Elena LaVictoire's Library tagged birth →  View Popular

Noah is one of only a tiny minority of U.S. babies born at home. During the first half of the 20th century, home births dropped dramatically. Today, fewer than 1% of U.S. births are at home, compared to just under 30% in the Netherlands.

Citing safety concerns, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has campaigned against home births, distributing bumper stickers that say "Home deliveries are for pizza."

And the American Medical Association's House of Delegates last year passed a resolution stating that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

Around the time Noah was born, though, researchers in Canada and the Netherlands published two large studies concluding that among low-risk women, planned home births attended by qualified midwives appear to be as safe as hospital births. The new studies have fueled the debate but have not convinced ACOG.

For one, says Erin Tracy, ACOG's delegate to the AMA, the studies weren't large enough. Problems are infrequent in childbirth, no matter where it takes place, so only "really large numbers" could reveal whether the home truly is as safe as the hospital, says Tracy, an OB/GYN at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

Noah is one of only a tiny minority of U.S. babies born at home. During the first half of the 20th century, home births dropped dramatically. Today, fewer than 1% of U.S. births are at home, compared to just under 30% in the Netherlands.

Citing safety concerns, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has campaigned against home births, distributing bumper stickers that say "Home deliveries are for pizza."

And the American Medical Association's House of Delegates last year passed a resolution stating that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

Around the time Noah was born, though, researchers in Canada and the Netherlands published two large studies concluding that among low-risk women, planned home births attended by qualified midwives appear to be as safe as hospital births. The new studies have fueled the debate but have not convinced ACOG.

For one, says Erin Tracy, ACOG's delegate to the AMA, the studies weren't large enough. Problems are infrequent in childbirth, no matter where it takes place, so only "really large numbers" could reveal whether the home truly is as safe as the hospital, says Tracy, an OB/GYN at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospita

During the first half of the 20th century, home births dropped dramatically. Today, fewer than 1% of U.S. births are at home, compared to just under 30% in the Netherlands.

Citing safety concerns, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has campaigned against home births, distributing bumper stickers that say "Home deliveries are for pizza."

And the American Medical Association's House of Delegates last year passed a resolution stating that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

Around the time Noah was born, though, researchers in Canada and the Netherlands published two large studies concluding that among low-risk women, planned home births attended by qualified midwives appear to be as safe as hospital births. The new studies have fueled the debate but have not convinced ACOG.

For one, says Erin Tracy, ACOG's delegate to the AMA, the studies weren't large enough. Problems are infrequent in childbirth, no matter where it takes place, so only "really large numbers" could reveal whether the home truly is as safe as the hospital, says Tracy, an OB/GYN at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

"The majority of patients ... might get away with it," she says, but low-risk pregnancies can become high-risk in minutes: A baby's shoulder might get stuck in the birth canal, or heavy bleeding could necessitate a blood transfusion for the mother.

During the first half of the 20th century, home births dropped dramatically. Today, fewer than 1% of U.S. births are at home, compared to just under 30% in the Netherlands.

Citing safety concerns, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has campaigned against home births, distributing bumper stickers that say "Home deliveries are for pizza."

And the American Medical Association's House of Delegates last year passed a resolution stating that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

Around the time Noah was born, though, researchers in Canada and the Netherlands published two large studies concluding that among low-risk women, planned home births attended by qualified midwives appear to be as safe as hospital births. The new studies have fueled the debate but have not convinced ACOG.

For one, says Erin Tracy, ACOG's delegate to the AMA, the studies weren't large enough. Problems are infrequent in childbirth, no matter where it takes place, so only "really large numbers" could reveal whether the home truly is as safe as the hospital, says Tracy, an OB/GYN at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

"The majority of patients ... might get away with it," she says, but low-risk pregnancies can become high-risk in minutes: A baby's shoulder might get stuck in the birth canal, or heavy bleeding could necessitate a blood transfusion for the mother.