Survey: Hospital Birth Versus Home Birth??

I gave birth to my first in 1995 at a hospital. It was an unmedicated birth with a midwife. My second was born in 1999 in a planned home birth with two CNM's. If I would have had a third baby, I would have chosen a home birth again as long as no health factors interfered.

Definitely in the hospital for all three of mine. I would never deliver at home even if I could pop kids out without any problems. I think it's safer for both mom and baby to be delivered in the hospital. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

I had my daughter in the hospital, but I knew ahead of time that I was going to have complications. My sister had one hospital birth and two home births and everyone is just fine.

Women have been having babies for soooooo long and it has only been in the last 40 to 50 years that they are being born in hospitals. There are pros and cons to both and sometimes the moms or babies die, that will always be a part of life no matter how much intervention there is.

Well, I very happily had my babies in the hospital. As it worked out, if we hadn't been in the hospital, I might've lost TWO out of the three.

However, I don't think moms who decide to birth at home are making the wrong choice. After all, women have been birthing babies without medical attention for a bazillion years. It is usually a very natural process.

I think it's nice family have a real choice!

:)

But how will they push (or sneak!) the HebB vaccine on your baby, if you don't give birth in the hospital?

<<sorry>>

I had a very bad experience in a hospital.

If I were doing it today I would definitely do many things differently.

My first son was born in the hospital- 8 minutes after we arrived (so ALMOST in the car). My second son I had at home, and I am currently planning another home birth- pending that all continues well with the pregnancy. I will have an ultrasound in a few weeks and we will look at his heart and other development to make sure all looks well. Obviously if something appears off- we will switch to a hospital birth so we can be close to medical help.
Personally I chose home births after working for many years with hospitals, attending their infection control meetings etc and hearing the shocking statistics. I feel that if I am having a healthy pregnancy, and my baby is healthy, then a home birth is the best option for me and my child so that I do not expose either of us to an unhealthy environment. I feel that hospitals are for those that have a medical emergency and need medical intervention. I don't feel that that the natural process of birth fits either of these categories.
In choosing a home birth, we as the parents are choosing full responsibility for the outcome of the birth. We have weighed the pros and cons, understand that anything can happen, and are willing to accept responsibility for that. We are choosing what we feel is best for our children, which as their parents, is our right and responsibility.
I loved the experience of a home birth. A hospital makes me feel uptight and nervous, which we know is counter productive to birthing. Here, it was relaxed, I labored outside in the hot tub, then came inside to give birth. It was me and my husband, and a midwife. A few friends were in the house in case assistance was needed. I loved it- but it is not for everyone. If you are a person that feels you need some one to 'blame' if things should go wrong, then this should never be an option for you. Or if you are nervous about it- then you aren't really comfortable with your choice and should perhaps be in a medical setting. Each set of parents has to weigh the options and decide what is best for them!

I had my second child at home. It was the most amazing experience of my life! It was so easy, and enjoyable, and during transition, I just kept saying to my midwife, "I don't think the contractions are working enough, I'm not really in any pain."

My hospital birth was horrible. You'd had to pay me to go back to a hospital (unless of course I absolutely needed it).

Since to many of the other comments make suggestions about safety, all studies have shown home birth to be as safe as hospital births. The mortality rate is the same.

I had both in a hospital, would never, ever feel comfortable even attempting a home birth, even if I hadn't needed c-sections. But I am one of those horrible moms who had two c-sections and didn't deliver naturally or have a VBAC. I also vaccinated completely from birth for both kids - I am a monster, I tell you!

I've delivered 4 in a hospital. The last one there was not a good experience at all. Very scary. #5 was in a birthing center, which was a good experience. #6 was at home, and was by far our favorite birth. If we were to be blessed again with another baby, we will plan on having a home birth. Death happens everywhere. And, it is our belief that God ordains the number of our days, before there was one of them as per Psalm 139:16, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." So, I don't believe that we can add to or subtract the number of our days. If we are ordained to die on a particular day, it won't matter where we are. We find that we have more freedoms at home with a midwife than in a hospital with their bureaucracy. A great book to read on the subject is A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, by Henci Goer.

I think it's great that we have the choice in birth plan... but I do think that home births are overly romanticized and hospital/medical center births are overly demonized. There's a reason that infant and mother mortality rates have decreased, and that's because of medical assistance.

Women do need to educate themselves on their own bodies, pregnancy, labor, and delivery and to have a healthy relationship with their medical professionals. What's not healthy is paranoia about medical assistance and believing that ANY intervention is not only unnecessary but damaging.

