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My understanding is that if you have good labor support and your pregnancy is proceeding healthily, you may be safer giving birth at home because US hospital births are particularly heavy on routing medical interventions.  Research shows that routine medical interventions during labor can cause harm, though in an unlikely emergency they can work wonders.  Interventions can also interfere with early bonding between mom and baby as well as successfully starting  to breastfeed. Our C-section rate is close to one third of all births, and should be closer to ten percent. If you labor at home you are a lot less likely to end up with an unnecessary C-section.  Although I support home birth I did have a mid-wife attended hospital birth, because I had little available labor support, and my insurance coverage for other options was a bit iffy.  I was pleased with my experience.  I was very well prepared and had a non medicated birth in the hospital which is exactly what I wanted.  

posted 3 years ago
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