The Canadian Medical Association Journal has published a study that found the risk of infant death to be no different during a home birth attended by a registered midwife than that of a hospital delivery.  The hospital deliveries in this study were attended by the same pool of registered midwives that were in attendance of the home births.

This study followed 2,889 home births and 4,752 hospital births.  Again, both types of deliveries were attended by registered midwives.  The women who delivered at home were found to have fewer obstetric interventions as well as fewer negative outcomes.  The home deliveries resulted in fewer infections, less hemorrhaging, fewer cesareans and fewer labor augmentations.

It was noted that although the home birth babies had the same or less risk of death, the likelihood of hospital admission was higher.

There is debate among obstetric organizations as to the safety of home births.  This study is considered biased by some,  who note that those who delivered at home were “self-selected.”  In other words, this was not a controlled medical trial, as the women who underwent home deliveries were not a random sampling from a large group.

If you are considering a home birth, talk to your OB/GYN about the benefits and risks of a home delivery.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS