Home Births Rise by a Dramatic 20 Percent

Home Births Rise by a Dramatic 20 Percent:

Home Births Rise by a Dramatic 20 Percent

One mother chose home birth because it was cheaper than going to a hospital. Another gave birth at home because she has multiple sclerosis and feared unnecessary medical intervention. And some choose home births after cesarean sections with their first babies.

Whatever their motivation, all are among a striking trend: Home births increased 20 percent from 2004 to 2008, accounting for 28,357 of 4.2 million U.S. births, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in May.

White women led the drive, with 1 in 98 having babies at home in 2008, compared to 1 in 357 black women and 1 in 500 Hispanic women.

Sherry Hopkins, a Las Vegas midwife, said the women whose home births she's attended include a pediatrician, an emergency room doctor and nurses. "We're definitely seeing well-educated and well-informed people who want to give birth at home," she said.

Robbie Davis-Floyd, a medical anthropologist at the University of Texas at Austin and researcher on global trends in childbirth, obstetrics and midwifery, said "at first, in the 1970s, it was largely a hippie, countercultural thing to give birth outside of the hospital. Over the years, as the formerly 'lay' midwives have become far more sophisticated, so has their clientele."

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which certifies OB-GYNs, warns that home births can be unsafe, especially if the mother has high-risk conditions, if a birth attendant is inadequately trained and if there's no nearby hospital in case of emergency. Some doctors also question whether a "feminist machoism" is at play in wanting to give birth at home.

But home birthers say they want to be free of drugs, fetal monitors, IVs and pressure to hurry their labor at the behest of doctors and hospitals. They prefer to labor in tubs of water or on hands and knees, walk around their living rooms or take comfort in their own beds, surrounded by loved ones as they listen to music or hypnosis recordings with the support of midwives and doulas. Some even go without midwives and rely on husbands or other nonprofessionals for support. (continue reading this story).

I know if I were ever to have another child I would consider Home Birth. With the new push Hospitals and Doctors are making for patients to get Cesarians I just don't think I would feel comfortable in a Medical Facility. They forces a Cesarian on my adopted daughter and she still has complications from it. She is also left with a permanent scar and disfigurement due to the Hospital's malpractice.

I think it is ridiculous some of the hoops they have you jump thru now to have a child due to the Medical Malpractice laws out there, and yet the doctors still seem to get away with murder! Of course it does not help matters when we have morons like Rick Santorum, now running for President of the United States, declaring that people should be licensed to reproduce! It is people like that which make the New World Order possible.

Michael Moore addressed the OB/GYN crisis a little bit in his documentary Sicko, but even he has strayed from his original premise of optioning free and/or low cost health care that would still be delivered with quality and dignity and opted instead to support rogue America killing plans like Stop the Machine! Create a New World!

I would encourage all women pregnant, or looking to become pregnant, to consider home births as opposed to hospitals and mid-wives as opposed to doctors. It is safer in the long run and better for your mental health.