home birth vs hospital birth?

Table of Content

• Home and home-away-from-home options
• Home vs Birthing Center vs Hospital: Where to Give Birth
• Financing a Homebirth vs. Hospital Birth
• Do you really need travel insurance? Get the scoop on what it covers (and doesn’t) before you decide.
• Cons of hospital birth
• Thinking about childbirth settings? What to consider for home vs. hospital birth

According to a study that analyzed birth outcomes, there was a 41% increase in home births from 2004 to 2010. Researchers found low-risk women had higher rates of vaginal birth without intervention. There was also no increase in adverse outcomes for low-risk women. In this guide, we'll walk through the benefits and risks of home births vs. hospital births. Both home births and hospital births have a unique set of risk factors. Read on to find out the advantages and disadvantages of each.

A home birth cost is significantly lower than a hospital birth. The cost is anywhere between $2,000-$4,000 depending on your location, extent of your home birth plans, and the availability and price of a midwife, which we will be discussing in this article. That

Home and home-away-from-home options

It’s important when choosing a midwife that it’s someone who has both experience and certification. You should also be having regular check-ins with them to ensure you’re on the same page. While home birth statistics point to an increased risk, things are beginning to change.

We need those systems and criteria before the U.S. should consider matching the recent call in Britain to encourage and support home birth. Many would also argue that the pendulum of intervention has swung too far. For example, from 1970 to 2010, the rate of U.S. cesarean delivery doubled — but the risk of a baby dying during the course of delivery remained unchanged, and the risk of a mother’s dying slightly rose.

Home vs Birthing Center vs Hospital: Where to Give Birth

The average out-of-pocket amount for people with commercial insurance that had a vaginal delivery was $2,000 and for c-section, $3,000. People covered by Medicaid didn’t have any out of pocket costs. In the new world of high deductible health plans hospital births are MUCH more expensive ranging between $3000 to $5000. We calculated costs of physician service billings, midwifery fees, hospital in-patient costs, pharmaceuticals, home birth supplies, and transport. We compared costs among study groups using the Kruskall Wallis test for independent groups. For instance, one of my babies had a fever shortly after birth.

It is impossible to say “all hospital birth is safer” or “all home birth is safer” when these variations exist to such extremes. Certainly, different hospitals have different policies which cover quite a range , and each hospital has a different culture . I have lived and worked in MA professionally for the past 14 years and have had a lot of hospital interaction in transferring clients, acting as a doula at births, and hearing many women’s stories.

Financing a Homebirth vs. Hospital Birth

To help you make an informed decision, Heather Ranney, chief of midwifery at UW Medical Center – Montlake, explains what you should know about these two birthing choices. Hospital births are the safest option for having a baby and offer other health resources. A home birth poses less risk of medical intervention and assures you a natural birth . This can include Lay Midwives, who do not have a formal licensure or certification. Birth centers are very natural-birth friendly and less likely to intervene medically with your labor.

My midwife cost $3,500, which included all prenatal visits and one postpartum visit at six weeks. I needed to spend my $3,000 deductible before my insurance would begin contributing, but that easily covered it. I went to the hospital roughly 18 hours in, only to be turned around.

Home Birth vs Hospital Birth – Pros and Cons

In other cases, the healthcare professional may use them to control the situation. Intervention, such as a cesarean section, is less likely in low-risk women during a planned at-home birth. However, there is a need to better identify who qualifies for home births versus hospital births. Generally, low-risk women are much better candidates for home birth.

A third-degree tear involves the muscles of the anus and rectum, and a fourth-degree tear may extend into the lining of the anus or rectum. Also, in an earlier study, the research team found that many planned U.S. at-home births involved women who would not have qualified in countries with stricter at-home birth guidelines. These include risk factors such as obesity, age, and a history of a cesarean section. 345 certified birthing centers in the U.S. are run by midwives. They are freestanding facilities where individuals can go to give birth without going directly to a hospital. Each of us had a doula — a labor support person who provides continuity of care.

Do you really need travel insurance? Get the scoop on what it covers (and doesn’t) before you decide.

On the other hand, counting complicated deliveries that start at home but can’t be completed there as “hospital births” might hide home birth risk. A local midwife will charge me $5000 for everything…prenatal care, ultrasounds, bloodwork, labor and delivery…everything!!! She offers a discount for up-front payment and monthly payment plans that can extend after the delivery if you choose. There is an option for an extended payment plan that would cost me $350 per month with no interest or additional fees. This is still less that the basic monthly premium of $357 through LifeWise and there are no deductibles, copays or 35% coinsurance payments! I have spoken to many mothers about their birthing costs and even with the best medical coverage, many people end up paying a few thousand dollars in copays/coinsurance after everything is said and done.

I have been a labor and delivery nurse for the last 27 years mostly working in low risk and Ldrp units. In all those years i have never seen a doctor take the c/section road lightly. It is unfortunate, but it is difficult to have it both ways. Not all midwives are good or capable not all physicians are either. I had a lousy midwife but was transferred to the hospital where I lucked out and received a great OBGYN on call that night. Because of my experience I do tend to think now that a successful homebirth is an exception and the mother lucky.