The hospital is no place for a low risk woman to give birth. It seems that an increasing number of women are figuring this out and spreading the word as the number of home births in the United States skyrocketed 29% in the past 5 years.
For non-hispanic white women, the rate increased 36%.
Home births are most common in white women over the age of 35 who have other children.
Marian McDorman, a statistician with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), said that although it isn’t entirely clear why the rate is increasing so rapidly, it might be because “a lot of women really like the idea of home birth because they want a lower-intervention birth. A lot of women are worried about higher C-section rates and other types of intervention that happen once you go to the hospital”.
Saraswathi Vedam, Chair of Standards and Practice for the Home birth Section of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, sees out of hospital births going mainstream. She said:
“Women and families have started to question the widespread use of obstetric interventions and want to control the environment they give birth in.”
Bingo!
It would be interesting to see what these numbers would look like if out of hospital births at freestanding birth centers were included along with home births. My guess is that the numbers would be at least double.
There is no doubt that an increasing number of women are consciously rejecting the overmedicalization of birth. Doctors and nurses in a hospital environment, while nice people who are no doubt fully competent, have to abide by draconian procedures and rules when it comes to the process of birth. These rigid limitations cause many women to have induced labor, C-sections and other interventions that would never happen at a birth center or at home.
In my case, my first child would have definitely been an emergency C-section had I given birth in the hospital. Fortunately, I chose to stay away and have my baby at a birth center instead. The steps my midwife took to assist me are not permitted in the hospital and yet are simple and very safe.
The issue was simply pushing back a small flap of cervical tissue manually while I was pushing so the baby’s head could get through.
Another woman I know who experienced the exact same, minor problem wasn’t so lucky. She was wheeled in for a C-Section that was completely unnecessary, as the intervention was “required by hospital protocol”. She would have almost certainly birthed vaginally at a birth center or at home.
If you are a low risk woman who is pregnant or considering becoming so in the near future, do yourself a favor and investigate an out of hospital birth either at a birth center or at home.
You just might save yourself major surgery like I did not just once, but probably 3 times! Each of my children’s births had a similar problem that was easily rectified in about 30 seconds by a skilled midwife.
To learn more about out of hospital birth and the many reasons to consider doing so, see this article on the benefits of having a baby at a birth center.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: CDC: Home Births Rise Nearly 30% in the United States
How do you feel about using midwives in a hospital?
Midwives at a hospital are great but have to abide by the same rigid rules as the doctors and nurses and so have their hands tied to work their magic when the labor process sometimes needs a gentle nonsurgical nudging. Best to birth outside the hospital if you can.
We barely made it to the hospital for the first birth, which worked out great because our plan was to have no interventions anyway. This time we are planning a home birth and I am SO excited! I am almost 36 weeks so we are getting close. The midwife that we have doesn’t even do homebirths because she runs a birth center, but she is attending our birth because the first one was so fast.
Honestly I don’t understand how anyone gives birth in a hospital ; it’s such a distracting environment. We also would have to pay nothing if we were birthing in a hospital, but will have to pay out of pocket for the homebirth.
How exciting to read the name of Saras Vedam here! She was my midwife when I gave birth at home (my second at-home birth) in 1998. She was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST. I was sad (for me) but happy for her students and the at-home birth world at large when she left to teach at Yale.
I had my third child after having a horrible experience at the hospital with my second child. I was fearful of having my first two at home even though as a teenager I thought I would. I didn’t feel confident that I could find a good midwife.
Thanks for writing this post.
Thanks for writing this post.
My youngest was born at home. My wife was assisted by an old fashioned midwife who had assisted more women in giving birth than all of the doctors in the area combined. It was her opinion that there were few women who couldn’t give birth at home. This woman would not assist my wife unless she was under a physicians care. She was a capable women who understood what was going on and it was a shame that she had to retire. Her fee? Only $100 and a ride to and from the house. Even in 1980 this was cheap but the thing she did was priceless.
Women Increasingly Embrace Home Birth – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/zO5Nv9fE
I love midwives. I chose a free-standing birthing center because we live in a rural area, too far for a hospital transport if needed. We found out around 37 weeks that he was breech. My midwives offered several homeopathic and traditional approaches to getting him to turn (ECV, chiropractor care, acupuncture, standing on my head, herbs..and we tried them all and scheduled surgery at 41 weeks. My son was born via c-section with my midwife and husband holding my hands. Turns out his head was stuck under my ribs. I was in incredibly blessed to have the best of both worlds standing by. I admire and respect both the moms who are able to do homebirth and the midwives who make it possible.
I had both my kids in the hospital, my first an attempted waterbirth (meconium) and pushing was less than ideal. My second was also a hospital birth, this time in the water, but again pushing was less than ideal. Both times it was the midwives interventions (yelling push push and touching my perineum w/out consent) the second the midwife tried to get me out of the water and partially drained the tub on me.) The hospital staff was awesome! I was never fought with or pressured. Our doula was very familiar with the staff. I want a home birth if we have a 3rd, but don’t have the most dependable parents and a very intrusive MIL. How important is family support (outside of a supportive hubby) is realistically needed to have a successful post-partum experience? (My hubs does not cook…or clean well. His mom did everything for him.)
Joanna–Interview more than one person, if more than one is in your area. Just get a feel for them. Their philosophy. Their level of experience. Their backup system in an emergency. Get references. Then go home and pray/meditate about it. See who YOU feel comfortable with. For me it was all down to a gut feeling. I felt safe with this person.
Our son’s wife has had four of their five at home. The first one was born in the hospital …NEVER again, Lord willing. The gov is making it harder and harder to birth at home. They are moving to outlaw it. If you deliberately birth at home without a midwife, etc., on your own, you will be charged with child endangerment. Stupid thing is, you can abort that child the day before birth and they are proud for you doing it….
Oh Anita, you had me til the last sentence. I feel for your children if the government is making it harder for them to have a home birth, but certainly it is never impossible, if they simply do not leave their house on “labor day.”
But to say that and doctor, clinician or medical technician would abort a full-term baby based on the mother’s changed whim is not only uninformed and insulting, it’s totally bonkers. You truly must read more about the abortive process before spreading your bias.
there is a new law you can read about it at naturalnews.com and get links to read the law there yourself too that say they can kill your baby after it comes out if they don’t feel that it is healthy enough to be alive. Handicapped. or if they think you can’t headle a kid or are not smart enough or have enough money…….I read it look, it up.
Whether you are birthing at home or iin the hospital, check out HypnoBirthing the Mongan Method. Many midwives are trained in this method and they have referrals in your area.