A new study about home births indicates there are advantages and risks. Most importantly, as the New York Times recently highlighted, the study finds that home birth increases the risk of infant death from 1.8 per 1,000 in a hospital setting to 3.9 per thousand at home. The study also finds that home birth decreases the rate of cesarean delivery, induction, and other interventions. In the past decade, the rate of home births has increased more than 50% in the United States. So what should we take from this new study? Our guests:
- Loralei Thornburg, M.D., associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UR Medicine
- Michele Burtner, M.S., midwife and senior associate, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UR Medicine
- Alison Spath, birth doula
- Meg Grindrod, CNM, midwife, Welcome Home Midwifery
- Amy Haas, certified childbirth educator