Pros and Cons of Home Births and Hospital Births - Essay Example

Home Births vs. Hospital Births If we were to look all the way back to the times when the pioneers of this country were still on the trail and trying to tame the wild lands of what would become the United States, we would see that none of our forefathers were born in a hospital. Rather, they were all born either in the back of a horse drawn wagon or on the grounds of the campsite. These great men and women who shaped our nation were all delivered via pioneer home birthing methods, and their parents and the other people of the era never had any problems with it. However, medical science as muddled what used to be the safest way of child delivery with its medical mumbo jumbo and high tech gadgetry in the delivery room. Medical doctors monitor the babys development from fetus to birth and apply all sorts of medical intervention in the process in order to ensure a safe and successful delivery of the child. Stop and think about it for a minute. Our nation was founded on the blood, sweat, and tears of people who never saw a hospital room in their lives. Who were delivered by untrained midwives before proper midwife training was set into place. Doctors of the era even did house calls in order to deliver babies. Doesnt that sound like a very sound and safe way to deliver a child? Medical intervention oftentimes results in additional stress and intervention that may be totally unnecessary for both the mother and child. Those who advocate hospital births do so with the understanding that all births require a trained doctor at the ready in order to deliver the baby. In order for the doctor to do this properly, he needs to be an arena that best suits his skills and the situation. Midwives on the other hand, know how to deliver a baby in any given situation. It is not necessary for them to have medical gadgets or drugs on hand to aid in the delivery. Let us face it, the rate of risk and mortality between home and hospital births are quite similar because the risks to the life of the mother will always be the same. As such, no amount of medical intervention or gadgetry will help save the life of a woman whose life is at risk with every delivery. Dr. David Stewart, Executive Director of the National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth further proves this point by explaining that (“Is Home Birth for You: 6 Myths About Childbirth Exposed”): The neonatal mortality rate for the U.S. in 1989 was slightly more than 10 per 1,000 live births. We have the most highly sophisticated and expensive system of maternity care in the world, yet in the same year twenty other countries — countries with less technology than we have in our hospitals and laboratories — had more babies survive their first months of life than our babies in the United States. The reason for the high survival rate in countries such as Holland, Sweden, and Denmark is simple, the expectant mothers in these countries hire trained midwives as their primary care givers during their expectancies and birth. In a home birth setting, the attention of the midwife is solely upon the laboring mother. This allows her to pay specific attention to the needs of the mother and the child. Unlike in a hospital setting where one OB/GYN will have anywhere from 2 to 10 expectant mothers all in labor simultaneously. Thus dividing his attention and professional time amongst them. In such a situation, each mother places her life in the hands of a distracted doctor whom, as we all know, is no good to a patient when working while distracted. While a home birth procedure carries risks, these risks are lesser than that of the hospital births mainly because of the lack of stress on the part of the mother and fetus. Remember that a womans body is designed to respond and relax in familiar surroundings and, just like any medical professional will tell you, a relaxed mother results in a relaxed fetus which then results in a highly successful and stress free child birth. A hospital birth on the other hand piles on tremendous amounts of stress upon the mother and unborn child beginning with the travel time from the home to the hospital, then the constant poking, prodding, and monitoring of the fetus movement and mother. All of which add up to undue stress on both participants in the birth (“Top Ten Reasons Why Home Birth Results in a Better Birth Experience Than Hospital Birth”). Hospital births make for interesting birth scenarios as these types of medical interventions often times result in unexpected predicaments brought about by the over zealousness of the hospital staff monitoring the birth (Fitzgerald, Kelly “Home Births May Be Safer Than Hospital Births”). Contrary to popular belief, home births are not popular in our era because of the return to a hippie-commune lifestyle for some. This is not all about fighting the system or proving a point. Although, I will agree that home birthing has become part of a sub-culture in our society. It is no longer frown upon as more and more notable names such as supermodel Giselle Bunchen opt for home birth and women such as Ricki Lake prove that there is nothing to worry about when undergoing home birth (Goldberg, Michelle “Home Birth: Increasingly Popular, but Dangerous”). So for some women who have a fear of hospitals, bringing a child to life in the privacy of her own home at the hands of a highly trained midwife is the most logical thing to do. For some parents who opt for home birthing though, it is not a matter of fear of hospitals, the desire to try something new, or the need to be part of the “in” crowd. Rather, for those who do not fall under any of the aforementioned categories, the real reason behind their desire to have a home birth all boils down to economics. Simply put, it is more affordable for parents to have a birthing station set up at home for home birth use rather than to have to bring the mother to the hospital where charges begin even before the mother is wheeled into the labor room. Keep in mind that it could cost as much as $10,000 for a hospital birth and as little as $3,000 for a home birth (Goldberg, Michelle “Home Birth: Increasingly Popular but Dangerous”). In this day and age of rising medical costs and the fact that health insurance is quite hard to come by and, if you have it, to collect from, home birthing seems to be the most affordable way of delivering a child. Provided a mother has the proper pre-natal care, there is really no reason to worry about complications arising in a home birth. In any event, a mother who goes into distress during home birthing cane easily be moved to the hospital for emergency treatment. However, that rarely happens. So in the end, home births really do have the edge over those who support hospital births. In terms of medical benefits for the expectant mother, the cost of the procedure as computed for hospital birth, and the lack of stress on the mother and child during the whole procedure of home birthing, there is no way that a hospital birth can top its benefits. Works Cited Fitzgerald, Kelly. “Home Births May Be Safer Than Hospital Births”. Editors Choice. Medical News Today. 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. Goldberg, Michelle. “Home Birth: Increasingly Popular but Dangerous”. Women in the World. The Daily Beast. 25 Jun. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. Stewart, David. Phd. “Is home birth for You: 6 Myths About Childbirth Exposed”. Friends for home birth. gentlebirth.or. 1990. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. “Top Ten Reasons Why Home Birth Results in Better Birth Experience Than Hospital Birth”. Home Birth Advocacy. Bring Birth Home. 18 Aug. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. Read More