vol. 153, 672-8.

67. Wynn, Margaret, 1985 "Birthplace Survey," New Generation, Vol. 4, 1-9.

68. Zander, L. 1, 1981 "The Place of Confinement -- a Question of Statistics or Ethics?" Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 7, 125-7.

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72. Ackermann-Leibrich U et al 1994 "Comparing Home to Hospital Deliveries: Recruitment, Referrals, and Neonatal Outcome," Soz Praventivmed Vol. 39, No. 1, 28.

73. British Medical Journal Editorial 1996 "Home Birth: Safe in Selected Women, and with Adequate Infrastructure and Support," British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7068. 1276-7.

74. Davies J, et al 1996 "Prospective Regional Study of Planned Home Birth," British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7068, 1302-6.

75. Northern Region Perinatal Mortality Survey Group 1996 "Collaborative Survey of Perinatal Loss in Planned and Unplanned Home Births," British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7068, 1306-9.

76. Weigers T et al 1996 "Outcome of Planned Home and Planned Hospital Births in Low Risk Pregnancies: Prospective Study in Midwifery Practices in the Netherlands," British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7068, 1309-13.

77. Ackermann-Leibrich U et al 1996 "Home versus Hospital Deliveries: Follow Up Study of Matched Pairs for Procedures and Outcome," British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7068, 1313-18.

78. Olesen O 1997 "A Meta-analysis of the Safety of Home Birth," Birth, March 1997.

79. Matsuoka, E 1995 "Is Hospital the Safest Place for Birth?" Gebären – Ethnomedizinische Perspektiven und neue Wege, Special Vol. 8, 293-304.

[Fiddlemom]

WOW! What a list!!! Just wanted to say GO Lavendermama! Good luck with your quest.

[lavendermama]

thank you everyone. I am gathering information and writing letters. I will let my anger drive me

[georgia]

i would recommend being matter-of-fact about it......it's really just a financial decision for them. i let my pocketbook drive me when i wrote my letters either way, birthing where and with whom you feel best is worth every penny.

the $$$ research on HB is definitely available and quite considerable. google is our friend!

[jraohc]

I'm very far from the point of writing to my insurance company (something I will probably do even if dh and I decide against homebirth), but I really appreciate the resource list. I can't wait to get started.