Tuesday, September 1, 2009

New Study on the Safety of Homebirth

With-in the past few years, there have been many statements from the medical community against homebirth. One thing that I find ironic is that they never have facts/statistics to back up their opinion. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists came out with a statement last year saying that they are against homebirths. At the time it made me a little shook up, but after I got to thinking about it, I moved past it. One, they want people to think that homebirth is unsafe because it takes business away from them. Two, the statement had NO facts, but only opinion. The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists in the United Kingdom states that they believe that homebirth is a viable choice for uncomplicated pregnancies. Canada doesn't have a statement for either, saying that they encourage research into the safety of all possibilities.

A new study came out (just yesterday), completed by doctors (believe it or not!), showing again that homebirth is as safe or more safe than hospital birth. The thing that I like the most about this study is that it shows the results for PLANNED homebirths. Most studies show information on homebirth, whether or not it was planned.

Check out the study: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/rapidpdf/cmaj.081869.

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