Why do people think giving birth at home is dangerous?

Question

When it has been shown in studies again and again that homebirth with a trained midwife and uncomplicated pregnancy is SAFER than birthing in a hospital?

I have a daughter, she was born at home, with two midwives, perfectly healthy, and I'm sick of being called irresponsible!!!

Answer 1

it's not irresponsible, however, if i was born at home then i would probably not be here to answer your question right now.

my mom had an uncomplicated pregnancy, but when i was born i wasn't breathing. the umbilical chord was wrapped around my neck and it took a while for them to get me going. i was also born with a slight heart mumur...kind of normal with some babies and it's gone now.
i also, had bi-lateral hip displaysia, which the doctor identified immediately. ( that means that my hip joints didn't have the socket for the ball to fit into.)
i had to wear a brace for the first 5-6 months of my life.

so, no, you're not irresponsible, you are lucky that you had a great pregnancy and delivery and i'm glad that you feel so passionate about your choice. good for you!

i delivered in a hospital b/c i knew that if something went wrong, which can easily happen, i wanted myself and baby to be right there so trained professionals could help.

there's no need to fight over which is better. home was better for you...hospital was better for me :)

take care.

Answer 2

I think that people think it's dangerous because it varies a lot more than hospital births do--for instance, different midwives have different levels of training and experience. I know a lot of women who have had their children at home, and one of my high school teacher's daughters trained to become a midwife. I think it would be dangerous if the mom had a lot of health problems, or if the baby had problems (like being born breech). But for many women, it seems to be a really good experience, and I think that's great! (I haven't had kids, so I can't speak from either side of the fence. :) I think that with either birthing in a hospital or at home, the doctor/midwife is a big factor in determining whether everything goes smoothly.

But I think deciding to give birth at home is hardly a reason to be called irresponsible! I want to become an ob/gyn, and even I hardly think that. I think it would still be important to get an ultrasound before the birth, just to make sure everything was okay. Maybe people think giving birth is really messy/dirty--it is messy, but that doesn't mean it's dirty. It's a very natural process, after all--women have been doing it for centuries!

Answer 3

You are totally right, homebirth is safer in most situations. I think it's because we've grown up hearing horror stories of childbirth from our mothers and grandmothers. TV and movies show women giving birth flat on their back with feet in stirrups, IV in place and always an epidural(which is just wrong) and people have the false belief that childbirth is somehow a medical condition. In some parts of the world women give birth at home unless they have a medical reason to do so in a hospital. I am one of those women that has a genuine medical reason(genetic condition) to birth in the hospital but even then I have had 2 beautiful unmedicated hospital births with midwives. we made it as home like as possible and everything was fine. I am 100% supportive of home birth. You are not irresponsible, it's society that is.

Answer 4

i am looking to have my second birth at home but its going to take alot of persuding my husband. i had my first at hospital only because i was worried with it being my first and wasnt given any real info on home birth. i have now done some research not loads th and found that complications are less of a risk at a home birth due to the relaxing atmosphere etc. i no that the midwives all carry resus equip and lucky for me if any thing was to go wrong i live right next door to the general hospital and a couple of streets away from the childrens hospital and my docs is just round the corner. i think im gonna need some help tho with persuading my husband to go ahead with a home birth. i can understand where he is coming from as what if something was to go wrong the baby stops breathing or i need to hav and emg c sec as the babys heart rate drops or gets stuck in the 'u' bend, or if i were to have extentive bleeding or placenta periva. these are all possibilities but of all the pregnancies i have heard about there are non that i have heard that have real big probs and non that happen at home. i am really lookin forward to planning my home birth and cant wait. roll on labour day lol its ages away yet tho im only 5 weeks gone but have heard second pregnancies seem alot quicker than firsts.

Answer 5

I think the answer is pretty simple... If something were to go wrong you have no means of helping your child. I remember when my nephew was born, he was not breathing well, they had to use all different kinds of emergency equipment, then they ended up sending him to a bigger hospital. A midwife does not carry this equipment with them, nor do they know how to use it. You were very lucky that you had perfect births, but you never know what could happen. A cord could get rapped and they have to do an emergency
c-section (they need to get that baby out in the next 2 minutes), if you arent at the hospital, you may have just lost your baby.

This is only some of the reasons why it is not safer to have home births. This may be why people call you irresponsible.

But your baby is born and she is fine, its over now. But I would reconsider if you have another.

Answer 6

I think most people assume that if anything went wrong with the birth then you would waste those precious moments waiting for an ambulance to transport you to the hospital.
I've read a lot about home births and since my daughters were born with the assistance of a midwife (at a birthing center), I really want my last one to be born at home.
I want to set up a big wading pool in the livingroom and have a water birth. My husband thinks it is hilarious! He says he envisions our dog and two cats racing through the pool while I am giving birth LOL
I even tried to convince him that we could do an unassisted birth but, he says no way. He at least wants a midwife there. So, at least I will get my home birth but, with a midwife. Maybe it is better that way..

Answer 7

Women put too much emphasis on the "birth experience ".Yes, it is nice to have a calm place with capable medical supervision.
The whole point here is to get the baby out in the safest way possible.Years ago women and their baby's routinely died during birth.
I have read articles about women who lost a baby during a home delivery.It is so sad that it could have been prevented.
I am more into my safely and the safety of my children to ever do such a risky thing. It's just one of those things you do for your children.
I am pro-choice on almost everything and if some women would like a home birth then I have no reason to tell them what to do.
To each her own.

Answer 8

I have a sister in law that has had her last four, I think, at home and like with you they were all fine births...but there always the chance that something goes wrong and they have to do an emergency c- section or that there complications with the birth at a hospital they are equipped to deal with the situation, I think it why people think it's irresponsible to have home births. I figure to each their own...back in the old days people had babies at home, I personally had both mine at the hospital, but I also had complications during the pregnancies. I'm so sorry people are not being respectful of your decisions.

Answer 9

Well, how will you know if you are going to have a complication, something happens and that baby needs to come out as fast as possible.you said it yourself, if its an uncomplicated pregnancy, and sometimes things come out of nowhere very fast. I dont have anything against it, i wouldnt say irresponsible,its your decision how to go about giving birth of course, but i would never do it myself. Im perfectly fine with the hospital, you get scooted out of there so fast, the baby will see their new home soon enough.

Answer 10

For years women delivered their baby in the house but with the help of people who had the experience.

Its just is a better idea to deliver the baby in the hospital because if something is wrong with the kid they would take care of it. In older days many kids would die when its born thats why they always say its a second life for a mom after giving birth to a baby.

So the reasons the babies are better delivered in the hospitals are

1) we all have become so irresponsible and only learn very things in life and depend too much on other things like hospital for simple reasons or using car to goto a very near by place like going to a jogging park in a car.

2) hospital and doctors has to make money.