Home Births at All-time High: CDC Report

The percentage of home births has reached an all-time high in 2012 according to a data report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, which was published by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, said that 1.36 percent of all U.S. births in 2012 occurred either at home or at a birthing center staffed by professional midwives. This is a respectable increase in percentage from the year before which had 1.26 percent of all births out-of-hospital.

Interestingly, out-of -hospital births appear to be most popular among non-Hispanic white women, with over 2 percent of all non-Hispanic Caucasian births occurring at home.

This data supports a theory that home birthing has become gradually more popular over the last decade, with the percentage of out-of-hospital births having consistently risen annually since 2004.

According to the CDC, it is suspected that the great majority of these out-of-hospital births are planned home births, but a small portion of them may simply have been unplanned incidents where the mother was rushed to a birthing clinic or an impromptu delivery was performed at home.

Interestingly, the CDC report provided evidence that showed that prepared at-home and birth center births had significantly lower risk profiles that hospital births, indicating that only young and healthy mothers are currently willing to risk having a baby at home, even with the aid of an adequately trained midwife.

So why are home births becoming more popular? According to Healthy Living guidelines from the Mayo Clinic, some women chose to have home births because of religious preference or a desire to give birth in a familiar and comfortable environment. Some women also fear the intervention of a doctor, where their natural birth may be interrupted by a doctors desire to speed along the process with a caesarean section or even more dangerous procedures.

Naturally, some women should simply never give birth outside of a hospital because of risk of dangerous complications. Women who have a seizure disorder, smoke, have previously had a c-section, or are pregnant with multiple babies should always birth within a hospital for safety reasons.

In the case of healthy women who desire to have a home birth, the CDC and Mayo Clinic both recommend that a trained professional, such as a certified midwife, be there for the birthing.

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics report was published early March.