I've heard of far more problems and deaths occurring in home deliveries whether assisted or unassisted than in medical centers both in personal experience and statistically. There's mothering.com where there are mothers who planned for home births but due to severe complications where their babies would have died or did die then went to the medical center because of the emergency... and they got reamed by the women who formerly supported them because they "betrayed" themselves by not standing their ground and staying home.

There has to be a middle ground. I went into the medical center each time with a birth plan with what my ideal labor and delivery would be, what I was not willing to compromise on, and what I would be willing to compromise on. I created it ahead of time with my doctor so that we both knew what would be the most ideal and realistic, and what would be "fantasy" based on my health and circumstances. I built in failsafes. Not enough women do that.

My point is that all or nothing births are just not responsible.

have you noticed that doctors are always quick to point out home birth deaths but hide the hospital deliveries that end in DEATH..gee, i wonder why. a homebirth is more private, with no doctor pointing out your privates to every doctor and nurse on call that day. you also dont get pumped full of drugs during a homebirth, unlike a hospital birth where they are only too happy to drug you. with a homebirth you get a much faster recovery time, no stitches, and no doctor screaming at you to PUSH just so he can make his tee time. a homebirth is very scary but more relaxed and you are surrounded by people who have a personal stake ( not a financial stake) in a good outcome. our baby was born in our bathroom during a snowstorm, her father delivered her, then called the emts
K. h.
to the woman who said that hospital births are the only way to go, well thats fine and good.. IF the hospital AND OBGYN are willing to be completely honest with EVERY patient about their record. as long as an OBGYN with a shoddy record ( take dr. hyde of va. phys. for women.. my obgyn, for example) can hide behind their boss, and never have to answer for anything. he does however get to look forward to being drawn and quartered in the court of public opinion until i get an written apology for him deciding to claim i was retarded..in writing.

My daughter delivered her first two in the hospital. She didn't get there in time to have any anesthetics for the second birth. She decided to have the third at home. It was beautiful!

I planned on a natural birth in a Baby Friendly Hospital. 2 days before my due date my daughters movements slowed down and I went to the DR for a stress test. From there I was taken by emergency vehicle to the hospital. I had a crash c-section under general anesthesia. From the moment I walked in the door of the hospital to my daughter being born was less than 10 minutes. Had we been any where else she would not have made it.

After that my experience at the hospital was amazing. My mother and sisters have all done home births so I really wanted one myself. We were all floored at the care I received. My daughter never left my room, there was no pressure to give formula. In fact I had twice daily visits from a lactation consultant.

I recommend everyone look into Baby Friendly hospitals. They give you the best of both worlds.

I had a hospital birth w/ a doula. Birth plan was present and I had our daughter "naturally," with no epidural. 36 hours after going into labor, our daughter was born.

However, the placenta didn't all come out and it had to be "manually" removed. Uhhhhh, let's just say I passed out from the pain of that and NOT the actual birth. When I awoke some time later, my husband and the doula were as white as ghosts. When I asked what was the matter, my husband told me that I had lost almost two pints of blood. My doctor told me that had I not been in the hospital, there's a pretty good chance that I would have died.

So I thanked my lucky stars that I was there, instead of doing a home birth. That's my story!

Hospitals have special rooms where it will be very similar to a home birth and if there are any problems, the mother and baby are just around the corner from excellent emergency care.

I would NEVER deliver at home...all three of my children were born in a hospital with a Level 3 NICU. I honestly feel it is irresponsible to give birth at home--too many unforeseen things can happen! My middle son was born with a complex heart defect--which we knew about before birth. However, many heart defects are not detected before birth. Without quick intervention, some of these kids would not survive. A friend, who was attempting to deliver at home, was rushed in for an emergency c-section. The baby's umbilical cord was too short to deliver the baby naturally. Would you have your gall bladder removed at home? A root canal? A vasectomy? Probably not!

I had both in the hospital and would not consider ever having a home birth.

As you said things, could change in the blnk of an eye for mom or baby and the hospital has all of the necessary equipment if something goes wrong, plus time is of the essence. I would not want to risk my life nor my unborn child's life to buck medical conventions.

