
Is planned home birth safe?
Planned home birth in the United States is anything but safe. Many reliable studies show that planned home birth in the United States is unsafe for the newborn baby and poses an increased risk of neonatal injury and deaths. The risk is greater with planned home births attended by midwives when compared to hospital births attended by midwives or doctors. The risks of injury and deaths are also higher for women who have their first baby or who are older. This is confirmed not only by the peer-reviewed literature but also by a newspaper investigation on home births showing the same adverse outcomes.
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Example of an adverse outcome of a planned home birth
A 32-year-old woman goes into labor at home with a nurse-midwife. She labors for 27 hours, and her water breaks, showing meconium-stained amniotic fluid. When the midwife examines her, the midwife finds that the umbilical cord has prolapsed into the vagina, is being compressed and deprives the baby of oxygen. The mother is rushed to the hospital, arrives there within 30 minutes and an emergency cesarean delivery is done, but the baby dies within 30 minutes after delivery from hypoxic (no oxygen) injury.
Cord prolapse is not unusual, and the baby must be delivered within less than 10-12 minutes to have a chance of survival. With planned home birth it's impossible to get to the hospital and have a cesarean delivery in less than 30 minutes at best.
What is an at-home birth?
A home birth delivery takes place at home, or in a residence, rather than in a hospital or a birth center. Planned home birth is a home birth that has been intentionally planned out to have labor and delivery take place at home rather than a hospital or birth center.
What is an out-of-hospital birth?
An out of hospital birth is a birth that happens out of the hospital, in a residence at home, in a birth center, or anywhere else besides the hospital.
Home births in the United States
In the United States, over 98% of all births take place in the hospital. Only about 1% of deliveries are home births, though about 1/3 of these are home births without an attendant (usually the result of quick labor that never made it to the hospital where only family, EMT's or even just a taxi driver are present). So in reality, much less than 1% of births in the U.S. are planned home births. Planned home birth is usually attended by a certified nurse-midwife (about 1/3 of the time) or a "direct-entry" midwife (2/3 of the time) who is not trained as a nurse.
Studies show more deaths and poor outcomes
A study by Dr. Grunebaum showed that there is a nearly 4-time neonatal mortality risk with home births. Another study by Dr. Grunebaum showed that home births are associated with over 10-times the risk of Apgar scores of zero (virtually dead babies) when compared to doctor-led hospital births and nearly 18 times the risk of midwife hospital births. These adverse outcomes may be due to the fact that in the U.S. there are no guidelines for home birth patients, and there are also increased risks in home birth deliveries.
In a 2017 study, there were two additional risk factors for home birth which included having a pregnancy over 41 weeks and if you are having your first baby. This makes a total of 5 risk factors that significantly increase a baby's risk of being injured or dying at a planned home birth:
- First baby
- Pregnancy 41 weeks and over
- Prior cesarean
- Breech
- Multiples (twins, triplets)
Safety when delivering a baby
The main priority when delivering a baby is safety, both for the baby and the mother. Interventions such as cesarean sections can be life-saving especially when minutes make a difference between life and death. Cesarean sections are not available in homebirths.
A little over 100 years ago, 10 in 100 children died before the age of 1 as compared to today with less than 1 in 100 children dying. Similarly, about 60-90 per 10,000 women died of childbirth-related complications as compared to less than 1 in 10,000 today, a more than 99% decrease!
- The risk of dying from a gun in the U.S. is 1 in 24,000, while the risk of a baby dying from home birth is 24-times of that risk, over 24 in 24,000 home births.
- 1 in 750 babies dies during home births while 1 in 24,000 are killed by guns and 1 in 57,000 died driving a Cobra car which was recalled for safety concerns. What is more dangerous?
When comparing interventions between hospital and home births, it is important to compare data of uniformly published data on worse neonatal outcomes of the baby during home births. There is unquestionably a higher risk of low Apgar scores and more neonatal deaths and injuries to the baby with home birth.
