Article about Risks of Home Births in the US

[Buttercup2]

I came across this article about the risks of choosing a non-hospital birth. I figured this group of smart ladies might be interested to read it, in the name of being well-informed.

The gist of the article: The risk of having an APGAR score of 0 at the 5-minute mark is much higher in home births and births outside a hospital setting (10.5x greater risk in home birth and 3.5x greater risk in birthing centers). Also, the risk of having seizures/neurologic dysfunction in the newborn is much higher outside of a hospital setting (3.5x greater risk in home birth and 1.8x greater risk in birthing center).

Here is the full text article, it's a PDF. AJOG is the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8494936/1-s2.0-S0002937813006418-main.pdf

 

[Glitter_berry]

So basically your saying anyone on here and there are a few , who are choosing to have a home birth not a hospital birth are not "smart" ladies.

I find this utterly offensive, they have obviously done their own research and don't get on here starting threads poo pooing those of us who choose to have hospital births so why should they have their choices criticised?

Simply if someone is not comfortable having a home birth they should go to the hospital and have THEIR child there. And leave other people's choices alone.

 

[emma123456]

I usually take on board what everyone has to say but I have now reached my due date with my first baby and I am having a home birth. Ive done plenty of research about home births and after a lot of thinking and weighing up the risks ive decided to go for it. Seeing this being posted, very randomly might I add, is a little insensitive.

Was there a reason for you to post this? I would understand if someone had asked for advice or your opinion on the subject. I probably have several articles I could show you that states that hospital births are more risky than home births in certain circumstances.

There are a number of women on here who would do anything to have a natural birth in a birthing centre or at home ..

 

[justkitty]

Total nonsense!

 

[Dream.dream]

That's actually a load of crap. I've read other articles that have stats that contradict that. A home birth attended by a trained midwife is as safe as a hospital birth and their rate of intetervention and problems are usually less

 

[Buttercup2]

Oh, I'm very sorry to have offended you. I think you guys ARE the smart ladies. Everyone here makes very well researched decisions, and I've always found discussions to be productive, even when the information was controversial.

I posted this because it's a piece of research that i assumed most women hasn't seen and might want to consider. The article used 13 million records of birthing women up to 2008, so it's pretty complete/recent. I was shocked when i read it, because although I'm having a hospital birth for this one, i was considering other options for any future children.

 

[Buttercup2]

I usually take on board what everyone has to say but I have now reached my due date with my first baby and I am having a home birth. Ive done plenty of research about home births and after a lot of thinking and weighing up the risks ive decided to go for it. Seeing this being posted, very randomly might I add, is a little insensitive.

Was there a reason for you to post this? I would understand if someone had asked for advice or your opinion on the subject. I probably have several articles I could show you that states that hospital births are more risky than home births in certain circumstances.

There are a number of women on here who would do anything to have a natural birth in a birthing centre or at home ..

The articles you have found are exactly the reason i posted this article. Personally, id love to read that research. Please do post them

Also, nobody asked for my opinion and i didn't give it. I think smart people (like the people here) can form their own opinions if they have the facts.

 

[special_kala]

I know that in the UK the risk of death is lower with a homebirth, the risk of infection lower, csection, instrumental delivery etc.

Homebirths in many respects are far safe then a hospital birth.

 

[PreggyEggy]

I know that in the UK the risk of death is lower with a homebirth, the risk of infection lower, csection, instrumental delivery etc.

Homebirths in many respects are far safe then a hospital birth.

This.

I'm a smart, well-informed lady. I've done my research and I chose homebirth.

Thanks anyway.

 

[Creative]

I know that in the UK the risk of death is lower with a homebirth, the risk of infection lower, csection, instrumental delivery etc.

Homebirths in many respects are far safe then a hospital birth.

This.

I'm a smart, well-informed lady. I've done my research and I chose homebirth.

Thanks anyway.

Me too!!!

 

[Creative]

To be fair, having watched the "business of being born" and the way that birth is managed in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if their statistics are not as good as UK ones, that would primarily be because the support offered to homebirthing women over there is not as good, available, widespread or accepted etc.

 

[mo0nangel]

Buttercup you should read Ina May Gaskin's book a guide to childbirth. Honestly I would read this article with a huge grain of salt coming from the AJOG, not because you can't trust them but because they have a lot to lose from people deciding to do a homebirth, or go to a birthing center.
Ina may is a midwife, a very famous one, she wrote the book spiritual midwifery. She works at a place called the farm, which is basically like a tiny town/village where her and her team commune and live and work as midwives delivering tons of babies and all of the deliveries are in essence "homebirths" and her rate of complications is significantly lower than any hospital's. Because of the way they approach birth.