I'm a nurse-midwife and I've delivered a lot of babies in my 9 years of practice (3 yrs as an RN in OB and 6 as a midwife). I'm happy to say that during those years I assisted a lot of beautiful deliveries and only a small percentage with complications that would have claimed the lives of Mom or baby (or both) had there not been extra trained professionals and sophisticate medical equipment available. The most common causes on near loss of life were shoulder dystocia (baby's shoulder lodges under mom's pubic bone and only head will deliver), profuse bleeding after delivery, and placenta and cord problems (like cord prolapse where cord delivers before the baby or placental abruption when the placenta detaches from uterus wall before baby is born both of which prevent adequate oxygen to the baby). I've experienced these in a hospital setting and thankfully never lost a mom or baby under my care.
When it came time for me to delivery my own babies, I knew that I needed a hospital setting in order to relax and let others help me deliver. I had seen too much and I didn't want to be fearful when I had my own. My first delivery was not ideal as I submitted to a LONG induction of labor after she was 10 days post due date. I did hemorrhage, but it was controlled. I did have shoulder dystocia, but with the skill of the Dr and nurses they were able to deliver her vaginally. However, the 2nd and 3rd were wonderful. I arrived in the hospital minutes to a couple hours before delivering and had no IVs or pain meds, just the comfort of a warm jacuzzi and a nurse to monitor my baby. It was just how I wanted it, low intervention, private, my husband at my side and just let my body do the work of labor.
I'm glad women have choices of whom and where they may deliver. There's always risks whether you are at home, a birthing clinic or hospital. I think you have to know your comfort zone and be willing to be flexible if things don't go as planned. Nurse Midwife Mom of 3

I had my son in the hospital. I am one of the women who would've lost my baby if I hadn't. He went into stress and I was rushed into an emergency C section. I was only allowed to stay awake b/c I'd gotten the epidural earlier.

I'm not saying one is better than the other b/c it is personal choice, but I would not be comfortable having my baby at home and dealing with the mess etc. Also, regardless of where a baby is born it is important to keep the area clean. In the 18th and 19th Century doctors were identifying puerperal fever as the cause of death in women after childbirth--due to unclean conditions. Jane Seymour (the 3rd wife of Henry VIII died from this in the 16th Century).

Anyway... there's your piece of historical trivia. I also do have to say that many are quick to say C sections are bad, but many women/babies died before C sections were available.

3 hospital births - 3 c-sections, but that was the only way for me when my first was strangling in the umbilical cord & nearly dead 4 weeks before my due date.

I have delivered at the hospital. All three times. Although with #3, I didn't know if I would get there in time!

Both my girls were delivered in a hospital. I am all for birth centers if you so choose, but I knew it wasn't for me. With my first daughter, I had a relatively easy labor, no complications, short labor, unmedicated, with monitoring and no reason to be concerned about myself or baby. However when my daughter was born, she wouldn't breathe. They tried to get her going and it became apparent they needed NICU. Doctors rushed in, she was suctioned and taken up to the NICU for more help. Everyone was surprised as I had no indicators and either did the strip line for monitoring. I am thankful I was in a hospital where immediate care was available. I was where I needed to be. In the end, she was fine but needed some extra help getting started. We went home in a few days with a healthy baby and now have a healthy 4 year old girl. The doctors never really had an explanation other than she just had too much fluid in her lungs to start breathing.

The birth of my second daughter was wonderful. Short labor, no meds, and perfect delivery with crying healthy baby.

I think birth centers sound wonderful and have had many positive fantastic birth stories from them. I always knew I was more comfortable in a hospital. To each their own and thankful we have a choice.

Had I not been in the hospital with my son, we would have lost him.

Both deliveries in the hospital, at home was not an option for me, both because of my pregnancy health and because I didn't want that.

I believe it's a personal choice, have nothing against women who choose home birth, I actually admire them for their courage.

Such a sad story for this woman!

My sister and I were both born at home. I was rather easy according to my Mom but my sister's birth was not, Mom and her ended up in the hospital for weeks before coming home. My Mom said after that experience she would never ever deliver at home again and only do it at the hospital. Then my sister and I both delivered at a hospital. I was a high risk pregnancy and my sister was pregnant with twins. We both had healthy babies and were both glad that we had knowledgeable staff to support us. Things can go bad quickly and I cannot imagine to the pain of the loss of the young mother in the story. At the end of the day every woman should way her options carefully and make the best desition she can with the information she has.

The statistics available point to the fact that assuming you are a good candidate, home births are quite safe. Personally, I don't understand why anyone would though. I don't really completely understand birthing centers either, to be honest with you. The hospital where I had my son had birthing tubs and was very open to making moms feel as comfortable as possible. Birth is very messy and hurts like hell. In the end, all that matters is a healthy baby.

