EBP

PLANNED
HOME
BIRTH

PLANNED HOME BIRTH

Gestational age 36 weeks and 41 completed weeks of
pregnancy
Singleton
LOW-RISK Vertex position
PREGNANC Absence of preexisting or pregnancy-related maternal
IES
disease

Complications in a previous pregnancy

Complications of current pregnancy
High risk necessitating consultation or transfer to a higher level of
conditions care

What are some reasons women and

families decide to have a home birth?
Belief that home birth is safer than the hospital*
Desire to avoid unnecessary interventions*
Previous negative or traumatic hospital birth experience*
Control over birth decisions and choices (want to avoid
strict hospital rules)*
Dislike of hospitals, doctors, or medically managed birth*
Desire for privacy and to avoid strangers
Trust in birth as a normal, healthy process
Lack of separation from baby, easier breastfeeding
initiation

What are some reasons women and

families decide to have a home birth?
Preference for midwives as caregivers
Increased options such as delayed cord cutting or water
birth
Decreased risk of Cesarean birth
Comfortable atmosphere
Family involvement during the birth (children can be
present)
Decreased risk of infection
History of fast (precipitous) labor where it is difficult to
get to the hospital in time.
* indicates one of the 5 most common reasons stated

What kind of prenatal care do you

receive when you plan for a home
birth?
Women who plan a home birth with a midwife generally receive care
that is based on the midwifery model of care.
The midwifery model of care sees pregnancy and birth as normal life
events.
Midwives who practice using this model monitor a womans physical,
psychological, and social well-being.
They provide individualized education, counseling, prenatal care,
hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum
support.
They less likely to experience unnecessary medical intervention or
Cesarean birth, and more likely to feel in control during birth and to
initiate breastfeeding.
Midwives are trained to identify and refer women who experience
pregnancy or birth-related complications. (Wiysonge, 2009).

What does the midwife bring to the

home birth?
The supplies that a midwife brings varies from midwife to
midwife, but the basics may include:
emergency medications such as Pitocin (for post-partum
bleeding),
handheld Doppler and fetoscope to monitor baby,
sterile instruments for cutting the cord,
Vitamin K and eye ointment for the infant,
suction device to remove mucous from the infants nose or
mouth,
2 oxygen tanks, and adult and infant resuscitation
equipment.

References
ACOG Committee Opinion No. 476: Planned home birth. (201
1). Obstetrics and gynecology
117(2 Pt 1): 425-428.
Boucher, D., C. Bennett, et al. (2009). Staying home to giv
e birth: why women in the United States choose home birth.
J Midwifery Womens Health
54(2): 119-126.

Janssen, P. A., S. K. Lee, et al. (2002). An evaluation of pr

ocess and protocols for planned home birth attended by regulat
ed midwives in British Columbia. J Midwifery Womens Health
48(2): 138-145.
Janssen, P. A., L. Saxell, et al. (2009). Outcomes of planned
home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital bi
rth with midwife or physician. CMAJ
181(6-7): 377-383.

References
Johnson
, K. C. and B. A. Daviss (2005). Outcomes of planned home bi
rths with certified professional midwives: large prospective
study in North America. Bmj
330(7505): 1416.

MacDorman, M. F., T. J. Mathews, et al. (2012). Home births in

the United States, 1990-2009. NCHS Data Brief, no 84. . U. S.
D. o. H. a. H. Services. Hyattsville, MD, National Center for
Health Statistics.
Wiysonge, C. S. (2009). Midwife-led versus other models of
care for childbearing women: RHL commentary. The WHO Rep
oductive Health Library; Geneva: World Health Organization.