 

[Foxy37]

Hi ladies , i love a good debate and as we are all hormonal im sure here is the best place for us to all speak out complete opinion .
I am not against home births as i think every one should have the choice however , My first born i hemorrhaged very bad and had i been home i would have died and that is the bottom line , for first born i think it can be risky as we never know how its going to go as there's nothing to compare it by, also we don't know how we will feel as we have never been through labour before .
Also i can never understand why when a women has been told there high risk and a home birth is not recommended why they would fight it and put them and baby at risk .
If for that split second something goes wrong on delivery or during then its going to take longer to deal with and possibly could be life or death .
I do believe that women who have had a successful birth previous then home birth i can understand xx

 

[Blob]

is all I can say to that utter poop

So offensive to put up this article, since when is it ok to judge other people's INFORMED choices. I can imagine the backlash if someone put up an article on the statistics on how bad it is to use certain drugs in labour, the risks of a c section. The RISKS of going into hospital!!

Noboody goes into a homebirth without doing a lot of research. So how about keeping opinions to yourself and concentrating on your own choices without judging others.

 

[Foxy37]

is all I can say to that utter poop

So offensive to put up this article, since when is it ok to judge other people's INFORMED choices. I can imagine the backlash if someone put up an article on the statistics on how bad it is to use certain drugs in labour, the risks of a c section. The RISKS of going into hospital!!

Noboody goes into a homebirth without doing a lot of research. So how about keeping opinions to yourself and concentrating on your own choices without judging others.

I think the poster was just causing a discusion and as this is a debate area and we have a choice to either answer posts or not then if people are offended then they should not comment . I dont think she ment to cause any offence what so ever .
xx

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I have no idea why people are getting so offended by someone sharing an article? She hasn't expressed her opinion on anything, she's just presented an article and a few statements from within it.

You don't have to agree with the article. I think it's a well known fact that home births are not as well supported in the US than anywhere else, and that hospital births carry their own set of risks. But that wasn't the point of this specific article.

 

[Buttercup2]

I can imagine the backlash if someone put up an article on the statistics on how bad it is to use certain drugs in labour, the risks of a c section. The RISKS of going into hospital!!

Who is judging anyone? This is just a research paper. Plus, people post articles with varying opinions/findings all the time on here, that's why this is such a useful website!

Just this month I read an article someone posted about the risks of ultrasound, and another one about the risks of using Pitocin to speed labor. Here is the thread from Sept 7 about Pitocin:
https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/p...ed-down-induction-so-can-you-if-you-want.html

It's not a real discussion if people only post information from one side. The article I posted is admittedly controversial, but that doesn't automatically make it garbage. It's a lot of extensive research, done over a long period of time. You don't have to accept the findings, but you can't dismiss it solely because it offends you. If you have a problem with the paper's methods, or you know of an article with different findings, by all means: share! This forum is for people to share information.

 

[Blob]

Haha don't be daft you post an article saying how much better breast feeding is than formula or formula is than breastfeeding, would you expect people to be offended? I would, we make our own choices and its not fair to make people feel bad by making the ones they believe is right and best for them.

 

[J.D.]

I hardly think posting a link to a relevant study is offensive. It may be a sensitive topic, but the OP didn't offer an opinion one way or another.

 

[special_kala]

Hi ladies , i love a good debate and as we are all hormonal im sure here is the best place for us to all speak out complete opinion .
I am not against home births as i think every one should have the choice however , My first born i hemorrhaged very bad and had i been home i would have died and that is the bottom line , for first born i think it can be risky as we never know how its going to go as there's nothing to compare it by, also we don't know how we will feel as we have never been through labour before .
Also i can never understand why when a women has been told there high risk and a home birth is not recommended why they would fight it and put them and baby at risk .
If for that split second something goes wrong on delivery or during then its going to take longer to deal with and possibly could be life or death .
I do believe that women who have had a successful birth previous then home birth i can understand xx

What is high risk? Is a VBAC high risk? Higher then average BMI? Doctors will tell you alot of things are high risk but the numbers are ridiculously low.

Very few things in labour go wrong in a split second, most things have pretty clear warning signs that your MW will pick up on before there is any danger.