Consumers and professionals alike recognize that more and more families every year are making the educated decision to have an out of hospital birth. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in parents choosing to birth with midwives at home or a local birth center. This is a responsible and educated choice for healthy low risk people. Research supports out of hospital birth as a safe option

© Jessica English

when the parent and the baby have experienced an uneventful pregnancy and are considered low risk. Despite the best evidence available, many opinions to the contrary are often shared and discussions on this topic can certainly get heated and quickly escalate into a non-professional lobbing of electronic accusations and anectodes for all to read. No one benefits from misinformation and personal opinions stated as fact.

For many years, Lamaze International has shared, reviewed and discussed research articles on the topic of out of hospital birth Experts, including researchers, midwives, doctors and others have offered their professional opinions of the information as it becomes available.

Childbirth educators and other birth professionals have a responsibility to stay up to date with current information, They should also be able to direct interested families to sources for reliable facts.

I have compiled some of the recent articles that we have run on Science & Sensibility on the topic of out of hospital births and listed them here. Families interested in experiencing a physiologic birth can read and research and determine what type of birth place and health care provider feels right to them, interview midwives and doctors and make an informed decision.

Science & Sensibility Articles on Home Birth

• The Wax Home Birth Meta-Analusis: An Outsider's Critque
• American Obstetrician Takes Rational View on Home Birth
• Home Birth Consensus Summit: Making History
• Finding Common Ground: The Home Birth Consensus Summit
• Safe at Home: New Home Vs Hospital Study Reviewed By Henci Goer
• Understanding Recent Home Birth Research: Guidance for Birth Professionals and Consumers
• Being Safe: Making the Decision to Have a Planned Home Birth
• Flaws in Recent Home Birth May Mislead Parents, Providers
• Henci Goer - Fact Checking The New York Times Home Birth Debate
• Home Birth in a Risk Society: A Commentary by Barbara Katz Rothman
• Home Birth after Hospital Birth: Women's Choices and Reflections - A Research Review by Jessica English
• The Best Practice Guidelines: Transfer from Home Birth to Hospital - Collaboration Can Improve Outcomes
• MANA Response to Recent AAP Home Birth Statement: High-quality out-of-hospital newborn and postpartum care is standard for midwives
• Obstetricians Claim Homebirth is Unsafe...Again. Where's The Evidence?
• Jumping to conclusions: Popular media spins an abstract into headlines
• Assessing Birth Settings to Improve Value and Optimize Outcomes in U.S. Maternity Care
• Research Review: Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States

What are your favorite resources for accurate information on out of hospital birth? What do you share with students and clients about this topic? Please let us know in the comments section. I would very much like to hear how others discuss this in childbirth class or with clients.

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