How many US women really give birth at home?

[Greaseball]

I hear the current stat for home birth in the US is 4 to 5% of all births being planned homebirths.

But often stats on homebirth include only those where the attendant is an MD or CNM, which is rare. Would there be a way to find out how many people give birth with direct-entry midwives or lay midwives? How about UC's?

Thanks everyone!

[OhMel]

Hmmm. My midwife (DEM) told me it was a pretty constant 1%.

[Faith]

At least here in my state, there is a "place of birth" line to fill out on the birth certificate. Maybe you could look into the court house, see if they keep records of those things or who tallies the info all up?

HTH. I would like to know, too. I suppose you will never find the real number, because there are the people who intentionially do not get birth certificates for personal reasons. Also, of course will be the homebirths that ended up in the hospitial. (It is late and i am thinking too much... )

[applejuice]

It used to be at least 1-2%, so 4-5% is a significant increase.

I feel a sociological increase is on the way and I am happy to be part of it.

[Eman'smom]

I've heard 97% occur in a hospital that leaves 3% for home and birth centers. I know at least in the northern part of our state about 25% of births occur outside the hospital.

[georgia]

I have read the rate of planned hbs has been steady at 1-2% (Suzanne Arms, I think it was). The incidence of unplanned out-of-hospital births is (from what I remember) around 5%. I know there is no true way to know the real # of out-of-hospital births, which to me, is just fine! Keep the gov't out of my life as much as possible

I would love to see the % of planned, out-of-hospital births be where it *should* be---90%!!! I wonder if MANA or NARM has the most recent numbers??

Amy

[Greaseball]

The countries with the lowest infant mortality rates and highest life expectancies have a planned homebirth rate of about 30-34%.

Of hospital births, only 4% are attended by OBs and the rest by CNMs.

[lilyka]

I have always heard 1%.

That being said it would definitenly matter what they were counting as homebirths. Also it would matter what the laws were regaurding home birth in your state. According to my 2nd dd birth certificate it was an unattended birth. t here was a mw there in reality but we couldn't put that on the birth certificate. My third one was a planned hospital birth that ended up being born on the way. Probably counted as a home birth by some people. I heard a study once that included all babies born at home (including misscarraiges and percipitous births) and opf course he had a high percentage of home births. And of course a high percentage of them ended tragically since he included misscarraiges in his statistics.

So, as with all numbers, check your scource. what are they trying to prove.

[JesseMomme]

I agree with Lilyka. SOme Stats are counting every single birth to make planned homebirths look bad and dangerous, some stats just count planned mw attended homebirths. I doubt there's anyone waiting to count me in a survey though. :LOL

[miriam]

Lilyka - what does it say on your child's birth ceritificate for 'place of birth'?

Many people do not fill out birth certificates for personal reasons. I know hippies years ago who did not fill out birth ceritificates for their home births because they did not want the government drafting their chld in some future war.

This can make for an administrative headache for social security benefits, school admissions, passports, etc.

My MIL did not have a birth certificate. She needed three witnesses to her having been born. Hard to find when you are sixty-four years old.

[miriam]

OH! and Lilykah-

In 1979 there was actually a study reported in the Enquirer of all places done by the AMA and ACOG that stated that home births caused a 50-75% increase in newborn deaths!

How did they get that statistic?

They added to all of us healthy women/babies the number of stillborns and miscarriages that occur outside of the hospital.

They also added unplanned, unprepared homebirths which do not have a s good an out come as planned, prepared homebirths --- like the ones I planned and achieved!

Look for the Lewis Mehl study that matched 1049 hospital mother for homebirth mother, and compared the outcomes.

Homebirthers won out.

[Greaseball]

That goes back to what I was saying about who was the birth attendant. It's likely this study only counted home births attended by MDs or CNMs, both of whom are likely to use medical interventions at a birth.

I think if someone is planning on having labor induced, or pain relief, the hospital might be a better place for them after all, so the horrendous complications that come from the interventions can be treated.

What probably happened was that babies were induced at the home births before they wanted to come out, then went into distress or did not breathe at birth and then died because they were away from the location of the NICU. KWIM?

The things doctors and nurses do to women are so dangerous they should only be performed in the hospital. I bet that study did not have non-interventionist births done by direct-entry midwives.

[georgia]

Check out Mothering's March/April's (think it was this issue--it also had the Vitamin D on the cover)--it has an article "Homebirth Under Fire" (or something similar)---it discusses how the studies are flawed. It might even be here online. If I remember correctly, it counted the unplanned homebirths (most often emergency situations), which completely skew the results.

Greaseball, IMO, the only reason to go to a hospital to give birth would be to have drugs/andinterventions performed. The medicalization of childbirth is a fascinating and disturbing field of study. Some interventions, as we know, are life-saving. All others, life-threatening!

All the best,

Amy

[lilyka]

for my first it had my address and my third was born at my MW office so it had the address for that. I was a routien prenatal. fortunately I got there early because I was wondering why i was so uncomfortable. Hmm, transition anyone :LOL. I was realy nervous about having her at the hospital, so I was probably in birth denial, but I seriously felt very little pain.

[barbara]

NAPSAC (The National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth) use to have some pretty accurate sats. on homebirth vs. hospital birth, from around the world. I think their book was called Safe Alternatives in Childbirth, sor something like that. Unfortunatly, I don't think that NAPSAC is still in exisitance so there wouldn't be any current stats. available.

Our children's birth certificates simply state our address as the place of birth and their father as the attendant.

I think that even a percentage of homebirths as high as 5% in the US is a crime againest women. Why aren't more women asking themselves why the c-sec rate is so much higher for US women?? Why aren't the feminists up in arms about that??

Sorry for the brief lapse onto my soap box....now back to your regularly scheduled thread....

[Greaseball]

I'm up in arms about it! Why is it that people don't see the simple truth right in front of their faces?!

[applejuice]

...Because, Greaseball, most people are NOT basically stupid, just too lazy to check out the information for themselves.

[barbara]

Why are homebirths in the US at 1 to 5% and the c-sec rate is something like 21.5% ???????

Maybe if we increase the homebirth rate the c-sec rate will drop? :

[Eman'smom]

I think unfortunately, American women are "trained" to not trust their bodies, they are led to believe they need an epidural, and an episotomy, a doctor and induction. Women need to be taught or believe that this is a normal part of life and your body is capable of doing it.

[applejuice]

ITA