Planned Home Births in the United States Have Outcomes Comparable to Planned Birth Center Births for Low-Risk Birthing Individuals

Bibliographic Data

ID9102613
AuthorsMarit L Bovbjerg (0000-0003-2139-0549, Oregon State University, corresponding author), Melissa Cheyney (0000-0001-5672-3353, Oregon State University), Lauren Hoehn-Velasco (0000-0003-4054-9789, Georgia State University), Diana Jolles (0000-0003-3847-9179, Frontier Nursing University, Versailles, KY), Jennifer Brown (0000-0001-7418-1172, Oregon State University), Jennifer Stapleton (Division of Research, American Association of Birth Centers, Perkiomenville, PA), J A Stapleton, Courtney Everson (Colorado Lab, University of Denver, Denver, CO), Courtney L Everson (0000-0001-6176-5101, University of Denver), Susan Stapleton (0000-0002-7890-1322, Division of Research, American Association of Birth Centers, Perkiomenville, PA), Saraswathi Vedam (0000-0001-6396-3638, BirthPlace Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Year2024
Volume62
Issue12
Pages820-829
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0025-7079 • E-ISSN: 1537-1948
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/mlr.0000000000002074
PMID39514513
OpenAlexW4404166079
LanguageEN
References cited36

OBJECTIVE: There are lingering concerns in the United States about home birth. We used 2 large (n = 50,043; n = 62,984), national community birth registries to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes for planned home versus planned birth center births. METHODS: To compare outcomes by intended birth site, we used logistic regressions, controlling for demographic and pregnancy risk variables. Maternal outcomes included intrapartum or postpartum transfer to hospital, hospitalization, cesarean, and hemorrhage; neonatal outcomes included neonatal transfer, hospitalization, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and intrapartum or neonatal death. Analyses were conducted twice, once in each dataset. RESULTS: Individuals who planned home births had a lower incidence of all types of transfers, compared with those who planned birth center births, but in one dataset only, experienced more cesareans [adjusted odds ratio (95% CI): 1.32 (1.02-1.70); 0.95 (0.88-1.03)]. Planned home birth was associated with lower adjusted odds of maternal hospitalization in one dataset but not the other [0.97 (0.54-1.74); 0.85 (0.76-0.95)], and was not associated with hemorrhage. Neonatal outcomes likewise were either not associated with a planned birthplace or suggested home birth was safer: hospitalization [0.77 (0.53-1.11), 0.90 (0.82-0.98)], neonatal intensive care unit admission [0.54 (0.28-1.00), 0.97 (0.86-1.10)]. There was no observable association with intrapartum or neonatal death: 1.07 (0.68-1.67; only calculated once because of small numbers of events). CONCLUSIONS: Planned home births are as safe as planned birth center births for low-risk pregnancies. Current guidelines advising against planned home births are not supported by these data

Center (category theory) · Obstetrics · Pregnancy · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access