Is having a home birth safe?

Answer 1

Choosing to have a baby at home or at a hospital is a very personal decision. Here are a few opinions on the safety of home birth:

• If everything goes perfectly right with the birth, home birth can be safe. The problem is, while complications are generally the exception and not the rule, they do happen. A hospital is very prepared to handle almost anything that might happen, including the need for a Cesareans section -- something you flat out can't do at home. For the sake of safety, I'd personally choose a hospital.

• Home births are very safe. Most doulas and midwives that I know and have worked with have never had a complication occur in the home setting. Of course they do not take on "high risk" cases.

• One benefit of home birth is that mom and baby have developed immunity to their own home environment, while hospitals have developed super germs. There is less risk of infection for mom and baby at home. While most birth is reasonably simple, unexpected complications do happen at home as well as in the hospital. Midwives work to minimize risk by prenatally educating home birth mothers about excellent nutrition. They also assist with simple ways of helping babies maintain proper position in preparation for birth, thereby minimizing risk. Most midwives accept only low risk clients, while others are not so careful. Most midwives are grateful for the assistance of medical professionals, and transport earlier than later when questions of safety arise. It is important to interview many midwives and choose someone well educated, who is conservative in her care and who has a good relationship with the medical community. Doulas are not typically educated or appropriately prepared to take on the responsibility of being the care provider, but in many ways are great support to the mother and family in labor and birth. While some parents might choose to give birth without a midwife in attendance, without adequate knowledge, skill, equipment, or ability to read a situation properly, outcomes are statistically less favorable. It is not possible to foresee fetal distress or hemorrhage, and a midwife works hard to be prepared to deal with each situation appropriately. A good midwife does prenatal care, is on hand and carefully watchful during labor and birth, and is present for a number of hours after birth. She does careful postnatal and newborn care in the months following birth. She also does appropriate labs and newborn tests, and files the birth certificate. Home birth is usually safe, especially when good medical backup is available as well.

• From personal experience I can tell you that it is much less uncomfortable to give birth at home. Less stress on the mother = less stress on the baby. As far as "high risk" goes, you might want to look up what factors make a woman "high risk"-they can include everything from drug use to poverty or something as simple as being under 5 feet tall.

Answer 2

There are a number of risks in having a birth at home, particularly for first time mothers. These include still birth, brain injury,baby death within a week of giving birth, faeces in the lungs and arm and shoulder fractures.