Two Rivers Midwifery
Home Birth Safety
The British Medical Journal Study:
The British Medical Journal has recently published a study on the safety of North American home birth: Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives.
Study Highlights:
Low Intervention
The rates of medical intervention for home births were dramatically lower than those in the hospital.
Some women in the study who planned home births were transferred to the hospital. Their medical intervention rates were also significantly lower than those for a similar group of women with low-risk pregnancies and planned hospital births. The numbers are listed below:
Intervention Women Who Planned a Home Similar Group of
Birth, but Transferred to the Women Who Experienced a
Hospital Planned Hospital Birth
Epidural 4.7% 63%
Episiotomy 2.1% 35%
Forceps 1% 3%
Vacuum
Extraction 0.6% 7%
Cesarean
Birth 3.7% 24%
Similar Safety
The rates of neonatal mortality and morbidity were similar in both home and hospital settings and similar to those in other studies of low risk home and hospital births in North America.
High Satisfaction
Mothers' satisfaction with home birth midwifery care was high with over 97% reporting that they were extremely or very satisfied.
Conclusions
"Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States."
© 2000-2010