Women contemplating a home birth should be made aware that the newborn is over 3 times more likely to die during a home birth, and the risk increases further if this is a woman's first baby or if the pregnancy is over 41 weeks.
Read more on homebirth and out-of-hospital births:
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Births in freestanding birth centers had a 4-fold increase in neonatal deaths
- Too many lawsuites: Birth Centers In Kansas Are Closing Because No One Will Insure Them
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North Idaho midwife charged with involuntary manslaughter in newborn baby's death
- Midwife sued for malpractice after baby dies during home birth
- Asheville NC birth center closes
- Birth center closes because of an internal review that recommended closure due to “unsafe conditions”.
- Baby dies of brain damage after attempted home birth
- Midwife sued after baby dies during home birth
- Durham N.C.: Couple suing midwives over baby death
- US home births are not low risk. A study by Dr.Grunebaum
- Arrested rural midwife heads to trial on 95 felony counts: 'I don’t think Jack the Ripper faced that many charges'
- Investigation shows many more babies died in Oklahoma at out-of-hospital births
- "Failure to deliver" Expose on Deadly Home Births
- Unaccountable - An investigation into home births deaths
- Baby dies during an attempted home birth in Georgia - Midwife gets sued
- Another attempted home birth gone wrong
- Georgia State investigating unlicensed midwife after the death of Dearing baby
- Dead baby and at home birth
- Buffalo, NY midwife Eileen Stewart and Buffalo Midwifery services are punished for being unprofessional. Katharine Morrison, MD is in charge of the birthing center where Ms.Stewart worked.
- Midwife Charged with Homicide in the Death of Breech Home Birth
- Birth is about life and death. This baby nearly made it
- Untrained Midwife's Failed Home Births Leads to Dead Baby
- Midwife Gets Sued for Dead Baby
- Sarasota Birthing Center Closes After Too Many Bad Outcomes
- When Home Birth Goes Wrong
- Breech Baby Injured at Birthing Home Delivery
- Another Study Shows Triple Neonatal Death Rate at Home Births
- Baby Dies at "Freebirth" Home Birth
- Jessica Biel Tries Home Birth and Fails
- Ann Arbor midwife accused of negligence in newborn death at home birth
- Ruptured Uterus at Attempted Home Birth (country music star Walker Hayes)
- Manslaughter Charges in Baby's Death Against a Baltimore Midwife
- Don't Deliver Breech Babies at Home
- Water Birth Goes Wrong
- Baby Injured at Out-of-Hospital Birth
- Topeka Kansas Birth Center Closed For Adverse Outcomes By the Kansas Health Department
- Utah Midwife Goes to Prison For the Death of Premature Twin
- Home Birth: Increasingly Dangerous
- Newborn Baby Death at Birthing Center Ruled a Homicide
- Home Birth: The Obstetrician's Ethical Response
- Dr. Grunebaum On Home Birth In The New York Times
- 10 Reasons I'd Never Ever, Ever Have a Home Birth
- Why Do So Many Babies Die During Home Births?
- Doctor Investigated For Several Babies Deaths at Home Birth
- Home Birth Is Like Not Putting Your Child's Seatbelt On
- Neonatal Mortality and Home Birth
- Apgar Score Of Zero and Home Births
- Doula Dani: Home Births In The U.S.
- Dr. Grunebaum on Home Births
- The ACNM Says That Lay Midwives Are Not Really Midwives
- Midwife Convicted in Oregon For Baby's Death After Home Birth Due to Sepsis
- Irish Court Says 'No' To Home Birth After Cesarean
- More Low Apgar Scores with Home Births
- Tripling Of Neonatal Mortality with Home Birth
Birth center closures
- 8/2019: PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center in Washington state will close
- 4/16/2019 Cary, N.C. birthing center closes because of several babies' deaths.
- 4/18/2019: Baby+Co closes 3 birth centers in Winston/Salem North Carolina due to several neonatal deaths
- 5/13/2019 Birth Center at UF health in Florida is closing
- 11/2018 Gentle Options Birth Center in Florida is closing