Home Birth Vs Hospital Birth Research

Pregnant woman had to decide whether to birth their child in a hospital with professional doctors or stay at home and to have a midwife look after them. At the beginning of 1900 88% of child births took place in hospitals (“The History Of Midwifery”); however that number slowly decreased as time went on. This is because many women began to choose natural childbirth and birth their child at home. The change could have occurred for many reasons; however the main deciding factor whether to birth the child at home or a hospital was money. Many families could not afford the medical costs to have their child delivered at a hospital.

first watched, "The Business of Being Born" when it came out in 2008.  It was prior to having children and I had just accepted my position as a Nurse Manager the year prior in Obstetrics in a Rural, Level 1 Facility.  (Being Level 1 in Obstetrics means that we only care for low risk mothers and babies that are at least 35 weeks gestation.)  I find it very interesting how my perspective has changed in the 9 years since its release.  Although I am still pro, low-intervention birth, I feel like the enthusiasm I once had for natural birth with limited intervention has been hijacked by an increase in anxiety d/t the fear of medical liability.  A couple of bad home-birth outcomes can do that to you.  On the flip side, and to be fair, we don’t see all of the perfectly healthy and safe home-birth deliveries; because if everything went well, there would be no need to come to the hospital.

This paper is an evaluation of philosophical and sociological underpinnings within Australian maternity services. The information was researched from observational studies of six articles connected to the medicalisation of childbirth that is associated with low risk pregnant women. The objective for this paper is to review key theoretical arguments related to the reference of homebirth and midwifery services and against barriers to home birthing and the underlying discussion of freedom of choice. The interrelations between dominant themes were incorporated. This paper reports on the findings of “Preparing for birth”, “Birth expectation barriers and emasculation of midwifery” and finally the “Trajectory of Australian Health Policies”.

It took quite a long time to come to the conclusion to have a home birth. My husband was more excited about the idea then I was at first and somehow he managed to convince me to go ahead with it. After interviewing three midwives, I had found the perfect person. You really need to search deep and mesh well with the midwife

According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.

For hundred of years, women have wrestled with their womanhood, bodies, and what it means to be a woman in our society. Being a woman comes with a wonderful and empowering responsibility--giving birth. What sets us aside from other countries is that the process and expectations of giving birth has changed in our society; coming from midwifery, as it has always been since the early times, to hospitals where it is now expected to give birth at. Midwifery was a common practice in delivering babies in

Delivering a baby in the home and in the hospital both provide comfort to some, but homebirth offers decreased cost and hospital births offer more options. Some women have different birthing methods in mind when it comes to delivering a child. Some women feel that it is more convenient to stay home to deliver their child. Mothers-to-be will choose to have a hospital birth because they may feel safer or more secure knowing that if something is not right or if she has had complications, the doctor is there and she is in a hospital and everything will be okay.

“In the United States, approximately 25,000 births (0.6%) per year occur in the home. Approximately one fourth of these births are unplanned or unattended. Among women who originally intend to give birth in a hospital or those who make no provisions for professional care during childbirth, subsequent unplanned home births are associated with high rates of perinatal and neonatal mortality. The relative risk versus benefit of a planned home birth, however, remains the subject of current debate” (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists).

After reading the articles and the book and watching the videos I have change how I see a midwife. I never really knew what exactly they were able or prepare to do and now I feel like they are very prepare to help with the delivery of a baby. I always thought that doctors were more prepare that it was too risky to have a birth at home and with a midwife. But now I learn that that’s not always the case. Am the mother of two kids and my plan was always to have them in a hospital with the best doctors that I could find, I wanted my kids to be born in a safe environment and with people that knew what to do in case of an emergency. When I first was pregnant with my fist, I actually search the whole water birth with a midwife and I was surprise that people had an option to have kids in that environment, I though it was very interesting but I didn’t felt that it was for me.

Within Victoria there are multiple models of maternity care available to women. An initial discussion with the woman’s treating GP during the early stages of her pregnancy is critical in her decision-making about which model of care she will choose and this key discussion is essential in allowing a woman to make the first of many informed decisions throughout her pregnancy. According to a survey conducted by Stevens et al. (2010) only 43% of women felt ‘they were not supported to maintain up-to-date knowledge on models of care, and most reported that model of care referrals were influenced by whether women had private health insurance coverage.’ Many elements of these models of care differ: from location of care, degree of caregiver continuity, rates of intervention and maternal and infant health, outcomes access to medical procedure, and philosophical orientation such as natural or medical (Stevens, Thompson, Kruske, Watson, & Miller, 2014). According to the World Health Organization (1985) and Commonwealth of Australia (2008) there is a recognition that ‘85% of pregnant women are capable of giving birth safely with minimal intervention with the remaining 15% at potential risk of medical complications’ (McIntyre & Francis, 2012).

The articles included in this review suggest higher risks are associated with home births. Three of the nine articles conclude home births have a higher risk of newborn mortality rates than hospital births (2)(3)(4). Six articles conclude home births have a higher risk of hospital transfer for complications arising from a home birth.

Home births in comparison to hospital births are “associated with reduced rates of cesarean birth and medical interventions, and similar rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality” (Declercq, & Stotland, 2016). Home births in the Netherlands account for 20% of all births and studies conducted there showed no increased risk for neonatal adverse outcome (Zielinski, Ackerson, & Low, 2015). Studies have also shown that “satisfaction with the birth experience is also high in the home birth setting” (Zielinski, Ackerson, & Low, 2015).

After the c-section was performed, the woman’s baby had to be placed under bili lights and the mother was told she could never have a child vaginally again. This is a prime example of doctors rushing delivery and not letting babies come when they are meant to be birthed. Another reason a mother should consider a home or birthing center birth over a hospital is due to prices. The average vaginal birth can cost 60% less in a home environment than at a hospital. This is an important factor for new mothers to

Existing literature contends that physicians and those in the medical field feel the need to actively "manage" labor and delivery for fear of this "pathological potential" (Arney 1982; Oakley 1993). It has been hypothesized by many authors that women who seek to manage or control their own labors must birth outside of the hospital and have a midwife in attendance”(pg53). in order for a women to have the most control over her birth it is believed that she shouldn’t do it in a hospital because medicalization has turned something that was at one point seen to be human nature into this practice or act that has to have a strict process or outcome. According to brubaker and dillaway "decision-making power and responsibility for her state pass from her to hospital personnel and the physician in charge"(pg. 54). Once a mother is admitted in to a hospital it’s like all her power is gone and she has relinquished it to the medical professional, like final say in how he birthing experience will go belongs to the doctor. The transfer of control from the mom to her medical provider is seen as normal as if that’s how its been done for forever and in America it is a cultural norm. according to brubaker and dillaway the natural birthing experience is different, “very rarely does a birthing woman hand total control of the birth experience over to medical practitioners in these latter two settings”(pg. 54). A mother has more control over her birthing experience in a birthing center and even more control over the experience when it’s an at home

At a point in history, Homebirths and Midwives were prevalent when delivering. However; the use of these two methods plateaued as many people were concerned with the health of the infants and the mothers. The ultimate goal of delivery is the safety and protection of both the mother and the child. For a time, and still to this day, women turned to hospitals to ensure that safety. However, as a new wave of feminism has empowered mothers to take control of the natural birthing process, more and more women are reverting back to the home birth method. Though homebirth goes smoothly for most mothers, there is always the potential for complications that many mothers are not prepared to handle.