HOME BIRTH
National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine: Study on improving quality and equitable care for pregnant people and infants listing midwives as integral change makers.
Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice, 2020
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: 13 study review of 16, 242 pregnant people comparing midwifery led care to other forms of pregnancy care finding lower rates of preterm labor, labor induction, cesarean, forceps, or vacuum extraction deliveries.
Jane Sandall, Hora Soltani, Simon Gates, Andrew Shennan, Declane Devane, 2013
Canadian Medical Association Journal: 5 year comparison of outcomes of planned home birth with midwives versus planned hospital birth with midwives or physicians.
American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing: Study of 5,762,037 live births found that neonatal mortality rates were three times higher for babies born via cesarean (1.77 per 1000 live births) compared to babies born via vaginal delivery (0.62 per 1000 live births).
MacDorman, Declercq, Menacker & Malloy, 2006
British Medical Journal: Study of 5,418 pregnant people in North America giving birth at home with certified professional midwives found a significant decrease in medical interventions: 12.1% of women planning to deliver at home were transferred to a hospital, and only 3.7% of the home birth group were delivered via C-section. Maternal and infant mortality rates matched those of low-risk women giving birth in the hospital.
Canadian Medical Association Journal: Study of 862 pregnant people in British Columbia giving birth at home with midwives were less likely to receive epidural anesthesia, undergo labor induction or augmentation, or receive an episiotomy than women giving birth in hospitals with either physicians or midwives. 6.4% of women planning home births were delivered via C-section, compared to 18.2% of women delivered by physicians in hospitals and 11.9% of women delivered by midwives in hospitals. Maternal and infant mortality rates matched those of low-risk women giving birth in the hospital.
British Medical Journal: Study of 855 pregnant people in Zurich, Switzerland found that pregnant people delivering at home required significantly less pain medication and fewer medical interventions than those giving birth in the hospital. With these labors there was no difference in duration of labor, tearing during delivery or maternal blood loss. There was no difference in birth weight or condition of infants born in either group, however babies born at home were found to have higher APGAR scores.
Ackermann-Liebrich et al., 1996
British Medical Journal: Study of 1836 pregnant people in the Netherlands giving birth at home or in the hospital found no difference between the groups in perinatal outcomes including fetal distress, newborn 5-minute APGAR scores, perinatal death, or cesarean deliveries. People with subsequent pregnancies giving birth at the hospital were more likely to have blood loss greater than 1000L and to require blood transfusions. Infants of pregnant people giving birth at the hospital were more likely to have issues within the first 24 hours after birth. Overall, people with subsequent pregnancies had slightly better outcomes at home than at the hospital.
Wiegers, Keirse, van der Zee & Berghs, 1996
Midwifery: Study of 976 pregnant people delivering at home and 2928 pregnant people delivering at the hospital in Western Australia found that those giving birth at home were less likely to have labor induced or to have cesarean, forceps, or vacuum extraction deliveries. Home birth infants were less likely to have a lower APGAR score at five minutes or to need resuscitation. The neonatal mortality rate was higher amongst infant in the hospital group.
Woodcock, Read, Bower, Stanley & Moore, 1994
American Journal of Public Health: Study of 1707 pregnant people in Tennessee compared those delivered by midwives with 14,033 physician-attended deliveries. No significant differences were noted between the groups in terms of fetal and neonatal death, labor-related complication, or low APGAR scores. Cesarean, forceps, and vacuum extraction deliveries were much lower with midwives compared to the hospital.