February 19, 2002 – Home births would not be riskier for mother and child than hospital births. This is the conclusion of a Canadian study carried out over two years in British Columbia and recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.1
The study compared 862 home births supervised by midwives to 1,314 hospital births, followed by either midwives or doctors. Women who gave birth at home were less likely to have any of the medical procedures commonly associated with hospital births, including epidural, episiotomy, or induced labor. Research has also shown that 6.4% of births “started” at home ended with a Caesarean (in hospital) compared to 18% of births attended by a physician in hospital.
The only downside to home births was that serious complications were slightly higher, especially newborn deaths. In the group studied, one death was observed in hospital, against three at home. According to the study, these three deaths could just as easily have occurred in hospital since the complications were already present before the onset of labor. However, these numbers are still small compared to the birth mortality rate in British Columbia.
This study is a first in the Canadian context where the profession of midwives has only been regulated since the 1990s. In Quebec, the Midwives Act came into force in 1999. It gives them the right to perform deliveries. in birthing centers and hospitals, but not at home.
Élisabeth Mercader – PasseportSanté.net
According to National Post, February 5, 2002
1. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Outcomes of planned home births versus planned hospital births after regulation of midwifery in British Columbia. [Consulté le 15 février 2002]. http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-166/issue-3/0315.asp