The mortality rate for home births is seven times higher than for hospital births.
Data from the state of Oregon (USA) in 2012 showed that the mortality rate when giving birth at home is 7 times higher than giving birth in a hospital.
In many developed countries, home births account for less than 2% of all births, as childbirth is considered to be risky and in an emergency, the child or mother may die.
However, some countries like the Netherlands and Canada are exceptions, where the home birth rate in the Netherlands is up to 16%.
However, in Canada, home births are highly regulated. All midwives who deliver home births are among the best trained midwives in the world, exceeding the standards set by the International Confederation of Midwives, which include a university degree in midwifery and hospital training in the diagnosis and management of complications during childbirth.
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| Doctors always warn that home birth has a higher risk of death than in the hospital. |
During labour, statistics show that 25% of women who give birth at home in Canada will be transferred to hospital if they have a life-threatening complication.
In the United States, the period from 2004 to 2009 saw a boom in natural home births, sometimes reaching 24% compared to previous years. However, the majority of mothers were monitored by midwives (in 28 states) rather than doctors or qualified midwives, leading to many unfortunate deaths due to complications.
In 2014, approximately 60,000 babies were born at home in the United States (1.5%). The gradual shift from home births to hospital births has reduced neonatal deaths by more than 90% and maternal deaths by nearly 99%.
The New York Times once cited statistics from Oregon (USA) in 2012, showing that the mortality rate when giving birth at home is 7 times higher than when giving birth in a hospital. The reason pointed out that the reason is partly due to the midwives lacking skills, not meeting international standards, and not being properly trained in cases of complications.
Since 2016, home births in the US have been decreasing as health authorities have tightened monitoring of pregnant women from the time they become pregnant. In particular, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has continuously issued guidelines on safe childbirth, and if the midwife is not qualified, she cannot deliver at home. At the same time, it has focused on promoting communication to mothers about the risks that may be encountered when giving birth at home.
Even in cases where a certified midwife is available, many doctors in the United States still urge pregnant women to go to the hospital to give birth.
On the Washington Post, obstetrics expert Amos Grunebaum at Weill Cornell Medical College also warned that the risk of brain damage in the first 10 years of life of children born at home is higher than that of children born in the hospital.