Doctors from the American Academy of Pediatrics are supporting the growing trend of home births according to CBS News.
While the pediatricians maintain that the best place for birth is in a hospital, they believe that a woman’s desire to have a home birth should be respected, while following a certain set of rules.
"Babies deserve the best care they can get," said statement author Dr. Kristi Watterberg, a professor in the division of neonatology at the University of New Mexico. "And we need to support women wherever they choose to give birth."
Some of the reasons that woman want home births according to the statement include:
* Intimate family settings
* Greater control of the birthing process
* Lowers costs and decreasing the need for medical intervention
While less than one percent of United States births occur in the home, the trend has climbed in recent years. According to government data, the amount of in home births has increased as much as 30 percent since 2004.
Women who have births at home run a higher risk due to a lack of medical staff on hand. They are also in danger of having a bad birthing process which could lead to a rush to the hospital if something goes wrong.
Members of the academy warned that between 10 and 40 percent of at home births force woman to go to the hospital because of complications. The academy added that this does not translate to a bad home birth but a successful medical care system.
The AAP puts the burden on pediatricians to inform parents about all the risks.
"Pediatricians must be prepared to provide supportive, informed counsel to women considering home birth while retaining their role as child advocates in assessing whether the situation is appropriate to support a planned home birth,” the authors wrote.
Some of the guidelines for home birth include:
* Having at least two people present at the birth—one of which should have no other job but to care for the newborn child in case of emergency to both the mother and baby
* Medical staff trained in resuscitating an infant should be present
* Midwives used should be certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board
After the baby is born, care should include providing warmth, looking for infectious diseases, giving the child the necessary vaccines and vitamins, a physical examination and risk assessment, and, if possible, breast feeding.
Before the delivery those present should keep track of the weather and see if all of the phones and medical equipment work.
Mairi Rothman, a midwife on the board of directors of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, says that on the flip side, many don’t consider the risks of hospitals births.
"For example, you have a much higher risk of having cesarean (section) in the hospital, you have a much higher risk of having anesthesia...there's no hospital-acquired infection, there's no mixing your baby up with another baby, there's much more support (for breastfeeding)," Rothman said in an interview with Reuters. She said she brings the same type equipment used in hospitals to births in the home. For example she brings resuscitation equipment and oxygen.
The policy statement from the AAP was published in the journal Pediatrics on April 29.