I'm living in Sweden, here I had hospital births but here they basically only have midwives.. I would definitely do it again.. My first labor and delivery lasted 41 hours. They kept a good eye on the baby and as long as they saw no stress on her they allowed me to continue to do things naturally. I tell people this back home in the States and they all basically say I probably would have not been allowed to continue and would have done a C-section.. I am so glad as she was my first and know once you have one C-section they really push for a second with the second child.. They didnt push drugs on me (although I asked because i needed some relief!!)... In the end I had a room full of midwives to help get my little girl out but she came out and was healthy.. My second was also at a hospital with a midwife, it was very calm.. I was in a bed the whole time, the lights dimmed my husband put on some music.. My midwife sat with me the whole time and very calmly helped me deliver my second little girl completely natural. It was such a positive experience I would most definitely do it again.. I like having the midwife as it's not so medical and a bit more natural but like having the doctors close at hand if needed and all the equipment and emergency interventions if it came down to it..

Hospital for me. Both my pregnancys went without a hitch so I had no reason not to consider an at home birth (although never would). The cord was wrapped around my daughters neck 3 times and they had to deliver her ASAP - she was born healthy (mentally and physically). I fear if I weren't in the hospital it may have been very different. I shutter at the thought. At home births is why the infant and mother mortality rate was so high in previous centuries.

homebirth just wasn't an option when i had mine. i'd like to have been given the choice. i think birthing centers are a great middle ground.
my second very nearly showed up on the highway on the way to the hospital!
the dangers of home delivery have to be weighed against the lack of relaxation and joy of delivering one's baby in the peace and comfort of home. bearing children is one of the most dangerous things most women ever do. i have respect for any choices so long as they're made thoughtfully.
khairete
S.

My son was born at a hospital with a NICU. He didn't need it, we had no complications and both were happy and healthy, but knowing it was there was a huge comfort for me. I wanted him to have every resource available, if he needed it! He roomed in with me, was nursing minutes after birth and had many of the same experiences home births offer, with the added bonus of a massive amount of doctors and nurses and equipment just a few rooms away. I know quite a few people who wanted to do home births. One actually did! The others either had emergency sections after laboring for hours, or changed their minds mid-labor and went to the hospital.

I heard about that. I would never do a home birth for that very reason. My husband and I was DYING to go home after giving birth b/c it was so annoying to have the nurses constantly coming in and there is really no comfort like home but that was only because everythign went smoothly for the birth of my son. You never know what's going to happen when you go into labor - something could be wrong with the baby, something could be wrong with you, you could need an emergency c-section, etc. In a hospital, you have all the doctors nad equipments needed for something like an unexpected cardiac arrest but in your home, you don't. Why risk your life as well as your baby's just for sheer comfort? It seems crazy to me!

I was very comfortable giving birth in the hospital. I came in with a birthing plan and felt in control of how events played out. I had no trouble refusing all the drugs being offered. Overall it was the right decision for me. If I was younger and/or planned to have more than 1 kid I might consider a home birth.

Hospital, planned c-section due to back surgery - possibility I would have trouble walking if something went wrong during vaginal delivery, better safe than sorry! So, no option for a home birth for me, but I would opt for a hospital birth either way. I had always hoped to do a water birth, must be the pices in me!

I wanted a natural birth - no meds, no needles. And for the most part, that's what I did, but it was in a hospital with a NICU and specialized baby section with birthing suites (private bathroom, bed for your partner, baby stays in the room with you after birth, all sorts of consultants, etc.) and as a side-note - I would highly recommend a place like that. I eventually had to give in and have an IV since I was losing energy from being in labor for 25+ hours and little sleep. They gave me a relaxant that helped me rest in between each contraction and in less than an hour after that, my daughter was born. However, my daughter had to be rushed into the NICU immediately after birth because she had swallowed too much fluid. I don't want to think about what could have happened to me or my daughter had we not been supervised by amazing health professionals. No home births in my future. However, I would be open to a birthing clinic with midwives. :-)

The story you mention is the exact reason I had my children in a hospital -although I AM very well aware that mothers and babies also die there! It's just that, for me, there are a number of complications that can result in death that could be fairly quickly and easily dealt with if you're already at a hospital instead of at home needing transport.

