Home birth in Salt Lake County, Utah

Factors influencing women's decision to have a home birth in rural Turkey

OBJECTIVE

to ascertain the reasons why mothers choose to have a home birth and the factors that influence these reasons.

METHODS

this cross-sectional study involved 392 women and was conducted between June and September 2003 in a rural setting in Turkey. The data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the authors. The questionnaire included demographic information, obstetric background, the reasons for deciding to give birth at home as well as questions on who encouraged the decision to give birth at home and who assisted in the home births.

FINDINGS

the decision to have a home birth is related to economic difficulties and the desire to benefit from the assistance of neighbours. Women who had experienced both planned and unplanned home births reported that home birth was unsafe.

CONCLUSION

preliminary information is provided about women having home births that may inform practitioners' educational efforts and future research.

Meta-analysis of the safety of home birth

BACKGROUND

The safety of planned home birth is controversial. This study examined the safety of planned home birth backed up by a modern hospital system compared with planned hospital birth in the Western world.

METHODS

A meta-analysis of six controlled observational studies was conducted, and the perinatal outcomes of 24,092 selected and primarily low-risk pregnant women were analyzed to measure mortality and morbidity, including Apgar scores, maternal lacerations, and intervention rates. Confounding was controlled through restriction, matching, or in the statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Perinatal mortality was not significantly different in the two groups (OR = 0.87, 95% Ci 0.54-1.41). The principal difference in the outcome was a lower frequency of low Apgar scores (OR = 0.55; 0.41-0.74) and severe lacerations (OR = 0.67; 0.54-0.83) in the home birth group. Fewer medical interventions occurred in the home birth group: induction (statistically significant ORs in the range 0.06-0.39), augmentation (0.26-0.69), episiotomy (0.02-0.39), operative vaginal birth (0.03-0.42), and cesarean section (0.05-0.31). No maternal deaths occurred in the studies. Some differences may be partly due to bias. The findings regarding morbidity are supported by randomized clinical trials of elements of birth care relevant for home birth, however, and the finding relating to mortality is supported by large register studies comparing hospital settings of different levels of care.

CONCLUSION

Home birth is an acceptable alternative to hospital confinement for selected pregnant women, and leads to reduced medical interventions.

Content of care by independent midwives: assistance with pain in labor and birth

The proliferation of alternative health care systems in the United States raises numerous policy issues involving (1) those providing and receiving alternative services and (2) the established medical care system. This paper identifies some of these issues by examining an alternative system of independent (lay) midwifery and, in particular, midwifery approaches to pain during uncomplicated labor and birth. The paper summarizes medical care system approaches to pain in labor and birth: leading textbooks, prevailing topics in the journal literature, and empirical research reports are consistent in giving primary emphasis to analgesic and anesthetic drugs, accepting childbirth preparation, and questioning the efficacy of other approaches. The practices of independent midwives working in metropolitan areas of Utah are strikingly different. The midwives, who oppose any use of conventional obstetric pain medications, have a diverse repertoire of alternative approaches, including prenatal preparation, various physical manipulations, hydrotherapy, administration of herbs and nutritive substances, breathing and relaxation techniques, and psychological techniques. The midwives emphasize responsiveness to the needs of a particular woman at a particular time. They enhance and mobilize the resources of the mother and her support network for therapeutic ends. Their work emphasizes innovation and exploration. Relative to medical practices, midwifery practices seem to involve low iatrogenic risks, to be cost-effective, and to be appreciated by those seeking empowerment and minimal intervention in childbirth. It is recommended that these practices be formally evaluated for safety, efficacy, consumer acceptability, cost-effectiveness, and their potential for favorable impact on the practice of medical obstetrics.

Analysis of 275 planned and 10 unplanned home births

The purpose of this study is to describe the outcome in one family practice of planned home births attended by a physician and an experienced birth assistant in a self-selected, but subsequently screened, population over an 11-year period. All but 26 primigravidas were screened out, as were multiple pregnancies and malpresentations. Study parameters included characteristics of the population and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Of 275 intended home confinements, nine were screened out for medical reasons before labour, five in very early labour, and three for failure to progress. Of the 273 who delivered at home, including 10 unplanned births, two were transferred to hospital for postpartum hemorrhage. One neonate was hospitalized for complications. The results of this study, as well as a review of the relevant literature, illustrate that, for a selected population, home birth is a reasonable alternative to hospital.

Out-of-hospital births, U.S., 1978: birth weight and Apgar scores as measures of outcome

An examination of 1978 natality data for the United States disclosed that low birth weight was less common among 30,819 infants born out of hospital than among 3,294,101 infants born in hospital in that year. When controls were applied for birth attendant, infants' race, and mothers' education, age, nativity, and parity, the data revealed that white, well-educated women between 25 and 39 years of age, who were having their second babies and were attended by midwives out of hospital, were at least risk of bearing low birth weight infants. The incidence rate of low birth weight babies was lower for midwife-attended births in every category examined. For college-educated white women, for example, the incidence rate was 2.0 percent among those attended by midwives, 4.6 percent among those giving birth in hospital, and 3.6 percent among those whose out-of-hospital deliveries were attended by physicians. Apgar scores for babies born both in and out of hospital were also studied but, because of inconsistent reporting, were given less attention. Excellent (9-10) Apgar scores were more common among babies born out of hospital than among those born in hospital (63 percent compared with 49 percent), particularly for out-of-hospital births attended by physicians. At least with respect to birth weight and Apgar scores, the claim that out-of-hospital births are inherently more dangerous than hospital births receives no support from these data. The findings also suggest the need for further refinement of vital statistics categories to permit the analysis of distinctions between births attended by certified nurse-midwives and those attended by lay midwives, as well as differences between births at home and those in alternative birth centers.

Perceived risk and choice of childbirth service

This paper presents an analysis of the risk perceptions of a sample of pregnant women in a large metropolitan area on the West Coast regarding childbirth and its medical management, and how these perceptions correspond to their choice of childbirth service. The analysis first summarizes recent experimental work in cognitive and social psychology on information processing in decision making and examines its usefulness for the study of women's reproductive strategies in real life contexts. Following this, perceived risks of childbirth and its management are examined in light of the concept of 'bolstering', advanced in Janis and Mann's conflict theory of decision making. The findings, that women discount the risks and magnify the benefits of the chosen birth service, and exaggerate the risks and minimize the advantages of the rejected services, support the concept of bolstering and provide empirical evidence of its explanatory power in interpreting a decision making domain--women's childbirth care decision making--heretofore approached almost exclusively through description.

Alternative birthing

This paper deals with the concept of alternative birthing. The reasons for home births versus hospital births are discussed. A general model of an alternative birthing centre (ABC) is described. Some concepts common to alternative birthing are discussed, followed by a discussion of problems involved in initiating an alternative birthing centre. The article concludes that hospital-based alternative birthing centres are an ideal vehicle for modern healthy obstetrics.