Homebirth

I was doing a ton of research on homebirths and found that term neonates are 3.5 times more likely to die during a homebirth, when attended merely by a CPM versus a CNM, and they are anywhere between 4 to 8 more likely to die during a homebirth than a hospital birth. Also staggeringly, term neonates born at home are 17 times more likely to suffer from brain damage.

I just thought I'd share these statistics that I came across that were gathered in studies carried out by individual state government health departments. Another thing I did not know is that midwives in the US are largely unregulated. Nearly anyone can wake up and call themself a midwife and try to start delivering babies. 99% of them have no formal medical education.

After reading many homebirth death stories, I've decided that it isn't for me. I am not willing to gamble with my baby's life when bad things can even happen in a hospital.

What are your thoughts on homebirth? Will you be having one? What concrete evidence do you have that supports evidence of your safety? Have you checked out your midwive's credentials?