Having said that -I have two friends who delivered at home. One had a regular birth first at a hospital and had her second at home. From all accounts it was a very nice, natural, complication-free birth. The other had an 11 pound baby VBAC!!!!! at home! So -on one hand, I love that story because it shows that VBACS certainly can work, and work very well, but on the other hand I would have been really scared to try it at home. In a hospital -yes. However, it all went very well. One thing so many people overlook when they automatically discount home birth is that many, many people choose it because they aren't adequately covered by insurance and it will cost less than half of a hospital birth.

I still think people should do what they want. However, risks should be weighed -REALLY weighed! Before the 50s (and even continuing into the 60s in many areas of the country) -most everyone was born at home. I know my grandmother had 4 very large babies at home, and in 1940 her doctor talked her into going into the hospital to have her last one. She thought it would be awesome and so much easier and better (and that's what she was told) -and it was AWFUL! A nurse held her legs together until the doctor could saunter in while my uncle was coming out of her! She said the whole experience was far worse than any of her home births.

I want to clear up a very horrible misconception... maternal deaths have slightly risen in the last 40 years... cesarean caused deaths, pitocin and other induction type reactions that have cause maternal deaths have risen. We have a higher rate of Moms dying in labor/surgery/recovery/etc within 6 months of a birth and birth related complications than other similarly developed nations. Those other developed nations we compare ourselves to have mostly Midwives and birthing center/home births.

Having said that - my 1st birth was a coerced induction - I was given false information, which I didn't question because I thought I could trust a medical professional. My induction failed and I had a very traumatic cesarean with major complications happening less than 2 days after I was released. 2nd birth I started off with a home VBAC... things were doing very well until I stalled at 7cm around 11-14 hours of labor. We both decided going to the hosptial to my backup OB who was a strong VBAC advocate was a good call - 10 hours later, baby still wasn't descending past 8.5cm. I have another cesarean.

My future 3rd birth will be another attempt at VBAC at home. I am a NURSE and still would not have my child in a hospital unless I was high moderate to high risk during my pregnancy.

There is absolutely NO GUARANTEE that a woman who has complications during a birth or afterwards will survive due to being in a hospital - because most times the woman's condition is caused by interventions used to speed up labor and birth.

Yeah, I looked into that story. It turns out that she suffered a very rare complication with no possible way of foreseeing. It could have killed her in the hospital as well (or after she returned home from the hospital--it was that much later). Super sad, but also one of those freak things that reminds us that we could die at any time even if we're doing everything right.
I had my two babies at home. I felt really confident that my experienced midwife would know what to do (and with enough time) if something went wrong and I was within 20 minutes of a hospital. As it was, I did hemorrhage after my first birth, but my midwife was able to stabilize me and I did not need to transport to the hospital. My second birth was easy and fairly swift. My son had a little trouble breathing right away, but again, both midwives were well-trained and able to give him the support to get him to pink up (and, of course, he was still attached to the cord and getting oxygen through the placenta). A relative planned a home birth for her first baby and after many hours of pushing, transferred to a hospital and eventually had a c-section. Though many would call that an "emergency" c-section, in truth there was plenty of time to drive to the hospital (no ambulance) to get the next level of care.

home, home, and free standing birth center using the same midwives as the previous 2 births. If I get to have any more they will be home births!

S.

I think a homebirth is fine, as long as you take all safety precautions and have someone qualified, like a midwife, with you. The people I think are crazy are the ones who want to deliver at home by themselves.

Both of my kids...as well as myself...would have died had I not delivered in a hospital.

So....if you have a choice, I really don't understand why you wouldn't.

I have done both, and would NEVER do it in a hospital again. I had one of my children at home and it was the best experience.....the two experiences are not even comparable - one was amazing the other I couldn't stand.....
Unless an emergency arises, I recommend home births 100% of the time.

I am not opposed to home births and feel they are probably safe for most people. I had a midwife and wanted to deliver naturally without drugs or intervention, but I decided a hospital setting would be best for me. I am so glad I did, because I hemorrhaged after the birth of my daughter and I would have probably died at home. The look on the midwife's face was something I'll never forget. She was obviously worried, but calm. I can't imagine what would have happened if we didn't have access to the various nurses and doctors who swooped in to assist her and the IV and shots they gave me to stop the bleeding. On a practical note, I can't imagine cleaning up after all of that at home if I made it through! Yikes. I believe that women can be taught how to birth their own babies naturally, but now think the best place for labor and delivery is in a hospital, just in case.